December 2013 next wave magazine by Life Network

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THE NEXT WAVE www.icof.net How to Be Apostolic Without Apostles Bernie L. Wade

PUBLISHER International Circle of Faith (ICOF)

Treatise on Genuine Apostleship Dr. Len Robinson

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ISLAM AND THE PUBLIC SCHOOL

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HOW TO BE APOSTOLIC WITHOUT APOSTLES

While we have this abundance of the use of the words Apostolic and Apostle, most of these groups ignore the doctrine of the Apostles and of the New Testament Church. One should see a BUYER BEWARE sign on most of these self appointed Apostolic groups.

By Bernie L. Wade Imagine you meet someone and in the 3course of the conversation they tell you that they are Apostolic. When you ask “What is Apostolic?” They probably don’t give you a very good answer but they may be able to give you the general idea that it has something to do with the Apostles. A natural follow-up question would be, “So, how many Apostles do you have in your church? They answer, “We don’t have Apostles.” Or “We don’t believe in Apostles.”

The word Apostolic is used to give the impression that the group or church is somehow connected to the Apostles of Jesus Christ. While their title says Apostolic, what is actually being offered seldom represents the New Testament Church or the Apostles of Jesus Christ. If these groups or churches faced litigation for false advertizing they would be in real trouble. What is advertized is not “in the jar”.

This may leave you confused. You might brave the question, “How can you be Apostolic without any Apostles?”

The title of this treatise may seem strange. You may realize that the concept of being Apostolic without Apostles is like an apple without a core or a car without an engine. Yet, that is exactly what we see repetitively. Apostolic has become a word almost without meaning joining advertizing slogans like NEW, NEW & IMPROVED, BIGGER, BETTER, etc.

One of the buzz words of the Church today is the word Apostolic. Words like Apostles, Apostolic Reformation, Apostolic succession, etc. are common. Coalitions of Apostles have become common. Churches with the words Apostolic in their name are in every city. Denominations with the word Apostolic in them are equally as common. With all this attention to the Apostolic one would think that the mantle of those New Testament leaders was active in our modern Church.

FALSE APOSTLES Inside most of these various Apostolic groups or churches one generally finds a variety of things. Few, if any, of these actually recognize Apostles. Some 3

light.” It is evident that these modern pretenders have similar motives.

have not considered their position on Apostles others teach that there are no longer Apostles. For some the obvious lack of Apostolic anointing was addressed by titling some of their pastors as Apostles. Among these the word Apostle is more of a man-made title than an actual representation of the imprimatur of the Holy Spirit resting the mantle of an Apostle on that person. Most of these groups continue to use the Roman system. A system that was adapted from Nimrod and is patterned on Babylon and Egypt – not on the New Testament Church of the Apostles of Jesus Christ.

The purpose of the true Apostle is to release Apostolic anointing. The anointing of the Apostles was the power to break every chain. When the Holy Spirit was yet to manifest in Acts Chapter 8, it would take Apostolic anointing for the manifestation of the Holy Spirit and to rebuke the evil plan of Simon the Sorcerer. In Acts 19, Apostle Paul found some disciples of John but they were not aware that the Holy Spirit was available to them. After their encounter with Apostle Paul they received the Holy Spirit! This is the kind of anointing that the Apostles of the New Testament Church brought to impact those around them. The vision of Charles Parham and other like minded people of God was to see restoration of the power and anointing of the Apostles of the New Testament Church.

You might ask, “Why all the fuss?” The idea of false Apostles is not new. In his 2nd Epistle to the Corinthians Apostle Paul wrote this chilling rebuke,

Much of the modern word usage related to the Apostolic comes to us from Charles Fox Parham (the father of the modern Apostolic [Apostolic Faith] and Pentecostal movements) who in the early 1900’s started the Apostolic Faith movement. From this powerful man, filled with the Holy Spirit, came a global group of followers of Jesus Christ who were focused on seeing Apostolic

“But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of

Reformation; meaning the New Testament Church and the Apostles doctrine restored.

available (like it was in the New Testament) with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Those who continue to use the Apostolic Faith name seldom resemble these Apostolic Faith forefathers. Like an Old Testament passage these wear the title of their forefathers but “none of them is able to speak the language of Judah, but the language of his own people” (Nehemiah 13:23). These modern pretenders of the Apostolic seldom realize that even these forefathers were not satisfied with what they had accomplished. Rather, they saw their efforts as only a beginning and hoped for the day when the restoration or Apostolic Reformation would come to fruition.

Parham was committed to breaking down the racial, gender and other barriers, while standing up to the religious systems of his day. He envisioned a restoration of the Apostles and the New Testament Church – an Apostolic Reformation.

APOSTOLIC REFORMATION However, men with less vision and much more ambition hijacked the Apostolic Faith movement creating a plethora of denominations, groups, churches, etc. These were generally interested in speaking in tongues but didn’t embrace Apostolic reformation. Millions would receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit (evidenced by speaking in other tongues), but most would not look beyond this introductory phase to know more about God, His will and the mandate he left for His Church and those original Apostles.

In 1901, Charles Parham and his Apostolic Faith band marched through the streets of Houston, Texas proclaiming that God was restoring the Apostles doctrine. These had recently understood that the Holy Spirit was still

Sadly, when we polled people to ask them what Apostolic meant; even those (Continued on Page 7) 5

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cheap evangelism, with a rather cheap evangelistic message that is not worthy in the high sense of being called Pentecostal (and certainly not Apostolic).”

(How to be Apostolic continued) who are part of groups that claimed to be “Apostolic”, we found none of them could even tell us what the word meant, let alone explain the purpose, mandate or imprimatur of the Holy Spirit connected with its rightful implementation. In 1927, John G. Lake vocalized the realization that the Apostolic Faith movement had never reached the potential of the divine mandate that had been given to restore the New Testament Church.

Thus, this Pentecostal movement became a cheap replica of what God had envisioned in the mantle and mandate of the Apostolic. Lake lamented this, “Jesus Christ is not a church any more--just a mob.”

Among other things, John G. Lake:  called Azusa Street an “advertizing stunt”1  said that the world does not know true Christianity, 2  In spite of its popular impact, Pentecostals (a detour from the original vision of the Apostolic Faith) failed to exemplify true Christianity

With little regard for this, modern usurpers continue to tout the Pentecostal movement as a genuine Apostolic mandate even though nearly all groups claiming to be or using the word Apostolic are merely holdovers from the efforts of the last century. Lake described the situation this way, “a group of little men with little minds, trying to fill big men’s places in life and in the work of God. It is pitiable and laughable to watch the trick monkey stuff. NAME WITHHELD is extremely jealous, insanely so, and this causes him to stoop to such dishonorable little things as no one could believe unless you were on the ground and saw it. It always makes me think of a bantam

John G. Lake made it very clear that this movement was NOT “comparable with the apostles, or the leaders of Christianity in the first centuries.” He said, “We have rather been an order of 1

John G Lake to Parham. Letter from John G Lake to Charles Parham MAR 24, 1927 2 John G Lake to Parham. Letter from John G Lake to Charles Parham MAR 24, 1927

rooster among a flock of decent sized chickens. The only thing the bantam can do is strut.”

Ananias and Sapphire to the graveyard.”3 Lake voiced what was clearly understood among these forefathers a century ago. Holy Spirit filled leaders of the days such as W. Fay Carrothers, Seeley D. Kinne, Cannon, Dr. Kenyon, Wallace understood that the outline of the fivefold ministry in particular and the church in general outlined by Apostle Paul in I Corinthians Chapter 12 was a model that had to be implemented in the modern church if were to make any claim to mantle of being Apostolic. This was a model that was a foreign concept to those who came from a plethora of denominations to the Apostolic movement.

Speaking about the institutionalization of the concept of Apostolic Reformation, John G. Lake wrote this, “The spirit of denominationalism in The Assemblies of God (one of many pretenders for the Apostolic mandate) is probably narrower than even in the old churches from which Pentecostal people have been escaping for the last thirty years. So that as a power to bless mankind and put an ideal before the world such as the scriptures outline and as our soul is longing for, it does not seem to me they are worth discussing or considering.” Lake conceded that even the idea of restoring the Apostolic was dying. That was 90 years ago!

Lake explained to Charles Parham that the Pentecostals (a schism from the Parham’s vision of Apostolic Reformation) settled for one manifestation of the spirit; ‘speaking in tongues’ when Parham had envisioned the whole of Apostolic Reformation John G. Lake said, “I am rather inclined feel, brother, that we have been too small for God's uses and purposes in this matter.”

Lake, Parham and their contemporaries (Garfield Thomas Haywood, Howard Goss, Maria Woodworth-Etter, and others) envisioned the restoration of the Apostolic Church that would be powerful; releasing Apostolic anointing in the earth. Lake recorded it this way, “The same Holy Ghost through Peter flashed out like a sword of glory and smote the disease from the lame man at the Beautiful Gate, was the same sword that flashed out of his spirit and sent

NO APOSTLE – NO APOSTOLIC So, how can you be truly Apostolic without Apostles? The answer is simple; you cannot be Apostolic without Apostles! Just like you can’t have a 3

John G Lake to Parham. Letter from John G Lake to Charles Parham MAR 24, 1927

working car without an engine. What calls itself Apostolic today is primarily a fraud living in the shadow of a dream from the last Century. They are a car without an engine. There are as was instructed by Apostle Paul to his son Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:5, …Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Apostolic Reformation. It was their dream to see, “A Holy Ghost united, authoritive and God controlled and God-directed and God-empowered body, through whom God could meet the challenge of Rome (man-made system of the church that opposed the Apostolic mandate) and hell and anti-Christ and every other institution of the devil that the latter days bring forth.”4

For the last Century most of those claiming to be Apostolic have done so without Apostles. Like Rehoboam, who replaced the gold shields of his father’s with brass ones, the embarrassment of operating without the anointing of the Apostles has been compensated by replacing Apostolic anointing with a plethora of man-made programs, systems and ideas. This new cart uses men who their man-made system calls pastors to replace nearly every function of the five-fold ministry.

Efforts, movements and outpourings that might lead the adherents to become truly apostolic have been met by with great opposition by those in this myriad of religious traditions. To be Apostolic we have to return the church to being truly Apostolic; not just being Apostolic in name only. Apostolic is not a word on a sign or letterhead.

Many churches have a The Egyptians taking Solomon’s shields of We have a plethora of gold. Rehoboam replaced these with multiplicity of pastors and movements claiming to be shields of brass no other part of the Apostolic while operating fivefold ministry is recognized. Seems under the same system as the Roman like everyone is a pastor. Church. Rome brought us a man-made system; a new cart to replace the plan of God. This man-made system has generally been the impetus for a plethora of movements, groups, denominations, etc.

Without Apostles there is no Apostolic. No one can be Apostolic without Apostles. Like Charles Parham and a host of others, John G. Lake hoped future generations would build on their foundation to bring an

John G Lake to Parham. Letter from John G Lake to Charles Parham MAR 24, 1927

Bernie L. Wade is President of the International Circle of Faith (ICOF), a network of some 50,000 ministers, churches, and parachurch ministries representing more than 25 million followers of Jesus Christ.

What we need is to see a genuine return to the New Testament Church. To really be Apostolic, the church is going to have to have Apostles just as the first Century Church. The true Church will, of necessity have to see the restoration of fivefold ministry; not only apostles but also prophets, teachers, pastors and evangelists. This will begin a restoration that will return the church to the model of the Jerusalem Church and subsequent Antioch Church; a model of Church that was abandoned in 380 AD when Theodosius of Rome claimed that all the Church had to answer to him. This edict ended 300 years of the Church operating under the imprimatur of the Holy Spirit and the direction of the five-fold ministry and ushered in a new order of man-made rulers.

Coming in the January issue of the Next Wave: The Protestant Reformation has DIED by Bernie L. Wade Here is an excerpt: Where are we at 500 years after Wycliffe started the Reformation? What have we lost? What have we recovered? In 1500 John Wycliffe set out on the path to restore the Church to its New Testament origins. Wycliffe boldly declared that he would â&#x20AC;&#x153;do only those things that were Apostolic (that the Apostles taught) and NOTHING that the Papacy dictated.

Apostolic means, like the Apostles. Without the Anointing of the Apostles a movement will never be Apostolic. The Book of the Acts of the Apostles outlines the exploits of men and women led by the Holy Spirit who hazarded their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to give birth to the New Testament Church. These turned their world upside down. We will have to do the same. We must be ready to sacrifice everything for the cause of Jesus Christ.

His resolve would be the spark that would set in motion a movement that would eventually be identified as the Protestant Reformation. Some 500 years after Wycliffe (who eventually was martyred for his faith) took his bold stance It seems prudent to analyze how much progress we have madeâ&#x20AC;Ś

Submitted respectfully and prayerfully.

Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and according to Colossians 2:15 He did just that by dying on the Cross. Period. “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil“ Hebrews 2:14

~ Dr. Cindye Coates

It wasn't in the corridors of hell that salvation was achieved and the devil was defeated, it was on The Cross! While some argue that a method of salvation was achieved by the Cross, they reject the notion that the devil was defeated because of the Cross. Because they read The Book of Revelation as largely unfulfilled, they also read the account in Revelation 20 of Satan's binding as also unfulfilled and yet to happen in the future. But this interpretation is against the New Testament's description of Satan’s position since the Cross.

I wake up every morning to start my day living for Jesus, rather than against Satan. I don't have to bind Satan to get over difficulties or to make it through life and neither do you! There is an un-biblical belief requiring the Believer to engage in mortal combat with demons in spiritual warfare in order to further the Great Commission. This concept of over-stating the power and role of Satan is rooted in the false notion that Christ descended into Hell to wrestle the keys of Hell and Death out of the hand of Satan in the corridors of Hell in order to achieve our Salvation. “In order for the Believer to live a victorious life they must constantly battle Satan”, says those who have been blinded by this false sense of responsibility. Defeated. Conquered. Bound. “In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross of Christ.” Colossians 2:15

"BINDING" IN THE BIBLE "Binding" can be physical, such as being bound by shackles, chains or ropes (Mark 5:4) or bandages (Luke 10:34). It can also be non-physical. That is, someone could be bound by an oath (Matthew 23:16; Acts 23:12), a condition, or an obligation. Jesus questioned whether it was right for Him to heal a woman who had been 'bound by Satan for eighteen years' (Luke 12

that he could ask “a thousand questions” of God and have them all answered. Surely this language is stating the enormous depth of God's knowledge rather than limiting God to the capacity to only answer a thousand questions.

13:16). Christ also stated that we could only 'bind' people on Earth with what they were already bound by in Heaven. In this sense, binding referred to obligations and it meant that people who could no longer do what the Pharisees had done when they invented certain rules they called 'binding rules' (things forbidden), instead they could only restrict people from doing what God said they were restricted from doing.

The Law-Giver says that God's love extends to “a thousand generations” to those who keep His covenant. Surely God's love does not expire after a thousand generations of humanity? The Psalmist said that God “owns the cattle on a thousand hills”. Does this imply that the cattle on hill number 1001 and beyond are not God's? It appears that the biblical usage of “a thousand” paints a picture of a number so large that it's not meant to be counted as “thousand” was the largest increment. The words, “million”, “billion”, “trillion”, etc… did not exist. “Thousand” was the largest increment and so it was used to figuratively express endless longevity!

Meaning of “THOUSAND” When it comes to interpreting the passage in Revelation 20 about Satan being bound at the beginning of “the one thousand year reign of Christ”, it is assumed by some (who believe in a literal and future 1,000 reign of Christ on Earth) that neither the Kingdom of God in which Christ is king ("1,000" years) or “the binding of Satan” has taken place. Silly simplistic arguments are used to dispute those, who like me, regard the "1,000" years as linguistically representing the rule and reign of Christ from the close of the Old Covenant in 70AD to the present day (and beyond). To ignore the way the Bible uses the number "1,000" and to then impose a literal understanding of it into the Revelation 20 text is perilous. Job says

That's exactly what it means in Revelation 20. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, Revelation 20:2

Secondly, since Satan is a noncorporeal being (that is, he doesn't have a physical body) physical objects, such as metal chains, cannot restrict him. Therefore, whatever binding means in Revelation 20:2, its certainly cannot mean a physical restriction. Since we have already seen that binding can mean something non-physical, it is far more probable that the binding referred to in Revelation 20:2 is symbolic language for restriction.

Cross, then the statement in Revelation 12:12 becomes non-sensical as they are forced into the absurd position of claiming that the devil's short time is from the Cross to the present day. This type of Bible interpretation requires mental, theological, and exegetical gymnastics. For those of us not prepared to abandon the ordinary rules of Bible interpretation (including: Context, Non-Contradiction, Original Intention) such fanciful interpretations are not only ridiculous but impossible. Since we know that the Cross announced the end of the Old Covenant which continued to function until the New Covenant had been preached to every Jew in the Empire, and which Christ said was conditional for the ending of the Old CovenantAnd this Gospel of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world [Greek word: "oichoumene", def'n: 'Roman Empire'] as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14

The Cross terminally weakened Satan, and the culmination of the Old Covenant in 70AD destroyed his ability to exploit the condemnation of the Mosaic Covenant. Therefore, rejoice O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!â&#x20AC;? Revelation 12:12

The writer of Hebrews, who wrote to discouraged Jewish Christians encouraging them not to succumb to the taunts of Pharisaic Jews that the Mosaic Covenant has not been done away with since the Temple, Priesthood and Sacrifices were still in place, revealed to them-

The teaching of the New Testament is that Christ came to defeat the works of the devil. For those who believe that nothing changed for Satan since the

In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what 14

is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. Hebrews 8:13 Satan did everything he could to prevent the first Church from preaching the Gospel to every creature- because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. 1Thessalonians 2:18

restricted from deceiving nations and accusing the brethren in the presence of God (since he is now cast out of heaven). For those who claim that if Satan is bound now "he certainly has a long leash" - I suggest that if he isn't bound now he certainly lacks imagination! If Satan is not now restricted from conducting unlimited evil by the Lordship of Christ then his lack of rampant evil is bewildering.

But despite Satan's best efforts, the Gospel prevailed by 70AD- the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing— Colossians 1:5-6

Noted church leaders are quick to ignorantly attribute natural disasters to Satan as evidence of his unbounded evil. But so-called natural disasters are more often than not a vital part of God's maintenance plan for sustaining Creation.

if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. Colossians 1:23

Earthquakes, tsunamis, bush-fires, floods are all designed by God for the purpose of sustaining life on earth. The Biblical expression "1,000" speaks of not meant to be counted.

When all those living under the Old Covenant had had an opportunity to convert to Christ and accept the New Covenant, the Old Covenant could end. With the end of the Old Covenant came the 'binding' of Satan. From that point Satan could no longer come into the presence of God (as he did in Job 1-2), instead he was 'bound' from approaching God, and 'bound' for eternal damnation ("bottomless pit").

(1) God owns the cattle on a 1,000 hills. PS. 50:10 (2) Job could ask 1,000 questions and each time receive an answer. JOB 9:3 (3) God's faithfulness is to 1,000 generations, and so on. DUET 7:9 In a similar way, after the close of the Old Covenant Age with the destruction of the Temple and abolition the sacrificial system, Christ established His New Covenant reign.

Satan was defeated at the Cross. He was bound at the close of the Old Covenant. This means that he is 15

HOW FAR INTO THE FUTURE DID REVELATION CLAIM SATAN WOULD BE BOUND?

“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8

Some claim that the Book of Revelation was written about events which were to be fulfilled in the much distant future. But the Book of Revelation makes emphatic claims that its contents pertained to its original audience. The opening verses of Revelation could not be clearerThe revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that, must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John...Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. Revelation 1:1, 3 ESV

And He did!

Dr. Cindye Coates and her husband Dr. Stan Coates lead a ministry team for Solomon’s Porch in Atlanta. Both Dr.’s Coates are graduates of International Circle of Faith Colleges, Seminaries and Universities (ICOF CSU).

It flies in the face of logic to claim that although it plainly states that its contents are immediately about to happen, it actually meant that they were thousands of years off! That is an absurd interpretation. This also relates to what it says about the doom of Satan. The correct interpretation of “Satan's time is short" (Rev. 12:12) as the forty or so years (an incredibly short time in the scheme of Biblical history) as being from the Cross to the destruction of Jerusalem. To suggest that Satan's "short time" was from the Cross to the present day defies all ordinary senses of language and basic critical thinking skills. 16

EDITORS NOTE: You need to understand what we have lost before you can truly understand Apostolic Reformation. This article will explain.

established in the present truth” (2 Peter 1:12). “Present truth” is that truth which was revealed to them at that time. The early church understood the importance of moving with God in the present tense. When standing before the Sanhedrin court, the disciples had an amazing testimony while sharing only those things they had personally seen and heard. The religious leaders “. . . realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). This world needs to see the same type of people moving with God in the present tense. The Church should testify to a now relationship with Him, demonstrating His power with signs and wonders.

Vision Three: Restoration by Dr. Robert Straube

In hindsight, we see a glorious Church in the first century. Comparing it to the Church today makes us wonder if we will ever see similar Christianity again. Yet the Scriptures make plain that God is restoring truth and spirit to the Church in these final hours of history. That is what Restoration is all about!

A. Introduction In order to be birthed into the vision of any local church, it is necessary to understand what God is doing in the Church today. It has been the tendency of some to see the Church only from a historical perspective – as in the book of Acts or in the great revivals of the past. We can learn from what God has done, but we must not limit His present move by His past ways. God is getting ready to do an outpouring, as we have never seen before, as soon as His Bride becomes ready!

Haggai 2:9 “The glory of the latter temple shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts: and in this place I will give peace, says the Lord of hosts.” Joel 2:23-25 “Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for he has given you the former rain faithfully, and he will cause the rain to come down on you – the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with

When writing to believers in the early church, the Apostle Peter earnestly desired that they would be “. . . 18

new wine and oil. ‘So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, my great army which I sent among you.’”

restitution. Here are some examples of this principle: 1. Restoration had to be made either in a greater measure, more substance, or better quality than that which was originally taken. So, through restoration one gained more than he had lost. This principle is clear in the following biblical principles of restoration: Exodus 22:1-9 Five oxen were restored for the loss of one ox. Four sheep were restored for the loss of one. Two animals were restored for each one taken. The best quality was to be given when making restoration. Twice as much money was restored for theft.

Acts 3:20-21 “. . . and that he may send Jesus Christ, who has preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”

Leviticus 6:1-5 An additional 20 percent was restored to that which was originally lost.

B. Restoration Defined The Hebrew word for “restoration” is “shalam.” It means “to restore something stolen or owed.”

Luke 19:8 Even in New Testament days, the principle of restoration was mentioned. Zacchaeus wanted to restore four times the money for any dishonest gain.

The Greek word for “restoration” is “apokathistemai.” It literally means “to set something back to its original state.” Its fullest meaning is “to be complete, to finish, to refresh, to set again, to put back into existence or use that which has been lost.”

2. Sarah is an example of physical restoration. The Bible describes her as being well stricken (smitten) with age. She was 90 years old – an old woman who was past the age of childbearing. However, God promised that she would

The Old Testament has many examples of restoration where loss was incurred. When real property was stolen, the offender was responsible to make 19

bear Abraham’s son, who would be the father of a great nation. This could only happen through restoration.

truth. The New Testament was written during this time by inspiration of the Holy Spirit through such men as Peter, James, John, Luke, Matthew, Mark, and Paul. They experienced:

If we follow along in the Genesis narrative, we will notice that there was an apparent physical change in Sarah’s appearance. Abimelech, king of Gerar, obviously wanted her in his harem (Genesis 20:1-18), which leads us to believe that God miraculously restored her physical beauty. She was restored to such an extent that she was able to conceive and bear the promised seed, Isaac.

1. Salvation by faith (Acts 16:30-31) 2. Water Baptism by immersion (Acts 8:38-39) 3. Holiness and sanctification from the world (2 Corinthians 6:17) 4. Healing by the power of the Spirit (Acts 5:16) 5. Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4) 6. Laying on of hands and prophecy (Acts 13:3) 7. Resurrection of the dead (Acts 9:36-40) 8. Eternal judgment (Acts 5:1-11) 9. Praise and worship (Acts 16:25) 10. Joy (Acts 13:52) 11. Fellowship of the saints (Acts)

Although man can restore physical property, only God can restore spiritual things (Joel 2:25). He alone can cause change in the lives of believers and in the Church. By God’s purpose – not man’s plans – the years the Church has lost are being restored.

D. The Church Through Decline Throughout the New Testament, the Scriptures warned the early church against slow deterioration. It seems as if the apostles could look ahead a few hundred years to see a Church which would err from its commitment to truth, holiness and sincere faith. Here are some of the warnings of this decline:

C. The Present Truth of the Early Church The power of the Holy Spirit, which fell on the Day of Pentecost, transformed the disciples into dynamic witnesses whom Christ used to establish His Church. The apostles gave themselves to prayer and study of the Word, which caused the early church to operate in

Acts 20:29 “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.”

2 Peter 3:3-4 “. . .knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? . . .’”

communication, the decline had already begun to grip the Church. As the Church expanded throughout the world, it picked up many pagan practices from other cultures. These compromises soon were tolerated and seen as commitment to the Word and the local church was de-emphasized. With the slow deterioration of the Church, many of the revelation truths were lost or formalized. The Church reverted from life in the Spirit to a slowly encrusting heartbeat of lifeless liturgy. By the sixth century, the Church had lost almost all truth it possessed in its beginning. The material below, showing what the Church lost during its first 500 years, is taken from Present Day Truths, author Dick Iverson (Copyrighted 1975 by ABC Publishing and used by permission.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” How could the Church, which had experienced such power, such grace, such liberty, and such pure worship fall, into the death grip of the enemy? This decline did not happen overnight, but took hundreds of years as one by one the truths were either formalized, diluted, or lost altogether.

www.abcbookpublishing.com): 1. 30-100 A.D. From the day of Pentecost to the death of John, the Church was a powerful instrument for the extension of the kingdom of God. From the death of the last of the original Twelve Apostles we have no evidence that this type of Apostolic ministry continued.

There is a span of approximately 60 years between the writings of the apostles (which ended around 65 A.D.) and the writings of the first century church fathers (which began around 125 A.D.). During this lapse of 21

2. 130 A.D. Because the apostolic ministry was no longer functioning in the early Church, the parallel ministry of the Prophet soon vanished. With the loss of this ministry the doctrine of the Laying on of Hands became nothing more than a ritual. By 140 A.D., prophetic utterance of any kind in the local congregation was very scarce.

5. 180 A.D. If man is not able to look to the Spirit for direction and guidance, he must look to other men. And so it was with the smaller and more recently established local Churches by 180 A.D. Many of these smaller Churches became so dependent on larger Churches that they lost their Local Church autonomy. By this time, many such Churches were looking to Rome for direction, and thus, early seeds of Roman primacy are developing by this early date.

3. 150 A.D. With such lack of dependence on the Spirit of God and an actual persecution of the biblical manifestations of the Spirit by the established churches, it is not surprising that the biblical experience of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the Gifts of the Spirit were no longer evidenced by 150 A.D. Much of the external form of these things was maintained, but the people had no living encounter with the spirit.

6. 200 A.D. By this time the Spirit had very little control over the lives of individuals. Very little of the body of Church doctrine and truth became the actual experience of believers. A gap began to form between doctrine and experience. The external form remained the same in many cases, but the spiritual awareness of what was contained in the form was beginning to vanish. It was about this time that Baptism began to be abused in many ways. In 185 A.D. we have the first record of infant baptism . . .

4. 160 A.D. As men no longer demonstrated a Spirit-controlled life, it became impractical to have a plurality of eldership. Without a strong unity of the Spirit, multiple leadership tends to pull against one another. As a result, monarchical bishops became the norm by 160 A.D., and men began to appraise clergy on the basis of natural ability. 22

7. 210 A.D. Since the distinction between clergy and the laity was so acute by this time, the concept of the priesthood of all believers was not understood or acknowledged. Therefore, the ministry of the body of Christ (Body-ministry) was not at all understood. Because of all of these trends, the truth was soon altered to line up with experience, and the ministers or clergy were the only ones designated as “priests.”

an unrealistic life for many. Some recognized this problem and began the first monasteries at this time. This made provision for a double standard in Christian living. There was the “average Christian” and the “ascetic” who tried to live the “deeper life.” 10. 300 A.D. Because of the rigor of these ascetic groups, there developed an over emphasis on works as a sort of merit for eternal life. This merely laid the groundwork for what was to come later under Constantine. 11. 313 A.D. Constantine became the ruler of the great Roman Empire and chose Christianity as the best possible of religions. At this time the state began to exercise control over the affairs of the established Church, and men of little or no religious experience became instrumental in shaping church doctrine. Even the outcome of the Council of Nicaea was the result of the efforts of Constantine. He also needed more men for his military to maintain the Empire.

8. 225 A.D. Most Churches by this time were not receiving direct guidance and teaching from the Spirit of God. They could, therefore, no longer depend upon the Spirit to bring and maintain unity of the faith. In order to enforce and maintain an external unity, creeds or statements of beliefs began to be written as criteria for Church membership. 9. 240 A.D. By the middle of the third century much worldliness had crept into the Church. Without the power of the Holy Spirit to lead a separate life, the standard of holiness and the sanctified life held up by the early Church became

12. 350 A.D. About 350 A.D., Christianity being the religion of the 23

state, all those who were not in the Church were persecuted. As can well be expected, many heathens preferred to be called “Christian” rather than face the sword. At this time the experience of salvation with the doctrine of justification by faith and the new birth into the kingdom of God was no longer emphasized.

people under the ministry of John Wycliffe. 2. 1517 A.D. Martin Luther was used to restore the most foundational of all truth – Justification by Faith. 3. 1524 A.D. The Anabaptist movement was started as it saw the restoration of Water Baptism. 4. 1750A.D. Through the ministry of John Wesley, the truth of Sanctification and Holiness was restored to the Church. 5. Nineteenth Century: A.B. Simpson and others were used to restore the truth of Healing to the Church.

13. 380 A.D. This movement culminated with Theodosius who made Rome, which was already the capital of the Empire, the final authority in Church matters as well.

6. 1901 A.D. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit came in a mighty outpouring upon the Church. 7. 1906 A.D. The Gifts of the Spirit began to be restored in the Azusa Street Revival.

Thus the Church entered the period known as the Dark Ages. It continued to sink deeper and deeper into darkness until the fifteenth century, a thousand years later.

8. 1948 A.D. The truths of the Five Fold Ministry, Laying on of Hands, and Praise and Worship were restored through a mighty Canadian Revival. God has moved in revival when each of these truths was being revealed. However, denominations were established by basing their ministry only on those particular truths. When new truths were restored, these denominations were many times the first to persecute those who were following the present moving of God. For example, the Roman Catholic Church

E. God’s Plan of Restoration During the fifteenth century, the revelation truths began to be restored to the Church. God was once again breathing life into His Church. 1. 1400 A.D. The first translation of the entire Bible from the original scriptures was made available to the common 24

persecuted Luther’s followers because of their position on justification by faith. In turn, Luther’s followers persecuted the Anabaptists because of their position on water baptism. The persecuted became the persecutors due to their unwillingness to continue to move into present truth.

With such an abundance of truth, our accountability increases. We must maintain these precious truths without allowing them to become meaningless activities or empty form. Worse yet, we must not allow them to become antiquated. When truth deteriorates into form or ritual, it becomes legalistic, grieves the Holy Spirit and chokes out life. We must not become stagnant by camping upon the mountain of one truth, for this will lead to a narrow perspective of God’s overall purpose.

We need to learn from historic errors of the Church and continue to yield to the Holy Spirit as He continues to restore the Church unto full stature.

Even though many churches have not even begun to enter into the spiritual truths being revealed today, this does not mean that only a small portion of the Body of Christ will. God has been restoring truth for the last 500 years, and He will continue to restore it to those who are hungry for more. I believe that we are experiencing the restoration of truth today. For example, in Acts 15:15 we read that God has promised to restore the power of His presence to the Church. In this passage, this is described as the rebuilding of the tabernacle of David. A thorough study of the Scriptures brings us to the understanding that the tabernacle of David speaks of worship being restored as a priority to God’s people. The spiritual application of the tabernacle of David has to do with God’s people gathering unto the Lord Jesus Christ to worship Him and experience His presence. The result will be “. . . that the excellence of the power may be

F. Restoration Applied to the Church Today For many years, the Church has made attempts to fulfill the plan of God through its own programs but without the Spirit. The need for real restoration within the ministry of the local Church is apparent. Yet, since the turn of the twentieth century, the amount of truth restored has increased greatly and it seems as if now each new decade is seeing a greater illumination of spiritual truth.

of God and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

From the book Foundational

Discipling Principle by Dr. Robert Straube.

We are privileged in this day to see this truth restored to the Body of Christ. There is a reviving of praise and worship that is beginning to cover the earth “. . . with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). We are beginning to see the fulfillment of all that the holy prophets have spoken concerning restoration. Be watchful, for now is the time for signs and wonders, as a testimony to the Lord’s power and greatness, to soon follow.

On Amazon.com:

or purchase it directly from the publisher,

Isaiah 61:11 “For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the LORD GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” “Lord Jesus, we thank you for completing your Word for the restoration of your Church. Praise, honor, and glory are yours, Lord. Holy Spirit, we ask you to bring forth your signs and wonders as you raise your Bride from her ruins as a witness to the nations of your power and your grace. We pray in agreement that your Word be fulfilled, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Dr. Robert Straube serves as President of ICOF CSU. He is a member of the US National Fivefold Roundtable and President of Rock of Zion Ministries

Gratefully in His love, Your Servant, Apostle Dr. Robert Straube

several connotations According to Jamieson, Fausset and Brown commentary the word restore in Greek is katartizete is used of a dislocated limb being put back in place, according to other Greek authorities the word refers to setting bones, mending nets. The instructions are clear as to how we are to treat â&#x20AC;&#x153;fallenâ&#x20AC;? brothers and sisters. We are to treat them with the same tenderness a physician would treat a broken patient.

Restore Such a One Galatians 6:1 By Apostle Bobby Sutton

The last article that I wrote dealt with the portion of this verse that tells us who should be involved in a restoration process. Paul writes it should be saints of God that are spiritual. This gives us the impression that the Christian church should know if they are spiritual or carnal. Paul does not leave us in the dark as far as the traits of spiritual or carnal people.

These definitions should give us a clue as to handle a brother or sister that has fallen into sin. The Apostle James tell us in James 519-20 "Brethren if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his ways shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." Jesus taught us in Matthew 18:15-17 this about church discipline,

This is what Paul said to the Corinthian church "For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? Paul records in Galatians 5:19-20 the deeds of the flesh. Then in Galatians 5:22 he list the fruit of the Spirit. If we are manifesting the fruit of the Spirit and we are loving our brothers and sisters then the scripture tells us that we are spiritual people. The purpose of this article is not to rehash the previous point but to get to the idea of restoration. The word restore in the Greek has

"Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. â&#x20AC;&#x153;

And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglects to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican." There is no formula given to us for restoring a brother or sister. In Matthew Jesus is dealing with the trespass of one brother to another and the formula is clear. Tell your brother that he has trespassed against you, if he will not hear take one or two witnesses and if he will not hear them tell the church. If he will not hear the church then he is as a heathen and excommunicated.

old Pentecostal term) at an altar and then get on with their walk with God. If the person has been in a leadership position the pastor gives them time to see if they are able to resume that position. In another article I will pursue the restoration of a minister. In the case of a parishioner, it has been my experience, that the pastor serves the role as the restoration team. This poses the question of should there be restoration teams in the church other than the pastor? Is there a team of spiritual people available to the ministry of the church that can fulfill this role?

Interestingly enough we do not hear a lot of this type of discipline going on in the church. Usually if there is a quarrel one of the parties stops going to church altogether or they simply go to another church of like faith if one is available. That is not the way to solve the issue. The subject of quarreling saints I will cover another time. What do we do with the excommunicated brother or sister that comes back to the church family that they offended?

James tells us in James 5:14-16 "Is there any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church: and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he hath committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer

What is the system for restoring a brother or sister to the Lord and fellowship with the church? It has been my experience as a pastor that most of the time when someone falls after a time they return and "pray through"(to use an 30

of a righteous man availeth much. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are several topics covered in these scriptures that I will not address at this time. I will stick to the subject at hand.

What is the system for restoration? 1. The fallen person has truly repented and experiences genuine sorrow for sin. 2. There is a decisive renunciation of the act. 3. There is an attitude of nondefensiveness, i.e. there is no excuse making. 4. There is a spirit devoid of bitterness. These four attributes must be in place before a person can start to be restored. The team has to speak to the person and determine if these are in place. Some people will fake true repentance because they are a part of a social setting in the church and they want to gain that social part back. Some may fake true repentance because they were in a place of leadership and they received their affirmation from that position. The restoration team is not there to make a determination whether or not a person is faking repentance. God will judge the hearts and He knows if a person is sincere or not. If a person seems to have real repentance then the team should help.

The phrase "confess your faults one to another" is a powerful test phrase for our spirituality. Usually our faults are for the pastorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office alone and no one else is supposed to know what they are. James seems to disagree with this approach. Are we spiritual enough to hear each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s faults without judgment? Hearing the faults and praying about them could be prevention to a person falling. Let me say at this juncture that when we speak of a believer falling into sin we are not speaking of only sexual sin. We are speaking of any sin that would cause a person to stop coming to church or be excommunicated. It could be anything from gossip (now that should stir up some discussion) stealing hubcaps, beating your wife or wife beating husband, or getting drunk. The system should be the same for the person to be restored.

What about the restoration team? These people must be spiritual. If the fivefold ministry is working in the church or if

there is the traditional pastoral leadership the ministry should know who are spiritual and who are not. James tells us in the above quote to call the elders of the church. The word elder comes from the Greek word presbyterosâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; properly, a mature man having seasoned judgment (experience); an elder. These are people that are known for their mature walk with the Lord and the ministry can put them in a place of trust. Once the person has met the four criteria of restoration then they can be helped to regain their spiritual footing.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

led to the subject of restoration of a saint that had sinned. I was told that the person could come back to church but they must sit on the back row and slowly make their way back into the congregation. That does not sound like a place of no condemnation. It sounds like the person is branded and would always have a cloud of condemnation hanging over them. The object of restoration is to bring the offender back to full relationship with Jesus not to constantly remind them of their sin. To refer to the definition of the word restore in scripture we are to treat those with the same tenderness a physician would treat a broken patient. This is a formula that can be used as a guide for a restoration team or someone involved in the restoration of a brother or sister in the Lord. Love must be the foundation of the process. (The person we are trying to help must know that we love them as Jesus loves the church) No condemnation. (Jesus has forgiven their sin).

The restoration team has to lay a foundation of love. The offender has to know that the elders love them and want to help them. Jesus said the world would know us because we have love on for another. In order for a person to be renewed into the kingdom the person must feel love. No condemnation, no judgment, no being treatment as a second class citizen. I was a new Christian and had the opportunity to participate in a choir trip to Mexico. We were singing in churches across Mexico. In one of the churches the conversation

No attitude of superiority. (This could be self righteousness and then you become the fallen) No discussing the sin. (Gossip) 32

This article does not cover the entirety of this subject, but it will give you a guide to go by if you are involved in the restoration process.

Availability. (If the brother or sister needs someone to talk to that can give spiritual answers to the issue) Accountability. (The restoration team is there for the person to be accountable to if feeling tempted)

Apostle Bobby Sutton, MA Christian Counseling is Vice President of Missions for the International Circle of Faith. He is the author of the book, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I Slept with Potipharâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wifeâ&#x20AC;?

Gender specific. (Brothers should restore brothers and sisters should restore sisters. There is too much room for transference and vulnerability in these situations.) Paul warns the restoration team in the last portion of Galatians 6:1 "restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." James 5:19-20 " Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his ways shall save a soul from death, and shall hid a multitude of sins." What a testimony to save a fallen brother or sister from death and hide a multitude of sins.

need additional tax, what we need is additional tithes! Mr. Grant goes on to say, "Huge welfare costs and massive interest payments on the national debt have created staggering deficits. However, the resistance of voters to higher taxes has put the government in a difficult position. Studies reveal a huge amount of the economic and financial transactions are not being recorded or taxed at all. Increasingly, people are using cash in an attempt to escape high taxes."

Is Tithing still Relevant? & Can God's Financial Structure cause us to Thrive not just Survive!?

Over the last decades various studies have shown that the untaxed underground economies of separate countries are estimated to be well into the billions! With figures for the US economy much higher, even into the trillions each year; however if a significant part of this underground economy was taxed, budget deficits would disappear and governments would be able to begin paying off their national debts. In fact some economists estimate that one third of the economy escapes taxation!

"God doesn't stir us up into confusion; he brings us into harmony." (1 Corinthians 14:33 Message Bible) In the world's system, referring to whatever country we are resident, it is only right and legal that we contribute to the welfare of our respective countries. In fact our country of origin would not survive without a clear structure or system that really works. In the west we call this democracy and there are many different forms of democracy. Why would it not survive? Because living without structure is like living without a back bone! A society without structure or backbone is a lawless society governed and driven by dominant law-lords rather than a system that looks out for the genuine welfare of its citizens. Rather than just letting the strongest survive... its fairness for all. That is the aim of democracy no matter how flawed it is and included in this pursuit of 'fairness' is the necessity to pay taxes; which in turn 'maintains' the overall system.

Each government has to decide how to distribute this funding that is generated through these various taxes, for the welfare of its society. With democratically elected leadership, who have authority (locally and nationally), and the responsibly to make the right decisions on behalf of its society.

Various economies would be quite manageable if everyone contributed to the systems that have been established through these governments. I'm talking about democratic societies.

I believe what God wants us to understand and reflect on such facts and figures so that the Body of Christ can rectify the error of perhaps more than 80% of its members, who make the poor decision 'not to tithe' and yet still think that God's Kingdom here on this earth will somehow supernaturally exist without the

Jeffry Grant gives some staggering figures about what he calls the 'Underground Cash Economy'. He says, "The greatest problem facing the government is their desperate need to generate additional tax revenues." Doesn't this sound like the Church? And yet we don't

responsibility of its own people. "There is no shortage of finance..."one economist said, "...in fact there are enough resources in this world for everyone to be a millionaire!"

God is not the author of confusion; spiritual or financial. A book was once written entitled, "Why do bad things happen to good people." And in a similar way, why do faithful people suffer lack? Usually there is a link in the chain that has been severed. God has called us to be one, to be united and to work together in one accord. After all we are in the same kingdom!

Consider our National Insurance contributions and pension schemes that are paid or given on behalf of one's self and one's own family's welfare or well being. These payments (in most cases) bring about personal returns.

If only a small percentage of Kingdom dwellers know how to operate in their finances as the Holy Spirit dictates, imagine how much easier things would be if the larger part did their part as well!

On thinking about such things God spoke to me one night and gave me a revelation that His Kingdom operates in much the same way. In fact a lot of what we have in society has been taken and established out of a spiritual kingdom. The difference is of course that man is in control of one system, (we call this the Babylonian system) and God is in control of the other!

PRAYER FOR THE DAY Father thank you that today I can be led of the Holy Spirit and not of dogma. I can submit my finances to You and see You move abundantly with them. It is always better to give than to receive and I thank you that as I pursue righteousness and sensitivity to your Holy Spirit, my giving will be a true blessing to your kingdom. Not compulsive giving that evaporates and does not really bless anyone. But giving that is in line with the overall agenda of Your Holy Spirit who can see the bigger picture. Help me to submit my finances today, so that when I resist the devil from them, he will flee according to James 4:7. In Jesus Name.

Because of the fall of mankind, much of our earthly system is influenced by greed and the love of money. But these attitudes don't just exist within our society the Church also is infested with much of the same spirit! Finally when it comes to tithing and giving offerings, we are ultimately free to decide what we do with our money, although our flesh usually wins every time! And it is those living and operating out of their spirit and not their flesh who are successfully led to do the right thing where their finances are concerned. Because at the end of the day everything belongs to the Lord and all the time that He is in control there is no chaos.

declaration about the Apostles doctrine. We've made much to do about baptism in Jesus name only as though Jesus is not also Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

A Treatise on Genuine Apostleship In the Kingdom Of God by Dr Len Robinson

And yet then there are other so called Apostles who also don't know the doctrine of the Kingdom of God at all. So on what basis does one label themselves an apostle? Many do so believing God has called them to some high office and they like to be seen of men as having arrived. These kinds of leaders are not being driven by the voice of God but are instead being driven by the voice of ego. Jesus did not give the Apostles apostleship without first teaching them the Kingdom of God. If I as an Apostle struggle with the doctrine of the Kingdom that Jesus preached I may just find that rather than being an apostle I actually allowed religion to make me a Pharisee.

Genuine Apostles should be aiding other genuine Apostles in the advancing of the Kingdom. However those who in a religious pretense say they are Apostles but are not only have at the core of their interest "building" their own little Kingdoms in the name of the King. The groups that call themselves Apostle Groups, when you read the varied doctrines that they banter about there is no pronounced revelation of the Kingdom besides the word Kingdom being used to lace their messages in the way a dope dealer may lace weed with PCP to boost the stimulation one derives from using the drug. In that regard many a minister regardless to gifting is really no more than a "hope" dealer.

So back to the earlier point. Genuine Apostles will join in covenant agreement to advance the doctrine of the Kingdom and Christ throughout the nations of the world. The covenant truth of the Kingdom of God

The authenticity of apostolic ministry is not found in the misinterpretation of Peter's 38

is that by submission to the Holy Spirit we experience the reign of God and by living according to God's image and likeness we fulfill the law of the Kingdom which is love.

Read Romans 6 By Pastor Saleem Inayat Chairman â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ICOF FIVEFOLD ROUNDTABLE PAKISTAN

Every so-called Apostle should want Christ to be formed in the people yet many of today's apostles messages are about how you can come into your season, walk in your divine destiny and experience your own breakthrough. And where breakthrough is not the message, fathering is and yet both messages are not the message God sent Jesus to preach.

Read Romans 6:5-6 Paul reminds us that our baptism was more than just a dunking in water. In baptism, we shared in Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. What he did to save us is now shared with us. We die to sin and are raised to be a new person, cleansed and made holy, empowered by the Holy Spirit. We have been set free from the power and the penalty of sin. Amen

Are you a genuine Apostle.....then get with other genuine Apostles who have escaped religion and the traditions of men and are no longer preaching private revelations but are truly preaching the Kingdom. You are honor bound by covenant relationship between you and the Father to connect with brethren of like precious faith for the advancing of the doctrine of the Kingdom and Christ.

Come and join an exciting new church in Henry County Kentucky!

Life Church of Kentucky is looking for people who know sign language (ASL) or want to learn for our sign team ANOINTED HANDS OF LIFE CHURCH.

We are LIFE CHURCH OF KENTUCKY MAKING DISCIPLES is what we are all about. We are excited about what God is doing in our ministry. We continue to need experienced leaders and those called to leadership.

Life Church of Kentucky is looking for ministers to join our team. Both those who already are operating in ministry and those who want to be developed and trained. Life Church of Kentucky is looking for people to help in our Media department: Internet Technologies, social media, sound and more.

The Life Church Praise Band needs dedicated musicians to join with us; especially keyboards, drums, bass guitar, guitar, and other instruments.

Life Church of Kentucky is looking for people a variety of ministries including children, youth, social, music, praise, outreach, prison, Hispanic, etc.For information on any of these contact or office:

Our Praise Team is open to those who want to glorify the Lord with song. Come and be part of what God is doing in our area!

502.410.4263 or

ICOF members have united over 50,000 ministers representing more than 25 Million constituents, several hundred colleges, universities and other Christian schools, orphanages & feeding programs, humanitarian aid organizations, chaplains and other charities.

officially-sanctioned material concerning other religions, reports local ABC affiliate WFTV. The seeds for the Wednesday protest were reportedly planted after an unidentified local mother started a Facebook page demanding that local, taxpayer-funded schools stop using the textbook.

Hundreds will protest Islam Lovefest History textbook foisted on high school students

Eric Owens

On Florida’s Atlantic Coast, some 200 or more local parents and activists have announced plans to show up at Tuesday’s Volusia County school board meeting to protest the public school use of a world history textbook that devotes a whole chapter to Islam but exactly zero chapters to any other religions. The textbook, called simply “World History,” contains a 32-page chapter fondly devoted to “Muslim Civilizations.” Sections include descriptions of the Koran, the growth of the Muslim empire and the Five Pillars of Islam. The planned protest will include a demand that students rip out the 32 pages of the Islam chapter unless the

The district indicated that it will continue to use the controversial book. School district officials in Volusia County insist that there’s no problem because other religions come up as a matter of course in the book. Thus, the argument goes, there’s no need to have a single chapter dedicated to, say, the Gospels

school district agrees to provide students with a similar amount of 43

or the Pentateuch—or, for that matter, Hindu or Buddhist religious traditions. “Christianity and Judaism is [sic] spread throughout the book,” a school district spokeswoman told WFTV. The book’s supporters also argue that students know about Christianity but need to learn more about Islam because of its crucial importance in international affairs.

“Why relegate Christianity to a footnote in an entire history book, and you give an entire chapter on the teachings of Islam?” he added. “To suggest that everybody knows about Christianity, that is total ignorance,” Barnaby also said. The “World History” textbook is one of three textbooks covering similar material that meet Florida’s criteria for adoption by the state’s public schools. As a school district spokeswoman noted, one reason school districts select this book is because it covers information required under Florida’s Next Generation Sunshine State Standards—the state’s version of the Common Core.

On Monday, the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations (CAIR) issued a statement criticizing the protesters. “This group is displaying an alarming level of intolerance and brazen disregard of minority religions here in the US. We find their actions UnAmerican and against every core principal that makes this country so great,” CAIR said.

The same textbook is used in school districts across Florid and across the country. Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/11/05/ hundreds-will-protest-islam-lovefesthistory-textbook-foisted-on-high-schoolstudents/#ixzz2jnVPs4su

Critics of the textbook include District 2 Deltona commissioner Webster Barnaby, who told WFTV that he is only seeking equal time for other religions, specifically Christianity. “The problem is: there needs to be balance. In America today, Christianity is being relegated to the trash heap,” Barnaby told the station. 44

Then there’s “Robert the Doll.” Key West profiteers have designed so-called ghost tours that explore the haunted history of Key West, including old wooden houses where spirits purportedly walk. Tour guides will tell you that Key West is one of the most haunted cities in the world with elevated paranormal activity. A local voodooistic icon, Robert the Doll will supposedly curse you if you take his picture without permission or forget to thank him for the privilege.

Jezebel, Occultism and the End-Time War on the Saints By Jennifer LeClaire

At first, I thought it was New Age culture. But I was wrong. It was occultism. As I strolled through the streets of Key West on a 24-hour getaway with my daughter, I noticed something that I had never witnessed in Key West before: occultism seems fully woven through the culture. I’ve been going to Key West for more than 20 years and have spent weeks at a time on the tropical island. But something disturbing has happened in the 10 years since I last visited—and it’s merely a microcosm of what’s happening in the world today.

The Abomination of Occultism As you can imagine, seeing all this grieved my spirit. But I should not have been so surprised. Occultism has been slowly creeping into American culture for decades as movie makers exalt witchcraft and vampires while the music industry pumps occult rock. Beloved, we are in the midst of a great spiritual crisis even now. Our literature, music, video games, comics, films and television shows are full of mysticism and the occult. Some of it is subtle. Some of it is blatant. All of it is wicked.

You can no longer walk down Duval Street—the famous drag of shops and restaurants—without running into the likes of Mahadeo Jerrybandhan, a renowned “peerless palmist” from Trinidad with a long white beard and an even longer white robe. But Jerrybandhan is not alone. He has plenty of peers in Key West, from psychics to mediums to channels to healers to tarot card readers to astrologers. The only group I didn’t find down there were the crystal readers.

Again, this is nothing new. Occultism— which broadly includes magic, séances, channeling, hypnosis, necromancy, astrology, extra-sensory perception,

alchemy, spiritualism and divination—is strongly condemned in the Bible.

Kabbalah, Kundalini and Jezebel And yet we see occult practices, like Kabbalah, gaining momentum in the church. We see "prophetic words" delivered in what appears to be Kundalini fashion, with violent shaking and demonic tongues against a backdrop of tribal bongos that set the congregation into hysteria. We see a Jezebel spirit working to seduce saints into idolatry and sexual immorality—and oftentimes succeeding. We see all sorts of strong delusion and strange fire with occultic ties in the modern church.

“There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire [which is an ancient occult practice], or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord” (Deut. 18:10-12, brackets added). The Lord rebuked Israel for practicing astrology (Isaiah 47:10-14). Jezebel practiced witchcraft (2 Kings 9:22) and we know how that ended. Ephesus was known for a population that practiced magic arts (Acts 19:19). And the book of Revelation makes it clear that “the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8).

But we should not be surprised. The rise of occultism is a sign of the end times. Satan’s plan is to fascinate our hearts with occult power and deceive us. The Holy Spirit, meanwhile, wants to fascinate our spirits with a revelation of the Son of God. I believe God’s people are enticed by occultism when they begin seeking spiritual experiences above seeking God. It’s a subtle—and dangerous—shift. Many Christians are on fire for God, but that fire can suddenly turn strange if we are not rooted in the Word. If we seek supernatural experiences, we will find them—but they don’t always come from Jesus. Beloved, we must not play with strange fire. Ultimately, the occult leads to murder and mayhem—immorality of all kinds. It’s not likely that you would ever willfully visit the likes of Mahadeo Jerrybandhan, the peerless palmist—or any of his peers. But could you ignorantly be engaged with occultic 47

practices that are opening the door to deceptive dangers? Could it be coming from what appears to be godly influences—even within church culture?

on what day your Lord is coming (Matt. 24:42). Let me leave you with a warning from the apostle Paul: “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Col. 2:8). Amen.

Jennifer is the director for International House of Prayer-Fort Lauderdale Missions Base.

Discernment or Deception? Don’t brush the question off before praying about it. If you want the truth, the Holy Spirit will lead you and guide you into all truth. Please hear me! Even a little occult is a deadly poison—a little leaven leavens the whole lump. The Bible warns about deceptive teachers, false apostles and deceitful workers. The Bible warns about selfdeception. And it’s your responsibility to keep your heart pure. If you've stepped into this demonic ditch, repent now and warn others.

Jennifer also serves as news editor at Charisma magazine. Her work also appeared in a Charisma House book entitled Understanding the Five-Fold Ministry which offers a biblical study to uncover the true purpose for the fivefold ministry.

Friends, we’re in an end-times war with eternal consequences. Satan is using the occult to seduce people away from the kingdom of God to dance in the kingdom of darkness. I pray that the Lord gives you discernment and awakens your spirit, for you do not know

LIFE SUPPORT P.O. Box 72 Sulphur, KY 40070

Phone: 502.410.4263

Rev. M. Joy Willoughby Pastor - Life Church of Kentucky Co-Chair Rev. Jeff Maggard Pastor – Sulphur Christian Church Co-Chair Rebecca Goins Life Church – Sulphur Kentucky Secretary Dr. Bernie L. Wade, Sr. Chancellor - ICOF CSU

Life Support is a charitable organization (501 c 3) that helps families in Henry, Trimble, Oldham and Carroll Counties in Kentucky. Ways You Can Help Life Support 1. Join our team! We need the help of local businesses, churches, and individuals to make an even larger impact on the challenges that the working poor and those who are economically and socially disadvantaged face. The next meeting of our steering committee is January 21st, 2014. We would love to have you there! Put it on your calendar. 2. Organize a Food and Fund Drive

Rev. Earl B. Higgins Pastor – 2nd Baptist Church Campbellsburg, Kentucky

LIFE SUPPORT relies heavily on local support to continue to provide meals to those in need. A company-sponsored Food and Fund Drive is a great way to build team spirit and community good will within companies, schools and other organizations. The 250 Pound Pledge Food drives are great as it helps us stock empty pantry shelves. It would really help the Life Support if you can commit to collecting at least 250 pounds of food through your food drive.

Rev. Blanca Wade Pastor – Life Church of Kentucky Rev. Jason Hunt President Frontier Christian University Rev. Bernie L. Wade Masterstouch Construction Pastor Michael Jackson Pastor – 1st Baptist Church Pee Wee Valley, Kentucky Rev. William A. Goins Pastor – Life Church of Kentucky Dr. Daisy R. Wade PR - ICOF

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Paul) to the Jerusalem church (Acts 9:26-27). These leaders love networking key people together, function with a strong heart of mercy (they give people second and third chances; read Acts 15:37-39), and have an amazing understanding of where to place people for the maximization of their gifts and callings.

TWELVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF APOSTOLIC LEADERS By Joseph Mattera

I have been in the apostolic movement since the late 1980’s and have observed many kinds of apostolic leaders. By “apostolic” I am referring to a person who functions in the apostolic ministry gift as mentioned in Ephesians 4:11. They may also oversee an apostolic church that exerts great influence in their community, and/or lead a network of churches.

This kind of leader also has a burden for unifying the Body of Christ and are adept at creating horizontal networks or associations of leaders in their regions, either for fellowship or to fulfill a joint mission (hence they are usually quite ecumenical).

2. The Truth Apostle

One size definitely doesn’t fit all in the apostolic, or in any of the other ministry gifts for that matter! They all have different modes of operation and/or function as well as different motivational gifts and bents. Of course, any true apostolic leader may have one or more of the following characteristics.

Paul the Apostle focused on teaching the truth and was committed to maturing people in the faith through his teaching ministry (Colossians 1:24-29). These are scholarly leaders who write much and attract people into their networks of influence through their great scholarship and practical insight. They also major on quality, doctrine and developing covenantal systems of engagement within their circles of influence.

The following are the different kinds of apostolic leaders I have observed:

1. The Connecting Apostle What separates these from others with mere theological theory is their ability to form strong coalitions with high-level commitment to fulfilling the kingdom mandate of spreading the gospel.

These apostolic leaders are like the Apostle Barnabas mentioned in the Book of Acts. Barnabas was always connecting people together and was the one responsible for connecting Saul (later on he became the great Apostle

3. The Prophetic Apostle

These are intuitive, spontaneous leaders who have an amazing ability to think quickly with words of wisdom from the Lord. They are great visionaries and dreamers and think ahead of the curve and have a great gift of exhortation and/or preaching extemporaneously. With their great gift of motivation, they are able to attract many leaders into their spheres of influence.

unifiers of like-minded leaders. 6. The Signs and Wonders Apostle These apostolic leaders are like the Apostle Peter who spread the gospel by the use of extraordinary signs and wonders through the gift of faith (Acts 5:15). These leaders can draw great crowds, build large churches, and regularly take risks of faith regarding finances, building bigger buildings, as well as helping others walk in the supernatural. They will draw other pastors and leaders into their networks that are hungry for the supernatural.

4. The Military Apostle These are like military generals in the Body of Christ who create hierarchical networks with a strong top-down leadership approach. They usually lead strong vertical networks with high commitment and are not really interested in participating in ecumenical associations (unless it fits their particular agenda or they lead it). This is because they are so focused on their purpose and lack patience and grace to work with other strong leaders who have a different view of the church or who do not want to submit to their leadership.

7. The Community Apostle These apostolic leaders dive into the economic, social and political lives of their communities with a goal of shepherding their cities, not just a congregation. Many of these leaders create programs that serve their communities with their churches or networks becoming key agents of change for surrounding areas. 8. The Missiological Apostle

5. The Cultural Apostle

This apostolic leader is focused on statistics, trends, demographics and cultural relevance, and helps lead innovative networks and/or organizations that lead the global charge to spread the gospel. They are very scholarly and introspective yet brilliant leaders who are totally focused

These apostolic leaders attract leaders into their networks because of political/social issues such as traditional marriage, abortion, immigration, social justice and the like. They have a prophetic bent and are also great 52

upon kingdom expansion for the glory of God. They are great lecturers in conferences and provide a great service for the Body of Christ at large as they, like the sons of Issachar (1 Chron. 12:32), understand the times and know what the church ought to do.

and those in the political and social realms. They are generally very ecumenical and have a ministry of reconciliation and are sometimes called upon to be peacemakers between opposing groups. These leaders are usually respected by Christian and nonChristian alike and are by nature very ecumenical.

9. The Shepherding Apostle This is an apostolic leader who is more focused upon the lives of the leaders of their network than upon having a corporate mission. They have a paternal anointing and take the most joy in washing the feet of their sons and daughters so they fulfill their vision and destiny! This is perhaps the most lacking apostolic leader in the church today since there is a dearth in the church regarding true apostolic spiritual parenting.

12. The Intercessory Apostle These apostolic leaders spend much time in prayer and engage in high-level spiritual warfare so light can break through in dark places. They are able to attract enough people to start large organized networks of pastors and leaders who believe their main calling is to expand the kingdom through prayer and spiritual warfare strategies. What separates these from typical prophetic intercessors is that they not only have a great gift of prayer but also are able to create influential networks of prayer leaders.

10. The Entrepreneurial Apostle This kind of apostolic leader is a hyphenated leader with a dual ministry of church and business who creates wealth through initiatives that support the work of the Kingdom of God. This kind of entrepreneurial ability attracts many leaders who desire an impartation from them so they can also be prosperous in everything they touch!

In closing, many leaders I know probably stand in about three to four of the categories above. These twelve kinds were written for the sake of clarity but not meant to legalistically confine our thinking in such a way that limits our perspective regarding apostolic leadership. Also, there are probably many other categories others could think of, which would further complicate and mesh various anointing and ministry functions together.

11. The Statesman Apostle This kind of apostolic leader is a very wise person who is able to represent the Kingdom of God to other denominations 53

God and told us to do likewise. He never asked to be worshipped. Instead He pointed all to the Father, the Creator of all. Yet we have made an idol out of a man who was sent by God, who was God himself, who only asked that we love others, to carry out God’s desires and to give the glory to the Father.

THE LIGHT OF DAY BY LEA BATES John 9:4-5 “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Christ had work to do. He was bound to the One who sent him. He willingly did what he was asked to do by his Father. Time was limited for him while on this earth. Time is limited for us too while we are here. Christ didn’t stop working at pointing others to the Father. It was not His desire that others make a celebrity out of him. No! God was the celebrity (if you will). Christ didn’t just talk about what he needed to do; He made a business of it. Jesus understood that the daylight was a time for working, for when the night came one rested.

Knowing that death is certain, any child of God should behold an urgency to improve their inner being, to desire even more of Him and to do good. Our nighttime may come on suddenly, without warning, and our day to do our part to enlighten His kingdom will end. Our lamps will be snuffed out and darkness will overshadow the day where our assignment was laid before us.

Do we not work while it is day? Your lifetime is your day! While on this earth we were sent here to share the light. Christ has already had His day, and He sits now at the right hand of the Father. He shared the love of 55

Our God is not a onetime God. He is an all the time God. He is not a Sunday God or a whenever I feel like I need him God. He is not a God of convenience. He sent his only Son to die for us. Yet we treat Him with weakened homage and tradition. He gives us trials to strengthen us, yet we curse Him. A candle was made to burn. So should our own lights shine. So that others may see His light shining within us and glorify the Father who is in Heaven. Jesus was the light from Heaven that we look to for grace and mercy. We pray to Him as he makes intercession to the Father on our behalf. The only cost is our willingness to yield through faith as we allow His light to shine within us. What are you doing during your daytime? Is your light shining for all to see?

Do we insist on walking in darkness even while on this earth? Christ came to give sight to a blind world. He was God walking, faith talking, grace living and love giving. He represented everything about the Father! He was light in our darkness. Why would we desire to look elsewhere? Can one not see more clearly when light shines on darkness? Dirty deeds are hidden well in the dark. But the Light of the world exposes them so that we may clearly see. Then, through the Holy Spiritâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s power within us, we show others how they may see. Quickly and urgently should be our motivations to lead others into their own daytime, so they too may experience His marvelous light.

Lea Patt Bates is a writer and teacher with prophetic gifting. She is a member of the International Circle of Faith

LIFE CHURCH MAKING DISCIPLES

502.410.4263 Come and be part of our Dream Team in the quad county area of Henry, Trimble, Oldham and Carroll Counties.

MEMBER ICOF NETWORK OF CHURCHES

INTERNATIONAL CIRCLE OF

57 Currently meeting at Sulphur Christian Church

have some 50,000 ministers in our Global fellowship, we have to this point not really gauged our impact on churches. Many church families feel isolated, alone or void of fellowship. We want to help. Thus, we are excited to announce the launching of the International Circle of Faith Network of Churches. To become part of this network please write to Dr. Bernie Wade’s office for details:

INTERNATIONAL CIRCLE OF FAITH LAUNCHES GLOBAL NETWORK OF CHURCHES

Praise Jesus! I am delighted to introduce the International Circle of Faith (ICOF) Network of Churches. Since our inception in 1932, ICOF has operated primarily as a ministerial fellowship. By the Grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, we have been blessed to network 10’s of thousands of ministers. Going forward we will continue to have a strong interest in ministers and will continue the ICOF Ministerial Fellowships and the ICOF Fivefold Roundtables.

EMAIL DR. WADE’S OFFICE Or call the ICOF Office:

502.410.4263 There is NO CHARGE to become part of the ICOF Network of Churches. Each member church will receive a Certificate of Membership for the wall of the church and a plethora of other benefits outlined in the membership packet that can be obtained from contacting ICOF.

However, we are launching a new initiative to directly network churches. While we

ICOF 2014 MINISTERIAL CREDENTIALS ARE READY!

ICOF Credentials for the 2014-2015 year are ready at the ICOF Global offices. We are excited about a plethora of updated features in our new documents. We have updated both the wall and the pocket credentials. Because of the interest in counterfeiting our documents we have updated security measures for all credentials. All members are encouraged to email Dr. Wadeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office for their renewal. Those interested in obtaining ministerial credentials can also apply at this time. 502.410.4263

Jobian Theology

to be knocked out-of-the-park by Satan. The question in Job 1:8 “Have you considered my servant, Job,” could be better translated “Hast thou set thine heart on,” or “Hast thou given thine attention to.” In other words, God was asking the devil why did he have his heart set on Job?

By Bishop Derrick Day

Satan saw the blessing on Job’s life and thought Job served God only because he was blessed. In fact, Satan’s strategy was to get God to afflict Job. It is important to note here that when Job was afflicted, it was Satan, and not God, who afflicted him. Another thing to note is how Satan approached God about this. He showed up at a time when the sons of God (angels) were gathering at the throne.

In this article I’d like to take on a subject that has silently taken over a large portion of mainstream Christianity. Jobian theology comes from the premise that what happened to Job is greater than the finished work of Christ. Now, no Christian would ever admit to subscribing to such foolishness, but their words and deeds contradict this. By definition, a “Christian” is someone who aspires to be “like Christ.” However, many “Christians” when evaluating their own lives and circumstances, see themselves more “like Job” than “like Christ,” hence, “Jobians.”

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them (Job 1:6). He tried to conceal himself among the heavenly host. There’s a lesson to be learned from this: that everyone among you isn’t with you!

Job is the “poster boy” for religion. Whenever someone has to explain why bad things happen to good people, religious apologists run to Job. First to level-set, the common assumption is that God granted permission to Satan to afflict Job. Nothing could be further from the truth. First of all, God was not setting Job up 61

But back to the main point…

More to the point, Job was a man without a covenant. Job is the oldest book in the Bible, chronologically speaking and Job had neither the covenant of law nor the covenant of Grace. Job did not have either Jesus or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This made Job vulnerable, and it is proven when God makes a profound statement that has been terribly misinterpreted by theologians:

The next point of consideration is that Job was operating in fear. Job continually offered sacrifices for his children, whom he suspected weren’t living right: And his sons went and feasted in their houses, everyone his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. (Job 1:4-5)

And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. (Job 1:12)

The proof that Job was operating in fear was revealed later: For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me (Job 3:25) Nothing invites the devil into your situation more than fear. Paul said it best in his second letter to Timothy

The challenge I pose here is, where is the permissive clause? Where does God grant Satan permission to afflict Job? Let me help you, it ain’t there. I’ve done a lot of searching and study on this, and – as near as I can figure – whenever God says “behold,” it is usually followed by a truth. It is never used to grant permission to do anything. Here are some examples:

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:17) I’ve said in prior treatises that faith is the currency of the Kingdom of God. Conversely, fear is the currency of the principality of darkness. Job, like many Christians, today, failed to properly exchange his currency. As a result, he brought the will, culture, and intent of the principality of darkness into his world.

Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged. (Deuteronomy 1:21) 62

Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. (Isaiah 28:16)

establish a thing by His Word, He will not do anything contrary to it. A great example of this is the concept of seedtime and harvest; God will not do anything contrary to this principle Another thing that must be clarified is that God is a good parent. Indeed, He is the most extraordinary of parents. As such, He will always do what is best for His children. That, said, would any good parent turn their child over to a known pervert to discipline them when they are out of order? Well, since God is the greatest parent and Satan is the greatest pervert – in fact, he’s the original pervert – God would not do that. It just doesn’t add up. But God gave man dominion in the earth (Genesis 1:26-28) – dominion by which God expects us to influence our environment with His Word. Therefore, God didn’t do anything about Job’s situation because Job, himself, didn’t do anything about his situation.

In both cases, a truth is stated but no permission is granted. In other words, what is stated in Job 1:12 (“Behold, all that he hath…”) and in Job 2:6 (“Behold, he is in thine hand…”) was not granting permission, it was stating a truth! It is critically important that this is seen because sin gave Satan access to anyone outside covenant with God. One thing that must be made abundantly clear, here, is that God did not grant Satan access to Job – Satan already had it! Job did not have a “hedge about him,” that was Satan’s misunderstanding. However, God did raise a hedge around Job twice (Job 1:12 and 2:6) limiting what Satan could do.

Whew. That was long winded – but I hope you caught it. If you didn’t read it again (and again, if necessary) until you do! One more thing: do you realize that God didn't actually chasten Job until near the end of the book? That's right, God didn't deal with Job until chapters 38-41 - and when He did, did He heap more affliction upon Job? No, He chastened Job with His Word! This is consistent with 2 Timothy 3:16. In other words, the chastening for the child of God is the Word of God, not sickness, plague, oppression, pain, or poverty! And, at the end of God's chastening - and after Job repented (changed his mind) and prayed for his friends, God blessed Job with far

So, here’s the million-dollar question, “Why didn’t God stop all this?” Glad you asked. God can do anything but lie, fail, or violate His Word. The Psalmist tells us that God esteems His Word above His name (Psalm 138:2). Once God 63

more substance than what he had, before! Man, that is Good News!

Bottom line, whose report will you believe? Will you trust in the finished work of Jesus, which gives us everything we need to experience abundant life (John 10:10) or will you place your trust in a statement that a mere man who suffered great loss without revelation of who stole from him (Job 1:21). Will you believe that God gives Satan permission to afflict you, or will you trust that God will protect you (2 Thessalonians 3:3, 1 John 5:18). Will you trust law, or place your trust in Grace?

If God afflicted Job then delivered Him, God acted against Himself - and since a kingdom divided cannot stand, God cannot be divided or double-minded! Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and empower us to do likewise (1 John 3:8). God will not use the works of the devil to chasten and afflict His children when He already sent His Son to destroy those works! Let me say this, God doesn’t miss – He does what He says and says what He does. He is perfect in every way. However, He expects us to emulate Him. Also the Body of Christ is an interdependent vessel – every part is dependent upon other parts. In other words, the timely blessing of others may be contingent upon us being in the right place at the right time. So, when bad things happen to good people, it ain’t God! Sometimes we miss it in what we pray for and decree. Other times we miss it when we miss an assignment. And, we must remember we live in a fallen world – and sometimes the devil uses the implements of this fallen world to thwart the prayers and actions of the Saints.

In what and whom you believe determines whose you are – are you of Job or are you of Christ? Bishop Derrick Day is Chairman of the ICOF Fivefold Roundtable of North America and Pastor of Agape Dominion Outreach. © 2013 - Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

are not well we are passing under the difficult situation, as I informed you here in Kenya in our Capital City there was a Terra gunmen attack the Business house it was noon time by the time we had finis3h the church comity and some of our Beloved one whom travel from Nairobi to our place to inquire me and other Elder we to give them a branch they were short Dead with the gun men when they where pass near this Business Building.

Africa KENYA Crusade in Mwanza, Kenya

"So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one." Ezekiel 22:30 Pastor Okumu

"The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin..." Exodus 34:6

We are praying for our brothers and sisters that are affected, by terrorist attack It is our moment of sadness, we need strength and more hope Our country has been passing through many challenges and we need prayers, I believe God is doing something powerful and new for our country, though the enemy is not aware God is raising a standard above our enemies God will be one of the powerful nations in the world people will never imagine Yes I believe Jesus is preparing this nation, and what has been happening is bringing us together, also makes people come together.

UGANDA Bishop George Kasharu We had a good womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seminar for four days and this was great because the last day the church which sits four hundred people had nowhere to sit. Women came from many churches from Mafubira where we have 20 different denominations. This was the first women's seminar with good attendance our theme was' you see how bad the situation is the walls are burned down by fire come and let us rebuild the walls of Jerusalem so that we may not reproach;. I preached last on the Saturday, surely we saw the hand of God

Elder Victor Odongo Dear Beloved one in Jesus Name. Greetings to you in the Name of our Lord Jesus. Brother, how are you? How are your family and the ministry doing. Here we 66

Dear I send you my greetings in the lord we are fine in the lord and I want to appreciate you for the prayers you have been offering me we have been to Uganda in a Mission then we moved to Webuye for two days and today our pastors team are travelling to Tanzania in the same mission and it will take us 13 hours to reach so pray with our team that the lord will supply all our needs and he strengthens his servants. We believe that God will open to reign in his people and those in trouble to be relieved. The region of Tanzania is covered with Muslims but we are praying that the lord may take control over that. God bless you

NIGERIA Hi Dr. Wade Sir, Blessings. Thank you for this mail. I want you to know that ICOF is waxing strong in Nigeria, ICOF women for Christ is strong, ICOF Chaplaincy is making a serious wave in Nigeria. I am believing God that by next year we will start building the multimillion naira ICOF Global Union African Co-operate Headquarters in Nigeria. This complex will be made up of: ICOF Global Union Co-operate African Administrative Headquarters, ICOF University and seminary, ICOF Chaplaincy Corp and ICOF business dept. we had already acquire that land. So we will start the buildings by God grace. Please let me know the time and the number of people that is coming with you to Nigeria and Africa so that I can plan well.

Yours Pastor Alex

KENYA Praise His Majesty! Thanks for that comprehensive spiritual material and may God bless you. However, I called the Bishop from Nigeria and we talked but via e-mails. I would like to be part of this great team because as shared earlier when I called you, you said that by 2015 you will be in Mbita, Kenya.

Thanks and be blessed. Bishop Daniel Joseph.

Be Blessed, Apostle Paul. 67

ASIA

NEPAL Ministers training

INDIA Dear Bishop Wade, From 20th November onwards up to 1st January 2014 we have special small group prayers. Please remember about our ministry in your prayers. I am very happy to share with you. At this time we need your prayers and support to feed the needy Orphan children and widows and old-age people in the Christmas time, and also we are praying in the presence of God to provide for them clothes and as it is winter season for us the old-age people and small kids is suffering lot without blankets. So please pray about this. If you come forward to help them we will be very happy. Christians have a clear command to care for orphans, and there are many ways to get involvedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;praying, giving, mobilizing your church or adopting a child helping for thier studies. I hope to hear from you also. Always our prayers will be with you. Your's

PAKISTAN

Brother in Christ, Ezra Anand Kumar Garnipudi, Evangelist

MALAYSIA

I am Rev. Azar naz ,Chairman LIGHT OF THE WORLD MINISTRIES REGISTERED IN 68

PAKISTAN.I am also Chairman All Churches Pastors Counsel in Pakistan.20 Pastors are working with me in different areas in Punjab. Last night on 16 October 2013, there was a whole night meeting in my church. Started from 8:30 pm and close 4:30am on 17 October morning. there were 74 people, 25 people accept Jesus as their Personal Savior and baptizing with water, 20 people received the baptizing with Holy Ghost. One young man was abnormal since his childhood. Now he is 28 years old, when he came this meeting under the Shadow of the Holy Spirit touched him and he is healed completely right now. Praise the Lord, You are requested to pray continue for them all. God bless you.

Javed Siddique WONDERFUL REPORT OF GOSPEL WORK TRIP OF PUNJAB PROVINCE. From 7 to 11 Oct. I have preached with my Gospel team. I have come back from the Gospel trip of Punjab, I have preached in 4 villages of Punjab. Where more than 4000 people received blessings when they attend meetings. 300 received Jesus as their savior. 237 healed from their sicknesses.

Bishop can you share the word of God on Skype in Pakistan. Jesus said â&#x20AC;&#x153;Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and in the name of Son and of the Holy Spirit.

generous support of God fearing and well wisher of orphan and poor children. Till today we have no regular support from government, non government organization or any support from abroad. This institution is situated in New Iqbal Town, Islamabad in a rented building. We are bearing a lot of expenses like, building rent, bedding for children, food, clothing, educational expenses (school fee, books and stationary, uniform) and medical expenses for these children. It is very difficult to meet all the expenses of children because we have no regular financial support.

REQUEST FOR SUPPORT MONTHLY GROCERY

Therefore we request you to give us Monthly Grocery for children. It will be a great contribution from your kind hearted decision. These poor and orphan children will pray for your long life and prosperity. Looking forward to your favorable consideration. Regards, Bishop Dilshad Bhatti â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ICOF Pakistan With due respect, we want to bring into your kind notice that LIVING HOPE ORPHAN HOUSE was established in January 2011 and registered under the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration in January 2012.

Pakistan

The Living Hope Orphan House is taking care for 37 children (boys and girls), orphan, semi- orphan, children of broken families and poor families. Bishop Bernie Wade ministering with Bishop Tufail Bazmi

The management of Living Hope Orphan House is running this institute with the

Pastor Saleem Inayat â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ICOF Church of Lahore ministering in United Aram Emirates

Ministering in Pakistan with Bishop Tufail Bazmi in their Friday evening meeting! What a wonderful presence of the Lord! What sincerity of worship. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Bishop Bernie L. Wade

Keep the ministry there in UAE in prayer. PAKISTAN (continued)

Pastor Saleem Inayat has been appointed Chairman of the

International Circle of Faith Fivefold Roundtable of Pakistan.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS TO THE NEXT WAVE MAGAZINE IS THE

NORTH AMERICA USA We are excited to announce that a new web site is coming for ICOF Global. The IT Dept has removed the old site and a new one will be up soon! Keep watching! http://www.icof.net ARIZONA ICOF Fivefold Roundtable – Phoenix with Chairman – Bishop Derrick Day

WATCH ICOF TV LIVE

KENTUCKY LIFE CHURCH of Kentucky is preparing for an ordination/ consecration meeting.

November 24th, 2013 Dinner at 12:30 Meeting: 2 PM At Sulphur Christian Church, Sulphur, Kentucky 72

New Orleans, LA

Des Moines, IA

Friday, December 5

Friday, July 18

Greensboro, NC

New York City, NY

Friday, November 14

Saturday, June 7

Detroit, MI

San Antonio, TX

Friday, October 10

Saturday, May 24

Louisville, KY

Anaheim, CA

Friday, September 5

Friday, April 11

Vancouver, BC

Tallahassee, FL

Friday, August 15

Friday, March 14 74

On Friday November 8, 2013 Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippine Islands with devastating fury. Recorded as one of the strongest storms every recorded, its path was three hundred miles wide. Super Typhoon Haiyan has devastated the Philippines. The UN reports over 330,000 people are displaced, and thousands are feared dead. Many of the storms survivors are desperate for supplies. To ensure maximum relief to the region, our bank is waiving all transaction fees when you donate to help the victims. Our national pastors, their churches, and congregations focus on ministry to the poor. And we fear the worst for them. At this time there is a tremendous need for food, temporary housing, medicine and finances. With a generous gift to the ICOF PHILIPPINE RELIEF FUND you can be an encouragement to our brothers and sisters in Christ as they seek to survive and rebuild their lives. To donate, email ICOF

PHILIPPINE RELIEF FUND OR CALL: 502.410.4263 MAIL TO: ICOF PO. BOX 72 SULPHUR, KY 40070

INTERNATIONAL CIRCLE OF FAITH COLLEGES, SEMINARIES AND UNIVERSITIES EDUCATING TOMORROWS CHRISTIAN LEADERS

If you will commit to praying for LIFE CHURCH of Kentucky we will commit to give you timely updates on the needs. Together we are makinh a real and lasting difference for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

WANTED INTERCESSORS IF YOU ARE AN INTERCESSOR WE NEED YOUR HELP! We are putting a team of intercessors together to pray for our new church plant. We know that we can never accomplish the vision that God has given us without intercessors.

Or Call

502.410.4263

LIFE CHURCH of Kentucky is in the process of a new church plant. As part of our launch team we need a plethora of God called intercessors. We would love for you to be part of what God is doing in our area.

Acts 1:25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. Acts 6:4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. Acts 12:25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.

The ONLY Ministry of the New Testament Church By J. Samuel Willoughby

Acts 21:19 And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.

The lightning like speed with which this tragically deceived, tormented generation plunges toward an eternity without God; wrenches from the heart of every concerned saint any desire for gospel games or spiritual amusements. Leaving in its place only a lonely crying out to know where went the power of Pentecost; and the profundity of its gospel witness.

Romans 12:7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 1 Corinthians 16:15 I beseech you, brethren, ye (know the house of Stephanas, that it is the first fruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,) 2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;

~From The Power Witness, Mark Hanby & V. A. Guidroz There are 18 separate verses, in the New Testament, that speak to us about ministry, using the word ‘ministry’…

2 Corinthians 6:3 Giving no offense in anything, that the ministry be not blamed: Ephesians 4:11-12 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

THE MINISTRY: Acts 1:17 For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. 79

12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

handling of the part of ministry that he has placed into our hands… However, in all these scriptural nuggets concerning ‘the ministry’, there are only 2 passages out of the 18, which actually tell us what ‘the ministry’ is and give us clear insight into a real-time, day-to-day approach as to how to perform that ministry.

Colossians 4:17 And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it. 1 Timothy 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 2 Timothy 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

TEXTS: Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

2 Timothy 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

2 Corinthians 5:17-20 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

Hebrews 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. Hebrews 9:21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. LET ME SAY FIRST OF ALL…EVERY SAINT OF GOD HAS A MINISTRY… EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US… And you and I will stand in the Judgment some day with the fruit of our ministries or the lack thereof, and give account to a great and awesome God, as to our

THE ONLY MINISTRY FOUND WITHIN THE NEW TESTAMENT IS… 80

THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION!

Death, the Burial, and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. He indicates in this passage in Corinthians that it is what we stand in by faith; it is the very thing that saves us…unless we have believed in vain. But that begs the question then, “How do I apply that Truth to my own life?” (Practical Application) Acts 2:38-39 Then Peter said unto them, Repent (death to sin), and be baptized (buried) every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (the resurrected life in Christ). 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Let me take the time to back up here for just a bit and lay a foundation that we can stand on from the Word of the Lord. First of all, we need to know the answer to the question, “What is the Gospel?”

I am identified with Christ, or as Paul says in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ…” retro-actively in the New Birth experience when I Repent or die out to my sins, then I am Water Baptized (buried), then I receive His Resurrection Power in my life with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

MINISTRY: WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? (Theologically) 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; 4 And that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures:

And the understanding that ties those 2 powerful passages of scripture together is what Paul wrote in Romans 8… (Connection) Romans 8:1-4 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

According to the apostle Paul, the Gospel, or “the Good News” is the 81

2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Adjustment of a difference, reconciliation, restoration to favor a. In the NT, the restoration of the favor of God to sinners that repent and put their trust in the expiatory death of Christ. JESUS’ MINISTRY: 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Romans 8:10-11 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

Hebrews 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, TO MAKE RECONCILIATION FOR THE SINS OF THE PEOPLE.

MINISTRY: WHAT IS RECONCILIATION? Definition: Merriam-Webster

LET ME SAY AGAIN…

1a: to restore to friendship or harmony b: SETTLE, RESOLVE 2: to make consistent or congruous 3a: to check (a financial account) against another for accuracy b: to account for Strong’s Lexicon tells us: 1) Exchange a. Of the business of money changers, exchanging equivalent values 2)

THE ONLY MINISTRY FOUND WITHIN THE NEW TESTAMENT IS… THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION! And the two-pronged method of fulfilling that ministry in our lives is…

• Intercessory prayer for the reconciliation of all men and women to God… • Sharing, or testifying of the Gospel of the grace of God…

If I am not involved in the reconciliation of lost people to Jesus Christ…And/or the restoration of fallen brothers and sister back to right standing with Jesus Christ…Then I have no part in New Testament ministry…and I really need to take my sign down. How can I call myself a Christian if I don’t love His lost world enough to die daily in prayer for it?

BASICALLY, YOU PRAY IT IN…AND THEN YOU SPEAK IT OUT Do you know what really SHOCKS God?

How can I call myself a Christian if I “just can’t talk to people about Jesus”, because I’m too embarrassed?

It is NOT sin, or lukewarmness, or backsliding; NO, IT REALLY IS NOT! Isaiah 59:16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.

How can I call myself a Christian if I cannot bother myself to be a part of reconciling a fallen brother or sister back to right relationship with God? IT AIN’T ROCKET SCIENCE, MY FRIEND!!

Isaiah 59:16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered [a prim. Hebrew root word- shaw-mame'- meaning: stunned, numbed, devastated, stupefied, amazed, or astonished] that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. When God cannot find anyone, AFTER ALL HE HAS DONE FOR US, to intercede for His lost world in PRAYER….or anyone that can be bothered to testify of His grace and power to bring healing and peace to a troubled life…He is stunned, numbed, devastated, stupefied, amazed and astonished!!!

WE PRAY FOR PEOPLE AND TELL THEM ABOUT JESUS.

4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.

WE MODEL HIM IN FRONT OF THEM. It is NOT just the preacher’s job! In Acts 8, everyone got scattered out from Jerusalem, EXCEPT THE APOSTLES! And verse 4 says, “they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.” Too many of us have allowed the devil and our own laziness to rob us of our VOICE!! In the prayer closet of intercession for a hurting world…And on the street; telling that lonely, hurting world of a Savior who can bring them healing and peace in a world that has gone to the limits and beyond in degradation and debauchery!

WE GLORIFY HIM IN THEIR HEARING. WE LIVE IT AND TELL IT. They said in Acts 4:20 “We can only tell what we have seen and heard” … AND THEY TURNED THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN!

Let me say again…EVERY CHILD OF GOD HAS A MINISTRY…every single one of us…Ministry is merely the outflow of a healthy spiritual life… And we will account to God, for “the power of Pentecost; and the profundity of its gospel witness.”

Acts 8:1-4 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.

….And what we’ve done with it. Bishop J. Samuel Willoughby brings a lifetime of ministry experience to his role as a Teacher in the Body of Christ. He is a member of the International Circle of Faith Fivefold Roundtable for North America.

LIFE CHURCH OF KENTUCKY MAKING DISCIPLES

502.410.4263 lifechurchky@live.com

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Life.Church.13/

LIFE CHURCH OF KENTUCKY TH DECEMBER 15 2013 2 PM

Dr. Marcus Benson From Dublin, Ireland International Circle of Faith - Chairman of the European Fivefold Roundtable

LIFE CHURCH of KENTUCKY

Dr. Robert Straube Assistant Presiding Bishop - International Circle of Faith

2 PM 8047 Sulphur-Bedford Road, Sulphur, KY 40070 87

Fellow Laborers in the Gospel, The International Circle of Faith (ICOF) has been given a vision and a mandate to herald the importance of the Five-Fold Ministry Gifts (Ephesians 4: 11) to the church for the following objectives:    

Equip the Saints for the Edifying of the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12) Unify the Church in faith (Ephesians 4:13) Encourage the Saints to be grounded in truth and doctrine (Ephesians 4:14) Bring the Saints into maturity in Christ (Ephesians 4:15)

Because these objectives have not been met, the Church – by-and-large – has been operating in a diminished capacity, not fully manifesting the power of the risen Christ and demonstrating the Greater Works (John 14:12) that Jesus told the Church it would do. For this reason ICOF is looking for sons and daughters of God who long to see the power expressed in the first-century church in the modern church. We call this initiative the Five-Fold Roundtable. Participation is simple. There is a conference call held on the first Monday of every month at 8:00PM EST (7:00PM CST, 6:00PM MST, 8:00PM PST). Here is the conference call information:  

Phone Number: Passcode:

(712) 432-0373 680181*

If you’re inclined to be a part of this vision, you can start by forming your own local Five-Fold Roundtable. This will require stepping outside your comfort zone to introduce yourself to, and fellowship with, ministry and Christian business leaders in your area, sharing this vision with them. In order to make the vision plain, we have broken it down into three areas:   

Identify Five-Fold leaders locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally Equip Five-Fold leaders to reproduce first in their local ministries then in their community Deploy Five-Fold leaders to displace the powers of darkness with the Kingdom of God

If you desire assistance with this, you can email me directly, and ICOF will bring resources to bear to help you with your effort. We look forward to laboring with you! Yours in Christ,

D.E. Day Bishop Derrick Day, Chairman ICOF Five-Fold Roundtable