October 2004 Newsletter

RULING AND REIGNING WITH CHRIST

The final preparation for the coming of the Lord is for the saints to begin to rule and reign in Christ now, so that they will be effective servants and co-workers with Him in the Millennial reign. Have you ever thought what is next in God’s plan and purpose? Many saints and ministers have put all their effort into understanding the Second Coming. Associated ideas such as the Rapture and the rule of Antichrist in the earth have filled books and have been the subject of many meetings and studies. Little thought or Bible study has been given to the realities and expectations of the next age. 

Ruling and reigning with Christ is meant to be our condition in the here and now but it is also the preparation of the saints to receive the kingdom in the earth that God has promised and to rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years after His Second Coming.

Parable of the tares

In Matthew 13:24-30, Jesus tells the parable of the wheat and the tares and then from verse 36-43, Jesus interprets the parable. It is a parable of “the kingdom of heaven”, which is equivalent to the kingdom of God. When one carefully compares the Scriptures, one finds that the kingdom of heaven in Matthew is called the kingdom of God in Luke in comparative verses. While there may be some fine distinctions, in general the Scripture is talking about the same kingdom. 

       The good seed - sons of the kingdom - is sown by the Son of Man into the world [field], and the tares are the sons of the wicked one, sown by the devil. The harvest is at the end of the age and the reapers are the angels. Even as the tares were burnt at harvest time, so at the end of the age the Son of Man will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness. “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matt.13:43a)

The kingdom of God is a real kingdom

As with so much other teaching of our Lord Jesus in the Gospels, in this parable Jesus is clearly talking about a real kingdom being manifest in the earth. The righteous ones remain in the earth.

At the end of the age the kingdom of God [heaven] will be manifest in the earth, in and through the righteous saints who have come to full maturity in their Christian growth, having been obedient to the Lord, the Son of Man. 

The Lord’s prayer

In the Lord’s prayer Jesus clearly taught us to pray expectantly for the kingdom of God to come in the earth and for the will of God to be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Many religious Christians have prayed this prayer for centuries but few have seen evidence of the kingdom coming and being established in the earth. However this is clearly the will of God. 

Persevering in tribulation

Many instead are praying today for a rapture to come, in the hope that they will be taken out of the earth and in the expectation that the devil will establish an antichrist kingdom on the earth. This is in contradiction to the Lord’s teaching both on prayer and in the parables. This is also a difficult proposition to put to saints who survived the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, but who lost most of their family and relatives and possessions. The Christians in mainland China have come through decades of persecution and tribulation caused by an antichrist government. Their commitment now is to spread the gospel throughout all the nations. Likewise in Rwanda, the church has risen up powerfully after the trouble and is witnessing to Christ’s victory throughout the nation.

The will of God in the earth

Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. He said “pray in this way {manner}.” (Matt.6:9) So how do we    pray for the kingdom of God to come? How do we confess God’s will in the earth in specific situations,   people problems, community issues, national concerns, international crises? It is first dependent upon understanding that the gospel is the gospel of the kingdom of God; in other words there is a king who is God and He has a kingdom over which He rules and in which His will is to be done. For example, Revelation 1:5 says that Jesus is “the ruler over the kings of the earth”. This means that Jesus is the ruler of President Mugabe of Zimbabwe; Jesus is ruler over President Bush and over every other government leader in every nation. Therefore we pray with authority when we hear of international issues or issues in particular nations, knowing that the One we pray to has the authority to hear our prayers and answer them. 

       The next challenge is to pray the will of God into place as the answer to that crisis. How do we know the will of God? Obviously the will of God is revealed through the word of God. Throughout Scripture the word of God is addressing personal, community, national and international issues. As disciples of the Word we are expected to know the word and be able to pray for the will of God to be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

The church has become separated from the kingdom

One of the issues that holds many saints in bondage to a small introverted vision is the lack of understanding as to the true nature of the church. In history the church has developed as an institution with its own power structures and governmental systems quite independent of the kingdom of God. The church has become disassociated from the kingdom and the gospel has become a gospel of salvation through which people can be saved and become part of the church but never understand what it is to “enter the kingdom of God.” (Jn.3:5)

The ambassador of the kingdom

In fact the church is the corporate ambassador of the kingdom! The church has been given the ministry of reconciliation to the world. (2 Cor.5:19-20) Jesus never intended for His church to become an organisation with a life of its own, separate to the kingdom. The kingdom is in the Holy Spirit (Rom.14:17), and the church, through the individual saints and through the ministries Christ has given, is to preach the gospel of the kingdom so that others will hear and be born again to enter the kingdom. We are not born again to enter the church, but because the church has lacked the knowledge of the kingdom, we have preached a gospel of salvation only and have not understood the authority and dominion and kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 The above teaching is an extract [page 110-112] from the new book “Walking in our inheritance” by Paul Galligan. This book is available on request. If you are able to send a donation please do, as this book is being sown freely to the body of Christ in many nations.

House church development

Since we began this ministry in January 1998, we have been committed to planting the church in every friendly house. We clearly see that the church in the Scripture was planted in houses and that the believers met even daily, from house to house. For some years now we have mainly been received in house meetings around Australia, where the saints have gathered to hear the apostolic teaching. More recently we have witnessed the development of house churches forming sovereignly as believers have either found themselves outside of the normal institutions called church, or are simply looking for something more in their experience as saints who desire to function as members of the body. As well we have witnessed pastors called by God to plant a house church and minister into their community out of the house church.

       In North Queensland there is a functioning house church in the Proserpine area that is now attracting up to 30 souls in their Sunday gatherings. Every few weeks this house church has travelled up to three hours to fellowship with members who live in far away towns. This church began to meet in February ’04 and we visited them early this month. We spent the weekend on a farm with meetings throughout the weekend. Many stayed on the farm; others came from nearby areas. It was an awesome experience of spontaneous worship, deeper teaching of the word coming forth and saints receiving revelation and some having a life changing experience.  As well we see the Lord raising up an elder for this church who will take responsibility for the teaching of the word. The meetings included children and young adults. Quite a few came to meetings for the first time and were deeply impacted. The whole experience is an outworking of the Scriptural pattern and practice. (Acts 14:21-28)  We are rejoicing to see and experience the Lord restoring His church.

Ongoing apostolic ministry – doors have opened for regular training and teaching with ministries in Killarney and Ipswich.  The saints in these places are ready to receive the apostolic revelation. A pastor stepped forward at the end of a teaching day and said ‘everything you are saying is resonating in my heart. I am ready to become a son.’ This brother received an awesome impartation of His grace and power.

CALENDAR

Oct. 13^th Peter and Lezette De Bressac arrive home from China, at SHILOH on Sun. 10.30am.

Oct. 15^th Rev. Meg Guilbaeuc from Rwanda visiting the Truss family and speaking at SHILOH on

               Sunday 17^th 9.30am

Oct. 15^th –16^th – Ps. Pat Goldman and Ps. Rob Cochrane ministering in Wandoan.

Oct. 16^th – teaching at Killarney; Ps Ros Fraser ph.466 41274

Oct. 17^th [continuing on Sunday afternoons 2.30pm] Omega Apostolic training school in Ipswich;

               Rev. Jan Beier ph.381 60779

Oct. 30^th – Training Day at SHILOH with apostle Paul Galligan, 10am to 5pm.

Nov. 7^th – Team departs for 2 week training school in Nairobi, Kenya.

Nov. 27^th – Training Day at SHILOH, team home from Africa ministering.

Go to top of this page