Kingdom Matters

America Under Attack

2009-09-11T16:20:00.007-04:00

It was eight years ago today that the horrific events of 9-11-01 occurred. In light of that, I wanted to reprise the article I wrote the day after, because it is obvious now that what I wrote was both prescient and prophetic. I knew that day, as I watched the events unfold on television that we were witnessing the collapse, not only of the Twin Towers, but the world's economy, if not the "Fall of Babylon" prophesied in Revelation 18. Though the news commentators and pundits were unwilling to speak such things at the time, it was confirming and reaffirming to hear Alan Greenspan, the then Chairman of the Federal Reserve — the twelve banks that are the real control center of America — admitted in a recent televised interview on a CNBC progam about the 2008 global economic collapse that he too instinctively knew he was witnessing the collapse of the world economy when he flew over ground zero in a helicopter the day after to see for himself the utter devastation and ruin wreaked at the hands of few foreign terrorists. The article regarding 9-11 follows.

America Under Attack
September 11, 2001

"A Day that Will Live In Infamy"

By Steven Lambert, ThD

Dear Friends and Fellow-believers,

Regarding the tragic and incredible events of yesterday, September 11, 2001, another "day that will live in infamy," some ten years ago, the Lord gave me a prophetic dream showing me, in essence, devastation of this sort taking place specifically in NY City. He also showed me in my discussion with Him about what transpired in the vision (far more than I can disclose here), that NYC was the epicenter of the financial, communication, commercial, and international political infrastructure of America, and hence the world. In the days following, He went on to tell me that there would come a time (I believe this is the beginning of that time) when everything that we have come to rely upon as being foundational to our individual and collective lives, the "foundations" of America and the free world, would be rocked, critically wounded, and indeed, some of them fatally wounded and destroyed.

Consequently, "life" as we have come to know it in this country especially, (at the time of the fulfillment of the vision) would be "forever changed." The words that continuously reverberated in my spirit, which I knew to be the words of the Holy Spirit within, were, "Nothing will ever be the same. Nothing will ever be the same."

It was surreal for all Americans as well as people around the world to watch the events unfold on the TV screen, but especially to me personally, in that the WTC collapsing and decimation in a vital section of Manhattan was essentially a replay of what I saw in the dream. Without launching into detailed account of what the Lord has shown me concerning end time events particularly in this country, I will say that I believe these horrific acts of barbarism perpetrated against not only the bastion of freedom but also against the very precept of democracy are the beginning of a series of events that will precipitate international actions that will result in massive and wholesale global geo-political upheaval and modification; that is, "tribulation," if you will. Tribulation that will cast the entire world into unprecedented trepidation, uncertainty, and a sense of insecurity the likes of which has not been known since World War II, and in many ways greater. Modification that is absolutely necessary to protect and defend liberty and democracy against those radically diabolical elements of the world whose totally indefensible and irrational dogma, more appropriately, “doctrines of demons," make them enemies of all that is good and right. But, modification also that is required to comport the present geo-political landscape and international alliances with Biblical eschatological prediction to prepare the way for the only ultimate answer to the ancient struggle of good versus evil — the Kingdom Reign of Christ.

Nothing will ever be the same — for Americans, nor the world. Nevertheless, in many ways, into the relative immediate future, the changes that will take place in the natural, both nationally and among allies of democracy and freedom, will certainly be good and beneficial, and actually improvements to our personal and national security. However, the spiritual impact that will be realized from the ensuing global tribulation is the overriding "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow that will manifest when the sun (really, Son) finally breaks through this dark and devastating storm sweeping through our world at the present. In short, the spiritual effect will be that many rational and common-sensed people will begin to realize as never before that the creation, including its supremely sophisticated specie, mankind, with all its intelligence and "powers," is not capable, in and of itself alone, of managing itself, but that a Superior and indeed Supreme Being, the Creator of the creation, the Originator of Life, is the only One capable of such macro-management of such a massive cosmos.

Myriads of so enlightened, in spite of their many unanswered questions concerning the seeming injustices and "mysteries" of this "life," shall begin to cast aside as irrational and inconceivable the inane notions that the cosmos with all its unfathomable intricacies could have possibly somehow "evolved" out of itself or nothing, and to call upon the Chief Architect to take control of their "world" as well as the world. Indeed, though such spiritual concepts may be extremely difficult for many spiritual "newbies" who may be reading this to comprehend or mentally ascend to, the ultimate end-result of all the "tribulations" that shall gradually transpire over the next unknown period of years will be that Jesus will be exalted and revealed as the Supreme Lord of All and the true Bride of Christ will be glorified, though as through the furnace of affliction unto purification. All of the events that will be taking place in the years ahead will have one ultimate purpose: to demonstrate that there is only ONE God, the Trinity of Divinity, and that Jesus is LORD and the ONLY name given among men by which mankind can be saved! (Acts 4:12)

Regarding the Church, the Church that Jesus is building, "purification unto glorification" will be the divinely inspired process through which it shall be taken. If the Ecclesia is to spare itself of unnecessary despair, grief, sorrow, and losses, not to mention delay in fulfillment of the plans and purposes of God which He has determined to carry out through her, as never before, then the Church MUST begin to comprehend and apprehend the strategies of God for the Church and in turn the Cosmos. The Body of Christ, and "now are we the Body of Christ," must begin to receive the instruction and commands of the Christ, the Head of the Church. The Body for far too long has been doing its own thing rather than the thing of its Head.

Moreover, the Church must begin to incorporate into its collective understanding and mindset the indisputable and immutable fact that, like it or not, we have been thrust into a WAR! An all-out, life-or-death struggle against the well-armed and -trained forces of a diabolical enemy, indeed, the father of all evil. He is not a mythical red-pajama-adorned, pitchfork-wielding, double-horned figment of religious conjuration, nor a specter of irrational cogitation and paranoia, nor a mere looming prospect. But rather, as the innumerable faceless "terrorists" hell-bent on annihilating the "great satan" we have been told for years exist around the world, and who, with these recent attacks, we now know are very REAL, so also the arch-nemesis of the Creator and thus His Creation, the fallen arch-angel, satan, is himself the consummate "terrorist."

And, the Church must quickly come to the realization, as did President Bush regarding the senseless attacks on America, that the attacks against us are not merely acts of terrorism by a terrorist. They go far beyond that. They are acts of WAR! The intent of this enemy is not merely to terrorize, but to "steal, kill, and destroy" (John 10:10). The chief enemy is not merely engaging in psychological warfare. Rather, it is shoot-to-kill WAR! The sooner we recognize this reality and respond with deadly and unrelenting force against the assailant, the fewer the casualties and the lesser the losses. Without the slightest hesitation, trepidation, and intimidation, we must aggressively engage ourselves in the warfare against the forces of the enemy in which we have been conscripted, utilizing "the weapons of OUR warfare (which) are not of the flesh but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses (strongholds)" (2 Cor. 10:4, emphasis, italics added by author), remembering at all times, though, that the real enemy is not flesh and blood, that is, people, but the true enemy behind all the warfare waged against us in the natural is a spiritual enemy, a spirit-being, along with unnumbered hordes of diabolical spirit-being cohorts:

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." Eph. 6:12

There is one other critical word of advisement to the Church that it must begin to hear and heed. The Body of Christ must begin to understand and incorporate into its collective psyche and strategies that the Head does nothing without doing it through the Body. Christ is the Head; we are His Body. The perhaps enigmatic Divine Choice is, rather than by-pass the betrothed Bride, to deputize Her and to work through Her to implement every aspect of Divine plans and purposes. Though the Church assuredly is the Family of God endowed with and the conduit of the Agape-Love of God, it is also the Army of God equipped with the weapons of spiritual warfare and enjoined by God as His soldiers to carry out His strategic battle plans against the megalomaniac and master-mind behind all evil perpetrated upon the Earth (cf, Eph. 6:11). We are the Army of God, and not a bunch of rag-tag, undisciplined, untrained, independent commandos, without leadership or direction. No! Just as American armed forces are the most highly trained, skilled, armed, commanded, and lethal in the world, so also is the spiritual armed forces of God! Though many segments of the Church-at-large, do not understand this, nor even the imperativeness of it, it is nonetheless true. As outlandish as it may sound to some, no true believer is called to be a pacifist. Rather, every Christian is called and anointed to be a spiritual WARRIOR!

Indisputably, the foundation of any armed forces is its leadership. An army, as any enterprise, is only as effective as its leadership. No military can function or succeed, and therefore, survive, without highly skilled, knowledgeable, wise, tested and proven, and seasoned leadership. Likewise, the leadership of God’s military is its foundation. God Himself unequivocally and categorically states in His Word that the foundation of the Church is the apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20).¹

God Himself has Hand-chosen, commissioned, extraordinarily anointed, thoroughly equipped, and specially and uniquely prepared an extensive corps of military leadership at every level of command to lead His Army in ferocious, unfailing, undefeatable, and Divinely designed strategic battle plans that in the end will thoroughly and finally vanquish the unseen forces of the ancient foe, the devil. The Church must begin to recognize, appropriately respect, and receive these leaders God has appointed and consigned with the unenviable and inglorious task of leadership in His military. In the wars that lie ahead, God will be communicating His Divine Directives through His appointed hierarchy of leadership, and the bona fide, Spirit-trained and -led soldiers of His Army will operate in total order, discipline, and obedience:

JOEL 2:4-8
4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like war horses, so they run.
5 With a noise as of chariots They leap on the tops of the mountains,
Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble, Like a mighty people arranged for battle.
6 Before them the people are in anguish; All faces turn pale.
7 They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like soldiers; And they each march in line, Nor do they deviate from their paths.
8 They do not crowd each other, They march everyone in his path; When they burst through the defenses, They do not break ranks.²

America is under siege, and is no longer in peacetime, but rather war. Wartime brings with it constraints upon freedom necessary to preserve freedom and protect the citizenry at-large. Certain civil liberties in place during peacetime of necessity must be sacrificed for purposes of the greater good during wartime. Pacifism must give way to protectionism and the counter-aggression it requires. As a US Army Vietnam War Era veteran, I can tell you that war certainly is no game, but as in sports, the best defense is an overwhelming offense. In war, stealthy and preemptive strikes of overpowering force are absolutely necessary in order to swiftly vanquish the enemy, and thereby limit casualties. As with Desert Storm, under the direction of our current President's father, George Herbert Walker Bush, we must act suddenly, swiftly, decisively, and definitively. Moreover, if our armed forces and those of our allies are to win for us a quick and decisive victory, Americans must immediately acquire a political appetite for expanded intelligence gathering in groups and nations that pose a threat to American security as well as the absolutely necessary preemptive aggressive action against known potential terrorists that our intelligence agencies identify.

Likewise, the Church must draw the parallels of these principles regarding war in the natural and apply them to the war in which we have been engaged for eons against the real enemy behind all evil and hatred in the world. Believers must begin to develop an appetite for the spiritual intelligence and guidance of its corporate intelligence agents, the prophets, as well as give them the funding necessary for them to do their job, a la the U.S. Congress and our national intelligence agencies. The Body of Christ, that is, the Army of God, must also begin to follow the commands and directives of its preeminent spiritual military leaders, the apostles, though the wartime strategies they propose, in comparison to peacetime strategies, so to speak, the Church has been engaging for centuries, may seem to some to be radical, overly aggressive, mystical, and even irrational, at times.

Let us rise up, Saints of God, out of our arrogance and spiritual lethargy into which we have been allured by the accoutrements and privileges of our enormous and unprecedented per capita wealth in this country. Let us never forget that the love of money is the root of all evil. First comes the natural, then comes the spiritual (1 Cor. 15:46). Events taking place in the natural realm are often a reflection and even forewarning of what is or is about to happen in the spiritual realm. Let US, the Body of Christ, not wait for the terrorist attacks of the arch-terrorist, satan, to awaken us out of our arrogance and complacency.

Let us rise up now, listen to the reports of terrorists hell-bent on bringing destruction and devastation to our lives we have already received from the Supreme CIA, the Holy Spirit, which are published in the Word of God, and let us put on the full armor of God, go into battle alert, and launch a full-scale preemptive attack of our own against the forces of the enemy. For, we have one distinct advantage over our country's government right now, which is that we know without any doubt who our enemy is, for God has declared, "Your adversary, the DEVIL, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Pet 5:8). So, we know that like it or not we HAVE an adversary, who is the ultimate terrorist, who incessantly is seeking an opportunity to devour and destroy us. And, the ensuing verse tells us we must OFFENSIVELY "RESIST him, firm in your faith." As America must identify, root out, and vanquish those that would choose to be our adversaries, lest we be destroyed, so also believers must engage in offensive warfare against our adversary, lest we too as individuals be irreparably destroyed.

Regarding America, America is a Divinely chosen and blessed country. For hour after hour, the eyes of America were riveted on our television screens and the live images of the horrifying events and resulting devastation transpiring within the infamous and seemingly immutable Manhattan Island skyline the news organizations broadcasted. Looming somewhat inconspicuously but poignantly in the foreground of the aerial camera shots of New York Harbor, was the comparatively tiny, Ellis Island, unscathed by the dastardly acts of terrorism perpetrated only a short distance across the Harbor. There proudly "stands a Lady with her torch held toward the sky," the Statue of Liberty, the universally recognized monument of liberty and democracy. Those profound images, which shall be forever etched upon our minds, perfectly symbolize the American spirit that shouts forth from our collective rooftop that though you lay siege to our institutions and the buildings that house them, the mere physical, outer elements of our nation and society, nevertheless, no one — no individual, no group, no band of terrorists, no foreign or domestic power — can destroy the American SPIRIT, the HEART, the internal elements, of this "one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" — the greatest nation in the world!

Make no mistake about it, America, despite its shortcomings and imperfections, is still the greatest nation on the face of the Earth, and indeed in the history of the world. And we can know with complete certainty, that God has heard and answered the simple prayer uttered countless times by millions upon millions of ordinary citizens, performers, speakers, bards, and politicians, "God bless America!"

Though perhaps humbled and chastened in a variety of ways, America will survive, will prevail against all aggression, will rebound, will rebuild, will prosper, will coalesce, and will as a nation return to God, to be used by God as primary base from which "this gospel of the kingdom (of Christ) shall be preached in the WHOLE world for a witness to ALL the NATIONS" (Mat. 24:14, emphasis, italics added by author).

Look up, all ye that would believe upon the one and only Savior of mankind, for your redemption draweth nigh!

Many Blessings,

Dr. Steven Lambert

¹ For our purposes here, we must swiftly and completely debunk the cessation theories with the common sense assertion that if there is a viable, that is, living, Church today, comprised of "living stones," and no true believer would deny there is, then there must of necessity be a viable, that is, presently living, not ceased or deceased, foundation to that Church. This fact of living, functioning apostles and prophets today, is indisputably corroborated by First Corinthians 12:28, in which the Spirit of God testifies that GOD HAS (present continuous tense; not "did") SET (immutably fixed) in the CHURCH first apostles, second prophets." Inherent in this passage is the truth that as long as the Church exists God is continuously setting into the Church apostles and prophets as its primary leaders.

² The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, (La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation) 1996.

READ: The Evil Face of Our Adversary, another article regarding the Attack on America, with incredible photographs showing the face of the devil in the explosions of the World Trade Center!

The Children's Bread

2009-06-16T20:57:00.002-04:00

The Great Commission:
And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mk. 16:15-18)

According to what Jesus said, if you are a believer, you should be casting out demons! That's what believers do: cast out demons. Notice also it was the very first thing He addressed in what has been called, "The Great Commission!" While it is indeed the Great Commission to all the church, regardless of denomination, affiliation, or creed, yet it is the most disobeyed command Jesus gave.

The number five in the Bible symbolizes grace or another connotation of the Greek word, charis, which is giftings. It is no accident or coincidence that The Great Commission consists of five tenets, all of which delineate supernatural acts that believers are called and commissioned to perform through the power of the Holy Spirit and through the auspices of the authority Jesus relegated to the Church prior to His ascension into Heaven. The fact that there are five tenets indicates that the believer has been empowered and commissioned by the Spirit to perform them by the grace and supernatural giftings of God.

Jesus gave The Great Commission to the Church to be obeyed, yet it is so ignored and disobeyed by churches that it has been called "The Great Omission." It was not given merely to the leaders of the Church, but to believers of the Church. Any believer who is not performing these tenets of The Great Commission is, at the very minimum, a disobedient believer. My personal interpretation is that anyone who is not performing these acts is not a believer at all, for Jesus said this is what believers do; operating in these giftings to perform these acts is what defines a believer. At the very least, believers who are not obeying The Great Commission are unbelieving believers, if there is such a thing. Faith without works is dead; these works of The Great Commission are the works of a believer. James said, no one is saved by their works, but believers demonstrate their faith by their works.

The so-called "eleventh commandment," or Jesus' commandment, is Love—to love one another, as He loved us. Jesus also said that if we love Him we will keep is commandments. Setting the captives free IS love! God so loved the world that He gave or sent His only begotten Son, who demonstrated the ultimate love by performing the ultimate sacrifice, laying down His life, in obedience to the only commandment God gave Him when He sent Him to earth to become our kinsmen redeemer. Had the Father not given Him that commandment that He could lay down His life, He could have never died for the sins of the world—the ultimate act of ultimate love.

But, during His earthly ministry, one of the first and certainly foremost acts Jesus performed that demonstrated not only His compassion (love), but also His authority, which is rooted in love. Someone has calculated that two-thirds of Jesus' fleshly ministry as recorded in the Gospels consisted of casting out demons.

John revealed that the primary purpose of the manifestation of the first-born Son of God on earth was "that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 Jn. 3:8). Indeed, every time Jesus cast out a devil or multiple devils, or healed someone, or raised the dead, He was destroying the works of the devil, for ultimately it is the devil's works that is behind all diseases, disorders, and conditions contrary to homeostasis—psychological and physiological.

Peter, speaking by the Spirit concerning "the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting in Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed" (repentance):

"How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good, and HEALING all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him." (Ac. 10:38)

Notice that in every case where healing took place through the ministry of Jesus, it was the devil who was causing the oppression, which stands to reason in so many ways. In healing those who were oppressed by the devil, Jesus was "doing good" and "undoing" or destroying the works of the devil. In essence, He was doing what He was sent to do—"reverse the curse" that the injection of sin into the mainstream of mankind had produced! When we as believers go forth following the model of Jesus' ministry and doing the works that He did and even greater works, we too are "doing good" for God is also with us! If you want to do good as Jesus did, you also need to start casting out and doing spiritual warfare against demons and thereby reverse the curse sin has brought upon mankind. Through the Cross of Christ and His shed innocent blood, we now have that right, authority, and power over all the works of the devil!

Then, when He called and commissioned the original apostles, He sent them out two by two—BEFORE the cross (salvation) and BEFORE the outpouring of the Spirit in the form of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit (power)—and empowered them with a two-fold commandment: to CAST OUT DEMONS and to HEAL THE SICK. The fact that these disciples were empowered to both cast out demons and heal the sick BEFORE they were even saved and BEFORE they were baptized in the Holy Spirit is a fact that will really mess up your preconceived doctrines and dogmas! It also demonstrates the efficacy of Jesus' authority on earth, for it was solely on the basis of Jesus' authority that the disciples were able to indeed do what Jesus sent them forth to do—heal the sick and cast out demons. That being so, how much more authority do believers AFTER the Cross and Pentecost have authority over the same forces. Yet, the vast majority of believers on the planet have no idea that this authority is available to them and therefore are not operating in it to do their part in "destroying the works of the devil."

In the incident involving the Syrophoenician or Canaanite woman who came to Jesus imploring Him to cast the demon out of her daughter (Mat. 15:22-28), Jesus said deliverance is "the children's bread," meaning the children of the Kingdom. Jesus is the ultimate deliverer. Thus, to deny, refuse, or reject the matter of deliverance as well as deliverance itself is to deny, refuse, and reject Jesus Himself as well as the provision He has provided to do warfare against the forces and effects of the devil on earth. That may sound radical, but it is nonetheless the irrefutable facts.

In Biblical parlance, "bread" is a symbol of required sustenance. The term "bread" is a metonymn symbolizing more than cooked dough, but it symbolizes the larger issue of "food." Food is not optional for human sustenance, but a requirement. God has designed the human body to require the intake of food in order to survive and thrive. For this reason, we can know with certainty that eating disorders are at bottom, demonic, the goal of which is one of the tri-fold purposes of Satan, to kill. Modern fixations with a myriad of new-fangled diets is a form of eating disorder.

But, much worse, the Body of Christ as a whole has a spiritual eating disorder—"spiritual anorexia"—because it refuses to eat and is repulsed by the spiritual bread—deliverance—Jesus has provided, not only for our own needs but also the needs of multitudes around us! Deliverance is the Children's Bread!

Now this matter gets very interesting, for which reason I cannot resist the temptation to follow briefly an obscure but pertinent tangent here. The Apostle Paul by inspiration of the Spirit, incredibly, predicted that one of the prevalent issues that would be extant during the last days apostasy would be an advocating of "abstaining from foods, which GOD HAS CREATED to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the Truth," and that these vain philosophies would be promulgated by apostate people who are influenced by "deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron." In other words, this seemingly endless range of diets and health-food crazes that has become a cottage industry are not inspired by God at all, but rather are demonically inspired, and according to this passage are by definition a form of eating disorder, in that they contravene God's design regarding gratefully partaking of the vast array of "foods" God placed on this planet for man's provision and sustenance.

This matter alone is an area in which a multitude of people, professing believers and non, are in great need of deliverance. In my 34 years of deliverance ministry there have been hundreds who have been set free from their chains of bondage to eating disorders and the "doctrines of demons" related to an obsession with "abstaining from foods," or diets that are actually demonic in origin. Diet demons, many will find incredible, are actually of the category of religious spirits. That's the reason that so many false religions or subcultures of false religions have special diets associated with them. The root of religious spirits is self-righteousness, which explains why invariably those who are obsessed with "health diets" display such an overt pride about their diet and attempt to evangelize everyone they come into contact with to get on the diet they're on and to read the books they've read extolling the excellency of the fad diet they are on. I don't know when believers are going to understand that it really is the Truth that the human body, as the Bible says, is "fearfully and wonderfully made!" It's made to work! And it will work, if we don't abuse it and do things that counteract the way it was designed to work.

In the model prayer He gave the disciples in response to their request for Him to teach them how to pray (commonly known as "The Lord's Prayer"), Jesus taught all disciples in all times to pray daily requesting the Father provide "our daily bread," which means far more than just the physical sustenance we need for each day, but also the spiritual bread, or food or provision, we need to sustain us that day.

Jesus also told us we cannot live on physical bread alone, but that we also need the sustenance of spiritual bread, which is every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, in order to be able to live the life of the Kingdom.

In all of this, God is speaking to believers concerning the requisite for deliverance. That's right—requisite! Deliverance is not an option, but a requisite—for ALL believers! There are two kinds of people in this world: those who need deliverance, and those who are lying and too proud to admit their need!

Jesus declared He was the true "manna from heaven," or "the bread of life," which the Father gave out of Heaven to give life to the world (Jn. 6:24-35). Jesus referred to Himself as the spiritual bread or sustenance during "the last supper" when He passed around unleavened bread which He had broken and told the disciples, "Take, eat, this is My body which is given for you" (comp., Mat. 26:26-29; Lk. 22:19), meaning that that this loaf of bread respresented His body which would be broken and crushed (symbolized by chewing with teeth) for you, which, of course, by extension, meant all disciples of all times.

If you are a Child of God, Jesus said, Deliverance is for YOU! He said deliverance is the "Children's Bread!"

I strongly urge you to listen to this short message, Deliverance—The Children's Bread:

For more information about deliverance, I recommend you download the simple and easy-to-read ebook, Deliverance From Demonic Powers at: DeliveranceNow.Com

If you or someone you know needs deliverance, check out DeliveranceNow.Com.

The Purview of Apostolic Authority

2009-04-27T19:17:00.006-04:00

Not long ago, I received an email from a subscriber who was asking me for answers to some questions he had concerning some troubling issues related to the nascent apostolic renewal. It was not until I was finishing the last paragraph of my response that I heard the Spirit tell me to post my answer to the SLM website, because it would also help others who have had similar thoughts and questions. Just bear in mind as you read my response, that this is not intended to be a theological treatise or comprehensive exposition on the matter of the apostolic or even this aspect of it, but rather I offer it to you as just one tiny little patch of the quilt the Spirit is weaving on the matter at this time in the Church..."line upon line, precept upon precept, a little here, a little there."

Question:

I hear a lot concerning "apostolic authority." What does apostolic authority mean? I have known apostles who march into churches and tell the pastor he has to submit to them because of apostolic authority or they will ask the pastor, who is your apostle? Does the apostle have authority over the pastor in the local church? Help!!

Reply:

I will try to give you a relatively succinct answer to a rather complex matter, without fleshing it out much. I will answer the first question in what follows. The last question, which is the essence of what you are asking, I will answer directly first: No, an apostle does not have authority over the leadership of local churches of which he is not a part and is not esteemed as the "set man" of that assembly merely by virtue of some perceived "authority" inherent in the title of "Apostle." Indeed, a true God-anointed, God-appointed, Spirit-trained apostle would never even THINK of such a thing.

Unfortunately, the kind of attitudes you describe represent what "Apostolic Authority" means to many misinformed and misguided people. A major problem in dealing with the matter of local church government, on the backdrop of the renewed awareness concerning Fivefold Ministry and the restoration of the Apostolic and Prophetic offices, in particular, is that while they are related, they are not the same, and the terminology we have been using regarding ministry offices or positions in the church has been contrary to Scripture.

Namely, in the last hundred years or so, predominantly, the Church has been using the term "Pastor" to refer to the chief or top leader in the local church, despite the fact that government, i.e., "ruling," is not included in the office of the pastor, per se, as delineated in Scripture. The Bible is clear that "elders...rule" (1 Tim. 5:17, et al.). The local church is to be governed by a presbytery of elders (plural). However, here again most local churches have had that wrong as well, as to who elders are, especially denominational churches. According to the preponderance of Scripture, the eldership of a local church should be comprised of those who God has appointed to Fivefold Ministry Offices (Eph. 4:11), which appointment is attested by the anointing (spiritual gifting) inherent in those offices. And, among the Fivefold Ministry Office, those functioning in the apostolic, prophetic, and teaching should be regarded as preeminent in the government of the church (1 Cor. 12:28).

This picture becomes clear when the entire mosaic of Scripture is put together rightly ("rightly dividing the Word of Truth" [2 Tim. 2:15]), which is too complex and expansive of a matter for us to deal with here, but I will offer the following. Jesus chose Twelve of His disciples, and appointed (named) them "Apostles" (Mat. 10:1-5). These Apostles of the Lamb were His chief delegates, surrogates, or representatives in the Early Church following Jesus' ascension. This set the precedent of Apostolic Appointment.

Additionally, 1 Cor. 12:28 clearly states the order of preeminence of ministerial authority and government in the local church: "And God as set in the CHURCH, FIRST Apostles, SECOND Prophets, THIRD teachers...." Notice that the pastoral office is not mentioned in this verse, per se. In fact the word "pastor" (poimen) only occurs once in the entire N.T., which is in Ephesians 4:11. So, using Scripture as the sole precedent and paradigm (and this order is clearly further corroborated throughout the N.T.), the office of apostle is unequivocally the preeminent ministry office, functionally speaking, with prophets and teachers respectively following next in succession. The Greek word in this verse translated "first" is the word "proton," which connotes, first in time, first in order, first in rank, first in function, first in priority. (Now, while I fully realize that such teaching is controversial to those unfamiliar with it, exegetical development of these concepts is simply beyond the parameters of this article. Though, they are developed in several of my books and will be addressed further in forthcoming books.)

Now, the problem is, since the church fell into apostasy in the third and fourth centuries, it has not been recognizing these offices, and erroneous cessation theories purporting that the apostolic and prophetic offices ceased with the death of the Apostles of the Lamb have been prevalent, especially in mainline denominational doctrine. And then, somewhere along the line, primarily, as I said, within the last hundred years or so, local churches began calling the chief minister "the pastor," even though that office, according to Scripture, does not entail government, per se.

But, the Scriptural pattern is that there is a "set man" (Num. 27:15-23) whom God recognizes and has appointed as the chief leader or elder in a local church. Functionally, this person is actually a "local apostle," according to the Scriptural pattern, and should possess and demonstrate the giftings or anointing of an apostle, which are the entire range of the Fivefold Ministry offices. This man is esteemed by the other elders as a "chief among equals," as was Peter among the Twelve, as was James in the Jerusalem Church and as the presiding elder at the Jerusalem Council (Ac. 15), as was John over the churches of Asia Minor in the latter part of his ministry, and as was Paul over the churches he founded, or to whom he became the spiritual father, for example.

However, "Apostolic Authority" is intrinsically parochial; that is to say, limited, to the particular local church(es) where God has established the apostle relationally—usually churches which they have had a part in founding, or existing churches that voluntarily have placed themselves under the leadership of an apostle who has become a "spiritual father" to those people and its leadership. Thus, "Apostolic Authority" is decidedly not some sort of automatic universal authority inuring to an apostle by virtue of the title of apostle. Morever, legitimate "Apostolic Authority" is never organizational, but rather is always relational. And it is vital to remember that all relationships among Fivefold Ministers are horizontal, not vertical. All Fivefold Ministers are peers with different functions, giftings, anointings, and callings. None is more important than another, or superior or inferior to another.

The church is the family extended and the family is the church in miniscule; thus, the principles of governance are the same for both (cf, Eph. 5:22-33). The family has ONE head — the husband/father (male). While a man is the husband/father of his OWN HOUSEHOLD, his authority is limited to that one household; his title/office of husband/father does not mean that he is the husband/father of any other household, and indeed he would be a trespasser and unlawful intruder if he tried to assert his husband/father authority over any other household. In fact, God's Word expressly addressed that scenario through the writings of the Apostle Paul, dealing with the unlawful actions of deceived deceivers who were attempting to do that very thing in the Early Church:

For among them are those who worm their way into homes {households, NAS} and captivate silly and weak-natured and spiritually-dwarfed women, loaded down with [the burden of their] sins, [and easily] swayed and led away by various evil desires and seductive impulses. (2 Tim. 3:6; AB)

So, in the circumstance today in the local churches, regardless of what term is used to refer to him, the local church has a "set man" who presides as the chief leader, rightly so, because he has been so anointed and "set in" to that place of authority by God. Government and leadership of the local church is not a matter of titles, ascendancy, and authority, but of function, servitude, and esteem.When multiple Fivefold ministers are laboring together to provide pilotage (leadership) to a local church, the proper Spirit-inspired attitude should be to regard one another as co-equals ministerially and functionally, though there is one among them who is esteemed as being the "leader of the leaders," a la James in Jerusalem. Their goal as leaders should be to ascertain the "consensus of the Spirit"; in other words, to reach unanimity based on what the Spirit is speaking to them individually yet collectively. "It seemed good to us and to the Holy Spirit...." "WE have the mind of Christ." Christ reveals His full "mind," counsel, to a plurality of elders, not a solitary leader. The notion that God speaks the entire vision and direction for a church to a single "vision-holder" is nonsense, unbiblical, and the height of hubris. I wouldn't follow someone across the street who said he had no need for the counsel and consensus of other leaders. Apostleship is anything but autocracy.

Governmental AUTHORITY is limited to the role of leadership of the local church, and is not personal authority (i.e., authority over people), but authority to provide spiritual impartation as well as "pilotage" to the church and its affairs. Beyond the local church, there is no "authority" among ministers — Jesus told the apostles they were "all on the same level as brothers" (Mat. 23:8, LB), meaning they were co-equals. Thus, there is no ascending authority structure, or rank system, or "chain-of-command" among Fivefold Ministers, that is to say, no one of the ministry offices has authority or ascendancy over another, as purported by the erroneous concept of "positional authority.") In other words, the premise is not that apostles are over prophets, prophets over evangelists, and so on, as if there were "rank" inherent in the the Fivefold Ministry Offices. That's just not the way it works.

Though, clearly, as mentioned earlier, there is a preeminence among the Fivefold Ministry Gifts in terms of FUNCTION and ROLE — its governmental role, in particular. Governmentally and functionally speaking, the apostolic function is first, or preeminent, followed by the prophetic, and then the teaching function (1 Cor. 12:28). Among those functioning in the Fivefold Ministry offices, there is to be no envy, competition, or jockeying for position, but a faithful and willing subjection to the Scripturally-revealed Kingdom order. The commanders of God’s Army understand authority, march in line, do not deviate from their assigned lanes of function, and do not break ranks (Joel 2:7,8).

Nevertheless, there is, however, a deference, among Fivefold Ministers that is based entirely on earned ESTEEM, not any perceived or ostensible "authority." Such esteem and deference toward proven and attested senior ministers, wherein believers, including ministers, esteem highly certain other ministers for the spiritual giftings, wisdom, leadership acumen, they demonstrate, is proper, appropriate, and Scriptural:

"But we request of you brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction (lit., admonition, warning, correction) and that you ESTEEM THEM HIGHLY IN LOVE because of their work."

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