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July 2010 Newsletter

 

THE CITY WILL BE BUILT

Behold the days are coming, says the LORD [YaHWeH], that the city shall be built for the LORD from the tower of Hananel to the corner gate  Jer.31:38.

God has promised and will not relent: the city of God shall be built. This is the same city that Abraham saw in vision: He waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God  Heb.11:10.

John saw this city: Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband  Rev.21:2. The significant thing about this city is that God is in the midst of her: Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away  Rev.21:3-4.

One of the seven angels came to John and said, Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God  Rev.21:9b-11a.

We have already come to this city: But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first born, registered in heaven  Heb.12:22-23a.

The Bride Church is the City!

 

How can this city be built? Behold, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?  Jer.32:27. Jeremiah knew God, Ah, Lord [Adonay] Yahweh! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You  Jer.32:17.

Chapters 30 to 33 of Jeremiah are full of wonderful and magnificent promises that God has made to us. In the midst of these chapters of restoration and exposition of the mystery of God, Jeremiah prophesied, for the LORD has created a new thing in the earth - a woman shall encompass a man  Jer.31:22.

At first reading this sounds insignificant. God created man and woman in the beginning to become one, but Jeremiah prophesies that God is creating a new thing. What He prophetically demonstrated in creating Adam and Eve and enabling them to become one, He is going to fulfil by creating a bride church for Himself, for His Son, Jesus Christ.

In Ephesians 5:22-33, Paul is teaching on marriage but in doing so, he is actually teaching of the bride church. He says, this is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church  v.32.

What is the relationship of Messiah Jesus with His church?

In the book of Ephesians chapter 5, the apostle instructs us how to prepare ourselves to be the bride church and then he outlines for us how Christ is already the husbandman who is preparing us to be His bride church. The instructions are addressed to us as dear children  (Eph.5:1). As we faithfully walk in the fulfilment of the instructions Paul gives us, we will grow up in Christ to be part of His bride. The key instruction is be imitators of God  v1. The only way we can become the bride of Christ is to be imitators of God - we are to become like Him. Remember that in the beginning, God created us in His own image, according to His likeness.

Even so, the bride church will be a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ  (Eph.4:13b). Do not be deceived! Anything less than the full measure is not the bride church.

 

Walk in love

We are to be in love with our husband to be. When one is in love with another, we pursue that one; we long to be in their company; we carry sweet memories of that person. Sometimes when we are young, as children growing up, we 'get a crush' on someone, or we become infatuated with someone. It is not wrong to have such feelings toward Jesus, but we are to grow past the stage of being infatuated to being serious about developing our relationship and being faithful therein.

In the context, Paul warns us against fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness ... filthiness  etc (Eph.5:3-4). We cannot become part of the bride church if we are part of such things - brethren this means you must govern what you watch on the television.

This means that you forsake all other loyalties to 'church' to be wholly devoted to Him. We are not to be deceived by empty words  (v6), or to be partakers with the sons of disobedience  (v7).

 

Walk as children of light

Remember that Paul is instructing us how to prepare ourselves for marriage. We are to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness  (v11). We are not even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret  (v12).

The fruit of walking in the light is goodness, righteousness and truth  (v9). The key to righteousness is faith and the truth is the word. Goodness is a fruit of the Spirit in our lives (Gal.5:22). We are to find out what is acceptable to the Lord  (v10). If we walk as children of light, we walk in the day; we need not stumble.

It is time to wake-up! The church at large is asleep! We have been rocked to sleep by watered down worldly doctrines. The church in society does not look like a bride in preparation for Jesus, but more and more a church that is playing the harlot, taking on and practising worldly ways.

Isaiah called us to Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you  60:1. Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light  Eph.5:14.

 

Walk in wisdom

The Scripture says, walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise  (Eph.5:15). We need to seek for wisdom in every situation. We need to check things out and not be deceived as fools, redeeming the time, because the days are evil  (v16). We are to understand what the will of the Lord is  (v17). Many Christians who attend church do not know what the will of God is. Many preachers who are preaching in the churches are not preaching the knowledge of the will of God. They are preaching man's doctrines and man's interpretations. The wisdom we need is the wisdom from above (James 3:17).

 

A Spirit-filled life

To redeem the time we need to be filled with the Spirit. We are not to look for fulfilment in worldly pleasures such as drunkenness. The Spirit-filled life is characterised by three note worthy facets:

·         Speaking to one another and singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (v19)

·         Having a gratitude attitude (v20)

·         Submitting to one another in the fear of God  (v21)

 

The bride is full of the Spirit. It is the Spirit and the Bride who say 'Come!'  Rev.22:17, at the time that the church is ready to receive her husbandman, Christ Jesus.

This is our preparation as dear children  (Eph.5:1) to be able to grow up in Christ to become His bride church.

 

Who Jesus is and how He is preparing to receive His bride - Eph.5:22-32

i)                    Jesus is the Head of the church (v23). Are you a member?

ii)                  Jesus is the Saviour of the body (v23). Are you saved?

iii)                The church is to be subject [submitted] to Christ in everything (v24). Are you submitted to Jesus, or do you please yourself?

iv)                Jesus loves the church (v25). Do you know His love for you?

v)                  Jesus gave Himself for the church (v25). He paid the price for each one of us to be saved.

vi)                Jesus is sanctifying the church, that is, setting her apart for Himself (v26). Is your life set apart for God?

vii)              Jesus is cleansing the church from all sin (v26). Are you free of sin?

Jesus both sanctifies and Jesus cleanses the church with the washing of water by the word . This is the rhema [quickened] word of God. Do you receive the rhema word?

viii)            Jesus will present to Himself a glorious church (v27). This is the church that is walking in the revelation of the glory of God; the church that knows Christ in us, the hope of glory  Col.1:27. This is the work of the ministry: to make known the revelation of the mystery of the glory of God.

Have you come to know the mystery?

ix)                Jesus loves us as He loves Himself (v28). This is all-consuming love! Do you have an intimate relationship with Jesus?

x)                  Jesus nourishes and cherishes the church (v29).

xi)                We are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones  (v30). We are one with Him: how close can we get!

xii)              There is a leaving [of the old] and a cleaving to Jesus, becoming one with Him (v31).

 

This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church 

Paul Galligan.

 

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CURRENT REPORT

Mid-year training school

We have come to the end of three weeks of training. The first week was held in the city of Mackay, 1,000kms north from our city of Toowoomba. This was the first time we have taken a school to another city outside of Toowoomba in Australia, and it was very successful. Nicholas, who is a young apostle, who has trained up with us, & his wife, Rhoda, ran a school for children concurrently. We travelled up in one day, 12 hours solid driving, and back in one day and had five days of teaching in between.

We have a number of related brethren in north Queensland and they hosted the school. We were blessed to be able to use a Seventh Day Adventist day school - they were closed for the school holidays. A number of new people came to the school and some new relationships have already developed.

Then we had two weeks here at SHILOH, our apostolic centre in Toowoomba, finishing Friday 16^th. Nick & Rhoda did a one week school for children in the first week and had up to 26 attending - it was full-on for them! A number of the children were from African families and there were two Indian boys.

 

International guests

We have hosted two brothers from India in our home and one of them is still with us, and most evenings during the school we have had other visitors to the school for meals as well. A couple from Vanuatu, a small Pacific Island nation, also attended this school. We have had up to 40 in attendance most days here in Toowoomba. So we have been very busy with the school, and thank God for the wonderful time that He gave us. It was a time of joy and rejoicing in the presence of the Lord; it was a time on considering the Scriptures seriously as per 2Timothy 3:16-17.

 

On Sunday 17^th we had our monthly community Sunday, where our five house churches in the local area plus visitors from afar gathered for a double service. We began at 9.30 with our brother, George Philip, known as Rajubhai, from Gujarat, India, sharing from the Word and from his own awesome testimony [he has been beaten 25 times for the gospel and has personally baptised over 30,000 new believers]. He challenged us to offer to the Lord whatever it is we have. He referred to the boy who gave to Jesus the fish and the bread to feed the 5,000.

After this first service we stopped for a cup of tea, celebrated some birthdays and there was much fellowship in the house. We regathered at 11am for praise and worship, the Lord s Table, the commissioning of one of our sisters who is going to Zambia for a year as a missionary; then the brother from Vanuatu, George Yasyas, shared an encouraging word from Psalm 23. Both the brother from Vanuatu and the brother from India were commissioned into apostolic ministry. It was a very powerful day and we had an extended community lunch to finish off.

We had a few first-timers at SHILOH and that was encouraging. We also witness the spiritual growth in a number of the brethren, including one teenage girl who has really changed.

 

Local Indian believers gathering with brother George

On Sunday afternoon, Nicholas gathered a group of Indian believers from Kerala State, India, who live in our city, to meet with brother George Philip, who is staying with us. Janet and I have been listening to them singing to Jesus in their mother tongue. We are so blessed as our home is constantly a place of fellowship, discipleship and worship and hospitality.

 

Live worship production

An exciting development here at SHILOH has been the flourishing of new songs coming from the Lord to Rhoda Jackson. Regularly, even weekly and sometimes more than once a week, Rhoda receives a new song. In the second week of the training school here in Toowoomba, Rhoda led the worship each morning and often used her own new songs. The Holy Spirit confirmed and honoured these songs by releasing such a presence and power among us. Brother George from India said, I must be able to take these songs back to India.  This Wednesday evening [21^st] we are gathering for worship at SHILOH and will be recording a number of the songs in the context of congregational worship. This should be available on CD and DVD in due course.

 

Kenya

During our visit to Kenya this year we charged the brothers and sisters to continue to rise up and do the work of the ministry as apostles.

Apostle George Muteti is doing some in-house training with brethren from Central Africa. We have encouraged George to invite other apostles in Kenya to be involved and to involve some of their key disciples.

George is a senior brother in the apostolic and we have encouraged him to be home based for a season and do a School of Tyrannus in his own home. This could be a great blessing to many of our brethren. I am sure that if other apostles could get involved, an amazing School of Tyrannus could evolve, so that all of Kenya can hear the word of the Lord Jesus, Acts 19:9-10.

Meanwhile in Nairobi, Meshack is working on the establishment of an apostolic institute with the goal in mind of training five-fold ministers in the longer term.

Apostle Dorcas Kamau and the team at Kangemi [outskirts of Nairobi] continue to establish and minister in apostolic schools that are being established in various places.

 

We intend to work on the basic discipleship manual for use in local churches as pastors are waiting for it. To meet their expectation we will release the new manual in segments as we get it done.

 

Paul and Janet.

 

CALENDAR

MISSION TRIPS

 

July 30^th  Deborah Wright departs for Zambia for one year of mission work

August 9^th Rob Cochrane & Michael Hopkinson depart for trip to Cairns, Nth Qld.

                     There will be meetings and visits to many places on the way.

September 13^th David & Elspeth Truss depart for England for visit to family relatives

                      14^th Paul & Alberto depart for South America  ministering in Peru, Ecuador &

                              Colombia for three weeks

                      17^th Arend Tibben, Anthony Mackin & Keith Klass depart for Myanmar for 3 wks

October 24^th Nicholas & Rhoda Jackson depart for Philippines for 3 wks. Ministering in Cebu

                         and Mindanao.

                         Possible visit to New Zealand for Paul & Janet in late October

November 6^th Margaret Hooper departing for Myanmar with Ros & Roger Fraser.

                              

 

COMMUNITY WEEKENDS

 

August: Fri.13^th - Sun15^th  COMMUNITY WEEKEND at SHILOH                                         

              Friday night worship: 7pm

                 Saturday: 10am - 4pm teaching sessions, fellowship lunch

                 Sunday: 9.30am Teaching; 10.30am Worship service; Community lunch

 

September: Fri.10^th - Sun.12^th  COMMUNITY WEEKEND  at SHILOH

October: Fri.15^th - Sun.17^th  COMMUNITY WEEKEND  at SHILOH

November: Fri.12^th - Sun.14^th  COMMUNITY WEEKEND  at SHILOH

December: Fri.10^th - Sun.12^th  COMMUNITY WEEKEND  at SHILOH

 

Discipleship and training classes continue at SHILOH and Caboolture.

Please contact us for details.

 

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