July 2004 Newsletter

GO ON THE OFFENSIVE

When we returned home from Africa and Mauritius in late April, it came strongly on my heart that we were to go on the offensive in prayer, in faith, in publishing the Word of God, in speaking forth the apostolic revelation and the reform of the church of Jesus Christ.  Now three months later, the Holy Spirit is clarifying issues, releasing revelation and confirming direction and giving us understanding of His will. During the current school the Lord has brought to us powerful ministry in the Word through apostle John Alley, from Rockhampton, and brother Jim Hosie, from the Gold Coast.  As a result we believe we are being positioned strategically to be in the right place at the right time to serve God’s purposes effectively.

LISTENING TO GOD

Brother John Alley has taught and ministered on “listening prayer” for a number of years but he brought this word to us in the current context of hearing God in light of pending cleansing judgements that are coming upon the church and upon the world.  He talked of the faithful church that will be covered and protected from these judgements because the faithful in the church are listening to God and God positions them to be kept in the hour of trial.  He warned that the compromising church will go through the fiery trials to be tested and refined because the Lord is not willing for any to perish, least of all His own church. In the letters to the churches in the book of Revelation, Jesus is continually exhorting us “to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches”.

John showed us in the Scripture that listening to God is primarily being silent before Him in humility, simply waiting.  In the context of the listening exercise it does not matter whether we specifically hear or not because God will act on our behalf anyway.  God so much appreciates His people when they come and wait upon Him, not relying on their own counsel but totally being dependant on Him. 

COUNSEL AND MIGHT

Brother Jim Hosie came to teach on counselling and confirmed so beautifully what John had taught.  Jim linked “the seven Spirits who are before His throne” to Isa.11:2 “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”

He drew the menorah [the seven golden candlesticks] showing that the central mast represents the Spirit of the Lord and then the other six aspects go together in twos. Jim was teaching on counsel and counsel comes with and before might, even as wisdom comes with and before understanding, and knowledge with and before the fear of the Lord.  He showed many examples of this in the Scripture, revealing that counsel is equivalent to waiting upon God.  “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength” Isa.40:31.  Waiting upon the Lord is equivalent to listening prayer.  The result of receiving God’s counsel is being empowered by His might.  In other words all the answers we need, the victories to be won, the healing we require, the ability to overcome, all of these will be given to us in, through and by the Lord as we wait upon HIM. Hallelujah! 

God is waiting for us to wait on Him.

REBUILDING THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID

We have taught on the restoration of the Tabernacle of David previously but praise God He is bringing a much deeper understanding of what this means.  Brother John sowed some seeds about this when he was with us: that the house of David is to be restored.  The house of David is the house of God that is being rebuilt at the end of the age as apostles are restored as the house-building ministry.  We thank God that He continues to unfold the apostolic revelation and confirm that revelation through the mouth of many witnesses.

Paul the apostle tells us clearly that the revelation of the mystery is given to apostles and prophets by the Spirit, Eph.3:5.  Paul himself received a special dispensation of grace to be able to preach the mystery.  God has given to His apostles today a similar dispensation of grace and brother John Alley has received of that grace. 

God promised to David that the throne of his kingdom would be established forever through the seed of his body, 2 Sam.7:12.  Jesus is the greater Son of David and it is He who said “I will build My church” Matt.16:18.  Even as David did not build the house for God but his son did, so Jesus prepared everything for the building of the church but has left the actual building work to His sons, who are firstly the apostles that He raised up and later the five-fold ministry gifts of Eph.4:11-16. It is God’s intention to indwell His house and that is the church that is being prepared in these last days.

POSSESSING THE GATES OF THE ENEMY

Another key aspect of what the Lord is showing us is the possessing of the gates of our enemy, a promise given to Abraham in Gen.22:17 and to Rebekah in Gen.24:60.  The promises and the blessings are generational and we are of the seed of Abraham, Gal.3, thus inheriting this promise to possess the gates of our enemy. 

The Lord is clarifying and confirming our authority in Christ:

1. In Jesus name, to cast out devils Mark 16:17. This authority is given to every believer, based on the assumption that every believer is a disciple, i.e. one who is learning the Word of God.  Every disciple has the authority to protect themselves, their family members, their possessions and their livestock etc.

2. The second level of authority is illustrated when Christ sent out [apostello] the seventy witnesses in Luke 10:1.  Jesus sent them apostolically to heal and to preach and establish the church in every friendly house.  They came back rejoicing saying “even the demons are subject to us in Your name” Lu.10:17.  This is the level of ministry; the ones Jesus sent out are disciples that have been trained for ministry and they are sent out to preach and to plant the church.  Jesus adds authority to ministers in the context of the local church.  Jesus was not surprised that the demons were subject to them.  He enlarged and confirmed the authority that ministers sent by Him have over evil spirits.  They are sent in the context of His victory over Satan: “I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven” v18.  When we are sent out in an apostolic sending, we have the authority of the one sending us.  Jesus gives His authority to the ones He sends.  He then assured the disciples that they “had authority over all the power of the enemy and nothing could hurt them” v19.

Once the church is established in the town or the city, then elders are to be appointed in each place.  It is this church, set in apostolic order, to which the Lord gives authority to “wrestle with principalities and powers, to stand in the evil day” Eph.6:10-18.  The instructions in Eph.6 are to the church and come after chapters one to five; in other words a mature fully functioning church, holy, set in order, growing up in Christ.

3. The third level of authority is given to apostles and the mature church as illustrated in Eph.4:11-16.  This is the worldwide church that is being built into a holy temple in the Lord, 1Pet.2:4-5, Eph.2:20-22.  This is the church that is able to withstand the attacks of the dragon [Satan, who is bent on death and destruction], the beast [Antichrist, which is at work in human government], and the false prophet [Jezebel, false religions etc.], representing the triumvirate of evil, that is, the world powers of evil.  These powers are not confined to nations or regions but stretch across the globe.  Finally it is the Lord at His Coming who will destroy the man of sin and consign the beast and the false prophet to the lake of fire and have Satan bound for a thousand years.  Meanwhile there is a church triumphant, a church militant that is arising in the earth now. 

The church will be raised up in these last days full of glory, full of power, preaching and standing for truth and righteousness, and the glory of the Lord will be revealed.

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