Connecting the "Knots"
The body of Christ’s misunderstanding and misuse of certain words has cost us greatly. Two of those words are “calling” and “ministry.” We have taught that clergy, or those who do full-time ministry as a vocation, are “called” to the ministry. The rest of you non-called Christians, well, I’m sorry, but I guess you just have jobs - in order to support the called.
The Bible, however, teaches that all believers have a “calling” from God (Ephesians 1:18; 4:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:11; 2 Timothy 1:9; Hebrews 3:1; 2 Peter 1:10). The verse in 2 Timothy 1:9 says God “has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.” All believers have a holy calling and purpose! The Greek word (klesis)[1] means “an invitation.”
We have also grossly misused the word “ministry.” There are actually six New Testament words for minister or ministry, all of which mean “to serve.” Each of them offers a different nuance and/or purpose for the serving. The one normally associated with what we call “the ministry” is diakoneo(2)/diakonia(3), which simply means “to serve, attend or wait on.” We also get the word deacon from this word. In Acts chapter 6, it is used both for both the apostles’ “ministries” (Acts 6:4) and the deacon’s “ministries” (Acts 6:2). One group served natural food to the widows; the other served spiritual food to the entire church. Both were servants. Diakonia simply means to serve another, regardless of the purpose. We are ALL called to ministry or service for Christ. (My apologies to all the “clergy”, but there is actually only one “Reverend.”)
Tom Schlueter “serves” as the leader of the Texas Apostolic Prayer Network, which consists of over 10,000 Texans “serving” their state in prayer. Tom gave us most of yesterday’s post. In light of Holy Spirit now taking each state to a new level of prayer, I’ve asked him to share a few more comments today regarding how this can occur. Tom shares:
“I clearly remember the day I read this comment from Dutch:
‘I want to honor the faithful intercessors and other front-liners who have worked diligently to see the purposes of Christ accomplished in America. Most of you are never paid a penny for your labor, never receive glowing introductions, and will never stand on a stage. You’re the nameless, faceless heroes the prophets assured us were coming. Thank God you’re here. Your best days are ahead of you.’
“I wholeheartedly agree.
“Ministry has been ‘religiously’ defined as the people on the platform, the stage, the front lines, or behind the pulpit, and sadly, they are perceived as the important ones. Regarding prayer, those running the networks are considered the important ones. Wrong! YOU are the important ones. As we said yesterday, you are the blades of grass in God’s grassroots movement. Without you, what God wants to do now for your state and our nation will not occur. Remember, a general without an army is not a general!
“I have a fishing net hanging in my office next to a logo for our Texas prayer network. I’ve often pulled down that net and taken it to our gatherings. I hold it up and ask everyone: ‘Can you tell me which knot you are?’ They give me a strange look. Then I say to them, ‘You need to understand that you are a knot in this net.’ I then ask, ‘Which knot is most important?’ They always give me a puzzled look. Then I tell them: ‘Your knot is the most important, because without it, there’s a hole in the net.’ Every knot is important. Then, if we’re going to build an army, we need to ‘connect the knots.’
The Beginning
“I believe it was 2005, before I became the leader of our network, and I was attending a conference in Oklahoma City. I had just visited a Native American tribal leader in Oklahoma and was returning to the conference to report on the meeting. I found my friend, Apostle Jay Swallow, who had sent me, in the green room with a few other leaders. Dutch Sheets was there. As I listened to the conversation, Dutch suddenly turned to me and asked, ‘Tom, can you tell me how intercession is going in Texas?’ I told him I knew people in Texas were praying, but I had no sense that they were connected. Later in the conference, Dutch came to me, along with other leaders, and prophesied that he believed I would be a catalyst for leading prayer in the state of Texas.
“Then, in June of 2007, Chuck Pierce commissioned me to lead the state of Texas with a newly forming prayer network. The commissioning was held in the auditorium of our state Capitol in Austin, which was packed with intercessors from across the state. The network was birthed…and yet, not fully, because none of those people were truly connected with each other. They had simply been invited to a meeting.
Connecting the “Knots”
“Many have asked me how we developed this large and successful network of intercession. I have tried to come up with key points or a formula we used, but there simply isn’t one. The network grew out of a simple act of obedience. You see, even before I was commissioned by Chuck Pierce, the Lord had already told me to drive the circumference of the state and pray. He had asked me to do the same thing regarding my own city of Arlington, which I had done. So, after we were commissioned, my wife and I set out on our journey. I had emailed those on the email list we had just obtained when I was commissioned, asking them to join us in their area. Out of that email communication, many lunches, prayer gatherings, and other connections were made as we circled the state. Out of those connections, the Lord said, ‘Ask these to be on your team; they will be part of this newly forming network.’
“This was somewhat of a stretch - they had not been vetted or examined. And as it turns out, they, like me, are not perfect! But they were chosen by Him. And these connections were the beginnings of a net that grew and has now generated a statewide transformation affecting the entire world. What a joy it has been to see these 12-15 leaders in Texas grow to over 100 coordinators throughout the state. And to observe how these leaders have changed the very atmosphere of our state by obediently carrying out what God has asked them to do in their regions. Through their efforts, the number of intercessors now connected exceeds ten thousand.
“We are all blades of grass, knots in a net, and as we connect, we will witness the transformation of cities, states, and a nation.”
This brings me to two more of the words for servants/ministers. One is huperetes(4) which means, “a subordinate, servant or attendant.” It is used to describe King David in Acts 13:36, as he ”served” God’s purpose in his generation. Ah, but there is a hidden meaning! This word comes from two Greek words meaning “under” and “rower”. An under-rower was one of several people who rowed a boat or small ship in that day. The key to their success was the synergy produced when they rowed together, simultaneously. Thirty men who take turns rowing produce only the strength of one - thirty different times. But thirty men rowing simultaneously create a force that can move a small ship. This is why they rowed to a cadence.
When God can get a group of servant ministers (diakonia) to connect and row together (huperetes), the body of Christ can do the last word for a servant: therapon(5). This word, meaning “servant, attendant, or minister,” includes doing so to cure and heal! (See Matthew 4:23-24). We get the words “therapy” and “therapist” from this Greek word.
As Tom said, “We are all blades of grass, knots in a net (diakonia), and as we connect (huperetes) we will witness the transformation of cities, states, and a nation (therapon).”
Pray with me:
Father, Jesus demonstrated true ministry - servanthood - as He went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by satan (Acts 10:38). He came, not to be served, but to serve and give His life for many (Matthew 20.28). David, a king, was called a servant. Your apostles were called servants. We ask for great revelation to invade the church regarding our call to servanthood.
And we ask for our hearts to be moved upon by Holy Spirit, bringing us passionate desires to connect, to work together. We ask that denominations, movements, leaders, and all believers would be moved on to produce this. Convict the church of judging one another, criticizing, and causing and/or honoring divisions. Show us the religiosity and pride behind this and bring a spirit of repentance and love.
And we ask for connections - millions of them. Build prayer connections, enabling us to fulfill the assignments you’ve given. We ask that EVERY state have a STRONG prayer covering by the Ekklesia. We declare that every state will be painted - anointed - by the oil of Holy Spirit, sealed and protected. Anchor every one of them to You and Your protective hand. Through the shaking, return our nation to You and send the greatest awakening EVER. In Christ’s name, amen.
Our decree:
We decree that Spirit-led connections are occurring, causing great power to manifest in our land.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
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James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), Ref. No. 2821.
Ibid. Ref. No. 1247.
Ibid. Ref. No. 1248.
Ibid. Ref. No. 5257.
Ibid. Ref. No. 2324.