We often make the Church into what we want it to be or even need it to be
But seldom look at the Scriptures to see what Jesus really wants for His Church
The way He has designed it to function
The way it works best and what He has designed it to accomplish
The typical views of the church – the way WE have designed it
Designed it in the way it actually works or functions
Or, simply the way we see it regardless of how it really functions Read more
As we look at the fresh move of God and the apostolic Church that Jesus is building, let’s take a brief visit to the Early Churches seen in the New Testament, especially the Book of Acts. This can be exciting and challenging at the same time as early Christians had a totally different concept of church than we often do today.
Most of the things that we associate with church today didn’t exist inn the first dew centuries. The Early Church did not have church buildings, budgets, pulpits, pews, church bulletins, or a professional clergy class that led them. They didn’t even have video projectors. So, here is some of what the Early Church would have looked like….
1> You would not necessarily meet on a Sunday morning for your weekly worship assembly. Believers who came out of a Jewish background would have gathered on a Saturday night after sundown after the Jewish Sabbath ended. The first day of the week started at sundown on Saturday and so they gather at the start of every new week.
2> They would not be meeting in a “church building.” These did not come into being until the mid 300’s. The Early Church met in a variety o venues. They used the Temple courts in the city of Jerusalem. The School of Tyranus in Ephesus. They would hold large open-air gatherings. But, their primary meeting place in every city and town was the homes of believers.
3> Early Church gatherings were not particularly quiet nor solemn. As you entered the courtyard of the home where the believers were meeting, it would look like there was a major party going on. Some would be playing musical instruments, some would be singing, dancing, clapping hands.
4> You would feel very welcomed, loved, and accepted in spite of there not being any officially appointed “greets” at the main entrance. Everyone is engaged in making people coming into the gathering feel welcomed and loved.
5> After the worship and celebration food is brought in and people find a seat to begin the meal. This meal was often called a “love feast” or the “agape.” It would start with prayer and thanksgiving for the food and fellowship. A leader would take a cup, say a blessing, and pass the cup around so each one could drink. He would then pick up a loaf of bread and offer thanks. It is also passed from person to person. That was The Lord’s Supper in its original context. Then the supper meal would begin.
There were variations on the supper. For example, sometimes at the start the bread was passed around and each person broke off a piece for themselves. Prayer was offered and everyone ate. The cup was passed around, after prayer, at the end of the supper meal to end the evening with more prayer and then worship.
6> The meal is a joyful time filled with stories of what the Lord was doing one everyone’s lives. Testimonies were shared. Often, someone would stand and read a letter that had been received – sent to them by a believer in another house church or even by an apostle who was a spiritual father to the particular group. These letters that were read were often a result of questions being asked of the apostles by the local leaders.
When the reading and discussion about what was heard ends and the meal is over, worship starts up again…
To understand where we are heading as a Church in today’s world, as the Kingdom continues to expand and impact lives, we need to return to the early Church. The life of the early Church is recorded for us in the Book of Acts.
In Acts, chapter 2, the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon 120 people in the city of Jerusalem. They were the original followers of Jesus who had been born again after Jesus rose from the dead (see: John 20:22). By the end of the day, the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) had begun to flow and God had added more than 3,000 people to the Church. Within a year the Church tripled in size numbering more than 10,000. Some estimate that by the time Stephen was killed in Acts, chapter six, that the Church had grown to 20,000 members.
That kind of explosive growth took place wherever the Gospel of the Kingdom was planted and people came to the Lord. The Lord would build His Church as the seeds of the Gospel took root and people came into a relationship with Him.
In Acts 19, Paul went to the city of Ephesus, a city of 500,000 and the 4th largest city in the world at that time. Paul planted the Gospel in the lives of 12 followers of John the Baptist and the Church began. Paul remained there for 2 years teaching in the church. Acts 19:10 tells us the amazing fact that during that time the entire city of Ephesus and the surrounding area, known as Asia Minor, was evangelized and heard the Word of the Lord.
The Ephesian Church grew so rapidly that the city’s economy was affected. Ephesus was home to the Temple of Diana, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. One of the major industries in Ephesus was the manufacture of silver images of the goddess. During Paul’s two year stay in Ephesus so many people turned from paganism to Jesus that the sales of these idols plummeted. (It is estimated that a quarter of the city was born again during this time). The idol-makers were furious! They rioted in the street to protest their loss of business.
That’s the power of the Gospel and the amazing work of the Holy Spirit through the early disciples of Jesus. The world had never known anything like it before. Wherever the Church was established it grew with incredible speed, and nothing, it seems, could stand against it and succeed. Nothing in the world could resist the power of the Early Church.
That same power is available to the Church today. A person is born again by coming to believe in their heart that Jesus is Lord and Saviour and repenting of their sins with godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:8-10). Then, as a disciple they can ask God for the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5, 8: Luke 24:49) and have a second encounter with the living God as the Holy Spirit comes upon them and empowers them to be a witness for the resurrected Jesus. This power is released through the nine supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit as disciples go about their daily lives and make God “manifest” in the places where they go – grocery store, gas station, coffee shop (1 Corinthians 2:4-5). As a result of this “being a witness” many will come into the Kingdom as they did in the early Church and as we saw in the story of the Church in Ephesus.
Those who are in touch with what the Lord is doing in His Church – the fivefold ministers, especially the apostles and prophets – have been predicting a change in the Church for three decades. We have been hearing words like “new wineskin,” “apostolic,” and “fivefold ministry” and these are words that indicate a church quake of undue proportions is underway. There are major changes happening in the Church and the Church needs to recognize these prophetic warnings and embrace the changes that are already beginning to happen.
In the last 15 years things have really begun to stir. In many places and in many nations we have seen people receiving what has been spoken of and revealed. And, as a result a grassroots movement has begun to take shape and gain speed and momentum. It is a spiritual awakening like no other as the Church rediscovers its roots and returns to the model that we see functioning in the New Testament. This movement promises to profoundly change our whole concept of Church.
Many titles have been given to this movement including ‘the second reformation,’ ‘a leadership revolution,’ and ‘a second apostolic age.’ I prefer to describe it as a return to normalcy. The Church has begun to make a shift, a momentous shift. And, we will see many things that are religious and/or traditional being removed from the life of the church and the daily life of the Christian as they respond to this powerful move of the Holy Spirit. Of course, some will refuse to move away from their self-deception and the belief that they are safe, secure, and comfortable right where they are.
The Early Church as seen in the Book of Acts and a number of the epistles (letters to early churches and early believers) was filled with life. But, in the year 325 and the reign of Constantine, the Roman emperor, we see the Church entering a stage of death by degrees. Slowly, gradually pagan and cultural influences were added to the first Church. As well, the involvement of the believers gradually disappeared and the rise of a professional clergy class of believers began to take place. During this time there was a gradual decline and eventually disappearance of many of the life-giving functions and aspects of the life of the early Church.
This went on for well over 1,000 years during the Medieval Church. Then, with the ministry of Martin Luther and other reformers (1560) God began to restore to His Church those things that the devil and man -the powers of darkness, religion, and tradition – stole from God’s people. This restoration will continue until all things have been restored (see Acts 3:21). For the last 500 years and more the Lord has restored many of the things that were lost and restored them in the reverse order of how they were lost. That which was lost last was first to be added back – the truth of salvation by grace through faith. So, we have reached a point where there are only a few things left to restore in their fullness…
1> The ministry of the apostle
2> Apostles and prophets working together
3> The Church becoming apostolic and prophetic – supernatural and sent out
4> The Gospel of the Kingdom being heard in every nation (people group)
5> The great harvest of souls in the end times
6> The return of Jesus
So, we are near the end of the restoration process as the Lord continues to move mightily in His Church to bring it back to a place where it is moving in supernatural power and lives are being changed and transformed daily in each and every location where there is a gathering of believers. Then, and only then, can He return.
All over the world the Holy Spirit is speaking “change” to the Church. Change is not something that churches and church leaders usually get excited about, but nonetheless, change is happening. The Church is God’s idea and Jesus is the Head of His Church and so God is bringing change to His Church through a fresh move of the Holy Spirit. He is restoring His Church back to the biblical model or pattern and then will take us from there to a powerful end times instrument in His hands.
God is changing His Church, and I believe it is a change that must come. The Church is broken and so it is time for things in God’s house to change. The Church, in general, has lost the ability to win the lost and disciple converts. The Church is failing to accomplish its primary mission – to seek and save the lost. Statistics tell us that we are in serious trouble as a Church and that the situation is getting worse and not better.
It is not a matter of working harder or even praying harder. If you are working hard and praying hard and the results are nil. Doubling your efforts and praying and working even more will still get you nil. Two times nothing is still nothing.
It is not a matter of buildings – the early Church changed the world without owning one building.
We have the electronics; we are on the internet; we make use of television and radio. We are technologically savvy. We have more Christian books printed and circulating than ever before. And, we have tremendous leadership in most churches and nations. Men and women dedicated to seeing the Gospel of the Kingdom spread to every corner of their nations.
I believe the issue or the problem is much deeper than what we can see on the surface as we take a look at the life and ministry of the Church. The real root issue is that we are not following God’s plan.
For those who have grown up in the Church, as I have, it is easy to assume that the churches we have known are pretty much what God intended the Church to be. We assume that the traditions that have been passed down to us are helpful in our walk with the Lord. We don’t question what we do as a local church, accepting that the leaders, past and present, are following biblical patterns. We even hear many of the leaders state that they are a Bible-believing church and that they do things ‘by the book’ when really they are simply doing things the way they have always been done. This assumes that “the way things have always been done” is biblical when often it is not.
Side note: A great read on this topic is “Pagan Christianity” by frank Viola and George Barna
The truth, however, is that the Church today has very little in common with the Church that the apostles planted and that we read about in the New Testament. Church, as we have known it, is NOT what God intended. For all its hard work and commitment, today’s Church is trapped in a traditional structure passed down, generation after generation, from the Dark Ages. This old structure may have been marginally effective (although also not biblical) at one time, but it cannot bring forth what God desires to do in His Church today.
The good news is that God is changing His Church. But, each local church and leadership team needs to respond or they will simply be left out and left behind as God moves on with His plans and purpose to see the lost saved and the Kingdom touch every nation and every aspect of life.An Apostolic Understanding – Part Nine,,,,,
When I was first saved – over 41 years ago this month
I came to know the Holy Spirit personally
I came to know the way He works and how to work with Him
I came to appreciate the Holy Spirit as “God with me” (individual) and “God with us” (Church)
I learned to spend time with Him and share close fellowship with Him regularly
This trip that I have just returned from has revealed so much more of His personality to me
I would have to say that I seriously enjoyed ministering with Him more than I ever have before
That I came to know Him at a deeper level Read more
As we enter into new season that has already dawned – an apostolic season where there will be a tremendous move of the Holy Spirit that will lead to many movements being formed. Many streams of new churches being built by the Biblical blueprint with all the streams flowing into one mighty river…the river Jesus spoke about in John, chapter seven that will flow from our inner most being.
As this move of the Spirit gains momentum many will begin to move out of the enemy’s camp of religion. However, as well, many will refuse to leave their religious structures. In fact, they will dig in deeper and defend them more loudly. As those who are hungry and thirsty begin to step out in faith and move with the Spirit many who are religious will not be attracted to this move of the Holy Spirit and the resulting movement. They will remain stedfast in the old place of worship and religious rule that has become a place that is safe, secure, and comfortable, or so they think.
Many others will align themselves around race and gender as opposed to coming into alignment with the mission call of the Church and the giftings that every believer has. However, this will not hinder nor defeat the new movements that will begin through those who follow the Spirit in this new apostolic season. This movement will seriously damage and even destroy the work of the devil and do serious damage to the work of religion.
For this to become a reality we will see the formation of regional churches, also known as regional apostolic centers. These will be resource centers for other smaller churches – traditional churches making the transition into the new season, house churches just being formed, and localized bible studies of hungry believers and seekers who will need help to be established in the true Christian faith.
These regional churches will have the full fivefold ministry represented in their leadership – apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd, and teacher (Ephesians 4:11-12) . These are fivefold, translocation leaders that will go from place-to-place to establish believers in the truth as well as into the new move of the Spirit. They will work with, equip, and enable local leaders to flow in the Spirit and move with power as the Kingdom is brought to more and more places now in spiritual darkness.
These are exciting times to be alive and a part of the Kingdom. God has put into motion such amazing potential for the future. And, in the coming weeks we will be looking at the regional churches or apostolic centers from the New Testament and the truths we can learn from them for today’s move the Holy Spirit as we see the true Church that Jesus is building come alive and spread as we stop thinking about the next meeting and start planning for and releasing the next movement. Big difference.
Ralph will be ministering in the town of Assiniboia, Saskatchewan November 26th, 2017.
Location: Assiniboia Apostolic Church located at 200 4th Avenue East in Assiniboia.
Time of service: 10:00a
Everyone is welcome
Ralph and his team will be teaching God’s Word and ministering prophetically during the service.
Topic for the morning: Jesus, The Revolutionary
Ralph will be ministering in the city of Winkler, Manitoba and surrounding area from the 15th to the 20th of November, 2017.
Ralph will be preaching and doing prophetic ministry at a number of public services. As well, He will be meeting one-on-one with the young men that he is mentoring.
After almost a year of going to Southern Manitoba on a regular basis Ralph’s emphasis will be shifting somewhat. There will be more leadership training events and events to speak into the life and ministry of young apostles and prophets who are still just discovering what the call on their life is all about and how it works.
Ralph will also be meeting with team members who will be travelling with him to Kazakhstan in January, 2018 and to Russia in early spring.
For more information you can contact him by text at 306-536-9574 or by email at ralph@ralphhoweministries.com
(The Basics – Part One)
TRUE STORY: Don’t Forget the Postage
Les Nimigan was the director of a modern-day, Canadian-based evangelistic ministry reaching out to people in the transportation industry. Several years ago, when he was traveling in Alberta, Canada, the old car he was driving broke down and was beyond repair, leaving Les in dire need of a car to continue his working trip. There was just one problem: The ministry had no money to pay for the expense. So, Les prayed earnestly that God would provide a car.
Les walked into an auto dealership the next day to see what his options were. Les found out that the owner was a Christian, so Les shared some information about his ministry. When the owner learned of his need for a car, the dealer sold him a Chevrolet Nova at dealer cost of $9,740.42 on the condition that Lee would send him a check for payment when the Lord provided the money. Read more