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June 2010 Newsletter

 

WHO IS THE SON OF GOD THAT I MAY BELIEVE IN HIM?

 

Having believed, he worshiped Him

Jesus heard they had cast him [the blind man who had seen] out, and when He had found him, He said to him, Do you believe in the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him? And Jesus said, You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you. Then he said, Lord, I believe! And he worshiped Him  John9:35-38.

 

The knowledge of the Son of God

Paul says that through the five-fold ministries (Eph.4:11) doing the work of the ministry, the church will come to maturity. One of the first major sign-posts of the church in maturity is that we have come to the knowledge of the Son of God  (v.13).

 

He came in the likeness of men

Paul says in Philippians 2:6-8 that before Jesus came in the likeness of men , He was in the form of God and did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. And being found in appearance as a man He ... became obedient to death . It is easy to overlook the profound statements of these verses that tell us unambiguously that Jesus was God and was in the form of God before He was conceived in the womb of Mary, to become a Man.

 

It is Jesus

When Saul fell to the ground because of the light that shone around him (Acts 9:3-5), he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" and He said, "Who are you, Lord? " Then the Lord said,"I am Jesus" .

 

My Lord and my God

Thomas was not with the disciples when Jesus first appeared to them after the resurrection and he refused to believe that the Lord had risen. When the Lord appeared the next time, Thomas was present and Jesus challenged him to reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand and put it into My side  Jn.20:27. And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and My God"  v.28. Thomas finally believed in the Son of God. In other words, he realised Jesus was the LORD God. Jesus said we are more blessed than Thomas if we believe in the Son of God even though we cannot see Him in the way that Thomas did.

 God is One

Jesus Himself said, The first of all the commandments is: "Hear, O Israel, the LORD [Yahweh] our God, the LORD [Yahweh] is one" Mk.12:29. Paul says that great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh  1Tim.3:16.

Only God is worshiped

Jesus told Satan after the third temptation, Away with you, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the LORD [Yahweh] your God, and Him only you shall serve"  Matt.4:10. And yet when Jesus was still a small child and the wise men came to visit Him in Bethlehem, When they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, they fell down and worshiped Him  Matt.2:11. When the leper worshiped Jesus in Matthew 8:2, Jesus did not restrain him, but responded to him, healing him of leprosy.

 The Son of God in Hebrews 1

The book of Hebrews in chapter one gives us at least fifteen amazing points about the Son of God.

1)     In these last days God has spoken to us by His Son  Heb.1:2a. God no longer speaks to us through the prophets, but He speaks to all mankind throughout history since the cross through His Son.

2)     God has appointed the Son heir of all things  v.2b. Christ is the heir of God (Rom.8:17) and God has promised to Christ the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession  (Ps.2:8). We have become heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ  (Rom.8:17).

3)     Through whom He made the worlds [ages]  v.2c. Paul says, For by Him [the Son of His love] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him  Col.1:16. John 1:3 confirms that everything that was made was made through the Son, Jesus Christ.

4)     The Son being the brightness of His glory  v.3a. Jesus asked the Father Glorify Me together with Yourself with the glory which I had with You before the world was  Jn.17:5. When the Son came into the world, we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father  Jn.1:14. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God is only known in the face of Jesus Christ  2Cor.4:6.

5)     And the express image of His person  v.3b. No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him  Jn.1:18. It seems this is a hard saying for many people who think that God is someone separate to and able to be found outside of Jesus Christ. It is important to accept that the eternal, ever-living God is only revealed through the Son of God. If you have seen the Son, you have see the Father (Jn.14:9), and in fact, there is no other way to see God, except in Jesus Christ. Jesus the Son is the image of the invisible God  (Col.1:15).

6)     And upholding all things by the word of His power  v.3c. The Son is before all things, and in Him all things consist  Col.1:17. It is Jesus, the Son of God who is the one who sustains the universe.

7)     When He had by Himself purged our sins  v.3d. Jesus, who was in the form of God, came in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, He then became obedient to death even the death of the cross (Phil.2:6-8). Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame  in order to take away our sins (Heb.12:2). He offered His own blood and entered the most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption  (Heb.9:12). He gave Himself a ransom for all  (1Tim.2:6), and He redeemed those who are under the law  (Gal.4:5).

8)     Sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high  v.3e. Christ was raised from the dead by the mighty power of God and God seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above ...  (Eph.1:20-21). When Ezekiel saw the vision of the throne, on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man  (Eze.1:26). Jesus who is the Son of God is the one who was seen upon the throne. The Son is told by God prophetically, sit at My right hand, till I make your enemies Your footstool  Heb.1:13, quoting from Psalm 110:1. Jesus is seated and must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet  (1Cor.15:25).

9)     He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they [angels]  v.4. God has given to Jesus the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, of those on earth and of those under the earth  Phil.2:9-10. The name of the Son, Jesus, is the only name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved  (Acts 4:12).

 

10) Hebrews 1:5 contains two significant quotes from the Old Testament, showing the exalted status of the Son above the angels: You are My Son  (Ps.2:7) and I will be to Him a Father  (2Sam.7:14a) are clear Old Testament quotes preparing God's people for the coming of Messiah - He would be the Son of God, that is, God manifest in the flesh.

 

11) Let all the angels of God worship Him  v.6. Because Jesus is the Son of God He is to be worshiped.

12) Your throne, O God  v.8a, quoting from Psalm 45:6. The throne of God is the throne of the Son.

13) is forever and ever  v.8a. The throne of the Son is the eternal throne of God.

 

14) You, LORD [Yahweh, the Eternal One] in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth  v.10. Jesus the Son is called Yahweh, the Eternal God of the Old Testament.

 

15) But You remain  v.11, and Your years will not fail  v.12. Jesus as God remains forever.

 

As we continue in the grace of God, seeking to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age , we are looking for the blessed hope and appearance of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ  Titus 2:13 (Jay P. Green, trans.); the glory of the Eternal God will be seen in Jesus Christ.

Paul speaks of Christ as coming in the flesh from the Israelites and refers to Him as Christ, who is over all, the eternally blessed God  (Rom.9:5). Most modern Christians do not realise that the Messianic expectation of the people of Israel in the time of Jesus being born in the earth and walking in maturity in the earth, was that the Messiah would be God in the flesh!

It is as the church - the believers worldwide - comes to the knowledge of the Son of God  through the full working of the five-fold ministers, that the body of Christ will truly manifest the measure of the person and stature of the fullness of Christ in the world (Eph.4:11-13). 

Paul Galligan

Our trip in Africa was awesome. The following is our report so far.

"A body You have prepared for Me"

As we travelled to Africa from Australia on the 23^rd April, this Scripture from Hebrews 10:5-7 was resounding in my heart. I kept telling Janet, "God has prepared a body for us to minister to", and we are going in the will of God, to do Your will O God . It was amazing that everywhere we went to minister we found that God had prepared a body  a group of brethren ready to receive the word of God. We can say that in 38 days of actual ministry to different groups of people, nobody voiced opposition nor disputed concerning the word of God. We were conscious of God's grace helping us to share the word and we were conscious that God had prepared a body for Himself in every place.

 

Nigeria

We began in Nigeria, arriving on 24^th April. We did a Sunday meeting and then five days of conference. Janet shared in the teaching each day and she has grown in confidence and competence. Her presentation of the word was quite dynamic. By the end of five days over 100 ministers committed themselves to be part of an apostolic network wherein they can pursue the apostolic teaching and training. Since then over 60 ministers have come for weekly training. Other apostolic schools are opening in other cities in Nigeria and in the Cameroons.

Moses Timothy was ordained as an apostle and with Paul Harrison's help [Paul was commissioned as an apostle] Moses will be able to give good leadership to the emergent network.

 

Ghana

We went to Ghana on 1^st May and were well received there by a brother Samuel Sowah, who flew to Kenya last year to meet us - he came for just two days and went back a changed man. Samuel hosted us for four days of conference and a day with leaders in his home. He was supported by Rev Albert Agbitey. Samuel is more convinced concerning the need for real apostolic ministry in the church, to enable the church to reach the nations effectively with a real gospel that brings transformation through the real teaching of the word of God.

One of the highlights of our time in Ghana was to meet Michael Adjei and his wife Esther and two little boys. Michael had found our website some time ago- he had communicated with us and he had begun an apostolic school, with up to 12 disciples attending each week. Many of them are pastors much older than Michael. Michael came to meet us and brought many of his disciples to the conference and we commissioned his SHILOH School of Ministry.

We met Donald Pierson, a black American who is a missionary in Ghana. Donald is called to minister to the people of Ghana [and other nations] to not only preach the gospel but to demonstrate a self-supporting lifestyle. Donald has established a number of small business opportunities that locals can invest in and get some return. We are trusting that Donald will be able to share his business skills with our brothers in other nations, once he has established successfully in Ghana.

 

Liberia

We went to Liberia from Ghana and we had a very challenging time there. Our own sons received us well and hosted approximately 60 brethren to five days of teaching. We were challenged by the hot weather there, but God sent rain earlier in the week to break the worst of the heat.

We had agreed to some night programs with other brethren but that was a mistake. We keep learning that an invitation to minister does not mean that it is the will of God and we should have never have agreed to the extra invitations to brethren we did not know. An important element of the apostolic is to only go where one is sent.

We are very impressed that apostolic schools have been functioning in Liberia, coming out of the original school planted by William Kettor in late 2007. In William's local church meeting we were blessed to find the brethren well taught in the word of God.

In Liberia we met a brother who had been very involved in the civil war, rising to the rank of general among the rebel forces. By his own confession he was involved in many bad things, but God had arrested his attention through a dream and shown him that he needed to get out of the war and separate himself from the rebel leader [that leader is now in the Hague facing a war crimes tribunal]. Eventually God showed this man how to get out and he is now a lovely Christian brother with a heart to see many others saved who were involved in the war in bad ways and are now suffering the torment of their souls.

Sierra Leone was represented in the Liberian teaching. Brother Bakarr, whom we met last year in Liberia and who embraced the apostolic teaching wholeheartedly, returned to be with us this year. It was a great joy to be with brother Bakarr again. He is a converted Muslim, and another Liberian pastor was the son of an Imam.

 

Kenya

From Liberia to Kenya, and in Kenya, two days in Kitale with Peter Wekesa, followed by two separate days with Andrew Wafula in the interior (western Kenya, near Ugandan border), then three days in Kakamega with Peter Akeck, followed by a day and a half in Eldoret.

In Eldoret we spoke in a pastors seminar of over 100 and the brethren were very attentive. Over 30 of them followed us that evening to another meeting in a small chapel. The next morning was their regular Tuesday apostolic school hosted by a pastor in the city centre- they normally get 18, but over 50 came to hear the teaching. We have ministered in that city for some years without fruit, but now there is fruit, and it is good fruit. The school in Eldoret was started by Dorcas Kamau and the apostolic leadership from Kangemi, Nairobi.

 

From Eldoret we went to the house of a well established son in the apostolic - George Muteti, who goes into Central Africa and has successfully ministered apostolically in Rwanda, Burundi and Central Congo. George hosted five days of apostolic training in his house and brethren came from Uganda, Rwanda, and Malawi. The numbers averaged from 25 - 35 each day and over 20 stayed in the house. We were there for five days teaching. There were some commissioned who had completed apostolic training courses.

 

Uganda

From there we drove into Uganda to a town called Iganga for a two day seminar. A young son, Jovan Balikoowa, had arranged it and the seminar was hosted by a mature brother, David Kyakulaga, who has been seeking to flow in the apostolic for some years. We saw many pastors transformed by the word. We were blessed to meet up with Wilson Kitonde from Kampala, who has been a special son for some years now. A dear brother from Rwanda attended this seminar as well.

 

Nairobi, Kenya

The last few days in Nairobi were wonderful in the presence and power of Jesus Christ.

We had two days in Kangemi and two days in another place on the other side of the city. In Nairobi the apostolic sons have developed a number of apostolic schools. We know of six operating in the city and at least three in other places that the brethren from Nairobi have founded.

One of the encouraging things we see in Kenya is the increasing number of apostolic schools that are emerging. These schools are bearing fruit and beginning to multiply as ones who have been trained go out into new areas and begin schools. One of our sons , apostle Dorcas Kamau, began an apostolic school in her area of Kangemi, on the outskirts of Nairobi, about two years ago. Out of that school we know of seven other schools now operating. This is the cutting edge strategy that God has opened up for us to play our part in the knowledge of the glory of Yahweh covering the earth as the waters cover the sea  Hab.2:14.

 

On the final day in Kenya we were quite surprised by the way God spoke to Paul, in two key areas:

1)      to produce a basic discipleship manual for use in local churches - we see that there will be two manuals in time, one for introductory teaching and one for more maturing discipleship;

2)      and the concept of Meshack Mbugwa, a leading apostle in Nairobi who has overseen the growth of the apostolic company in Nairobi and the development of many schools, working towards the opening and operation of an apostolic institute. This institute will in time offer full training for ministers. This is a time of looking to the Lord for His leading concerning how we can take this forward. The Institute does not have to be based solely on a campus in Tassia. We have already seen that the modern SHILOH School of Tyrannus is multi-campused, including all the schools that many have opened. The key thing about the vision of an institute is that the institute will work towards providing training for ministers.

 

Malawi

Andrew Mataka, a young apostolic leader from Malawi, joined us for the three weeks in Kenya and travelled with us. Andrew was able to experience first-hand what he called practical apostolic ministry . He has gone back to Malawi confident that God will use him to establish apostolic teaching in his country and in other Southern African nations.

 

Conclusion

The wonderful blessing of being out on a mission in five African nations is to see the word of God flowing freely as the river from above, bringing refreshing, new life and transformation in every place. Romans 12:2 has been fulfilled before our eyes many times. The Scripture says Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed [transfigured] by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  As we by the grace of God are found faithful as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries (1Cor.4:1-2), God's word works in the lives of those who hear us and we can see on their faces the light of the knowledge of the glory of God as they receive the gospel of the glory of Christ.

Paul & Janet Galligan, 18/06/10

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