Christian meetings are a must for the growth of the Redeemed Man. They have been designed specifically by God to bless Him. We see SEVERAL kinds of meetings in the Bible. A few include:
Teaching Meetings: “Teach” is gotten from the Old Greek word “didaskó.” It means to cause to learn, instruct, impart knowledge (disseminate information). It’s main aim is to add knowledge to the taught. The believer must be VERY particular about knowledge for he can only grow to the degree of what He knows. In fact, the number one need of every believer is precise understanding and revelation of the Word. Hence, the teaching ministry is VERY important.
Teaching meetings are Christian gatherings in which knowledge from God’s Word is imparted to the taught. Jesus held these kinds of meetings during His earthly ministry.
Matthew 4:23 (NKJV)
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, TEACHING IN THEIR SYNAGOGUES, PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.
Matthew 9:35 (NKJV)
35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, TEACHING IN THEIR SYNAGOGUES, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
Luke 5:17 (NKJV)
17 Now it happened on a certain day, AS HE WAS TEACHING, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
Matthew 5:1-2 (NKJV)
5 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then HE OPENED HIS MOUTH AND TAUGHT THEM, saying:
Matthew 21:23 (NKJV)
23 Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him AS HE WAS TEACHING, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”
Mark 1:21-22 (NKJV)
21 Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath HE ENTERED THE SYNAGOGUE AND TAUGHT. 22 And they were astonished at HIS TEACHING, for He TAUGHT them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Mark 6:6 (NKJV)
6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, TEACHING.
Mark 14:49 (NKJV)
49 I WAS DAILY WITH YOU IN THE TEMPLE TEACHING, and you did not seize Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”
Luke 4:14-15 (NKJV)
14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 AND HE TAUGHT IN THEIR SYNAGOGUES, being glorified by all.
Luke 6:6 (NKJV)
6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue AND TAUGHT. And a man was there whose right hand was withered.
John 6:59 (NKJV)
59 These things He said in the synagogue AS HE TAUGHT in Capernaum.
John 7:14 (NKJV)
14 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple AND TAUGHT.
John 18:20 (NKJV)
20 Jesus answered him, “I spoke openly to the world. I ALWAYS TAUGHT IN SYNAGOGUES AND IN THE TEMPLE, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing.
In this kind of meetings, the Word of God is taught THOROUGHLY and expounded upon. Jesus instructed us to do same.
Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 TEACHING THEM to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
The making of disciples is in the teaching of God’s Word. Jesus sent us to hold teaching meetings! We were sent to teach. After Jesus resurrected, He spent fourty days teaching.
Acts 1:3 (NKJV)
3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them DURING FORTY DAYS AND SPEAKING OF THE THINGS PERTAINING TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
Notice that after His Resurrection, Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples in the Word.
Luke 24:27 (NKJV)
27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
They saw Him in the Word! The Word is God’s highest revelation of Himself! Jesus gives everyone an equal opportunity to know Him from His Word. The greatest revelation of Jesus is from the Word and that’s what we are committed to doing at Dazzle — unveiling Christ just AS HE IS from His Word to men. Show them who He really is till they are so engrossed with the beauty of His person and nothing else matters! Dazzle is all about revealing Christ FROM THE WORD! No other can match this — that is why teaching meetings are VERY important.
2 Timothy 2:15
15 STUDY to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not be ashamed, RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH.
The aim of teaching meetings is to study God’s Word and the result is approval in doctrine and being skillful in handling the Word of Truth. “Approved” is “dokimos” in the original Greek manuscript. It refers to an acceptance which one receives after one has passed the required scrutiny and hence is acceptable because he has been proved genuine (validated and verified). “Dókimos” was used for the proving (testing) of coins, i.e. confirming they were genuine and not counterfeit or corrupted.
Genesis 23:16 (NKJV)
16 And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham WEIGHED OUT the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants.
Bible study is training for the Man in Christ. As he undergoes this training, he is being scrutinized. The scrutiny strengthens him and proves him genuine. The Man who is taught becomes trained to teach others. We see this in the Apostle Peter (Acts 2:14-40). His sermon was a product of what Jesus taught them for 40 days. He had been to a teaching meeting, hence, he became SKILLFUL in handling the Word of Truth. That’s what a teaching meeting produces!
After Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost, the Early Church CONTINUED in teaching
Acts 2:42 (NKJV)
42 AND THEY CONTINUED STEADFASTLY IN THE APOSTLES’ DOCTRINE and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Acts 11:26 (NKJV)
26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church AND TAUGHT A GREAT MANY PEOPLE. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
We see that the Early Church did not sideline teaching meetings but gave them a place of prominence. We should follow their pattern and do same today! It is in the teaching of the Word that we know who we have become in Christ and are able to function properly. Hence the teaching meeting is very important, even till this day!
Prayer Meetings: The second kind of meeting we see in Scripture is the prayer meeting. Jesus held these as well (Matthew 26:36-44). Same with the disciples
Acts 1:14 (NKJV)
14 These all continued with ONE ACCORD IN PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
Acts 4:23-31 (NKJV)
23 And being let go, they went to their owncompanions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:
‘Why did the nations rage,
And the people plot vain things?
26 The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the Lord and against His Christ.’
27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. 29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
Acts 12:5 (NKJV)
5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but CONSTANT PRAYER was offered to God for him by the church.
The prayer meeting is a gathering of believers to spend time in prayer and prayer only. This kind of meeting is accompanied mostly with fasting.
Evangelistic Meetings: These meetings are held PRIMARILY to preach to unbelievers. In these type of meetings, you gather unsaved man in a place and present the Gospel to them or reach out to them.
We see an example of this in Matthew 10
Matthew 10:5-15 (NKJV)
5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.
11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12 And when you go into a household, greet it. 13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!
Luke 9:1-6 (NKJV)
9 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. 2 He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.3 And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.
4 “Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”
6 So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Mark 6:7-13 (NKJV)
7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. 8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in theirmoney belts— 9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.
10 Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. 11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”
12 So they went out and preached that peopleshould repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.
These meetings are unto repentance (to change the minds of men to believe the Gospel). In evangelistic meetings, we take Jesus to the unsaved man. In evangelistic meetings, we employ every spiritual tool at our disposal (miracles, signs and wonders) in order to get the attention of the unsaved man. The things of the Spirit are our tools for ministry. We see this in Jesus’ sending out of the Twelve. Also in Philip’s evangelistic ministry at Samaria
Acts 8:4-8 (NKJV)
4 Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. 5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. 6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city.
And also to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-40). A major characteristic of this kind of meeting is the superabundance of the supernatural, especially the gifts of healings.
Healing Meetings: In this kind of meetings, we call folks in order to teach healing and then minister to them the tangible healing power of God. Paul held this kind of meeting in Acts 19:11-12
Acts 19:11-12 (NKJV)
11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
Peter also, in Acts 5:12-16
Acts 5:12-16 (NKJV)
12 And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. 13 Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. 14 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. 16 Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
Jesus in Luke 5:17
Luke 5:17 (NKJV)
17 Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
Matthew 8:16-17 (NKJV)
16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
“He Himself took our infirmities
And bore our sicknesses.”
Luke 6:17-19 (NKJV)
17 And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, 18 as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. 19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.
Luke 5:15 (NKJV)
15 However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.
Believers’ Meeting: Paul explains the believers meeting in 1 Corinthians 14:26
1 Corinthians 14:26 (NKJV)
26 How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.
A believers’ meeting is where believers, by utterance and revelation, minister one to another. It is for mutual edification via the things of the Spirit. It is STRICTLY for believers.
Holy Ghost Meetings: These kinds of meetings were brought into prominence by Kenneth E. Hagin. A Holy Ghost meeting is a believers’ meeting in which unbelievers are permitted to come in.
1 Corinthians 14:20-25 (NKJV)
20 Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.
21 In the law it is written:
“With men of other tongues and other lips
I will speak to this people;
And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me,”
says the Lord.
22 Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe.23 Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all.25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.
In this kind of meeting, the turnout of events is handed COMPLETELY over to the Holy Spirit. He is given a free flow.
Finally, there is a unique type of meeting about which we must be well informed. It is the Special Meeting.
Special Meetings: These are unique meetings in which two or more properties of other meetings are merged into one! We see some examples in Scripture. In the fourty days of Jesus’ stay with the disciples after His Resurrection, He showed them proofs (Acts 1:3). This would refer to miraculous signs and wonders. There was also revelation (teaching) then instructions and a mandate
Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Mark 16:15 (NKJV)
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
The 40 days were special meetings. Also in Acts 13:1-3.
Acts 13:1-3 (NKJV)
13 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
There were teaching gifts, revelation from the Spirit, prayers and fastings. Notice that a major characteristic of special meetings is direction as touching ministry, this is very key. In special meetings, we’ve got SO MANY things happening simultaneously.
..to be continued
© Josh Banks Ministries. 2019.
