 pray them and we will begin. I would like to request somebody who hasn't prayed yet in this class to please pray. Anyone want to volunteer? Okay, I'm just seeing your names of anyone here. Will you, Vangi? Vangi, would you like to please and pray? Yes, pastor. Can let's pray. Holy father, we thank you lot for this morning. Thank you for this opportunity, Lord, to come learn more about your kingdom, Lord, and the authority and the way you manifest, Lord, your glory and your power, Lord, through us on earth. We pray just that you open our mind, you prepare our mind and our hearts, Lord, to receive whatever we learn today, Lord, so that we may be equipped, Lord, to share in your glory and to be an example of how your kingdom will look and how you operate, Lord, so other people can see you through us, Lord. In power, pastor, let's see this morning. Give our wisdom, Lord, and give our utterance, Lord, so whatever she teaches, Lord, to go through our heart, our mind, in your might, name, Father, we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Thank you, Vangi. So, in the last class, I know we ended with a good discussion about the God's authority in the family structure and basically, you know, husband and wife, so there were some queries and we discussed about that. So, we will pick up from there. We are still in the family structure, so we discussed about husband and wife and, you know, how the authority looks. Basically, we said they're co-equal, but there is a flow of authority through the husband, so the structure is like the Christ is the head and then the husband and then the wife. And we basically talked about spiritual headship and what that really means. So, continuing from there, in the family, we also know that there are parents and children. Okay. So, and there are so many scriptures to clearly show us that the parents are the authority over the children. And even when we studied about prayer, prayer and intercession, if you all recall, we talked about how a person who's spiritual in the household has influence over the family members. So, anyone who's born again, we have spiritual influence over the children and if you are a parent, then you have influence, spiritual influence over the children. So, the authority flows from God through the parents to the children and that's how it works. And, you know, we don't, children are instructed to obey their parents so that it could go well with them, so that they will have long life, that they will experience God's blessings. And at the same time, you know, parents like fathers are instructed, like Ephesians 6 talks about it, fathers are instructed to lead the children without hurting them or, you know, without, it's just provoking. So, basically, when it comes to nurture, we want to see growth in the child, but not, you know, people might think that, okay, disciplining them very strictly and things like that will bring about growth. Yes, discipline is required, but we are told not to break their spirit. Okay, so there's a very fine balance there as well. So, you discipline the child, you train, you instruct the child, lead the child in the ways of the Lord, but at the same time, you know, don't hurt them or don't destroy their spirit. So, in this manner, God wants us to see that authority flow in the family structure between parents and children. And we also notice in the book of Malachi, in fact, God says that if the hearts of the children are turned towards the fathers and vice versa, the hearts of the fathers are turned towards the children, then, you know, there is a blessing for that. But if it's the other, if there is no, you know, what would you call it, like, if they are against each other, fathers and children, if they are against each other, in fact, you know, God is not very happy about that. So, Malachi 4-6 very strictly God, the word of God declares that, you know, you'd be smitten with a curse and things like that. But basically, the point is that the parents and the children must learn to, like, respect each other and live in unity and have the authority structure flowing the way God has instructed. So, that's a little bit about the structure in the family. And we can go on to the next structure here, which is God's authority in the local church. So, any questions, any thoughts about parents and children? Yeah, Christopher is asking page number, page number 51. I just finished 51, Christopher, moving to page 52. Yeah, anything about parents and children? Okay, everyone seems to be very clear on this. So, yeah, we'll move on. But if you do feel that you need to clarify something, we can always take it up towards the end. So, now, in the local church, it's clear that the pastor, the spiritual leaders are positioned to release the authority of God and that flows through them in the church. So, at chapter 20, when Paul was talking to the Ephesian church, he instructs them and I will read it for you. It's really helpful to read this passage. From verse 28 to verse 30, therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you oversee us, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. For I know this that after my departure, salvage will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also, from among yourselves, then will rise up speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves. So, Paul is very clearly charging the shepherds. We know the shepherd of the church is we've seen, right? Episcopals, like we've seen that, you know, God has positioned these leaders, pastors over the church. So, he's addressing them and he's saying that who has assigned them as leaders over the church? He says, the Holy Spirit has made you. So again, leadership in the church, it's not, you know, a matter of just people deciding who's talented enough, who has leadership skills, let them lead. It's more than that because we know that the church has a spiritual dimension while it also has a natural dimension. So, how is leadership in the church determined? We see here that the Holy Spirit has made you. So, by the instruction of the Holy Spirit and the other word to note here is overseer. So, overseer, of course, we've seen that word when we have studied the structures that is Episcopals, right? Bishops. So, that's what it means from the Greek word Episcopals, overseers. And when he's talking, he says overseers to shepherd. So, to shepherd includes to nurture, to protect, right? To feed, things like that. So, there is a responsibility of the shepherd when he's taking care of God's people and God's people here are referred to as the flock. So, it's just that parallel so that people will understand. So, the pastor is the shepherd of the church. And he also says that this church was bought by the blood of Jesus Christ. So, it's like, you know, when you look at this is, you know, you could see it like a higher health kind of a thing because when you have, let's say you have a garden, it's your garden and you have invested so much to actually tend that garden and it's beautiful, you bring in somebody to kind of care for it when you're not around. Or even when you're around, you know, you have entrusted it to someone to take care of it. So, it is like that. So, the church, we can talk about this later, you know, House of God and again, we are bringing them with us here, whose church is it? You know, my church, your church, things like that come up in the conversation but actually it's the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, none of us can say, oh, this is my church. No, the Holy Spirit has made us an overseer to shepherd the church of God and who's is it? He purchased with his own blood. So, the church belongs to God and, you know, Paul is talking to the believer, the leaders here and he's saying that you must take care of what God has entrusted to you. And in terms of protecting the church, he says that people will rise up, false people will rise up. So, beware of false doctrine, beware of those who cause divisions, tribes, things like that. So, he instructs them. So, there is a responsibility of the pastor or the leader over the church. But at the same time, there are lots of passages in scripture that also talk about those who are being, you know, those who are cared for responding well to the leaders. So, Ahidlus 13 was 17. It says, obey those who rule over you and be submissive for they watch over, watch out for your souls as those who must give up come. Let them do so with joy and not with greed for that would be unprofitable for you. So, when there is oversight provided by the pastor or the spiritual leader, the church is expected to respond with cooperation, joyfully respond to the leaders. And of course, you know, the attitude of the leader, that is understood. You know, we are not supposed to lord over the sheep that God has entrusted to us. So, when the leaders have that attitude, the flock is also encouraged to have the right attitude, one of honor. So, basically both sides, similarly in the marriage honor, husband, wife honor, parents, children honor. So, when we talk about authority structures, there's also this, even though it may not be specified or I'm not specifying it here, there is honor that is required on both sides. So, those who are following, they're asked to obey the leaders. Okay. And there are, you know, other passages, we won't read it, but again, first Thessalonians 5 verses 12 to 13 is something that you can refer to, where again, the people of the church, they're asked to submit and give honor to the leaders, you know, who work hard for them. Then, you know, moving on to first Peter, yeah, first Peter also has a passage which says that those who are leaders, right? So, this is an instruction to the leaders, how should we lead God's people or when I desire to be a pastor or an elder in the church? What kind of service and attitude is expected from me? So, Peter writes and he says that, you know, we must serve willingly. Okay. We must serve God's people willingly. And he also says, don't do it for dishonest gain. Don't do it for monetary benefits. Okay. Because sometimes it can be looked at as, oh, this is a very lucrative opportunity, but no, we are warned against that. And we're very clearly told that those who are leaders in the house of God, we need to do it with a right heart attitude. And Peter also says, don't lord over God's people, but rather lead as examples to the people of God. So, these are the instructions that are applicable to those who are leaders in God's house. And those who, like in God's house, this is the instructor, but also, like Peter does talk about the younger people in church honoring the older folk as well. So, you see that submission also coming in. But at the same time, he does say that, you know, walk submitting to one another. So, there's basically a culture of honor that needs to be maintained in the local church. Now, when we move in this way, with honor, with submission, with unity, with, you know, are actually the submission that we have for people. It is in submission to God. Peter writes about that. He says, look, because you submit to God, you submit to the authorities that God has put in position. And then we do this. Now, what happens when there is unity, when there is cohesiveness? We know, scriptures tell us that God commands a blessing where there is unity. So, God is faithful, like when we follow his authority structure, there is blessing. So, that's a little bit about the authority structure of the local church. Any additional thoughts or comments there about the local church and the leadership? Pastor? Yes, yes, Nangi. I know we've read this before, but earlier on you said there's a spiritual and physical aspect of the church. Can you please just explain a little bit about that? Thank you. Okay, sure. Yeah, Nangi, thank you. So, the spiritual aspect is that, okay, we are the body of Christ, right? So, we talked about that. We are the body of Christ. We are a part of the kingdom of God. These are all things that we can't see, okay? But that is a spiritual aspect. However, the natural aspect is whatever can be seen or whatever can be released through the local church. So, that is the natural aspect. Yeah. So, is that answering your question, Nangi? Yes, Pastor. Thank you. Yeah, sure. Thank you. Yes. Yeah, anything else that you want to clarify? So, yeah, you could just think it through and if at all you have anything to ask, then share towards the end. Okay. Now, God's authority structure in the body of Christ. There's a passage in 1 Corinthians 12. It was 28, where we got as appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. So, even in the five-fold offices that Christ is given as gifts to the church for the equipping of the saints, we notice that there's a mention of the apostles as first. So, what does it mean? Does it mean that anyone who has the anointing, an apostolic anointing, is better than someone who has the prophetic anointing or even any other anointing, if you're teaching anointing, a pastoral anointing. So, is it about a particular anointing being better than the others? So, the answer is more because the first there used in this passage is from the Greek word proton, which basically means first in time or first in order, first in rank or in importance. So, when you study about the apostolic, I think you have that in your second year. You would also see that an apostle is somebody who generally moves into a territory first. So, they are the ones who extend the kingdom of God. They think of new ideas, creative ideas. They think of new zones where you could step in. So, they sort of initiate it and the rest of the team follows. So, honestly, apostle has gone in. For example, apostle Paul, he would go to different regions and he would preach the gospel there and you would have people saved and churches established and then he moves on from there. So, in that manner, apostle is called first not because apostle is better than the other offices, but simply because it is first in time, order than rank. So, with this understanding, we can conclude that again, the 5-4th ministry offices, they are co-equal. They are serving God and it's not that God is saying one anointing is better than the other or anything like that. So, when it comes to ministries, when it comes to the gifts that we have, again, it's not a question of trying to compete and see who needs to be honored over the others. So, if we work in this manner, we will truly serve God's purpose and also we have to recognize that these, specifically about the 5-4th offices, that these offices are meant to serve. So, in Ephesians 4, again, verses 11 and 12, we see that God is given these 5-4th ministry gifts so that the saints are prepared for the work of the ministry. So, it's for the sake of service. Now, when we are serving and we have the heart of service, where is the question of, I'm better than you, you should get, I should get the honor, I should get the respect, none of that. So, when it comes to these anointings, again, we see a structure there, we see a structure, the Apostle is called as the Proton. So, that is kind of the authority structure there. All right. Now, moving forward, the authority structure for a workplace, and there are scriptures that teach us to honor those above us. So, in the times, in the Bible times, it was more like master-born servant, but it's not applicable for us anymore. It's generally employer-employee relationship. But we know that we are supposed to honor the ones who are above us. So, Ephesians 6 verse 5, born servants, we obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, insincerity of heart as to Christ. So, it describes, it further describes the attitude that we must have, an attitude where we are doing our work, not just for the employer, but it's unto the law. So, with that attitude, we are supposed to serve our employers. Now, again, in 1st Peter, there's more about it, where we are told that sometimes some of the masters are not kind, but still, you have the right attitude, you serve with the right attitude. And we see in the examples of people in the Bible, that's Joseph, who obviously he didn't have everything going well and he wasn't treated very well in the places where he worked. But as long as he was faithful to God, you know, God brought the increase, God brought the blessing in his life. And we know how he progressed from not being, I mean, being in the unknown to sort of being out there as the leader of a nation. So, God can do that, but we are being called to faithfulness, we are being called to honor our employers or the people that we work for. And David is also another example at, during his time, Saul was the one who came before David, he was anointed before David. And David had many opportunities to put down Saul. David could have, you know, he could have condemned Saul, right? Because he had experienced a lot of injustice from Saul. But still, you see that David ran for his life, he predicted himself, but he never really let Saul down. And we know that, you know, God blessed him in his lifetime also. And David did so well. And God is the one who exalted him. So, we see this in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, there is encouragement for those who are under, those who come under bosses, leaders, employers for us to serve well as if we are serving God, not as eye service, but we are doing it for the Lord. So, when we incorporate this, in fact, Christian people in the workplace, we should be the best example. And that's what we are called to. So, this is God's government. There is the authority which is given by God in the workplace. And we must respect that. Then there's the authority structure for civil government. And this is also quite clear. Now, we know that Jesus, you know, he, when he was asked the trick question about the coin, he says, whose image do you see on that coin? Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. So, honoring the government, honoring the authority structure that God has put in place over us in our city, in our land, that is, you know, a godly thing to do. And how do we do that? We do that by keeping the loss. We do that by paying our taxes. So, we do that by doing our duties and responsibilities, taking up our responsibilities as the citizens of that land. And Paul encouraged the believers, Romans 13, 1. He said, let every soul be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God. And the authorities that exist are appointed by God. So, we must recognize that the authorities there are, are from God, whether we like them or we don't like them. That's another question. But we are supposed to honor every authority. Why? Because authorities are appointed by God. Okay. So, yeah, and there are lots of other passages that talk about authorities. And in fact, if you look at the kind of authority the Roman Empire, the Roman government that Paul came under, it's amazing that he even wrote this, right? Because they were, they were brutal and they even, I mean, it's, it's terrible. You know, the way they dealt with people in those times. And yet, you know, Paul recognizes that the civil authority above him is appointed by God. So, we must respect it. Okay. And yeah, like, I mean, I'm just wondering when Paul was tried, they found it hard to find the reason against him. So, you know, he's tried to get moving from one court to the next court to the next court. And even when he was in Rome, he was there for a while. Okay, because they, they wanted to find the reason against Paul, but he was a law-abiding citizen. Okay, so he honored the law of the land. So, in that manner, we are called to respect the government system, respect the governmental authority over us. Okay. And we are also encouraged to pray, to pray for the government. This is in 1st Timothy 2, versus 1 through 3, where we are told that it is our responsibility, right, as believers to pray for our government. Now, yeah, so that's about the government. Now, what to do if the government has rules that may cause us to go away from God's word. Now, clearly, when, when we are called to do something against God, you have the examples of people like Daniel, Shabrach, Meshach, and Abednego, right? So, they said, you have to bow down before this idol. And they said, no, sorry, we can't do that. Okay, so if we are called to do something against God, we see, even from the New Testament, this is when Peter and John, they are warned, they go and heal a layman in Acts 3 and Acts 4, they were caught and they were interrogated, they were threatened, severely threatened, and said, look, if you preach in the name of Jesus, then this is it, like we're warning you. But they knew that they have to follow God. So, in Acts 4, 19, Peter and John answered, is it whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. Okay, so they were clear on their convictions, they were clear on, you know, their allegiance in that sense, that if we are asked to do something against God, then sorry, no, we can't do that. Okay, and again, there's another incident, this is in Acts 5, where, you know, once again, they're asked to not serve this Jesus. So, they clearly respond, they say, we ought to obey God rather than men. So, yeah, so in the event of the government asking us to do something against God, it's pretty clear cut that we are supposed to follow God. Okay, yeah. So, I think this kind of covers all the key things about government. And we can also remember that true history, no matter which government is in place, we've seen that God's purposes are accomplished, right. So, even though Pharaoh was, his heart was hard and he was not willing to let the people go, you know, God did miracles, God knew, right, how to bring the people out. So, God is able to do that. We as God's people, we can continue to pray for the government, we can continue to pray for the kingdom of God to come in our land, right, so on and so on. So, God can, God can still work if the government is unwilling, right, about certain matters. But yes, we are called to respect the government, honor the government, and to abide by the law, to the best of our abilities. Whenever we do that, we relate rightly to all the, not just the government structure, but all the structures, all the authority structures. You know, God has put it in place for a reason, right, and he tells us, this is the order. So, whenever we follow the order, there is a blessing in it, okay, and things go well. So, that's about the flow of authority in different settings. At this point, are there any, okay, Beth has a question here. She says, local church is the body of Christ. So, how do we marry the authority structure of local church with body of Christ? Where does the apostle link with the local pastor if they are different people? Okay, very, very good question. Yes, so, we know that the local church is a part of the body of Christ. So, the local church is supposed to respect the five-fold ministry offices. So, out there in the body of Christ, we have apostles. Now, the leader of the local church who is the pastor, that person will decide, okay, how he would like to link with the apostle. Now, if he himself has an apostolic calling, then, you know, he leads the church. But otherwise, you know, he may consult with the apostle, invite the apostle, maybe some of the teachings of the apostle can be given at the church. So, there are many ways, Beth, there are many ways. So, the pastor can, the key thing is that the pastor has to respect that apostolic calling and be led by God as the Holy Spirit leads, he can connect with the apostle. Does that answer your question? Sort of. Okay, yeah. Okay, what better example can I make? Who identifies who the apostle is in the church setting? Okay, so, we generally say this, Beth, usually, to identify a calling, we can observe, okay, then we are actually saying the apostle is head. No, that's not what we're saying, we're not saying the apostle is head, we're saying, recognize every anointing in the body of Christ. Similarly, if the pastor, like the pastor can honor the apostolic calling, which is in the body of Christ, the pastor can honor the prophetic calling, which is in the body of Christ, the pastor can honor the teaching calling, which is out there. So, basically, see, the pastor will not behave like, yeah, we are bubbled by ourselves and nobody else exists, because there are moves of God in the body of Christ and you will study that in revivals, you will study that in church history. So, God is, you know, there is this whole dynamic that is happening in the entire body of Christ. Now, it's only when the local pastors, right, they are in tune with that, that we can all move together. Okay, so, which is why that link that you talked about, that needs to be there, but how that link is established, it varies from church to church, how they deal with the five-fold ministry offices and ideally, every church should have all the five-fold ministry offices any way. But there are so many others in the body of Christ, so we establish a good community, good fellowship with them, and whatever God is doing in the apostolic realm, in the prophetic realm, we receive those things. Okay, so that's the context in which I was talking about it. Now, your question about how who identifies the apostle. So, we generally say this, right, that as one is serving over time, the anointing becomes clearer. So, we would judge on the basis of what ministry is being accomplished through that individual's life. So, you know, who identifies an apostle? I'm just giving you an example. If I call myself, you know, apostle Maxi, nothing wrong with it. If God has already spoken to me about it, then I want to call myself a apostle. But the better way is that I would do what I'm called to be, okay, maybe for months, maybe for years together, and eventually what happens? People around me recognize the anointing on my life. So, whether I call myself a prophet or a teacher or an apostle or anything, people will call you that, right? So, the church as such begins to recognize, wow, this person carries this particular anointing. And that's a better way. So, who identifies? I think you should let the ministry kind of define your role, and it happens over time. Okay, and I hope that answers your question. Then, which I think, and we are actually saying the apostle is there. Yeah, I think I have touched on all your questions, but would that be okay? Or is that, is there something specific you're trying to get that? Okay, sure. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Okay, and Rose, apostles plant a church and the local pastors who are called to serve a certain congregation that the apostles might have planted are the ones who nourish them. These born-again flocks, apostles can come and go. Their pastors are rooted in a certain place. Yes, you're right, Rose. So, the personal calling is to tend the sheep. It should take care of the sheep and which is why a pastor is usually like he's committed to that body. So, you won't find him leaving that body and traveling around, even if he is traveling around. See, there's also this aspect that an individual can have multiple callings. So, you are, what do you say, like a prophetic pastor, apostolic pastor, right? So, you can have multiple anointings on the life of the same person. So, even if this person, let's say this person is just a pastor, okay? The anointing is only a pastor and he teaches a little bit. So, he will be committed to the church even if he travels out for a while to preach. He'll always come back because he needs to be there to take care of the church. But if someone has an apostolic calling like Paul, yes, they will go all over the place, extend the territory, right? Go to new churches, so on. And they may not necessarily keep coming back to a base church. But when they are through, they might come back to that original or whatever you want to call it, people call it the base church. So, yeah, that's right. Yes. So, okay, don't evangelize plant churches. Okay, so when it comes to planting churches where what we observe in the Bible is you don't really need a, or I would put it as you don't see someone with a particular anointing doing it. For example, the church of Antioch, okay? The church of Antioch, when you study who planted that church, you'd find that it was just some believers who got dispersed from the church of Jerusalem because of persecution. These were just believers like you don't even know their names, but they planted the church. So, anybody can plant a church. So, that includes evangelists. Why not? Anybody can plant a church. Sure, thank you. Okay, any more questions to, or even your comments, you just want to make a point. So, yeah, I think it's quite clear the authority structures. We will move on to the next chapter here in our notes. And this is about the literal kingdom, okay? So, here about the literal kingdom because we're discussing the kingdom of God, there's a question. The spiritual aspect, no, the question that Mani brought up, we are part of the kingdom of God. That also is a spiritual dimension. We don't see it in the natural realm, but we belong to the kingdom. But when will this spiritual kingdom be like a literal kingdom? There are lots of scriptures in the Bible that talk about the time when the Lord Jesus will rule and reign from the earth. And you find even the disciples knowing this truth. So, they ask Jesus before His ascension, they ask Him, so when are you going to establish the kingdom? Okay, they ask Him that question because in the teachings of Jesus also He made it very clear that there is going to be a literal kingdom. Right now it's spiritual. And we say kingdom of God, people from different languages, tribes, you know, if there's no physical boundary, but in a spiritual way, we are all connected. But there will be a time when there will be a literal kingdom on the earth. So, there are many scriptures here. I think I will not go into a lot of detail in this chapter because in the second year, I know that you also have the end times where there will be good, you know, in-depth discussion about all these matters. So, for our understanding here in the kingdom of God, it's enough for us to know that God has planned a literal kingdom. And there are prophecies after prophecies that talk about it. There is, you know, Jacob's prophecy in Genesis 49 verse 10. It says, the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the people. So, as you look at the details of the terms that are mentioned, you know, lawgiver and Shiloh has to do with peace. You know, Jesus is the Prince of Peace. And Judah, you know, that the king has to come from the tribe of Judah. So, there are prophecies that are pointing in that direction that the Lord Jesus will be ruler over the literal kingdom. And God has a covenant. God had a covenant with David and said that he will not lack somebody on the throne. And God told him that your throne shall be established forever. So, we know that God is going to position somebody from the descendants of David as the ruler over his people. So, there are, you know, ample prophecies even in this chapter. If you just look at it, there's verse after verse that talks about the coming kingdom. So, Isaiah foretold it, Daniel foretold it, right? So, they all talked about it. And when exactly is this kingdom going to come? We know who the king of the kingdom is, right? We know that it's our God. And when Jesus was born, the angels came and they declared, they said that this is the Son of God. This is Jesus, right? And then they clearly point out that they said, Lord will give him the throne of his father David. So, they have indicated, announced that this is the king of that kingdom, right? So, the angels also made that announcement. And then, you know, we know that when the second coming happens, the second coming of the Lord Jesus happens, he will overthrow every other authority here on the earth and the kingdom of God will be established physically. Yeah. So, I think I will just touch upon it in that manner and wrap it up. Unless, sorry about getting disconnected, there's a bar cut here. So, yes, if there's any question, we can take that up before we wrap up the session. Okay. All right. So, let's do this then. Let's go for a break now, because we are out of time and we will come back in 10 minutes and we will continue. So, see you all at 11. Okay. Thank you.