The warfare strategy
Every army consists of a home guard and an attack force. The two go hand in hand. You cannot deploy all the soldiers in the attack and leave the home territory unguarded. Both divisions of the army are important in the war strategy. Both parties share in the victory and both share in the spoils of war, because both parties are willing to lay down their lives for the cause!
Building a Strong Home Base
16/05/2005
Andre Pelser
Wherever we lived we have always built a strong home base for our apostolic missions. It is important to know that the work of the ministry will continue the way we set it up even while we are away. There are a few hidden promises in the way Rahab assisted the two spies to escape from Jericho that will confirm our belief that a home base is blessed and protected by supporting and releasing apostolic ministry and vice versa: the apostolic ministry is blessed by being supported and covered by the home base.

Joshua 2:14-21
14 And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. 15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. 16 And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way. 17 And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. 18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee. 19 And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. 20 And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. 21 And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
The King James Version

The Nine Promises
1. The promise of mutual kindness
2. The promise of mutual support
3. The promise of continuation of vision
4. The promise of binding love
5. The promise of unity of purpose
6. The promise of belonging to a household
7. The promise of abiding in a place
8. The promise of protection
9. The promise of the scarlet cord

God’s promise to give the land to his people
The main purpose of the spies was to spy out the land God was about to give to them. The Hebrew word for ‘give’ is Nathan and it describes a whole series of events that could take place: to give, bestow, grant, permit, ascribe, employ, devote, consecrate, dedicate, pay wages, sell, exchange, lend, commit, entrust, give over, deliver up, yield produce, occasion, produce, requite to, report, mention, utter, stretch out, extend . The word ‘Nathan’ can also be expanded into the following concepts: to be given, be bestowed, be provided, be entrusted to, be granted to, be permitted, be issued, be published, be uttered, be assigned

The Hebrew word for ‘land’ is ‘erets’ and it refers to country or region or tribal territory that God has designated for those who are willing to fight his battles and to spread the Kingdom of God on earth. God has predetermined the territories that nations may inhabit and he has predetermined the coastlines for the oceans. He knows what He has in mind for our church and our ministry. ‘Erets’ also refers to the whole earth.

The warfare strategy
Every army consists of a home guard and an attack force. The two go hand in hand. You cannot deploy all the soldiers in the attack and leave the home territory unguarded. Both divisions of the army are important in the war strategy. Both parties share in the victory and both share in the spoils of war, because both parties are willing to lay down their lives for the cause!

The apostolic commission
God has given our church a divine mandate: to spread the apostolic reformation first in our land and then in other lands. It is a divine commission. But without a proper home base the mission cannot succeed. As Rahab let the spies down with the scarlet cord, so the home base lets the missionaries go out from here. The scarlet cord is proof that the missionaries were sent out and supported from that particular household. Heaven is our witness that the bond between the home base and the sent ones is dipped in ‘scarlet’ dye material, speaking of the blood of Christ and the first apostles who laid the foundation for the church.

Rahab (‘Rachab’ in Hebrew) a harlot of Jericho who aided the spies to escape; saved from the destruction of Jericho; married Salmon, an ancestor of David and of Christ; commended for her faith in the book of James Her Name means ‘wide or broad’ and infers a large pasture or the enlargement of a territory. By establishing a proper home base for apostolic ministry, the churches influence will be enlarged throughout the land and throughout the earth.

Joshua is a type of Christ Jesus
Notice that Joshua sent out the spies. His name in Hebrew is Jehowshua or God is Saviour. When we realize that God is in charge of the church and that Jesus is the Lord and the Holy Spirit determines the operation of the gifts of the Spirit, we begin to understand how the five-fold ministry can work together. In the book of Acts we see that some apostles were resident apostles and others were sent out on missions. There were teachers and evangelists, prophets as well. The elders fulfilled the roles of pastors to shepherd the people of God. James, the brother of Jesus, eventually became the resident apostle that was the overseer over the church in Jerusalem. The five-fold ministry equips the saints and they are given to perfect believers so that we all come into unity of faith. Then we will no longer be tossed to and fro by winds of doctrine that come from overseas! The full measure of the stature of Christ becomes a reality in an accurate church where the full impact of five-fold ministry is received. This is the New Testament pattern for the True Church that has Jesus Christ as Head of the Church.

How the Lord builds His Church
When a church does not have a resident apostle of prophet or evangelist, it can relate to such a ministry that has proven their care and concern for that body. The input of the traveling ministry should develop a similar ministry in that church over a period of time. It is preferable that every church has resident five-fold ministries as well as relate to traveling ministries for fresh impartation from time to time. Every church should know who their spiritual sources are. We know that Christ is our source, but he ministers to us through those he has chosen and we receive them as gifts to our body of believers. The whole ministry of Jesus Christ has been divided up into five allotments namely, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. As these ministries work together the believers become well-rounded in their faith; they become well-balanced believers and not lob-sided because of too much input in one particular area. God sees to the entire operation, Jesus is in charge of the ministries and the Holy Spirit determines the gifts. This is how the Lord Jesus Christ builds his church: through his chosen vessels and not through programs and systems that enslave people like Pharaoh made slaves of God’s people.