KINGDOM

21st Century Apostolic

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As we advance in the 21st Century and following some of the gains in understanding over the last decades on the Apostolic ministry and its function there are certainly joys of advance along with concerns in our day.   In our travels we find places where no one would receive the apostolic or are reluctant to call any one apostolic, may be a little thinking of ‘it all ended with the 12’.   Alongside this we find a huge growth of the apostolic that seems like every time some one sneezes an apostle is appointed and the apostolic positioned to he higher than others taking control, taking a hierarchical title for position.    Both have the same effect and produce the wrong function and aims and the calling discredited.   Yet for the church the apostolic, just as the other Ascensions Gifts (Ephesians 4:11) are required for the body of Christ to come to maturity, which must be our greatest burden to see the maturity of God creation, ‘Christ filling all in all’, humanity and creation restored to the Fathers first thought and ultimate intention.   It is in the light of these extremes my journey of writing is to discover what is necessary today so I offer these thoughts as we attempt to practice them.   This is the first part of my thought I trust you will enjoy a look forward to the second part.

The apostle is one part of the complement of gifts given by the ascended Christ to our world. These ministries (Ephesians 4:11) are the gifts of the ascended Christ himself. For he “… Gave of himself…” Gifts to mankind, so that Christ will be fully produced in his ecclesia, church.

Without the full complement of gifts (Ascension gifts) maturity and the fulfillment of God’s call will elude his cosmos, creation.

Apostles are those that have the grace and the ability to break through barriers cross boundaries and have a primary concern with the maturing of God’s people.   Apostle Paul said of himself that he laboured “… until Christ is formed in you…” he would only seek to find Christ amongst them. These are clues to the new Testament Church, and the apostles, which are outlined within the pages of the book and begin to paint a picture for us of the church and apostles.

Apostles are an active agent to bring the whole rule and order of the father to Earth; they are advance agents of the kingdom of God.   Adam was planted in the garden of God to extend the order of the father into all creation so too apostles are planted in the garden of God’s creation to extend his rule. They establish the kingdom, proclaim the kingdom and advance the kingdom

The apostolic grace brings with it and imparts an atmosphere of,  “I can do in this”, it leaves an empowerment, it stimulates within the people of God an ability to cross over, and breakthrough.  Wherever there are boundaries they cross, wherever there are walls they leap over they change environments, there is within every apostle an inherent desire to remove restrictions.

They carry the grace, wisdom and skill in the building of Gods abode, his ecclesia the church. For the apostolic is a “… Wise master builder who has laid a foundation …” (1 Cor. 3:10) They are able to bring God’s ultimate goal and heart to the people of God, in the place of their appointing, and in the times they find themselves in. They are not consultants or advisers, but builders of the house of God

Apostles were clearly necessary in the early days of the church, as recorded in the New Testament, to bring heaven to earth and seek to remove the separation of the secular and the spiritual. They are as necessary today, as then, to bring the church to maturity and release creation from its futility, (Romans 8) as they work in harness with the Holy Spirit to bring about the freedom of the sons of God.

Ephesians 2:20 outlines that the apostles along with the profits they are part of the continuity of God in the establishment of the people of God and the maturing of creation, this foundation of apostles and prophets-which is Christ.   The apostles then have the same effect as Christ, that the Christ is ongoing “radical”, if you follow the etymology of the word radical meaning, foundation, forming a base. Christ was radical as he dealt with our foundation and the foundation of creation, the apostle and prophet equally are radical, in terms of the church the dealing as they deal with foundational matters.

Apostles will be amongst us until the body of Christ reaches its maturity, corporate maturity and the unity of the faith (Ephesians 4:12,13). They will diligently labour until we live in the light of the work of Jesus in the cross, until we are one; the apostle declares aloud that we are one.

Paul an apostle says that apostles occupy a principal place amongst the equipping/Ascension ministries, that is they are to “first apostles” (Ephesians 4:7-11; 1 Cor. 12:28) however earlier in the book of Corinthians he outlines apostles are “…last…” (1 Cor. 4:9), So what did Paul mean? Although Paul lived in a world and was formed by Greek thought, he spoke and wrote from a different vantage point; clearly he had a Trinitarian view of God, and understood the relationship within the Divine family to be one of ‘perichoresis’. That is the constant moving relationship amongst the Father, Son and Spirit, a moving, spinning dance, with each party pouring out themselves to the next, being more interested in the other than themselves, bringing pleasure to one another and filling and enabling each others aims. Each one speaking of the other, each one lifting the other, it is not with a hierarchical thinking and mindset that Paul speaks more about functional necessity, as  in every foundation, that the apostle is first functionality. Yet “lastly” he speaks is to indicate the nature of all apostles as the extension of Christ as the servant of the people of God. Apostolic therefore in position is functionally first but positional last, being the servant of all as Christ.

We see that with true apostolic ministries there is not found any sense of superiority they however known their own going continuity and necessity. Apostles should take on the attitude of the chief apostle, Christ himself who became a servant of all “he came to serve not to be served”. Apostles do not take to themselves position or demand honour, but serve pouring themselves out for God’s purpose.

Apostles have an interest and burden for the design of the house of God, and creation, and bring their craft as wise master builders to bear on the building of the house. Paul used the term wise master builder, but fully understood that there were many other apostolic gifting’s and characteristics involved. As you read the scriptures you realize there are a number of other Apostles also named in the New Testament, who did not belong to the 12, we have James, Barnabas and Paul himself even Andronicus and Junias were held in high regard amongst apostles (Romans 12).  In some church traditions even Mary Magdalene sent to the apostles by Jesus himself is recognized as one sent that the gathered saint did not receive her words, so we are told.

It could be said that the Father is apostolic in nature that he sent himself, sending himself in creation and then sending the Son to explain Him (John 1:18) and from there sending the holy spirit, finally sending the people of God to be the apostolic nature of God. There will come a time when the church becomes apostolic in characteristic and realizes its “sent-ness” into creation.

Apostolic Family

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What amazing days we now occupy, days of supernatural advance, days of activity and advance, the kingdom of God is being established in our years, right before our very eyes, on earth as it is in heaven is coming to pass.     I recently was presented with a Christ fact that in the last 6 years 1.2 million church families have been established and over 250,000,000 people have found their faith in Christ.    Amazing days the Holy Spirit is moving now its time to see the “Restoration of all things!”

In these days where the rule and the order of God is being established and rolled out, it is more important than ever that we bring the order of heaven, that which is in the heart of God for the whole cosmos.    Bring the order of heaven on earth has always been the goal of the Father from the beginning of creation and this time space world.   Adam was planed in a purposefully order place, the garden where the order of the Father was evident.   All of creation pulsated with life and green broke out everywhere, the Earth was full of seed bearing plants, I once has a picture of a volcanic Earth and the only thing lush was the garden then realized how foolish this was, so what was the difference in the garden simple the order of the Father, the Kingdom of God was there.   Adam, humanities shadow was commissioned to fill and extend not only with children and family but taking the order he was accustomed to live by and under whiles he enjoyed this provision and protection he was to export taking this order to the rest of the creation, what’s changed for you and I?    For this is extending the Kingdom of God.

It is very clear from the scriptures that God has a cause, a cause that was foremost in his invasion with creation. A cause that he has invited you and I to participate in, to be fully involved with. God always working in partnership with humanity this he outline constantly from the first picture that we have in Genesis 2:5 that there was no growth on the Earth as no man to till along with no rain sent from heaven, both necessary for advance and growth, mans tilling and heavens rain.   This cause the apostle Paul simply summed up in the book of Ephesians & Colossians with one line “…Christ filling all in all…” Knowing that the culmination of this age will be through seasons of refreshing and revival, until a season of Restoration (Acts 3:19-21) The Christ of God will remain in heaven until this season arrives.

The Father has therefore given to humanity the task of restoring all of creation, beginning with themselves back to God’s 1st cause and 1st utterance of rule, fill, multiply and extend, that is the Kingdom of God is not only in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17) but the Kingdom of God is the Christ.

God has a desire to have a family, a family where Sonship is seen and experienced, where the people of God know that they are heirs of eternity and live as sons bringing the order of God into our Cosmos.

This cause will be achieved by the dramatic transformation of humanity, forming them into the family of God that the church the called out ones of God are a family, not an organization or network but families birthing new families, extending families and therefore filling the Earth with Christ like people. It is our conviction that this work, the called out one’s of God, the ecclesia, the church of God is to be established by the foundations of the apostles and prophets. They must build according to the pattern of heaven, a family. Creating family models of the universal family of the Creator God.

To this end we believe that the kingdom of God is a relational kingdom and not a structural kingdom.    That Gods cause and therefore the context of every person with a call, ministry etc., is summed up in this statement Restoration is the goal of God, the vehicle of this is the Kingdom of God and Covenant is the atmosphere that is necessary to walk this cause.

We believe therefore in the necessity of apostolic relationship, that every community of God should have a relationship with apostles and prophets that carry the burden of the “ecclesia”, church, as we move towards maturity and the realization of God’s goal.   It’s a relationship born out of knowing one another, the gathered people and the leadership those with influence knowing each other.    Where each ministry knows their connection as fathers, mothers (1 Th 2:7) along with as the apostle Paul put it to know the burden or weight of the churches (2 Cor 11:28).   It would be detrimental not to find apostles and prophets who do not know the weight towards the churches they have relationships with, it certainly would be less than God desire for family, otherwise the churches become a commodity to let go take on as a business deal rather than a charge of God.

Every believer will realize the necessity of belonging to a people, the ecclesia, and acknowledge that it is necessary to have a full complement of the ministries of apostle, prophet, evangelist, teacher and pastor (Eph 4:11) functioning with this people in order to gain maturity and be the vessel of Christ in our world.   The requirement of these ministries is for maturity sake that will elude us if we do not embrace the fullness of Christ in the gift of himself Eph 4:11.

Every community, church will belong in the sphere of an apostolic oversight with a desire to produce and multiple apostolic families in the earth, each one belonging and rooted to our heavenly Father.

God is moving in this hour to bring this to pass, we see the onward advance of the kingdom through miracles, signs and wonders and through lives being laid down as lovers of the Christ, with many being born again

In the day where we see unprecedented advance and the holy spirit movement, we are more aware than ever of the challenge for the ministry that we have been called to, knowing that Christ has one absolute victory, now we as the church, the “ecclesia” of God, must advance his rule into every walk of life. Education, business, care, home life, industry must all feel the effects of the kingdom of God in our day. In this day it has become so necessary that the people of God find their place of placing; the place where God has caused you to be responsible for bringing his kingdom.

We move as the family of God, not a hierarchical family, but a family of servants, believing, empowering and maturing each other in the advance of the kingdom. The apostles and prophets here to serve and uphold the people of God in their works of service, restoring society and the cosmos back to Gods first intent. The task is so great, it is more important than ever that every ministry finds its place of belonging, its joint flow, so that it might increase and grow. Becoming part of an apostolic family is about being more effective and displaying Christ in his wholeness.

Christ ascended and descended and give gifts of himself to the body, I believe it is the first responsibility of these ministries to find one another. For these fivefold/fourfold gifts (Eph 4:9-11) are the Christ, and they must first find one another to be the full presentation of the ascended Christ.  Their call is to bring the body to maturity and impart themselves into the corporate people, so that the people of God might become the Christ and be apostolic, prophetic, instructive, caring and evangel in function in our world. The “ecclesia” being the full Christ.

Being part of an apostolic family is an imperative, that we might become the all of God in our society. This is not an association or network but a true belonging, a place of mutual support, accountability and empowerment for each other, where there are apostolic Fathers to bring about a family.  For its is necessary that the people of God should mature and grow up along with our world being released to god’s full thought in creation.

How safe is your FUTURE?

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 Not a welcome question in the times we live in.  With people concerned about work, finance, health and many other things.   So how safe is your future?

Perhaps safety and future are strange bed fellows yet they do fit, security can be found in little really work, relationship, finance, security seems to be the incorrect term to use, I think safety is more apt today.   If my future is safe, I will take risk or chose to walk trusting God.

So how safe is your future?  The Psalmist I see often asked himself questions of future and questions of safety he would often cry out, then somewhere in his cry he would find the answer.  “By your words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path” he said in Psalm 119:105 that the power of these words, certain words that is, bring safety.   Words that are the nature of the speaker, light that illuminates, God begins with “Let there be light” (his condition – see earlier blog) and here the writer still encounters this same pulsation, crafted, uttered words that cause pathways to be seen.   Words that do not breakdown but build up, words that raise up the pathway, the safe footed ways in front of each of us.

These safe words have the ability to direct, to show you where you are going, they are certain words not throw away comments but “your words”.  For safety sake, I better make sure I am hearing “…your…” words, making sure I can distinguish “…your…” words Lord.   So many say that, this and that are your words, but can I hear them form the source of light?   I recently sat in a gathering where it was declared strongly that the main event, the focus of all Gods working was this ………… and yet no mention of Christ or the filling up of all things in Christ was mentioned.   It really was the produce, or the in teaching for now, they were not “…your…” words, not safety bringing words but simply fashionable words, gathering people around the fashionable point.  Not light that illuminates and brings safety but so-called light that only builds our own events.

Make us able to distinguish true words in so much noise ”…your…” words safety words, perhaps that is why there is the lack of a safe future, we are not sure how to distinguish good words, successful words from safety words.

Safety is YOUR words in YOUR people so that YOUR community will ensure that YOUR words and will be done!

These words not only inform us of the Fathers will but also shows us how to follow the right and avoid the wrong ways, safety pathways, safe futures.

Ancient lamps were filled with oil to illuminate, their shapes changed with the potter and fashion and what was practical for purpose, we as the people of God change our shape, and it really does not matter,  it’s the light that illuminates and that matters rather than the changing shape, safety is not in the changing shape but in the words that illuminate.

Safety words bring a safe future “Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me.  I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my mediation.   I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts” (119:98-100) it is mentioned three times, these illuminating words make us “wiser” and gives us “more insight” and “more understanding”.   This is not the boast of a ‘smarty’ a superior human, but it is some one who has discovered safety in this word “…your…” words.   If we learn what God says you will know things that will amaze the people around you.

Wisdom wiser than mine enemies!

If you want this kind of wisdom we are going to have to switch off the TV, stop getting distracted give ourselves in response to a Father that loves us, pick up his spoken word and listen to the spirit as we turn to the book.   I can discover the wisdom that delivers me from my enemies as I hear the word.

Wisdom wiser than my teachers

Human wisdom can only take you so far but those who know how to take in the words of the Father and the Son will truly take in wisdom.   The reason for this wisdom is simple, a disposition learned of “your testimonies are my meditations” this learning is not by chance or  a wow experience, but by turning and considering, the way I ponder and what I mediate upon, all that I fill my mind and heart with.

Wisdom wiser than age

I have stuff to say that is older than me!    There is always much to learn from those who are older than us however age by itself does not equal wisdom there is such a thing as “old fools” who started as “young fools” and just got old.   Wisdom comes from years of obeying the words of the Father.  The “understanding” mentioned here means the ability to penetrate with insight into difficult issues.   You know how to tackle life and its hard edges as you have seen God at work in the word and in his illumination.

Again the reason this is possible is simply “I keep your precepts” wisdom does not come by osmosis or magic, simply superior wisdom comes by doing what the word says.

So lets read, and obey so we might find a safe future.


Things no one told me

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2012 will be my 28th year of serving the people of God, when I was 28 years old I was asked to consider leaving the building industry, laying brick and mortar down, to give my focus into building a dwelling through people’s lives.   It has been an amazing adventure to date and it is not over yet.  Myself, Sandra and our family have served in so many ways.  I was once told ”try everything” to discover the grace on your life, which we did with eager abandonment.   Serving in different capacities of influence and leadership, being administrators, running children’s ministry to 1000’s, leading outreach teams across the UK from cities and towns, serving in a mission environment, teaching, preaching, imparting,  painting, digging trenches, carrying bags, repairing cars, caring for and loving the ministers of God,  leading congregations, envisioning people, being known as prophets and laying our lives down as apostolic servants of the body.  The list is quite endless when we think of it.

In our journey we have been schooled by some wonderful men and women, been imparted to, impacted by and had understanding laid down in us over the years, some things we learned no one could have taught us or prepared us for.   Here are some of these lessons we hope will empower and advance you in your journey.

People told me about loving God and loving people, but they did not teach me how to love. That came through experience, joys and often challenge.

I had not fully understood how complicated the lives of people were, I learned the need to engage with people in the long journey as well as immediate situations with constant love

I was surprised at how judgmental and cruel Christian people could be.  I was not warned or perhaps I did not listen at the time.

It would have been helpful to have more insight into problem solving, and crisis management.

I thank God for my business training, as not much attention or training was given to financial management.

Although we began more than 20 years ago we heard much about family integrity, we still have many that did not listen as within families of leadership much pain is left to one-side, I recall some saying, “You just go out and serve the church. God will take care of your family.” Many families fractured through it.

There is no way anyone can prepare you for the loneliness of leadership.  The importance of friendship with colleagues should have been reinforced.  We have to help each other, aloneness is a necessary skill to learn and occupy.   To understand aloneness is empowerment but loneliness is a killer.

Another problem that is on ongoing for us all to learn on the hoof was that the church was God’s church … not mine. I was an under-shepherd.   We all subscribe to the notion that the church is His church, but the practicality of that comes into focus when we deal with vision, competitiveness, pressure to conform etc.

I had to learn how to be myself and build on my own strengths.  People, ministry and peer-pressure can make us conform and be as the USA would say “cookie-cutter” copies.

Loving and caring is not for the faint of heart.  Probably, if I had been told everything, I would not have completed the course, perhaps not even begun, but discovering my love for God and for His people enabled me to continue the course. I am so glad no one told me everything, and I am so glad I am pursuing.

Interesting ‘New Wine’ Facts…

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There is a wonderful verse found in Is 65:8 which states that “…as new wine is found in the cluster…” it is a verse that has been in my heart for many years.   We live in a world of individuality and the success of self-made people, we so often make these individuals the pinnacles of life.   This simple scripture reminds me that true newness is found not in individuality but in the many.   New wine, the wine of God is not in a single grape but in the cluster all the grapes on the vine being worked together to become the new wine of God.

Unfortunately we have been so taken with achieving at any cost we forget that God is after cluster people, relationship, people who are willing to change their shape being pressed into each other to become the “New Wine”

Here are some wine facts I came across while being in our beloved South Africa, you may find it interesting to see how it takes a cluster to produce a single glass. The cup we must drink must be the cup of a cluster!   A TOGETHER life, a corporate body and people group, not individuals we so often see in our day with individual Celebrities, but a whole people given to become the new wine of God,  the church has to become the cluster of God.

1 grape cluster = 1 glass     

75 grapes = 1 cluster

4 clusters = 1 bottle

40 clusters = 1 vine     

1 vine = 10 bottles

1200 clusters = 1 barrel

1 barrel = 60 gallons

60 gallons = 25 cases

30 vines = 1 barrel

400 vines = 1 acre

1 acre = 5 tons

5 tons = 332 cases

 Determine that in 2012 you will invest into the cluster, and not only your own ministry or status.    

Be a part of the cluster of New Wine!