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October 2009 Newsletter

THE CHURCH! THE KINGDOM!

 

The kingdom of God is the place where God is fully obeyed. That obedience is by faith. God is not fully obeyed in nature because nature [the creation] is under a curse (Rom.8:20-21). God is not obeyed by the demonic forces [principalities and powers etc] for they remain in total rebellion to the kingdom of God.

 

The kingdom of God is the manifestation of God s righteousness (Rom.14:17). God s righteousness is imputed to the believer through faith, even as it was to Abraham (Rom.4:5-25). We can only be righteous through faith in Jesus the Son of God and therefore the kingdom of God can only be manifest through the saints, the true believers, the members of the body of Christ.

 

Jesus is the Christ, which is the translation of Messiah. Messiah is the Anointed One, that is, the Anointed King and the Anointed Priest, who are one and the same person. There is a lack of understanding of Christ: who is Christ? Whose Son is He? What does Christ/Messiahship mean?

Paul tells us in Ephesians 3:8, that he was graced especially to preach the unsearchable riches of Messiah to the Gentiles. Why only to the Gentiles? Why not to the Jews as well? Paul s commission was to bear His name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel  Acts9:15.

The children of Israel had an historic and Scriptural understanding of Messiah and an expectation of His coming. The Gentiles to this day have no such understanding or expectation and as a result of that, we have preached a Saviour only, not understanding who Jesus is as the King manifest in the flesh and the King now ruling from the throne of David above.

 

Jesus is the Messiah.

As Messiah, Jesus is the Anointed King. When Jesus manifested as the Son of God in the earth, He was the manifestation of the Anointed King, the one who had been prophesied as SHILOH , a great ruler to come out of Judah (Gen.49:10). He was the greater son of David (2Sam.7:12-14a). He was the one who would rule the nations (Ps.2 & 110). Jesus is the KING! There is no kingdom without Jesus.

Jesus told the Pharisees the kingdom of God is in your midst  (Lu.17:21). Were the Pharisees in the kingdom? No! They wanted to kill the king who was in their midst. Where the King is, there is the kingdom.

The kingdom of God is the manifestation of God s righteousness, peace and joy; the kingdom of God is in the Holy Spirit (Rom.14:17). Jesus said My kingdom is not of this world  (Jn18:36). The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom! There are no demons in the kingdom of God. When demons are cast out, Jesus said the kingdom has come (Matt.12:28).

 

The only place where the kingdom of God can be found is among God s people who are obediently submitting to Him! The only body of people who can manifest the kingdom of God is the church, that is, the true church: members who have been joined to the Head, placed in the body by the Spirit through baptism! (1Cor.12:12-13,18).

Prior to baptism which places us in the body, we must be born again [from above] of the Spirit of God to enter the kingdom. Baptism does not cause us to enter the kingdom. We enter the kingdom through the new birth (Jn.3:5-6). We cannot even see the kingdom until we are born again (Jn.3:3). Once we are born again, that is, receiving Jesus by faith into our hearts, knowing our sins have been forgiven (Jn.1:12-13), then we are baptised into Christ, the Messiah, the King. The church is the body of Christ; the body of the King.

 

What is the church?

The church is the ecclesia. This is the Greek word used by the Holy Spirit for church. Most say it simply means the called out ones. That is true, but what is the origin of this word?

The word comes from ancient Greek culture and specifically from the city state of Athens. It was the popular assembly of citizens [all males over the age of 30]. In Athens, the ecclesia was a body of citizens responsible for appointing magistrates and having the final say on legislation and on war and peace. The ecclesia elected, on an annual basis, a council which was responsible for the government of the city.

 

When Jesus said I will build my church  (Matt.16:18), what was He saying? He told Peter that because Peter had been given revelation of Jesus being both Christ [Messiah] and Son of God [God manifest in the flesh], He could now go ahead and build His ecclesia. This ecclesia would have such authority that the gates of hell [authorities of evil] would never overcome the church [the governing body] that He was building.

 

The keys of the kingdom

Then Jesus said to Peter I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven  (v.19). The authority of the church is expressed as the keys of the kingdom, the power to bind and to loose with heavenly authority [the authority of the King].

Because of tradition, we have many different ideas and views about church. Because of such views many today are talking about kingdom, that is, understanding the authority of God in the earth, as if it is something separate to church. We judge and dismiss church on the basis of our own experience in denominations and other institutional forms of men governing the church rather than understanding that:  

the church is the appointed body of King Jesus to rule in the earth as the vehicle and expression and manifestation

of His kingdom, the kingdom of God.

 

Jesus the Man embodied the kingdom of God because He was fully obedient to God in the earth. The body of Jesus Christ will embody the kingdom as we become fully obedient. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, Paul tells us how to walk in a growing exercise of governmental [spiritual] authority that is manifest through the power of God to pull down strongholds, cast down arguments and every high thing. We are to bring every thought [device or contrivance of the mind] captive to the obedience of Christ. What will be the result? When our obedience is fulfilled or complete, we will be ready to punish all disobedience.

 

Jesus said I will build My church . Men took over from Jesus and built the church according to their own idea. Jesus never said I will build My kingdom . In more recent times some have realised that Jesus is building His church, and that is good; but now we say we are to get on with building or extending the kingdom. Again this expression of what we are to do is just as faulty as wanting to build the church because inevitably we can only build something of ourselves.

The kingdom of God is in existence in the realm of the Spirit;

·        It is the eternal kingdom of God

·        It is the rule of God

·        It cannot be built

·        It cannot be extended by us

·        But it is to be preached by us

·        And will be manifested through us as we come to a mature obedience

 

Apostles and Prophets

Apostles and prophets are not the foundation of the kingdom; they are the foundation of the church (Eph.2:20). The work of the ministry is not to build the kingdom but to equip/perfect the saints and build up the body of Christ, doing the work of the ministry until  the church comes to perfection (Eph.4:11-13), fully revealing the rule of God in the earth.

Apostles and prophets are to make known the mystery of the church; firstly, that the Gentiles are one body in Christ with the Jews, and secondly, that when the fellowship of the mystery is known, the manifold wisdom of God will be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly realm  (Eph.3:5-10). This will lead to the full submission of things in heaven, things in the earth and things beneath the earth  to the Lordship of Jesus the Christ (Phil.2:9-11).

 

The kingdom is revealed in the church

It seems that many are reaching out to grasp a concept of the kingdom and no doubt the kingdom is the subject of the gospel, but in so doing, there is a lot of imbalance being preached and the church is not understood.

·        The kingdom of God is the inheritance of the church in the earth.

·        The church is meant to be the governing expression of the kingdom of God.

·        The King, Jesus, will rule, legislate and have His commands carried out through His ecclesia, the church.

·        The church are the ambassadors of Christ!

·        The members of the church are appointed as ministers of reconciliation on behalf of God in Christ!

·        The church is the body of Him who is the King and the King is in us!

 

The whole church is the ecclesia

It is interesting to note that in the church council of Acts 15, that the apostles and elders came together to consider the matter . The council was resolved by the Holy Spirit leading James to share from Amos and give understanding of what God was doing. The council then involved the whole church in their decision and it pleased ... the whole church  (Acts 15:22). The letter, that was written, was written by the apostles, the elders and the brethren  and it was written to the brethren who are of the Gentiles  v.23. This is a wonderful example of the ecclesia at work. The citizens of God s kingdom [heaven above Phil.3:20] exercising their appointed role as the ones called out of the world system to govern in the kingdom of God on the earth.

 

The kingdom and the church are inseparable

Prophetically, both Isaiah (ch2) and Micah (ch4) speak of the kingdom [the mountain] and the church, [the LORD s house] as being established upon the top of the mountains and exalted above the hills. Many nations shall come and say, come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob  . The mountain is referring to the establishment of God s kingdom in the earth  it has become the kingdom above all other kingdoms, and at the pinnacle of the kingdom is the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth  1Tim.3:15.

 

The church is the ecclesia of the kingdom of God. The word that the nations will receive does not come from the kingdom; it comes from the church. The church is absolutely essential in bringing forth the kingdom by preaching the gospel and teaching the word of God, making known His laws. The result of the ecclesia of God being established as the ruling/legislative body of Christ in the earth, fully preaching and expressing and manifesting the kingdom of God, is that nations will cease from war. Have you ever imagined what will happen when nations stop spending billions of dollars on armaments and instead build houses and provide health and education services to all peoples of the earth. Everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken  Mic.4:4.

 

In the meantime the ecclesia is to exist in the city; it is to exist in the regions; and it is to exist in the houses of brethren. As the church grows to maturity, the kingdom of God will be manifest through the church in the city; through the church of the towns of the region; and in every local area through the houses of the saints. God s eternal purpose will be fulfilled in manifestation. His eternal purpose has already been fulfilled through Jesus Christ s appearing (Eph.3:11, 2Tim.1:10).                                                                                    by Paul Galligan

 

CALENDAR

October 22^nd a team visiting Dorrigo

                 23^rd Regional Apostolic Council meeting in Tamworth

 

November: Fri 6^th  7.30pm worship & preaching

                  Sat. 7^th  Training day at SHILOH: sessions  10.30-12.30; 1.30  4pm

                  Sun.8^th  COMMUNITY SUNDAY at SHILOH  9.30am Teaching

                                  10.30am Worship/Communion/Preaching

                                                     followed by fellowship lunch         

 

INDIA TRIP: November 1^st for three weeks  Ps. Rob Cochrane is going with Paul Disher from Tamworth to minister in Andhra Pradesh, in evangelism, discipleship and pastors  training. Paul s ministry is known as WakeUp. Paul has already been to India a number of times with teams

 

December: Fri 4^th  7.30pm worship & preaching

                  Sat. 5^th  Training day at SHILOH: sessions  10.30-12.30; 1.30  4pm

                  Sun.6^th  COMMUNITY SUNDAY at SHILOH  9.30am Teaching

                                  10.30am Worship/Communion/Preaching

                                                     followed by fellowship lunch

 

2010 JANUARY APOSTOLIC TRAINING SCHOOL

Tuesday 5^th Jan. to Fri. 22^nd Jan.

Please note change of starting date to make it easier for people to get here after New Year

 

 The training school is intensive training in understanding apostolic ministry, the restoration of church, the manifestation of the kingdom and walking in the inheritance of God as sons.

 

The School is free [no fees] and is open to all committed Christians. International students are by invitation only.

(International Students please note: we prefer to meet you in your home nation or in a nation nearby. This is much more economical. If you are interested in training in apostolic ministry please contact us as we have related brethren in many nations already conducting apostolic training)

 

JUNIOR TRAINING SCHOOL for 1 Week

Ages 4-13 (if you are over 13, apply to come as a helper)

Monday 11^th to Friday 15^th

9am to 4pm 

 

 

PROPOSED TRIPS 2010

February   India

Feb/Mar.  Philippines

Feb/Mar  Colombia & other South American nations

May  Africa: West & East