The Journey So
Far
This
is a compilation of our newsletters from June to November 2000. We will
add further newsletters later to tell more of the story of RMA to date.
NEWSLETTERS
January 2005 to May 2006
JANUARY
2005
The entry into this New Year has been significant for us here
at SHILOH. Quite apart from the international
disaster caused by the Tsunami, the Lord has been challenging us to
a fresh commitment for 2005 and on into the future. The future is
the return of the Lord and from now to then is
a time of purposeful preparation. The true church
of Jesus Christ
is to emerge as a pure, spotless bride, full of glory. The saints are
to grow up from being children, or even ‘young men’ (1Jn.2:13-14),
to become mature sons, walking in the earth, manifesting the glory
of Jesus Christ.
ONENESS: THE FELLOWSHIP
OF THE MYSTERY
We are believing that God will bring
us as a people [an apostolic company] through a transforming experience
corporately. The Lord has called us out of Babylon. Babylon primarily means confusion. The Lord
has called us out of denominational confusion to a place of simple
faith in the whole word of God. He has released us from the constraints
of institutionalism to develop apostolic relationships, bringing
us into oneness of heart and spirit. The Lord is calling us into
‘oneness’ [the teaching of John 17]. This oneness is
eventually the revelation of “Christ in us the hope of glory”
(Col.1:27). This is the revelation of the mystery (Eph.3:9)
and as the saints come to know and understand the mystery, the fellowship
that is experienced is that of oneness: oneness with the Father,
oneness with Christ, oneness together in fellowship.
Committed discipleship:
doing the first works
As this transformation takes place, it is vital and necessary
for all the saints to be walking in committed discipleship, forsaking
all to whole-heartedly follow Jesus Christ.
This means a fresh commitment to seeking the Lord in prayer to
be able to discern the Father’s will, to be kept safe in the midst of
calamitous and dangerous situations. We encourage all disciples to read
and study the word of God, completing the whole Bible in one year
as well as doing various other reading and study of the Scripture. We
are convicted that to stay in love with Jesus, not letting our love
grow cold (Matt.24:12) requires a commitment to do the first
works. This means continuing “steadfastly in the apostles’
doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayers”
(Acts 2:42). The result of this will be great signs and wonders,
a level of sharing in Christian community that was practiced in the
Jerusalem church but rarely seen since, a daily
meeting together of saints in house meetings
and fellowships to break bread together and to bring everything to the
Lord in prayer. These will be houses of praise; the true Christians
will be well thought of in the community and the Lord will add to their
number daily those who are being saved (Acts 2:43-47).
AS THE DAYS OF NOAH
WERE
Jesus said in Matt.24:37 “but as the days of Noah were,
so also will the coming of the Son of Man be”. Ps. 29:10
says “the Lord sat enthroned at the Flood, and the Lord sits
as King forever”! But who was with the Lord? Noah and his family
were with the Lord, sitting enthroned on the flood in an ark of salvation.
Noah had been instructed by the Lord to prepare an ark. It is reasonable
to think that Noah would have preached regularly to the people of his
generation, warning them of the impending judgement upon ungodliness
and sin. A suitable ark of salvation was prepared.
AN ARK OF SALVATION IN THE LAST DAYS
Similarly an ark is being prepared today: it is the re-formation
of the church
of Jesus Christ
according to the word of God, according to the clear Scriptural
pattern. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers will
be ministering and functioning in the body; all of the saints coming
to know the fellowship of the mystery, walking in victory in the earth.
There
will be an apostolic church that is obediently fulfilling the great
commission through the grace and apostleship received from God through
Christ, which will lead to the obedience of faith among all nations
(Rom.1:5).
There will be a glorious church that manifests the glory of
Christ in the earth. There will be apostolic companies and apostolic
centres embracing the whole word of God and becoming centres
of light and truth and love. People will be able to flee Babylon
and come into the company of saints who are separated unto the Lord
Jesus Christ.
IT IS TIME FOR PRAYER
IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
Jude exhorts “but you, beloved building yourselves up
on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves
in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto
eternal life” Jude 20-21. He then says that the Christians who
are keeping themselves in His love and who know the mercy of our Lord,
are to have compassion on some who are lost and to rescue others who
are caught in all sorts of extreme sin. Then Jude declares the
‘keeping’ power of God, that He is “able to keep you from
stumbling [falling], and to present you faultless before the presence
of His glory with exceeding joy” 24. The Scripture says God
will keep us. In 1 Thess.5:23, the word says that God Himself
will “sanctify us entirely; our whole spirit, soul and body being
preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
THE RIGHTEOUS ARE
PRESERVED
Some are still believing that they
will be raptured out of the earth, that is,
taken out of the trouble, which is a questionable doctrine. The teaching
of Scripture is undoubtedly to “glory in tribulation” (Rom.5:3).
Like Noah and his family, the true Christians who are faithful and
holy in these last days will be with the Lord in the midst of the judgements
in the earth. Even as the Lord was enthroned upon the flood and
will never step off the throne no matter how serious the judgements
[natural disasters] become, so the true Christians will be kept by
His power in a suitable ark of salvation.
Some will be taken,
some will be left
It is interesting that some interpreters of Scripture concerning
the last days have always told us that the correct understanding of
Matt.24:40-41 is that the righteous will be raptured
out of the earth. We have even been told that if an aeroplane is being
piloted by a believer and the time of the so-called rapture comes, the
aeroplane will suddenly be pilotless. And
yet Jesus said in verse 39 that the flood came and took away
the unrighteous! He then said, “so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Therefore
it could be more correct to say that the one man taken from the field
will be the unrighteous man taken by the judgement and in verse 41,
the woman taken will be the unrighteous woman. Jesus then said,
“Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”
v.42.
THE CHALLENGE OF
THE NEW YEAR
Time
is being quickened in these last days. The breadth of the call of God
in 2005 is so much enlarged. I have never been so stretched, so constrained
by the urgency of the hour.
I have never seen such need for
the gospel of the kingdom of God, the full apostolic message, ‘the whole
counsel of God’, to go forth to the nations, to go forth to ministers
and leaders who are diligently serving God.
These ministers do not know, have not even heard, the message of sonship, that there is an inheritance
for the saints to receive and walk in, in the earth. In the book
of Daniel chap. 7, the word of God clearly says three times [v
18, 22,27] that the saints of the Most
High shall receive the kingdom. The inheritance for the saints is
the kingdom of God in the earth. The Scripture is clear:
finally God’s kingdom will replace all of man’s kingdoms and we are
to inherit an unshakeable kingdom. (Heb.12:28) Furthermore the
Scripture is clear that there will be a revealing of the sons of God,
“for the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for
the revealing [manifestation] of the sons of God” Rom.8:19.
There will be the raising up of the church in a manifestation of the
glory of Christ within and through the saints. These Scriptures in Rom.8
are written as happening before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is time to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God,
not only a gospel of salvation.
The gospel of salvation assures men
of a future in heaven;
the gospel of the kingdom of God
empowers men to walk in victory in the earth.
FEBRUARY
2005
ASKING FOR A GREATER
ANOINTING: THE BLESSING OF JOSEPH
As
we came into the New Year and prepared for the January
Training School we were asking
God for a corporate anointing, for a change to come over the apostolic
company based at SHILOH and reaching
into the nations. The January school was the time and environment in
which we sought and believed God for this anointing: the blessing that
was upon Joseph!
GOD
WILL ADD
Joseph means “He will add”. God will add!
Add to us Lord in every way; add to us Your
grace and anointing to enable us to be raised up in Your purposes; to
enable us to successfully preach the gospel and spread the message of
sonship to the nations. Add to us new converts! Add to us new disciples!
Add to us more workers for the harvest!
ENTERING FULLY INTO THE HOLY CITY
Gen. 49:22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough
by a well; his branches run over the wall.”
In Genesis 49, the patriarch Jacob [remember, he has
been called ‘Israel’
by God – an overcomer] is prophesying
over his 12 sons. The meaning of all the names of the 12 is significant.
Rev.21:12 says the names of the
12 tribes of the children of Israel
are written on the 12 gates to the Holy
City. Gates
are the points of entry. It is a very enlightening study to follow through
the names and their meanings in the order of Gen 49. Each gate
represents a more mature experience and walk in the kingdom of God;
coming more fully into Christ.
Joseph is the name of
the eleventh gate – the last gate before Benjamin. Let us quickly review
the previous ten gates that bring us to the gate of Joseph.
Gate 1 – Reuben, “behold a son,
see a son”; the first gate points to Jesus. When we behold Jesus believing He
is the Son of God, we are saved; we enter the city of God.
Gate 2 – Simeon, “a hearing”; Leah said “the Lord has
heard” Gen. 28:33. The second gate speaks of receiving the Holy
Spirit, who enables us to ‘hear’; we enter more fully into the
city.
Gate 3 – Levi, “attached, joined”. The Lord joins us or places
us in the body to minister [Levi was the ministering tribe].
Gate 4 – Judah,
“praise”; a people who have come to faith in Jesus, have
received the Holy Spirit and have been joined to the body to minister
are a praising people.
Gate 5 – Zebulon, “a habitation”; God indwells the praises
of His people – we experience His presence corporately.
Gate 6 – Issachar, “wages, reward”; the reward is to grow
more mature, carrying God’s presence with us all the time.
Gate 7 – Dan, “to judge, to rule”; a praising people who
know God’s presence and walk in His anointing are able to ‘rule
and reign in life through Christ Jesus’ Rom.5:17b.
Gate 8 – Gad, “a troop, to invade”; a people who are ruling
and reigning begin to invade the territory the enemy has taken and win
it back.
Gate 9 – Asher, “happy, blessed, contented”; Asher is the
gate of reward, rest and a fresh anointing.
There are three gates yet and they are the most challenging
but also the most rewarding.
Gate 10 – Napthali, “a wrestling”.
There comes a time in every Christian’s life when we must overcome the
flesh life decisively even as Jacob did when he wrestled with the man
from heaven in Genesis 32:22-32. Jacob had a ‘saving experience’
twenty years before at Bethel. But on his return
to the land he was changed forever to walk with God in the spirit, being
able to fulfil his destiny in the call of God.
THE GATE OF JOSEPH
And now we have arrived at gate 11 – Joseph.
It is the anointing and blessing upon Joseph that we have been asking
God for. The gate of Joseph,
fruitfulness, must be entered into fully before the church can
enter the final gate, the gate of Benjamin. Benjamin means “son
of the right hand”. The church is destined to rule and reign
with Christ Jesus and be seated with Him at the Father’s throne. This
will take place after the last great harvest.
PLANTED BY A WELL
“Joseph is a fruitful bough”- Joseph is fruitful, because he is
“by a well”, a well that never runs dry [compare with
Ps.1:3, Jer.17:8].
SPREADING OUT
“His branches run over the wall”; nothing can inhibit or hem Joseph
in; he will grow up and spread out.
TO ALL NATIONS
This is speaking of the apostolic church and the restoration
of apostles today. Paul says that we have received grace and apostleship
from God through Christ leading to the obedience of faith among all
nations (Rom.1:5). It is vital and necessary for the
church to grow up into maturity to receive the Joseph anointing, bearing
much fruit in the last days. Even as Joseph in the natural ministered
to the nations out of his storehouses in Egypt, so the apostolic church
that God is raising in these last days will firstly bring the church
into its inheritance and then the church will minister to the nations
out of the storehouse of His word: the “exceedingly great and
precious promises” (2 Pet.1:4).
OPPOSED AND REJECTED
Gen.49:23 “the archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at
him and hated him.” Joseph suffered much, caused by the jealousy and resentment of his brothers.
This has been the lot of the apostles Christ is raising today – there
has been much rejection and non-acceptance.
REMAINING IN STRENGTH
v.24 “but his bow remained in strength and the arms of his
hands were made strong [supple] by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob
(From there the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel)”. This is an awesome verse – God said
to Paul “My grace is sufficient for you, for My
strength is made perfect in weakness” 2 Cor.12:8. Joseph (v26)
was called to be separate from his brothers [this is repeated in Deut.33:16b].
The Lord is calling all of us to be separate, to come out of the organised,
institutional church and cleave unto Him alone. When we first set out
on this ministry seven years ago the Lord gave us an important instruction:
He said ‘you will be sent, safe and supplied’; He told
me ‘to drink deeply at the well of Siloam’ [Jn.9:7
Siloam “translated ‘sent’”]. He was establishing us in the
apostolic – to be separated by the call unto His purpose: to raise
up His last days church according to His word.
INHERITING THE BLESSINGS
v.25 “By the God of your father
who will help you and by the Almighty who will bless you”. GOD will help us; El Shadday (God Almighty) will bless His people.
“blessings of heaven above”; Paul lists some of those blessings
in Ephesians 3:3-14;
“blessings of the deep” – springs that never run dry, drawing
water from the deep;
“blessings of the breast” speaking of nurture, young ones being
cared for, being brought up in the house;
“blessings of the womb” speaking of fruitfulness – many sons
raised up.
CROWNED WITH BLESSINGS
v.26 “The blessings of your father have excelled the blessings
of my ancestors”: is Jacob saying that he is able to pass on
even greater blessings than Abraham and Isaac?
“up to the uttermost bound
of the everlasting hills” there are no limits; we are entering the realm of the Eternal;
“they shall be on the head
of Joseph” LORD,
we are asking You for the blessing of Joseph to be upon us,
“on the crown of the head of
him who was separate from his brothers.” We are called out to be separate, a holy people. The
Lord has kept us during the years of foundation and preparation but
now the mighty God of Jacob is bring to pass the apostolic restoration
of the church to fulfil His purposes. Now is the time to fill the storehouses!
Now is the time to be planted by the well because there is coming a
time when multitudes of thirsty people will come seeking for the Lord!
MARCH
2005
THE POWER OF HIS
RESURRECTION
Phil.3:10-11 “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection,
and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
if by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Paul lists four things that he desperately wants to know, believes
he needs to know, to attain to, to arrive at, the resurrection
from the dead. Previously Paul has categorically said that he
counts “all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus, my Lord”; that he had already “suffered
the loss of all things”, no longer valuing those things which
were once his security and identity – the things listed in v.5-6.
THE FOURFOLD REVELATION
REQUIRED TO WALK IN RESURRECTION POWER
1) “To know Him”
The four things Paul now strives and yearns to know are 1)
“to know Him”, Jesus Christ. One could easily say, ‘surely
Paul already knew Him better than most’; Paul was quite mature by
now, in prison after a successful and fruitful ministry, and yet he
desperately wanted to know Him more deeply and intimately.
2) “The power of His resurrection”
This leads to 2) knowing “the power of His resurrection”.
The defining fact about Jesus Christ and the Christian faith is the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, literally – He rose from the grave after
three days. “If Christ is not risen then
our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty” 1Cor.15:14.
In Eph.1:19, Paul is praying for us to know “what is the
exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.” He
goes on to say, it is the same “mighty power which He worked in
Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right
hand in the heavenlies” v.20.
Wisdom, revelation
and understanding to make known the power of His resurrection
To know this power, we need “the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of Him” v17, and we need “the
eyes of our understanding enlightened” v18. In other words such
knowledge and experience of the risen Christ in His eternal power and
glory can only be known by revelation: the Lord revealing Himself to
the God-seeking, sanctified and prepared heart. How can we come to the
place where God can give us such personal and life changing revelation?
Eph.5:26 gives us some insight “Christ
Himself is sanctifying and cleansing the church by the washing of the
water by the word”, and in 1 Thess.5:23, it is the God
of peace who will “sanctify you entirely”, while in 1
Pet.5:10, it is the God of all grace who will “perfect, establish,
strengthen, and settle you”. No wonder both Paul and Peter begin
their epistles with such greetings, “grace and peace to you from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”; Peter actually says
“be multiplied to you” 1 Pet.1:2.
Thank you Jesus, for your unlimited
supply of grace and peace to bring us to maturity, to the experience
and knowledge of Your mighty resurrection power.
3) “The fellowship of His sufferings”
However, this striving to know Christ in His resurrection power
can only be attained by 3) “the fellowship
of His sufferings”. Early in his ministry as an apostle in Acts
14:21, Paul had exhorted the new believers saying “we must
through many tribulations enter the kingdom
of God.”
How different is this to the ‘easy believism’
of ‘getting saved to go to heaven’; to the ‘prosperity doctrine’; to
the ‘escape via rapture’ mentality of the 20th century. The
sufferings of Christ are presented as a ticket to our immediate and
eternal future with Him in salvation. While this is true, rarely have
we told those we are leading to Christ, ‘welcome to the crucified life’.
The call of Jesus into salvation is the call to suffer, to lay your
life down for Him and for others, even unto death. It is Paul who said
in Col.1:24 “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill
up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the
sake of His body, which is the church.” It was Jesus who said,
“in the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer,
I have overcome the world” Jn.16:33. How did Jesus overcome
the tribulation and the suffering of life in this world – through the
cross, and then through the resurrection!!
4) “Conformed to His death”
The 4th) component that Paul prescribes as
he seeks to attain to the resurrection from the dead is to be “conformed
to His death”. Rom.8:29 says
we are “predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.”
This includes death, not primarily or necessarily physical death,
but death to the ego: the ‘I want’, ‘I desire’, ‘I think’; death to
the strongholds and mindsets and prison houses that many of us are locked
into because of pride and resistance in our souls to the Christ-life
within.
A FOUNDATIONAL DOCTRINE
The doctrine of “the resurrection of the dead” is
the fifth foundation listed in Hebrews 6:1-2. There are six foundations
that must be properly laid before the church can go on to perfection.
God will not give the ‘permit’ to go on to perfection
before the foundations are set in place. The church has some working
knowledge of the first four foundations: repentance from dead works
and faith toward God – the first two foundations are linked
together and in reality equal the born again experience, the full coming
to God of a new convert, i.e., being saved; the doctrine of baptisms
and the laying on of hands are also linked together – the
apostle Peter said in Acts 2:38 “…be baptised … and receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit”. In Acts 8:12-17 those who believed
Philip were baptised and then through the laying on of hands of the
apostles they received the Holy Spirit. Likewise in Acts 19:4-6 the
disciples of John received Christian baptism and then Paul laid his
hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
Revelation and experience
of the doctrine
However when we come to the fifth and sixth foundations there
generally is a lack of reality in the church concerning the resurrection
of the dead and eternal judgement. While we all can know
some things about these doctrines, it is the revelation and spiritual
experience of these doctrines in practice that is lacking. God is restoring
the reality of these foundational doctrines to the church today.
ETERNAL LIFE IS RESURRECTION
LIFE
Our first experience of being born again, our experience of
water baptism and our experience of receiving the empowering of the
Holy Spirit, are all manifestations of the resurrection power of
Jesus Christ. The eternal life we receive when we are born again is
the life Jesus was able to release through the power of His resurrection.
In Jn.20:22 Jesus came up to His disciples in His resurrected
body, “He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy
Spirit.’” Because Jesus had been to the cross and dealt with
the sin of man, He now was able to give the Spirit to those who believed
in Him. For the first time since the fall of Adam, human beings were
able to receive the Spirit of God into their lives. Jn.3:16 says
that when we believe in Jesus we receive eternal life. This eternal
life is specifically sharing in the resurrection life that Jesus releases
by having become a man, dying vicariously [as atonement for our sin]
and overcoming human death – the result of sin – by rising again. In
Jn.11:25-26 Jesus declared “I am the resurrection and the
life. He who believes in Me, though he may
die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me
shall never die.” While in the context Jesus was helping Martha
believe that her brother could be raised from physical death, He was
looking forward and teaching us that the day was coming when eternal
life would be given to those who believed in Him to be “the resurrection
and the life”.
BAPTISED INTO THE RESURRECTION
OF JESUS
It is in Christian baptism by immersion in water that a new
believer in Jesus Christ comes more fully into the power of His resurrection.
Christian baptism is powerful and real because of the death, burial
and resurrection of Jesus Christ and baptism is our identification with
Christ firstly in His death, then in His burial, rising in newness of
life in Him (Rom.6:3-4). It is through baptism that we “have
been united together in the likeness of His death” and “certainly
we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection” v5. The
apostle Peter also clearly teaches us that “baptism now saves
us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” 1 Pet.3:21.
THE MESSAGE OF THE RESURRECTION
BRINGS LIFE AND OPPOSTION
The message of the first apostles in the book of Acts that
brought forth much fruit, but also caused much opposition to rise against
them, was the message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
It was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead that declared
Jesus “to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit
of holiness” Rom.1:4. It was the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead that released eternal life to those who believed in Him.
It was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and His ascension
into heaven that released the Holy Spirit to come and fill the believers
with resurrection power.
At this time God is restoring the foundational
doctrines of the Christian faith to His church so that we will walk
in the power of His resurrection and so that true judgement will be
restored to the church in these last days.
APRIL
2005
THERE
IS ONE …!
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were
called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in
you all.” Eph.4:4-6 There are seven ones clearly presented in
these verses and these seven ones are the only reliable and enduring
basis for our continuing walk with God in the unfolding of His purposes
at the end of this age. For many hundreds of years that which is called
church and those who are Christian have been very confused and in disagreement
and division about many of the aspects of oneness mentioned in these
verses. The time has come when our Lord’s prayer
in John 17 is being answered by the Lord Himself as He brings
His church to maturity through the restoration of apostles and all the
five-fold ministry gifts of Eph.4:11. These gifts are given for
“the perfecting [equipping] of the saints, for the work of the
ministry, for the building up [edifying] of the body of Christ”
Eph.4:12. The perfecting or equipping of the saints actually means
‘setting the body in order so that every member can function properly
and fully’. This will only happen if the five-fold ministers, apostles,
prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, are doing “the work
of the ministry” that Christ the Head of the church, who is
building His own church, gives each minister to do.
There is ONE BODY
The body is the church and Christ “is the head of the
body, the church” Col.1:18. The body cannot be divided. The
whole body is to be “joined and knit together” to the
head – Christ (Eph.4:15-16). As in a natural body, members receive
life and consequently function properly only when they are ‘joined and
knit together’ in the body. The apostle Paul expressed great concern
and brought reproof to the church at Corinth when he heard that they were dividing
the church by following after various men [leaders such as Apollos and
Cephas and Paul himself] (1 Cor.1:10-13).
There is ONE SPIRIT
We have received “not the spirit of this world, but the
Spirit who is from God” 1 Cor.2:12. The Spirit of God, referred
to with many appellations [many names] in the Scriptures, first appears
in Gen.1:2 and is in the last chapter of the Bible, Rev.22.17,
with the bride church, saying “Come!” The Spirit is the
Spirit of the Father (Matt.10:20); He is the Spirit of the Lord
(Lu.4:18); the Holy Spirit (Lu.11:13). Many times the
Spirit is simply called ‘the Spirit’. In Jn.4:24, Jesus said
“God is a Spirit”. In Jn.14-16, Jesus introduces
the Spirit as the “Spirit of truth” whom believers in
Jesus were to receive. In Rom.8:2 He is the “Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus”; in Rom.8:9 He is called the “Spirit
of God” and then called the “Spirit of Christ”,
and in v11 “the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the
dead”. He is “the Spirit of adoption” (Rom.8:14).
He manifests through the spiritual gifts to build up the body (1
Cor.12:7-11). It is “by one Spirit we are all baptised into
one body” 1 Cor.12:13. We are to live and walk in the Spirit
(Gal.5:15). The church is to be “the habitation of God
through the Spirit” Eph.2:22. The ONE SPIRIT is the Spirit of
Jesus Christ (Phil.1:19); the Spirit of grace (Heb.10:29),
and “Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord
is, there is liberty” 2 Cor.3:17.
There is ONE HOPE
OF YOUR CALLING
What is the one hope? What is our calling? We need to be able
to answer both questions adequately from the Scripture so that by grace
we may “lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid
hold of us” Phil.3:12, and to “press toward the goal for
the prise of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” v.14.
The call is an ‘upward call’; the hope is that as we are “found
in Him, not having our own righteousness, …, but that which is through
faith in Christ” v.9, we actually have a wonderful goal [future]
in pursuing Christ. The ultimate expression of the hope is found in
Col.1:27: as we come to know the riches of the glory of the mystery
of the Word of God, then Christ is revealed in us. The Scripture says
“Christ in you the hope of glory”. Rom.8:29-30 teach
us that God has “predestined us to be conformed to the image of
His Son, that He might be the first born among
many brethren.” This is the hope: to be conformed to the image
of His Son. To this end, God called us. Having called us He had already
justified us and He has in fact already provided fully in Christ for
our glorification. In Eph.1:17-19, Paul prays that we may come
to know through revelation “the hope of His calling”.
There is ONE LORD
“Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD
is one!” Deut.6:4. Jesus quoted these words exactly
in Mk.12:29. Peter declared on the day of Pentecost, again addressing
Israel, “Therefore, let all the house of
Israel know assuredly
that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Acts 2:36 There is no doubt that Peter was declaring to Israel that Jesus
is the LORD of the Old Testament. This is what cut them to the heart!
“God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those
in heaven and of those on earth, and of those under the earth and every
tongue should confess Jesus Christ: Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Phil.2:9-11
There is ONE FAITH
The one faith refers to “our common salvation”
and Jude exhorts us “to contend earnestly for the faith
which was once for all delivered to the saints” v.3. Paul says
that the first mark of maturity is “the unity of the faith”
in Eph.4:13. The faith refers to that which we believe: it
concerns our attitude to the Bible – whether we truly believe “all
Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim.3:16).
The one faith is the authoritative teaching of the apostles, which became
holy Scripture. It is the “apostles
doctrine” that the first church continued steadfastly in (Acts2:42).
It includes “the first principles of the oracles of God” which
are the foundational principles of “repentance from dead works
and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying
on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgement.”
Heb.5:12-6:2. The church world-wide is being called back to fully
establish the basic doctrines of the faith to give full understanding
to all the saints of ‘our common salvation’, because there is only ONE
FAITH.
There is ONE BAPTISM
Jesus gave the Great Commission after His resurrection, just
prior to His ascension. In both Matt.28:18-20 and Mk.16:15-16,
Jesus commands baptism as vital and essential in the salvation of souls.
Jesus Himself had already set the example by being baptised “to
fulfil all righteousness” (Matt.3:15). Jesus was being
baptised in obedience to the Father according to His word. New believers
in Jesus Christ are to be baptised in obedience to the word of Jesus.
The very word ‘baptism’ means ‘immersion’, that is, to be dipped in
water. In the Scripture water is not sprinkled but rather the blood
is sprinkled. Water baptism follows repentance and faith (Acts 2:38;
Mk.16:16). The one baptism of the Scripture is in water,
by the Spirit, into Christ; into His death,
burial and resurrection (Rom.6:4-5).
There is ONE GOD
AND FATHER OF ALL, who is above all, and through all, and in you all
This verse is awesome in showing the immanence of God, His
‘every-where-ness’, His omnipresence! This great God has fully revealed
Himself in His Son Jesus Christ. Jn.1:18 says
“no one has seen God at anytime. The only begotten Son, who is
in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” God is intimately
aware of all that happens in His creation. Jesus said “not one
sparrow falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very
hairs of your head are all numbered.” Matt.10:29-30
It
is time for us all who believe in Jesus Christ, having been baptised
into His body, to give our attention to and to receive the spirit of
wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of these seven ONES
so that we may become ONE as Jesus desires and has prayed.
MAY
2005
“I will build My church” Matthew 16:18
Biblical foundations
The church is the household of God
and it is built on the foundations of apostles and prophets.
(Eph.2:20) There is no other foundation on which to build the
church other than the ministries of the apostle and prophet that God
has given through Christ to the church for the building of the church.
For 1800 years the church in general has not had Biblical foundations.
Soon after the close of the New Testament writing time, the church began
to replace the ministry of the apostle with the man-made office of a
bishop. The bishop was raised up to rule over the church of a city in
contradiction to the clear teaching of Scripture, which says that the
church of each city is pastored [shepherded]
and given oversight by elders. These elders were ordained by the apostles.
This is the Biblical pattern. (Acts 14:23, 20:28
& Titus 1:5)
Restoring proper
foundations
In Scripture, elders and bishops refer
to the same office or ministry (Acts20:28; 1Tim.3:1-7; Tit.1:5-9).
There is no situation in the Scripture where a single elder was given
rulership over other elders or over the church of a city; rather eldership
was meant to be a plurality. Now at the end of the age, God is restoring
apostles and prophets so that the last days
church can be built upon proper foundations. Jesus is coming back for
His church, built His way, not for some conglomeration that man has
mixed up and is now trying to put together, without due regard to the
Scriptures and the pattern revealed therein.
The cornerstone
The Scripture says Jesus Christ
is the Cornerstone. (Eph.2:20) A cornerstone in a building
is set in place after the foundations have been laid. Once the cornerstone
is in place, then the walls of the building can be erected. In the Scripture
there is only one church and that church is built upon non-denominational
apostles and prophets who have been appointed in the church by God Himself.
(1 Cor.12:28) The church that has emerged historically has not
been built upon the foundations of apostles and prophets and so we have
numerous denominational divisions in the church as people have followed
the leadership and traditions of men. The church of Jesus Christ
is not the coming together of these various divided denominations but
rather a reformed church according to the Scripture.
Once Biblical foundations are restored
and Jesus Christ is recognised and received again as the cornerstone,
“the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy
temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a
dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” (Eph. 2:21-22)
The ‘holy temple’ can be seen to be entire worldwide church
that God is raising. However in every place, a local church is being
raised, made up of many fellowships. It is in the local fellowship that
the individual saints find their spiritual home, and are ‘perfected’,
that is, adjusted or fully equipped, set in place to fully function
and thus to experience God in the midst.
The
revelation of the mystery
All
things gathered together in Christ
God will grant us “wisdom and
revelation to know the mystery.” (Eph.1:17) This mystery
is outworked in the gathering of all things in Christ, things in heaven
and on earth. (Eph.1:10) This refers to the coming of Christ
in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, when God will bring with Jesus those
who sleep, that is, the dead in Christ. (v14) When the Lord descends
from heaven “the dead in Christ will rise first.” (v16)
“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” (v17)
This is the gathering together of all things in Christ to usher in the
new age of Christ ruling and reigning with and through His saints.
Revealed by the Spirit
The revelation of the mystery is “revealed
by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets”
(Eph.3:5), so that now “the unsearchable riches of Christ”
can be preached (Eph.3:8), leading to “the revelation
of the manifold wisdom of God to principalities and powers in the heavenly
realm through the church.” (Eph.3:10) God’s goal is to
fully displace the principalities and powers in the heavenly realm and
replace them with His church. This church understands the mystery because
the unsearchable riches of Christ are being preached by apostles
and prophets whom God appoints, enabling the saints to understand and
walk in the knowledge of the mystery.
The revelation of
the true church
It is as the church comes into the
revelation knowledge of the mystery of God’s will being outworked through
the church in the earth that the glory of God will be revealed. This revelation is the revelation
of the true church as revealed by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit
gives the revelation firstly to apostles and prophets who then through
“the dispensation of the grace of God which was given” (Eph.3:2),
preach the unsearchable riches of Christ, enabling all the saints
to “see what is the fellowship of the mystery.” (v
9) There is much more for the saints to enter into; God wants to
make known “the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the
saints.” (Eph.1:18) Until now most saints have never
heard the preaching of Christ in such a way as to reveal the mystery.
The knowledge of the mystery was hidden
This mystery “has been hidden
in God from the beginning of the ages.” (Eph.3:9) When
God created all things through Jesus Christ, this mystery, called “the
hidden wisdom” (1 Cor.2:7), was present in creation but
not known or understood. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:6 that
this wisdom is not understood by the demonic rulers of this present
age but is to be understood by the saints who have come to a place of
maturity in their Christian understanding, knowing the mind of Christ.
(1 Cor.2:16) Throughout history, men in their civilizations and
tribal communities, have searched for this
wisdom outside of Christ. This deeper wisdom can only be known through
the gospel, revealed by the Holy Spirit.
Displacing of demonic powers
As the church comes
into the revelation knowledge of ‘who Christ is’, and that the church
is “the body of Him who fills the all in all”, then this
revelation will be made known to the demonic rulers through the church. (Eph.3:10) A great change has
taken place because Jesus died on the cross. The fruit of His death
and resurrection is the formation of His body, the church. As His church
is truly joined to Christ the Head, then the manifold wisdom of God,
understood by the church through the prophetic preaching of the word,
fills the heavenly realm, displacing the rule and reign of demonic powers.
These powers currently rule through deception and false religion. When
the church comes to know the revelation of the mystery, the demonic
kingdoms become fully subject to the kingdom of Christ.
The
revelation of the mystery releases glory
This wisdom is not for babes - babes
need the ‘milk of the word’; this wisdom is not for children
- children need the ‘meat of the word’; this wisdom
is ‘the hidden manna’, for those growing into maturity.
Paul says “God ordained this wisdom before the ages for our glory”,
and now the Spirit is revealing this wisdom to us. (1 Cor.2:10)
This wisdom is never understood by man’s intellect; it is by revelation
to the spirit of man. To ensure that His saints understand the revelation
of His will, God has actually given to us “the mind of Christ.”
(1 Cor.2:16) This means that the saints who have grown
up into maturity, and even young ones in Christ, can comprehend the
word of God; can actually think the thoughts of God. God is always working to fulfil His “eternal purpose”;
He has already accomplished His eternal purpose “in Christ
Jesus our Lord” (Eph.3:11), and now it is through the
church that the outworking of God’s eternal purpose will be seen.
It is time to understand
the mystery
Amazingly, God has now entrusted the revelation of this mystery
of His eternal purpose to the foolishness of preaching. In these last days God is again dispensing
His grace to apostles and prophets to make known the revelation of His
mystery. It was to Paul
the apostle that Jesus chose to reveal much more, and deeper truth of
the mystery of His church. Even today, well-meaning, gifted ministers
are opposing what God is doing. Many are consciously refusing to receive
the apostles Jesus is raising in these days. Many are defending institutional
Christianity unnecessarily, against the clear dictates and teaching
of Scripture. In his day Paul called such preachers Judaizers.
They were attempting to bind the new Christian church into the institutions
and practices of Judaism. Religious teachers of any age and those who
hear them, miss out on the revelation of the mystery, which is essential
for the glorification of the church. Such ones have no vision for the
church other than what they already know.
JUNE 2005
THE APOSTOLIC
REVELATION
Saved,
baptised and the gift of the Spirit
I am rejoicing in the Lord and giving thanks to His name for
the wonderful grace that He has made known to us through the apostolic
revelation that He has been unfolding to His church. I have been
saved, water baptised and Spirit filled since mid 1974. Salvation
for me was an enormous life changing experience. From the day
I was saved, I knew I was; I knew I had met Jesus Christ; I had been
born again of the Spirit of God. It was amazing! It was the Lord who
led me to water baptism as nobody was speaking of water baptism in the
charismatic group through which I was saved. (Mark 16:16) It
was the Lord Jesus who appeared to me some weeks later and released
His Spirit within me, manifest in the release of a heavenly language,
enabling me to pray in the Spirit to God ever since, building myself
up (1 Cor.14:2,4).
Discipleship and
servanthood
From the moment I was saved I desired to be a preacher and
I willingly entered into every opportunity to be discipled
in the word. I sought out people who would share the word with
me. I desired to go to Bible
College but there
were no open doors in those days. As I grew up in Christ I quickly took
every opportunity to serve in the local fellowship, initially
doing all the practical jobs in the building and helping out with ushering
type duties. Very quickly I was drawn into leadership and began to
lead a cell group in my home. At the time that was very
challenging as I was largely untrained. We had young pastors at the
time and no fathers, no apostles, no one really to mentor and train
us for the ministry.
The empowerment of
the Holy Spirit
In late 1994, I was serving on the staff of a successful denominational
church in our city and a few of us involved in the ministry became very
challenged by the testimony of the church in the book of Acts.
Even though we were ‘charismatic’ in our ministry, we knew that we had
only a very small portion of the “power” of the Holy Spirit
that Jesus promised in Acts 1:8. We began to diligently seek
God and in January 1995, I called some meetings wherein we simply worshiped
and waited upon the Lord. The Holy Spirit came upon us in a mighty
way and many of us had life changing experiences. It is probably
true that most of us were speaking in tongues and ministering in other
gifts of the Spirit for many years previously but in this season we
received an empowerment and began to walk in the Spirit in a remarkable
way. Along with others, I often did not sleep at night but would
be caught up in the Spirit, receiving revelations, living in a realm
that was more heavenly than earthly. I would go to work the next
day fully refreshed and energetic. As a result of this awesome experience,
we began to host many meetings at this local church centre and then
travelled out around Australia, holding revival meetings and witnessing
salvation, healings, the infilling of the Holy Spirit and amazing signs
and wonders.
The grace of a true
apostle
In August 2001, I first had the privilege of meeting apostle John Alley [of Rockhampton,
Australia] and in
September he came to SHILOH [our centre
in Toowoomba] to teach us. John was the only other apostle I had met.
I knew I had been called to be an apostle. [The Lord Jesus had appeared
to me in January 1998, commissioning me and the word He gave me was
Joshua 1:1-9.] When John came among us he spoke about grace
and in an amazing and tangible way he released the grace of God to us.
We all knew we had been saved by grace; we knew that the charismatic
gifts of the Spirit are gifts of grace at work [‘charis’
is the Greek word for grace] but now we were experiencing grace in a
new and profound way. We deduced that one of the delineating features
of an apostle is the grace that the apostle walks in, ministers
out of, and is able to impart. It is important to note that from the first
time brother John came among us, we received him as an apostle, knowing
what Jesus says in Matt.10:40 “He who receives you receives me,
and he who receives Me receives Him who sent
Me.” It was no wonder that we all received more grace than ever
before because we received an apostle of Jesus Christ.
The apostolic revelation
It was in late October 2002 that John Alley released his book,
‘The Apostolic Revelation’ and it is that term, the apostolic revelation,
that captures in essence what God has given to the last days church.
It is the apostolic revelation that has brought
us into a profound, life-changing, transforming experience that
continues to unfold day by day and is able to be ministered to others
far and wide. As a result of receiving the grace of God to believe the
apostolic revelation, which is the grace-filled and anointed ministry
of the word, we have been empowered to release that grace to many
and witness them receive profound, life-changing, transforming experiences.
Adoption as sons
Every day we are thanking God for His grace. We know from the
word that this is ‘walking in sonship’, having received the predestined
“adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the
good pleasure of His will” Eph.1:5. It is at the end of the
age that the Lord is calling His church to walk in maturity. The children
of God are heirs and joint heirs with Christ (Rom.8:17) but as
Gal.4:1-2 teaches us “a
child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all,
but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the
fathers.” The church throughout this age has not yet grown
up into maturity. We may have graduated from childhood to become servants,
that is, ministers, but we have not walked in our inheritance as sons.
But now God is restoring fathers and it is the fathers [apostles] that
God is raising, who at the appointed time are releasing the children who
have become servants into sonship.
I testify
that the Lord has brought me into a revelation of His grace and has
made known to me the spirit of adoption, revealing
to me the reality of becoming a son of God. [John 1:12, Heb.2:10, Rom.8:19] This grace enables me and the brethren who are with
me in SHILOH apostolic company and
many brethren across the nations to walk in maturity. We now know that
God’s word is going to be fulfilled. We understand that Jesus will “present to Himself a glorious church” Eph.5:27. We bear witness that the five-fold ministry of Eph.4:11-13 is being raised up to do “the work of the ministry,
for the perfecting of the saints, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
till we all come … to a perfect man.”
Being led by the
Spirit
The effect of this greater grace working in our lives is experienced
in walking in the spirit with the fruit of the spirit evident in
our lives. Furthermore, many ministers who have received the grace
and revelation of sonship are reporting demonstrable change in their
ministries. A number have reported a much greater release of the
power of the Holy Spirit; others have experienced being Spirit-led
in powerful ways (Rom.8:14). For example a brother, John
Bitan of West Kenya, dreamed that he was to
go to Kampala, Uganda,
to preach. He had never been there before – he is a humble village pastor.
He went in obedience; he spoke to the Christian fellowship in Parliament
House, was called up by the High Commissioner from Kenya,
for supposedly being an unauthorised speaker and attracting a crowd
in a suburban area, but the High Commissioner ended up promising to
generously support an orphanage in Uganda
that John had come into contact with. Finally he had an audience with
the King of Buganda [a traditional king].
Sons become fathers
The amazing thing about the apostolic revelation and this ministry
of grace and anointing that brings the servants of God into sonship
is that it is able to be ministered by anyone who has become a son.
In the days of the Charismatic movement and to this time, any saint
who is baptised in the Holy Spirit is able to minister that baptism
through the laying on of hands to others. Likewise, any born again believer
can lead another person to Christ. So it is in these days that God
is raising up sons who then become ‘fathers’, releasing the grace and
anointing through the word.
It is two and a half years now since I personally experienced
this life-changing grace of sonship coming into my own life. My personal
life has changed dramatically. I am so blessed to be ‘out of the wilderness’ and living in ‘the land of inheritance’. The wilderness
years for the Christian are those years in which life is not easy despite
the knowledge of God that we have had and the gifts of the Spirit operating
in our ministry. It is a time of longing for maturity in Christ; of
longing for victory in areas of the soul that seem to remain the same
year after year. When the grace of sonship was first released in my
heart, by the Holy Spirit, the immediate response was one of feeling
secure deep in my soul and the way that I described the experience was
‘I have come home’. I now understand that becoming a son is coming home
to the Father’s house and it can be understood powerfully from Luke
15:18-23 when the prodigal son came home. While this son had lost
his natural inheritance, his father now bestowed upon him his spiritual
inheritance. In v22 the father said “bring out the best
robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his
feet.” The robe is the robe of righteousness and speaks of the
full covering of Christ, enabling us to walk in His anointing, His grace.
The ring is the authority of Christ, and the sandals are put on our
feet, enabling us to walk in our inheritance. The inheritance is “His
inheritance” Eph.1:18, and it is walking in the glory: “Christ
in you, the hope of glory” Col.1:27.
JULY
2005
WHY SONSHIP?
During the recent apostolic ministry school here at SHILOH, Paul was addressing this issue: ‘Why Sonship?’ A
series of significant points emerged from the testimony of Scripture
and we wish to share them with you.
In Matt.16:13-19, Jesus addresses Peter very specifically,
making it clear that Peter is to play a vital role as a foundation apostle
in the building of the church. Jesus set him in place as a foundation
apostle. In Eph.2:19-22, Scripture reveals that the “household
of God is built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets”.
Paul warns us that any minister who is building the church must build
upon the foundation “which is Christ Jesus” 1Cor.3:10-17.
The house of God is made up of living stones (1Pet.2:5) and each
individual Christian is “a temple
of God”
even as the church corporate is the temple [house] of God. The house
of God must be built with that which is lasting, not that which can
be burnt up.
At the end of the age God is restoring fathers and fathers
are to raise sons. The good soil will yield a harvest of “some
thirty fold, some sixty fold, some a hundred fold” Matt.13:23.
As sons are raised and they become fathers, begetting many more sons,
then multiplication is happening and truly ‘the sun will not go down
on sons.’ This is what is beginning to happen in the nations.
Why Sonship?
- God’s
purpose is to bring many sons to glory through Jesus Christ: “For
it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all
things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings.” Heb.2:10. We are the
children of God by the new birth, but God’s goal is ‘sons’.
Sons are the mature ones, able to walk in His glory.
- We
are born again to become the sons of God: “But as many as receive
Him, to them He gave the power to become the sons of God, to those
who believe on His name: who were born … of God.” Jn. 1:12-13.
When we are born again we are babes, but the seed of God is within
us to grow up into maturity, becoming sons. There are three main stages
of growth in our walk with the Lord. John writes to “little
children, young men and fathers” 1Jn.2:12-14. The fathers
are those who have come to maturity as sons, now able to have spiritual
children.
- The
release of the spirit of sonship is a sign that we are at the end
of the age: “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before
the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will
turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the
children to their fathers, least I come and strike the earth with
a curse.” Mal. 4:5-6. The spirit and power of Elijah is being
restored to the church to prepare for the coming of the Lord. The
Lord is coming for a “glorious church”, that is, “many
sons” having been brought to glory. Through the restoration
of apostles, fathers have been restored with true hearts for the children
of God. Thereby the children receive the spirit of sonship and the
church begins to enter her inheritance.
- We
are “predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son”
Rom.8:29, and when we reach the age of maturity we receive
the “adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself” Eph.1:5.
It is as we walk as mature sons in the inheritance that God has reserved
for us that we begin to reflect His glory. Many have put off inheriting
the glory until after Jesus returns but in fact God has predestined
us to walk in ever-increasing glory now. 2 Cor.3:7-11,
18.
- Children
do not inherit even though they are “joint heirs with Christ”
Rom.8:17. “The heir, as long as he is a child, does
not differ at all from a slave,” Gal.4:1. God is waiting for
the children to grow up “to receive the adoption as sons, no
longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through
Christ.” Gal.4:5,7. This happens
when we receive the spirit of sonship or “the Spirit of His
Son into our hearts” v.6. Even as Jesus was always
the Son of God but He did not walk in the Spirit of sonship until
after His baptism, so we also must grow from being a little child
to a young man to a mature son, ready to inherit.
- All
of creation is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God so
that creation “itself also will be delivered from the bondage
of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” Rom.
8:19-21. All of creation is waiting: this is an amazing reality!
All of God’s creation was subjected to a curse because of the failure
of the first man. But now all of creation is waiting for the
revealing of the sons of God to be delivered from that curse.
- The
finality of the adoption as sons is “the redemption of our body”
Rom.8:23, and this
is confirmed in Eph.1:13-14 “the Holy Spirit of promise is the
guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession”. Even now the same Spirit “that raised Christ
from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies” Rom.8:11,
but finally we “eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed
to His glorious body.” Phil.3:20-21.
We are all heirs of God in Christ. That means there is an inheritance
to be received in the earth in these days of fulfilment and restoration.
The work of redemption, [the payment of the required price to redeem
man and creation], has been completed by Jesus Christ through His suffering,
death and resurrection. He has done it all! God has “accomplished
His eternal purpose in Christ Jesus our Lord” Eph.3:11. It is
time to receive our spiritual inheritance! It is time to become secure
in Christ as a son! It is time to fulfil the part He has for us in the
body! We are no longer to be children Eph.4:14. The foundations
must have been laid properly for us to go onto perfection Heb.6:1-3.
There will be pain [suffering] because “the Father chastens every
son who comes to Him” Heb.12:3-11.
But Paul says “For I consider
that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy
to be compared with the glory which shall
be revealed in us.” Rom.8:18.
Grace and apostleship
Paul says in Rom.1:5 that “through Him [Jesus
Christ, the apostle of God (Heb.3:1)] we have received grace and apostleship
for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name.”
More than ever before this verse is resounding
in my heart and life – it is time to take the message of apostolic reformation
to the nation of Australia
and to the nations. God has given us unlimited grace and we have experienced
greater depths of His grace during the school, a deeper and more powerful
release of His word and my heart’s cry is “to go”.
AUGUST
2005
EXPERIENCING THE GRACE OF GOD
The message is SONSHIP, whereby we experience and walk
in the grace of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, in a much fuller
measure. Yes, everything in God’s word is available to us “For
all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory
of God through us”(2
Cor:1:20), and when at any point we line up with the word in Christ,
we can say ‘Yes and Amen’. However the experience of us all as
we grow up in Christ is generally as follows: we have various deep and
strong experiences that begin to root and ground us in the love of Christ,
but despite such ‘mountain top’ experiences, we still have to go through
the necessary stages of growth to come to maturity. Coming into sonship
is coming into that walk in maturity.
When Martin Luther [early 16th century] discovered the saving grace
of God through faith in the Word of God, he became a Protestant, no longer
subscribing to practices and works of the Roman Catholic Church of his
day. The work of restoration and reformation had begun and it was the
reformation of Theology.
When John Wesley [18th century] was ‘strangely warmed’ by the
Spirit-led preaching of a Moravian brother in Aldersgate
Court, he no longer relied on his ‘method’ of holiness which he had
developed while at University, but now preached freely the grace
of God and saw tens of thousands experience the new birth. This
was the restoration and reformation of intimacy with God.
When Rev. Seymour and others gathered in Asuza Street, Los Angeles, in 1906, to wait [tarry]
upon the Lord for the infilling of the Holy Spirit, they
were mightily blessed with the empowering of the Spirit, with powerful
signs, especially tongues. From there the Pentecostal revival has
touched millions worldwide and for a long time has been the fastest
growing part of the church.
From
the early 1960’s through to the early 1980’s God released another
wave of the Spirit’s mighty power and millions were filled with the
Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. The so-called Charismatic
Movement brought many believers further on in the journey of restoration
and reformation.
In our day the Lord is pouring out His Spirit again
but in a different and very specific way: He is pouring out the Spirit of Adoption
whereby we become the sons of God through Jesus Christ (Eph.1:5).
This is “to the praise of the glory of His grace” Eph.1:6.
This is an experience of coming into a dimension and reality of the
grace of God, previously unknown to the believer, even unknown to the
Charismatic minister who is demonstrating powerful gifts but still not
knowing the intimacy and internal change that is effected
by the experience of God’s grace in sonship. This is an impartation
of the Spirit, releasing grace [enabling power] to walk in a mature
relationship with God as Father and now being able to receive the inheritance
which has been stored up in heaven but “ready to be revealed in
the last time” 1Pet.1:4-5.
The word ‘adoption’ appears five times in the New Testament,
only in Paul’s writings. It is Strongs Concordance
#5206, ‘huiothesia’, meaning: ‘the
placing of a son, ie, adoption; sonship in
respect to God’. Vines Expository Dictionary says this word ‘signifies
the place and condition of a son given to one to whom it does not naturally
belong; the Holy Spirit produces in them [the children of God] the
realisation of sonship and the attitude belonging to sons.’ Vines
says referring to Gal.4:5 that ‘sonship is bestowed
in distinction from a relationship consequent merely upon birth’.
There is a contrast between ‘the sonship of the believer and the
unoriginated Sonship of Christ.’ Vines goes on to say ‘God
does not adopt believers as children; they are begotten as such by His
Holy Spirit through faith.’ ‘Adoption is a term involving
the dignity of the relationship of believers as sons; it is not
a putting into the family by spiritual birth, but a putting into the
position as sons.’
[Vines
Expository Dictionary, Unabridged edition, Riverside Book and Bible
House, page 34].
I have shared these thoughts of Vines because they bring clarity
of understanding. Every born again child of God is an heir and yes,
many would say, already a ‘son’. However sonship is something we grow
up into and there comes a time to receive the spirit of adoption, now
walking in fullness.
We are speaking of ‘a third experience’ that is the
fulfilment of the third Feast, the Feast of Tabernacles. A key understanding
of the Feast of Tabernacles is that tabernacles means
‘dwelling places’. The fulfilment of the Feast points to the saints
becoming ‘the tabernacles [dwelling places]’ of God. This speaks
of the saints walking in the revelation of the mystery “which
is Christ in you [Christ dwelling/tabernacling in you] the
hope of glory” Col.1:27.
Jn.1:14 says “the Word was made flesh and dwelt [tabernacled] among
us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus clothed Himself with
frail humanity but even in so doing, the glory of the Father was
revealed in human form and seen in the earth. This was the beginning
of the fulfilment of God’s purpose.
In Jn.14:2 Jesus said “In My Father’s house are
many mansions [dwellings, tabernacles]; if it were not so, I
would have told you. I go to prepare a place [somewhere to dwell]
for you.” While many believe that Jesus is referring to some
future dwelling place in heaven, the reality is that Jesus was going
to the cross to deal with sin once and for all and through the awesome
provision of His shed blood, cleansing the believers from all sin, thus
making them fit dwelling places for God in the Spirit. Jesus goes further
in Jn.14:23 when He promises “If anyone loves me He will
keep My word [logos]; and My Father
will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home [mansion,
dwelling place, tabernacle] with him.” The word used for
‘mansion’ in Jn.14:2 is the same word used in v.23 and
translated ‘home’ or ‘abode’. It is not primarily referring to a heavenly
home but to God’s intention to totally infill the believer, to tabernacle
with, or dwell in, the believer.
God’s goal is clearly repeated in many parts of the New Testament
and clearly referred to in the Old Testament: His goal is to reveal
His glory in the earth through His people. The Feasts of Israel
teach us of God’s unfolding purpose. Even as the church age began through
Jesus Christ fulfilling Passover and thus providing for our salvation,
and then sending the Holy Spirit in fulfilment of Pentecost, thus giving
us power for Christian witness, so now at the end of the church age
Jesus Christ is bringi | 
