 Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good night, whatever applies to each of you. We will pray together and then we'll get started for this morning session. I want to request anyone who is comfortable from where you are to please lead. Can I put him up? Yes, please. Thank you. Father, we thank you for such an awesome time in the history of humanity. We thank you that you've gathered us together to warn the fires of the Lord upon your altar in knowledge and in truth. We pray for our pastor, we pray for every one of ourselves that you give us an understanding heart. A heart that is meek and humble to receive the teachings of a priest that will may restore the tabernacle of David upon this time. So God, we thank you that we are in season and on time in the sequence of your counsel for our lives. We take this truth to establish the kingdom of God in this season. In the name of Jesus we have prayed. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Thank you, Louis. Really appreciate it. Louis, it's 4.30 a.m. for where Louis is. Yes ma'am. Yes ma'am. So yeah, so grateful and inspired that you wake up every day so early to catch up on the classes. So something to really learn from. Thank you so much. Thank you, Louis. Thank you so much, ma'am. Thank you so much. Okay, so now we've been talking about the apostolic and we will pick up from where we stopped. I know that in the last class I kind of did an overlap. I restarted from the chapter that I already touched on because I felt that we need clarity in understanding who an apostle is and what the features of the apostolic anointing are. So thank you for bearing with me. So many things were overlapping the last classes. Today we will move forward. This is from chapter four in our notes. So if you have your notes with you, you could please turn to it chapter four. And let me see if I can also, yeah, chapter four. Just try to complete this for today. So so far I think we have a good fair idea of what the apostolic entails. So continuing to look at the function and characteristics of the apostolic ministry. And here it says present day apostolic because we no longer can fit into the Apostles of the Lamb category or the founding Apostles category. So another term that you may want to consider for all the other Apostles is present day. Depending on the current functions which they have. So we are very clear on that. We can't go back and fit into the roles and the functions of the past Apostles. So talking about apostolic ministry today, you'll notice that it continues to carry governmental authority. Whenever we refer to the Apostolic office, very much like your prophetic office, the teacher, the role of a pastor and evangelist. It comes with governmental authority. So government, if you recall, I mentioned in the last class, 1 Corinthians 1228, the term government, looking at the Greek terminology. It is Kuber, which means steer. Or it directs, government directs. Or it moves people forward in a focused way and that is what it is. So there is governmental authority where one is that there is direction, but there's also a great sense of power in that calling or in that position. So the offices have governmental authority. In other words, you know, there's great responsibility and they also need to be greatly accountable to God for the anointing that God has poured upon them. Then we see that in the office of the prophet, as we looked at the life of Apostle Paul, God really shaped him and provided him with the opportunities to grow into bodily character. Now God does this for everybody, but there is a specific, you could say that it's so important for someone who would be in a position of responsibility to really be shaped by the opportunities that God brings their way to have godly character. Because they would lead others, they would make decisions and all these things really make an impact on not just one individual, but many, many people. So which is why it's very easy to understand why God would want a godly character for a person in the offices, especially the apostolic office. And then spiritual gifts that needs to be a manifestation of spiritual gifts to glorify and honor God, then, you know, the ability to pioneer. This is, if at all you forget everything about the apostolic, you know, if you can remember, this is one of the key points or the main points that apostles are pioneers. They go where nobody has gone before or they do things that nobody has thought of before. So pioneer is the term that we use or you break new ground, isn't it, to come up with something new. So that is one of the functions that you will observe in the apostolic anointing and thereby in the office of an apostle. They, by doing so, what is their intention? They extend the kingdom of God. We are talking about a spiritual kingdom here. So, you know, it's not little that you're taking over regions and geographical territories in the world. That's not, that's not what we are referring to. But this is more of a spiritual extension of the kingdom of God, the way Jesus taught us. He said, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Then reaching, reaching people, as the great commission says, are going to all the world. So, you know, all the world is the, is the field for us to step into and the apostolic does that. Who goes searching for new communities, new people groups, you know, new territories and, and share the gospel. People who have never heard the gospel before to reach them, to establish all them in the kingdom of God. So now that is also very important in the apostolic. Remember, we said that an ambassador is the closest example, right? That, that we have for the spiritual apostle, because in the, in the olden days, they would send forth an ambassador. And today I think the ambassador, ambassadors, ambassadors that we see their roles have slightly changed. But going back to the times of the early church, they would go to a region, settle themselves and begin to establish the culture, the value, the principles, the standards of their own nation. So, they would do that until they subdued the new territory or the new kingdom. So, you know, if one goes to that place, you know, maybe it was, it had, I'm just, I'm just using some term like a southern culture and the ambassador is from the northern, you know, nations. So, you would find that the ambassador would work in such a way that the entire southern region now has a northern culture. So, you know, that is the biblical understanding when we say apostle, we here are going to bring the kingdom of God such that the principles of the kingdom, the values of the kingdom, the standards of the kingdom are also established. So it's more than, okay, people are saved, wonderful, you know, we rejoice in it. It's taking, moving to the next level and the next level where we are establishing them in the things of the word of God. So, also, you know, word of God, now that I mentioned it, the apostolic has the feature of settling people in the truth and the order of God's word. Yes, and of course, you know, coming, talking about the governmental aspects, there is the administration or the oversight of God's people or local churches. So, keeping in line with this, you know, we'll just try to paint the picture of who an apostle is. Now that we are doing it, I also want to let us know that we may not find all these features in one person. Okay, but it just helps us understand the apostolic anointing. So why is it important to understand a certain anointing when we studied about the prophetic? We said that the revelation gifts are active in the prophetic anointing. So that way, we know that God will reveal his heart and that is why we are looking for it, okay, or we are seeking the prophetic anointing. We know that it will bless the body of Christ and so, you know, we are after the prophetic anointing, we know that it can increase, it can release the supernatural. So in understanding something, we are able to, you know, experience, we're able to experience, we're able to appreciate all the things that God is doing through that particular anointing. Now what if we don't define it? No, it will just be very vague and one is that we will not appreciate it. Second is we won't know how to fully step into it. And that is problematic because when God is doing so much in the world today, it's very important for us to understand and then begin to walk in it. Just take for example the prophetic, where people prophesying throughout history, throughout the ages, very much, they were prophesying. But then the thing is they probably did not have the words to explain what was going on. But as time has gone by, we see that people now have language to describe, you know, dreams, visions, the prophetic revelation that, you know, you need to first receive it and you have to interpret it. So it's only in the last season, you know, I'm just saying season for so that we don't have to specify the number of years. But it's only in the last season that you notice, we're able to describe it with words. And that helps because we can have classes like this where we can equip people with what we know, what we can, you know, define. And so the same holds good for the apostolic. So when we are able to define it, when we're able to understand it, we can pass on the knowledge and, you know, there's a greater opportunity for people to see what God is doing in our day and in our time. And that is why we're making this effort to understand the apostolic anointing and thereby, you know, the functions, the characteristics, the features of an apostle. So just bear with me. We're trying to understand it. So that's the whole thing. And there could be some repetition from the last couple of classes as well. So what do apostles do? Apostles pioneer. They pioneer. So there are some passages of scripture here. It'll be helpful to read at least one. Second Corinthians 10 versus 13 through 16. Would anyone be able to read that? Second Corinthians 10, 13 through 16. Ma'am, can I read? Yes, yes, please. Second Corinthians 10, 13 through 16. I hope you can hear me. Yes, yes. Okay. Second Corinthians 10 versus 13 through 16. I am reading from the ESV in the standard version. But you will not boast beyond limits. But we'll boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us to reach even to you. For we are not over extending ourselves as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to become all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. We do not boast beyond limits in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you without boasting of work already done in other areas of influence. Amen. Okay. So thank you, Elasha. Thank you for reading. So that very clearly shows the pioneer spirit. Okay, Elasha, I think there's some echo. If you don't mind, if you could please mute the... Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Yes. So it shows the pioneering spirit where Paul is talking about the appointment by God to a sphere and that he along with his team have reached the Corinthian people and that they are desiring to keep extending their reach to many other territories. So you see very clearly that they are pioneering or going into new places and from there extending into other new places. So we've got that picture. So if you're going to remember anything about apostle pioneer, pioneer is one word that you must remember. So pioneer and first Corinthians 1228 also has something to tell us. Could somebody please read this passage or this verse? One Corinthians 1228. Can I take that again? Yes, yes please Elasha. One Corinthians 1228. That's Corinthians 1228. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, demonstrating and various kinds of tongues. Amen. Yeah. Thank you. All right. So here you notice that God has appointed in the church and it says first apostles. Okay. So what does first mean? First means being those pioneers or the ones who step out of the boat first. Okay. And if you look at the word there first is the Greek word proton, which means first in time or they went first. It can also mean first in order rank or importance. So the understanding is that they move in first, they break ground. So that is their feature or their character. So apostles are first in what first in what first in moving to new territories, expanding into it could be physical territories. You know, the way we have, you know, let's say a country like India, there are so many states, let's maybe the ministry started in one particular state, but then eventually as God's grace increases over that ministry, they have a presence in different states, many states, maybe all the states, and then eventually, you know, touching many nations of the world. So what's happening here? Like you're breaking ground into new territories, you're extending. These are the terms in the Christian circle that we extend the kingdom of God. So this is what it is to move into or begin to impact the lives of more people in new places. Then first in understanding the truth as well or the revelation of God's word. Remember yesterday, I gave an example. I said that we will never try to rewrite what the founding apostles have put in place for us. That's not the new revelation which we are talking about. But we are, we do understand that, you know, God gives depth. He provides, you know, the meaning in a very relevant way for our time and our season. And we find that apostles tend to have this anointing even when it comes to, you know, a new understanding of things, new revelation, you know, and discovering new truths. Okay, so by now you know what I mean by new truths. They pioneer, they pioneer even in this area. And talking about pioneering, you know, they go ahead of others. So this simply means that they are willing to do things first or step in first. Like Peter, he stepped out of the water. Okay, nobody had ever done that before, but Jesus had come. He just stepped out of the water. He stepped out first. So that is the apostolic anointing. That is also, you know, what apostles are like. They pioneer, they receive the truth, new truths, revelation, go to new territories. And also they lead from the front because they have the courage to step out first. Now, because we have looked at 1 Corinthians 12, 28, 12, you know, it seems to give us an order or a ranking. First apostle, then prophets, then, you know. So somehow there is this understanding in the Christian world that apostles are greater than prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists. But when we study the term proton there, first in time simply means somebody who initiates. Okay, so that doesn't mean that there is an hierarchy in the five-fold ministry offices. A good example for us to consider is the Trinity. We usually, you know, we would say that the Father is greater. Jesus said the Father is greater than I. But then you look at other passages where, you know, the Father and I are one. So when you try to understand the mystery of the Trinity, you recognize that all the three persons of the Godhead are co-equal. So though we say, though we see in some verses that the Father is greater, it doesn't mean that there is an hierarchy, but there is a function that we are talking about. And yet there is a harmony in which, you know, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit co-exist. The Holy Spirit is the helper that doesn't make the Holy Spirit below the Father and the Son. Okay, so there's no hierarchy. Like even when you talk about the Trinity, similarly, when it comes to the five-fold ministry offices, based on 1 Corinthians 12-28, we must not interpret that the Apostle is highest as compared to the other ministry offices. And, you know, it's been interpreted that way, and which is why you, I don't know if you have observed or not, but sometimes people tend to treat people with the calling of an Apostle, you know, much better than somebody who has a different calling. So, but that's not how the scripture is, that's not what the scripture is saying. Okay, so yeah, I think that brings us clarity. We continue to paint the picture of an Apostle. Okay, we understood that Apostle is a pioneer. Apostle is a pioneer. Okay, there is a question. Yes, yes, Elisha. Please. Okay. Thank you, Pastor. Yeah. So, with respect to what you are sharing with Apostles as in, though they not being of higher in rank among the other leaders. In some denominations, it seems not to be the case, because I see the rank very clear, such that you start as an Overseer, you move to pastor, then sometimes even to evangelist, then finally Apostle, Apostleship is seen as the last rank that a person can be promoted to. And I see this as causing others to cut the ground of others, others seeking self-promotion, because of that they do a lot of things that you least expect men of God to do. And I think it should give the body of Christ a course of worry. So if, what are some of the challenges that we think could arise when we emphasise on the ranks among this calling of God in the church? Yeah, thank you, Elisha. As you've shared, that's what I'm saying. The way this scripture has been interpreted, it leads to wrong application and any wrong application will have its consequences. And what could be the effects that was your question? I think the striving for positions, because whenever you say that something is the greatest, it's human tendency to want that. And so among those who are serving God with the given callings, we might have people, let's say I recognise that I'm called to be a pastor, but then I'm told that if you serve well, then you could be an apostle. And so I kind of strive to move towards that and it causes a lot of confusion. So I think that's what would happen. And the other challenge would be that someone who has the calling of an apostle will feel that, hey, God's given me the greatest calling. There's no calling beyond mine. And so if that gets into somebody's head, hopefully it shouldn't because every ministry itself, it means service. But then if it does, then as you said, people end up doing things that should never be mentioned of people of God, let alone a servant of God. So yeah, these could be some of the issues, Elisha. Okay, thank you very much. Yes, thank you. Yes, Louis. Yeah. I can see your raised hand. Okay. Just to add to what you say if you permit me. One other concern I've noticed over time is people use their personal dealings with God as doctrines when they want to communicate it in mentorship and discipleship. So God has taken through a part of training over the years and to you has become a doctrine that you want to teach the people not necessarily the scale of preference what God has set in the word of God. So that's why Paul will say the foundation is the apostles and the prophet. So it's time to put a balance in it. So sometimes you have to be careful not to preach our personal experiences as doctrine or rather to preach the word of God as doctrine, laying the foundations correctly because if you don't do that, the next generation is going to take it as the word of God, which is not the word of God. So by the time we get to like the third generation, we are building something way different from what the father has laid. And sometimes I think that's what we do as pioneers or people that God has set forth into kind of ministries or different kinds of ministries. Thank you, Ma. Yes. Thank you, Louis. Thank you for that observation. That's right. So if you move away from the word and use experiences, that's problematic and it only gets worse as generations by generations move on. So same thing applies even when it comes to the prophetic. I want to make a point here. Dreams, visions, people also talk about encounters and nothing wrong with it. Wonderful. These things are real. People do have encounters. But then what happens is when it comes to ministering to the people and sharing God's word, if I say something like, okay, I had an encounter with God and these things happen, I could be correct. I could be incorrect. Now for the listeners, there's no way to validate. It's very subjective. And I don't want to base the equipping of God's people on my experiences. So the experiences are valuable. We share them every now and then. But as Louis pointed out, don't make doctrines out of it and don't make that the primary content of our ministry. So we really have to be very careful about that. Okay, moving forward here. So now we've understood pioneer and we've also understood that ranking is in time. They are the earliest in time. Okay. So they step in first. So that's how the first apostle is understood, not necessarily a structure or hierarchy. Then moving on to another feature of an apostle is they lay foundations for lasting works. Now scriptures tell us, Ephesians 220, that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. So when it comes to the apostle, like practically, you would notice that they start new things or they plant new churches. So in a way their work is very important, very crucial and it is very foundational. So their work is foundational and they lay the foundation for lasting work. So you might know of certain movements, church planting movements that were started by a certain individual. Now if you go back to that one individual through the anointing upon their lives, they would have set the standards. You know, God's supernatural power would have been just been shown in a mighty way that set a precedent. Okay. And these are some things are really good. So when they set the standards, they would have set standards of, you know, integrity. They would have set standards of humility. They would have set certain standards, supernatural power of God. Now the entire movement will kind of shape after that. And thankfully, you know, those things will be like a boundary or those things will be like, you know, something that defines what goes on in the ministry or in the movement. Generally we use terms like movements that start off through apostles. So they are, they do the foundational work and they do the lasting work. Then moving forward, you know, apostles execute divine plans on the earth impacting cities and nations. That again, it's quite understandable as God reveals what he wants done. They are the ones who step in and make that happen. Apostles also guard doctrine. Now going back to the apostles of the Lamb and the early apostles. Again, Acts 15 is your example where there was the false teaching that a Gentile also needed to follow Jewish traditions, including circumcision. And that circumcision was essential for salvation. So when you read about that in Acts 15, you notice that Barnabas and Paul, they literally fought with the people who were bringing in this wrong teaching. So the apostolic is also about guarding the doctrine. Sometimes there's wrong doctrine going around and you would find somebody with the apostolic calling rising up, putting the right doctrine out there and contending the wrong teaching that could damage the lives of God's people. So they're very passionate about the right doctrine. Even to the Corinthian church, Paul wrote and he corrected them about their practice of communion. In 1 Corinthians chapter 11, apparently they would just come and it would be more like a party and people would get drunk on the wine. And so he brings sharp correction and he says, please don't do it like this. You need to honour the table of the Lord. And then he continues to say that, okay, this is something that I am writing to you about, but when I come, I will talk to you then. So quite strict because they are very serious about preserving the right doctrine. So yeah, in manners such as these, you will find the apostles and the apostolic anointing work. Then apostles also have a capability of teaching God's word and revealing the truth of God's word. Now what happens through that is that God's people are established in Acts 20, verse 32. Paul spoke to the leaders of the Ephesian church and he said that, you know, I commend you to the word because the word will build you up. So the word has the capability of shaping, nurturing, maturing God's people and which is why the apostles saw the truth of God's word in people's lives. Now if you look at the ministry of Apostle Paul, it's amazing because, you know, he made an effort. You know, you would see him working very hard like an architect. You know, he goes, plants churches, then he comes back, he appoints leaders. You know, he spends time in certain places in Ephesus. He spends a couple of years. He spends time in, I don't know what other place, Corinth, yeah, I think so. So, you know, he spends time in different places because he understands the importance of bringing people to a level of maturity in God's words. God's word. And then he also warns the Ephesian church. He says, look, you might have wrong doctrines coming in later, which is why you need to know the right doctrine. Well, so then he says, okay, I commend you to God's word, which will build you up. But the point is also that he did spend a lot of time teaching them God's word. If you look at Paul in the prison in the city of Rome, it's incredible again because it says that he was talking about the things of the church. He was talking about the things of the kingdom from morning to night. How can you, like, what is there to talk from morning to night? There is so much of revelation, so much of truth that needs to be spoken into the lives of God's people. And that is important because it will, you know, give them that standing and establish them in the truth of God's word. So, the apostles have that feature of strengthening people in God's, we call it whole council, whole council, whole council as opposed to, you know, I don't want to use the terminology, but like, you know, we like some doctrines and sometimes the tendency is to teach only those doctrines. Okay, I'm just saying, like, let's say God's grace and I only say God's grace, God's grace, God's grace. Is there anything wrong? No, because it's very scriptural. But whole council, whole council is when I understand scripture in its wholeness, you know, while I say that, okay, God loves you, God will accept you, God will forgive you, I must also teach that God is a holy God, that God is a God of truth, God is a God of justice, then it's whole council. Otherwise, you know, it's like, you know, one or two, one doctrine and I'm only teaching God's people on that one particular thing, then I miss out on the whole council of God's word. So, the apostolic is passionate about the whole council of God's word. Then apostles activate and equip believers for spiritual ministry. Obviously, because Ephesians 4 says, why did God give the five-fold ministry offices for the equipping of the saints? Verse 11, so what are these anointings for? Ministry, what is ministry service? We are here to serve. And in fact, if you want to use the term or rank, you know, God has given the greatest rank to somebody as a pastor or a prophet, that's your great servant, that's what it means. So with that should come great humility because we are only here to serve. And what are we here to serve people for or toward? For maturity, we are here to build people up so that they can also do the work of the ministry, so that they can continue to serve God the way God is calling them. So apostles are here to activate and equip believers. Our focus is believers have to mature, and that is what we are working towards. Then apostles raise up and release others. We've talked about this earlier, the way Paul was a father to so many people, you know, he had, he built people up. And what did he do? He observed that he appointed leaders and he just didn't abandon them, but he worked with them to develop them. And at the right time we see that they grew up into a stature where people like Timothy, they could handle churches. So apostles raise up, they raise up leaders, they release them at the right time, and you would see this feature. They continue to connect, they continue to coordinate with leadership. Then apostles establish order in and among churches. Just the way I told us, Paul dealt with the Corinthian church and he wanted things to be done in a proper way. So, you know, apostles will instruct, they will bring God's word and say, hey, come on, this needs to be corrected. We have to move towards purity and holiness and righteousness and all of that. So, they establish God's order. If you consider the writings of Apostle Paul, that's what you would see, order in the family, order in church community, order in the way we treat civil government. So they like to talk about bringing in order, in lifestyle order within the church as well. You know, leadership, how do you honor leadership, who do you appoint as leaders, what should be, what should worship look like. So they speak order into everything. They also, you know, again, I said pioneer, pioneer is a picture. Then somebody laying the foundation is a picture of an apostle, but also, you know, somebody who is leading. Okay, so leading will involve setting the standards, spelling out the rules. It also describes somebody who will step into manage crisis. Remember, I said in the Corinthian church, they had an issue of a person falling into sexual sin. So, you know, Paul was there saying, hey, come on, you need to take this up seriously and deal with the matter. Now don't shove things under the carpet. We have to deal with it. So similarly, if you go back to act six, they had a problem of widows not being fed. And two communities could have fought with each other and that could have been a division in the early church, you know, of the first century. But the beautiful way in which the apostles dealt, okay, here's a problem, fix the problem. So they also manage crisis in the church. They make decrease after the acts 15, you know, discussion and the council meeting in Jerusalem. They said, okay, now this word about being circumcised is being taught to the Gentiles everywhere. We have to put an end to it. Let's make a decree. So what did they do? They set things in stone and they said, okay, come on. We have the authority here and we are making this decree that a Gentile or a non-Jewish person does not need to, you know, be circumcised. You don't have to be circumcised to be saved. So it was very clear if the apostles said it, period. That's it. No questions asked. And even if, you know, there was wrong teaching going around, people could go back and refer to the decree which was made in Jerusalem and say that, hey, come on, this is false teaching because the apostles have already said that, you know, one does not need to be circumcised. So, you know, they make things very clear for the body of Christ so that there is no ambiguity. There's no confusion. And, you know, obviously, following wrong doctrine leads to consequences and, you know, destruction. Unfortunately, some of the things can make a huge impact on people's lives. And so, you know, the apostles are very cautious and they make decrees about the right doctrine. Apostles are also the ones to speak to leaders and authorities. We see the calling of Paul right in early on on the road to Damascus when Jesus speaks. He says that you will stand before kings. You will stand before, you know, leaders for my sake. You will go through a lot of suffering. So it was very clear that God would use the apostle to speak to the leaders of the land. Okay, so for lack of time, I'm just stopping here, but I think we are getting, you know, the understanding of what an apostle is. So I still have to touch on a few things in this chapter. We'll do that and then continue in the next class. So let me stop here. Any quick questions? Oh, it's already 9.50. So please don't mind. Hold on to your questions. We will try and answer it in the next class. Okay, so thank you. Thank you once again for being here this morning. Let's wrap up with a word of prayer. I just leave it open. Anyone who can, you're free to pray. Madam, can I pray? Yes, please, Alisha. Heavenly Father, once again, we are grateful and thankful unto you for the grace and the mercy that you've granted us together here under your feet of God to study and to learn about you. Lord, we pray in the name of Jesus, that as we study the distance of God, may you practically pull us into the various ministries that you have called us into, that we will be able to function in the body of Christ and bring people of God to maturity. Father, we pray that Lord, whatever function, whatever calling that you have placed on each of us, may you grant us the grace to be effective and to be efficient in them in the name of Jesus. That on the day that when we stand before you in judgment, we will not be ashamed. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray with thanksgiving. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Alisha. Thank you, everyone. God bless you. Have a great day, a great weekend. See you next week. Thank you, Garam. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Bye. Bye, God bless.