We are all aware in the Scriptures of the influence of principalities and powers and demonic hosts (Ephesians 6:10–12). We could spend considerable time and energy discerning and identifying them, but the Lord is leading us in another direction. Would you like to know the wisdom in this? Discerning what is working against you and what you have to overcome is an aspect of dealing with the enemy, this is true, but it is only the negative side.
What the Lord is bringing forth now is the positive side, which is quite different. For years He has been preparing us for this next level of intercession through which we take dominion over every demonic realm (Ephesians 1:19–23).
We are concerned about more than discerning the enemy; we want to move into the positive, aggressive side—that of overcoming the enemy!
Revelation without a manifestation of authority can be frustrating; but when the revelation from the Lord comes to you, and with it you sense the authority to take dominion over that enemy and bring him down, that is quite different.
As the Lord has unfolded a deeper level of revelation, an explosive thing is taking place. A number of things have happened in this, but the main thing, which becomes very important to all of you now, is that you are right at the threshold of new things. I am not too concerned about ministering to elders, pastors and others; I am more concerned about projecting you into the explosive action that gets you moving! If all of us could move in what we already have from the Lord, we would turn the world upside down! It is the practical aspect of the principles of the Kingdom that we really need now. As these next steps unfold to you, you will find that you must go back to the teaching which is the foundation of much of this revelation.
One important example of such foundational teaching is the five fold ministry. We know that among the gift ministries to the church, pastors and teachers are named (Ephesians 4:11). pastor is the Latin word for “shepherd.” Rash, the Hebrew word for shepherd, means “one who feeds the sheep.”
How often is the ministry of a “pastor” mentioned in the New Testament?
We have learned that “pastor” is referred to only rarely. There are numerous references to apostles and prophets and evangelists, but teachings about pastors are rare.
Although there are several references to our Lord Jesus Christ as our Shepherd (Isaiah 40:11; John 10:1–18; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25), the New Testament reference to the pastor’s ministry is found in only one place, Ephesians 4:11: “And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers.”
It is also to be noted that the pastor is among those listed as traveling or universal ministries to the Body of Christ.
The ministry of a pastor is an overseer, or elder..
How revolutionary this teaching is! From the time that this teaching first came, there came most regrettably a gradual fading of the vision as it was first given.
We became—and this is very easy to do—more conscious of position than we were conscious of the ministry or the commission, and its real purpose. Everyone tends to do that.
What gradually evolved was not at all the scriptural pattern of a pastor’s ministry. Many do not realize that there had to be corrections for what had become a deviation of divine order.
Several churches are becoming almost like feudal systems all in the name of a local “New Testament church.” (Where one-man rules as Lord, and the rest serve him). How did that happen?
Their pastors did not follow the original teaching about the New Testament Church which put the emphasis upon the ministry of elders and overseeing elders.
At first I refused any title. I refused to be called a pastor. Instead, I constantly taught that I was an overseeing elder. When people would ask me, “What are you?” I told them, “I’m the overseeing elder, among other elders.” This did one thing which was necessary: It prevented me from becoming a professional minister.
A movement will drift away from its original aims the moment its ministers become professionals or hirelings. Whether or not men are trained to be professionals, they still become professionals when they begin to view themselves as having a position with privileges rather than as having a commission from the Lord Jesus Christ to minister and to function.
Then they want to take the title, “Reverend,” and be referred to as “Pastor.” Some will not even answer the people in their congregation unless they first addressed him as “Pastor.”
It is important that you see this because we are being corrected. We are ready for a change now. A few churches concentrated on containing or restraining their people, holding them in.
A local New Testament church’s vision starts out very pure, but after a while a local church can become a denomination within its own four walls.
What is a denomination?
That which locks people into a bondage that the Lordship of Jesus Christ never intended for them. This does not mean that there is not to be discipline, authority, and submission on the local level. It does mean that there are not to be classes or ranks within the Kingdom of God.
What eliminates the class structure in a local church? The Words of the Lord Himself. “He that would be greatest, let him be the servant of all” (Matthew 23:11).
When the Lord knew that all authority had been given to Him in heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18), that the Father had put all things under His hand, and that He would go to the Father, He laid aside His garment and He washed His disciples’ feet. He said, “You call Me Lord and Master. You say well, for so I am. Now you wash one another’s feet” (John 13:1–17).
The word “bishop,” which eventually became a titled position in the church, originally referred to an “overseer,” someone who worked with the Lord in that servant’s capacity. The bondservant, foot-washing ministry is coming forth again today; he that would be greatest must become the servant of all (Mark 9:35).
What will the future be? “Churchianity,” as we have known it, is going to go through a great shaking, but a Kingdom church (that is, a church oriented to the Kingdom of Christ on earth) will prevail.
How will the transition take place?
Watch the Kingdom come forth in some instances through channels which are more open to produce the miracle of a ministry than the churches themselves are.
For instance, in Kingdom schools and businesses, where the people gather together every day, great progress can be gained in a short period of time. Some of these Kingdom facilities have a period in the Word, and worship and intercession every morning. Why is it that in a spiritual environment like this, the schools and businesses are in some cases moving ahead of the churches? You will not be able to enter into this Kingdom level by attending church a couple times a week. It is not easy to go through the leveling, to go through the unifying process, in order to reach the oneness that is essential to the Kingdom.
For instance, if you think it is easy, try putting together a communal home that has no friction! It is in that everyday living together that we attain a life-style where there is steadfast faith, consistent unity, constant oneness, and where ministries can speak a Living Word from the Lord. Am I upsetting some of you? Are you thinking, “But I am accustomed to going to church. Now are you telling me I have to go to a factory and attend services every morning?” No; but it does not yet appear what changes are going to take place.
In the early days of the Church, as recounted in the book of Acts, the Word constantly grew, multiplied, prevailed over everything because people met frequently in homes. Often they met daily. Every day there was a period of prayer (Acts 2:42, 46; 12:24; 19:20). They knew that they were one family. Although they didn’t have a lot of money, they took care of each other (Acts 2:44–45). Within a brief two- or three-year period, everyone in Asia had heard the Word of the Lord, according to Acts 19:20–26.
Would you like to see the whole earth shaken by the Gospel of the Kingdom? That is what the Living Word actually is—the Gospel of the Kingdom. It is a revelation, directly from the Scriptures, of the basic principles for the Kingdom of God which will be set up on this earth. We must distinguish between the two commissions that Jesus gave. Follow this carefully. One commission says, “Go and preach the gospel to every creature (the whole creation) and the one who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:15–16). This commission is quoted frequently because people are a little confused with the other commission, that of Matthew 28:18–19. There Christ said, “All authority is given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Now this commission is quite different: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” For the nations to become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (Revelation 11:15), there will have to be the same faithfulness to believe for the principalities and powers that have dominated this land to be shaken and dethroned as there is to win a soul to the Lord.
Without question there is a great deal of spirit activity now. This will continue, for the Kingdom will be characterized by demonic assault and reproach just as every other move of God has been (Psalm 69:9; Luke 6:22; Hebrews 11:26; 1 Peter 4:14). If you had lived in the days of the reformation or the restoration, you could have been burned at the stake for possessing a Bible. There was a time when, if you believed in a born-again experience instead of works of penance, that would have been enough reason for someone to kill you for being a heretic. There were times in the last generation like those in Chicago when John Alexander Dowie was arrested over 120 times in any one year when police broke into the meetings in which he preached and prayed for the sick. The city of Chicago, which was predominantly Roman Catholic, had him arrested and put in jail nearly every time he tried to conduct a prayer meeting. Whenever he had to go to court, he would read to the judge the first amendment in the Bill of Rights which stated that no law could be made concerning conscience of worship in matters of religion; nor could any law prohibit the free exercise of religion. Then he would go out the door. There was no law to restrain him, but the harassment continued. That is why the town of Zion, Illinois was built. Every time we come into a stage of truth that is being restored, someone is going to suffer for it.
When speaking in tongues was first restored, there was a reproach on it. It eventually came to the place where it became the subject of scientific study; many books were written about it. Today one who receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit is called a “Charismatic”—and that can be quite fashionable. In fact, I have heard that charismatic nuns and priests held a convocation at Saint Peter’s Church in Rome, during which time the Pope came and gave them his blessing.
After a present truth is established, then it no longer requires that drive, that dedication to go through the persecution for it. Why is this true? After it is established, the enemy will move on to try to prevent the next step of restoration from coming forth. Now that speaking in tongues has become accepted, people can say, “Fine, we’ll embrace it!”
What is the sign of reproach now? It is the teaching of the Lordship of Christ and His right to rule over the nations that has become the great point of contention (Revelation 11:15). Realize that we are facing the culmination of this great battle of the ages in which the Lord, whose right it is to rule over the nations, is beginning to manifest His manifold wisdom to principalities and powers, as was prophesied in Ephesians 3:9–10. In order for that to happen, a people must come forth to proclaim that Word. Regardless of what you call them—intercessors, prophets who move throughout the land—they are going to be sufficient because they will be “blowing the whistle” on the usurper. Then the Lordship of Jesus Christ will be manifested (Philippians 3:9–11; I Timothy 6:15).
The Lordship of Jesus Christ is the primary emphasis we have been taught for more than thirty years. You say, “Well, the churches down the street preach about Jesus as the Savior.” That is fine. In some churches, the same message is preached on Sunday morning, Sunday night, and throughout the week: “Come on, now. Be born again. Be born again. Become a Christian. Give your heart to Jesus. Come on down to the altar.” You can count all the people—there they are, all of them saved. The focus of the church is not directed toward bringing those people to perfection under the Lordship of Christ so that they can go forth and bring others in. Instead they keep preaching that one truth, over and over again (Ephesians 4:11–16; (Hebrews 6:1). Yet the first Church message opened up with Peter saying on the day of Pentecost, “The Father has made this Jesus both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:34–36).
The Lordship of Christ and His right to rule over the nations has been our principal teaching all through these years. That is why these churches exist. The great point of contention now is over the Lordship of Jesus Christ and your being His bond servant. We usually get a little bit out of line when ministries within a local church begin to have a position instead of humbly serving as bond servants to Jesus Christ under a commission from the Lord. Then the Lord starts shaking it up to correct it. We have been through that shaking, and I am very grateful for it. I am very grateful, because out of it the highest level of worship is coming forth. Out of this there is a spirit beginning to permeate the churches which is changing the emphasis of the local church into a scripturally-oriented Kingdom church. In a local church the emphasis scripturally should be more upon the overseeing elders, the overseers, than upon the pastor, according to the New Testament pattern.
It is important that you realize that this teaching is not a new doctrine; these are basic principles that you may not have listened to in the first place! Or perhaps you listened, but you did not know how to apply the truth. We are in a sense locked in by what has been and by our experience in the past; so we try to bring that along with us into the Kingdom. We do not seem to make the complete break right away, because we are too conditioned to the past. The walk became actually conditioned to a lot of superfluous church structure. Therefore God had to bring us out of that in the same way that He brought Abraham out of Ur, his homeland, to bring him to Canaan. God brought Abraham out of Ur as far as He could, then Abraham lived awhile at Haran before he moved on to Canaan (Genesis 11:31–12:5). For us, too, it seemed as if God had to bring us as far as He could out of Babylon and let us sit for awhile before we could move on in the Kingdom. The important thing is that we are again moving well toward the scriptural Kingdom emphasis.
How can we discern what the Kingdom really is? First, we must always examine certain words that appear in the context of the Scriptures about the Kingdom. For example, one Scripture that always interests us is Luke 12:31–32: “But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.” Another related Scripture is in the twenty-third Psalm, which portrays the Lord as the Shepherd who leads us, and we dwell in His house forever. The little flock, the sheep, are going to be the ones who will move into the Kingdom. We must be humble, low enough to be part of the little flock. If you have read carefully the This Week entitled, “We Bow Down to Cast Down” (July 29, 1979), you noticed that it talked about humbling yourself before the Lord. James 4:6–7, 10: But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. This again emphasizes the fact that it is a people without the arrogance of position—who have become the little flock, the humble ones—who will also become the aggressive ones to possess the Kingdom (Matthew 11:12).
These truths will create an explosion, and by them we are really going to move on! While David was waiting for the news of the battle during the rebellion of Absalom, one man (named Ahimaaz) at the battle lines wanted to run to David with news, even though he had not seen what had happened. The commander, Joab, sent another man to tell David what he had witnessed. Yet Ahimaaz still wanted to run; Joab asked him, “Wherefore wilt thou run, seeing you have no tidings ready? You have nothing to tell the king.” Ahimaaz responded, “But just let me run.” So Joab said, “Run.” He ran! He ran as hard as he could run; he even outran the other runner and reached David first. Yet when David asked him, “What’s the news of Absalom?” Ahimaaz had nothing to say (II Samuel 18:19–23). Ahimaaz had done a good job of running; yet he had no tidings ready. We are not like him; we have the tidings ready. We have an abundance of the Living Word in our heart. Now it is time for us to run with the message; it is time for that Word to explode in the world.
In order to do that, we must first of all understand what the local church is to be. The vision for a local church today comes from the New Testament. There references were made to the church that was at Ephesus, and the churches that were at Antioch, Jerusalem and so forth. These were all local churches. There is no reference to indicate that those local churches were bound under a hierarchy, or that they had any organizational superstructure or denomination which tied them together as churches. It would have been impossible for them to have a Baptist conference or a Methodist conference. It would have been impossible for them to be based upon either a supposedly democratic process, or upon a bishop and archbishop rule over the churches. Pastors were not appointed to serve here or there; nor did the congregations argue and vote over who would be their pastor.
According to Acts 15, when the early churches wanted to find a solution for a major problem or matter of contention, the Apostle Paul and the local elders went to Jerusalem to meet with the other apostles and elders. According to this pattern, both the overseers of the churches and the apostles were included. If there had been only one—either apostles or elders—the early churches would have had some type of legislative body; but by having them all, they had a group of ministries who were seeking for the mind of the Lord to be revealed. They were, in a sense, dead-ended as a legislative body; but as a spiritual body, they were united to determine the will of God.
In its legal structure, a local church is a local religious nonprofit corporation which in no way should ever build a legal superstructure to overpower the spiritual reality that God is bringing forth. There must not be a legal organization which dominates or restrains the spiritual body of the church. That is why we conducted an extensive, lengthy study to establish a corporation format which would not create a legal structure that would be binding upon and would restrict the spiritual growth that God is creating in the local church. The local church is not an easy vision to fulfill because it is so simple to organize. (On the other hand, the structure of Babylon is very, very complicated, but it is very easy to work out.)
What is the difference between a local church and the Kingdom? The Kingdom represents a great deal more than just the Church. The Kingdom of God represents His Lordship and authority over the whole earth (Matthew 28:18). It represents His Lordship over the nations, and over every realm that you can think of, such as the financial world, the world of art, the economic world. All of these things really belong under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 11:15).
Are we the Kingdom? We are a part of it. Are we still members of a local church? Yes. On one hand, you can contend for the Kingdom and never reach it, because you are not really a part of a local church. On the other hand, you can contend that you will be a part of the local church, and yet never have the vision for the Kingdom. Do you understand how this works? On one hand, you can be locked into being part of a local church; on the other hand, you can say, “I don’t want to be a part of a local church. I don’t want to be submissive to it. I don’t want to be set into some local body that God raises up; I want to be out here doing my own thing for the Lord.” Neither of these is the true vision of the Kingdom.
It will be almost impossible for us to see God’s will come forth in the earth without seeing the Kingdom church come forth. These are local churches that, without becoming a local independent kingdom, will often become Kingdom centers. Although the local churches will have no organization which ties them together, they will find that they have a distinct and definite function in God very much like individuals have. I find myself looking more and more for the will of God over a Kingdom church, rather than only looking for the will of God over individuals or ministries in that church. Why? The moment you exalt a position or a unique calling, you make that person a target—not only a target of Satan, but also a target of people who push him into a place that God never intends for him to have.
Some have wanted to make me some sort of leader over a “religious empire” or something. I refuse that completely. I will not accept the title “Pastor”; I will not accept the title “Apostle.” I refuse these titles. Some have contended, “To be in the walk, you must have a revelation of this man as an apostle.” Have all the revelation of my commission you want; but when you speak, talk about the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Otherwise you create a wrong focus upon and draw attention to something that God did not intend to be exalted. That was never meant to be. Even if you have revelation that a certain man is called to be an apostle, this is not to be an issue or a reason for contention. As long as you accept the Living Word that exalts the Lord Jesus Christ, the same work will be done in your life, regardless of whether or not you accept those titles.
Instead of using the word “pastors,” perhaps we might return to the more scriptural terminology that we originally used and say, “overseers,” “elders,” or “apostles and prophets.” Better yet, I suggest you use no term at all. Begin to speak to one another and of one another as “brethren.” Certainly some have great prophecies over them. The fulfillment today of those prophecies fills me with awe and wonder. One marvel is how living and alive can be the Word of God that comes forth from the mouth of a human vessel. Does that make him an important person? No.
It never, never should be that the vessel is exalted. The Lord never intends for the vessel to be exalted. Even so, people will try to elevate a ministry into that position. The Lord can put reproach on you and make you a spectacle of men and of angels, and you will be called the offscouring of the earth—just so that the world will see that this treasure is in an earthen vessel, and that the excellency of the power is of God and not of ourselves (I Corinthians 4:9, 13; II Corinthians 4:7). God never intended for anyone other than His own Son to be exalted. He is the only One who is to be exalted or glorified in us (II Thessalonians 1:10). If anyone else becomes exalted, the Lord has a way of leveling him so that all will see the Lord only.
Prophesying over a church can be more important than prophesying over any individual within it, because each Kingdom church is taking on an identity and a function that is unique to it alone. Now a mobility is coming to the whole Kingdom of God. Have you noticed how many people in any one church are sent to Shiloh, or sent to colonize another church, or are brought to that church from another church? Never in your lifetime have you seen a movement which has or will have such mobility within it.
In fact, the greatest changes yet are just before us. Recently as I was praying and seeking the face of the Lord, He revealed that there would be many changes. One change will be changes of pastors. The position of the pastors in their local churches will be altered. I am encouraging you to take some very practical steps toward the eventuality that your church may find that God will send you other shepherds or overseers. What is the purpose in this? The Lord requires of the people in the churches the same dedication to these changes that He requires of the leaders. The Lord has given clear-cut revelation that He will send a pastor wherever He wants that ministry to go, in order that that man will reach into the Word and into the Lord in a greater way. Why? He must become humble enough in his own sight; then God will change his circumstances again (I Samuel 15:17). Anyone, even your own pastor, can begin to think like a professional preacher, like an administrator, until he reaches the place where instead of being led by the Lord daily, he begins to take the people and organize them into what he thinks is the will of the Lord for them. That is becoming a professional.
Have you ever wondered why the Lord did not get more Pharisees and rulers of the Jews to be His disciples? He traveled everywhere preaching to multitudes, yet when the time came to select His disciples, He could find no one of importance willing or humble enough to be a disciple—not a one. Of all the Jews, the most hated profession was that of the publican, because he was collecting taxes for Rome. And fishermen too, of course, were not occupying the highest rung on the social ladder, but there they were, fishing or mending their nets or sitting at the receipt of customs collecting taxes, when Christ told them, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:18–19; 9:9). Then after Jesus had been crucified, when the world was being turned upside down by those disciples, the religious leaders asked, “Who are these people?” And they perceived that they were all ignorant and unlearned men (Acts 4:13). It is so difficult for someone who can assume a certain social stratum, a certain status in life, to do the will of God. “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God chooses the foolish and weak things, the base and despised things” (I Corinthians 1:26–28). There was one man with quite a reputation—a Pharisee of the Pharisees, Hebrew of the Hebrews (Philippians 3:5), educated at the feet of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). Yet that man said, “I count all of that rubbish.” (This is a mild translation; King James Version says “dung.”) “I count it nothing, that I can win Christ” (Philippians 3:8). So even when you begin to sense the possibility that you can be somebody, become nobody, so that you can be exalted in Him (James 4:6, 9–10).
This is the process that the Lord has started within the pastors. I think revelation is coming to them in the same way that it came as the Lord began to speak with me. He took me out of my library, away from my books; and for a long time I worked remodeling a church. I put up walls, installed electric wiring and plumbing—all of which I knew nothing about. I simply learned, and I did it. During that time I lost my status as a professional preacher. I even reached the place where I no longer knew how to preach. In fact, I don’t know whether I ever did desire to learn it again. The reason for this was that from that time on the Lord spoke, “Get up and talk to the people and give them My Word.”
The Lord said the same thing to His disciples: “Go stand before the people and speak all the Words of this life. You tell them what it’s all about” (Acts 5:20–25). This is what will happen now, too, to the elders and to all of the ministries. There will be an identification and an impartation which right now is more important than more revelation. You have enough revelation. What you need now is the impartation of the explosive, activated faith to unite as one and see your local church fulfill the will of God, both for your church and for the whole earth. Your church is not to function on just a local level; it is to be a Kingdom-oriented church that sees the vision for the entire Kingdom. You should be just as quick to bless another church as you would be to see your own people blessed. There should be absolutely no vision that is localized to the extent that you become locked into that local level and local area. When that happens, something of the true vision of the Kingdom is lost.
Something has exploded. Now we are ready to run; this message is telling you where to run. Years ago when our children were little, my family went on a trip. We were a bit late in reaching the airport, so I said, “Girls, when I pull up at the passenger area, you get out and you run!” They answered, “Okay!” When they got out of the car, suddenly the little one turned around and said, “Daddy, where do we run?” They were ready to run but they didn’t know where to go! How many of you feel the same way? “We’re ready to run, we’re ready to go. We want to know, ‘What do we do now?’ ” This is exactly what this Word is related to now.
We are not aware yet of how complete has been the revelation over us, and of how completely the Word that we have been taught is written on our hearts as a Living Word. Now, as a result of intercession and being led by the Spirit of the Lord, there will be a fresh impartation of vision and direction to the prophets and to the elders. You will be led directly into one situation right after another (Romans 8:14). This is probably the most practical step that we have ever taken. This vision can be so great, for example, that books of the Living Word translated by one church into another language could change a whole nation. It is the anointing that the Lord puts upon it.
Of course, there will be persecution! In the final analysis, the greatest benefits we will have will come out of persecution. You are being prepared for it. We have the tapes, the books, the apostolic company is beginning to function, and the ministries relating themselves to the spirit of Shiloh. What happened at Shiloh? A humble, half-finished, barracks-type building was the place where people went day and night to pray. Sometimes, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, we would be gathered five and six times throughout a night during that first long winter siege. The last siege took place at harvest time, while we were gathering and preserving the tomatoes and the corn. The book that came out of that siege, They Shall Flee Before Thee Seven Ways, documents that everything I am telling you about in this message happened then. The door closed on a whole era; the walk ceased and the emphasis on the Kingdom began.
During this past year we have experienced the entering into a whole new era or age—and our problem is that we do not understand it yet. We will be like the people who first started making cars by putting a little motor on a buggy designed to be horse-drawn. Did you know that some of the first automobiles actually looked like horse-drawn buggies or coaches? They simply had motors on them. Some of them even had a whip socket still inside, which they used for a flower vase. It took years for the concept of an automobile to emerge, so that the styling and design could develop accordingly. People, by their conditioning, were locked into the horse-and-buggy age; so when something new came, they didn’t know how to adjust to it. I sense that in the same way we, too, will not know how to adjust to some of our future services.
What one local assembly did when they needed a church building is quite interesting. A pastor said, “I’d like to buy a Baptist church building nearby, but we can’t get the financing for it.” They had tried to borrow money on the house where they were currently meeting, but the lenders would not loan to a church. The other pastor said “You can buy that church if you sell the condominium that you have been wanting to sell. Then buy the house where the church is now meeting, so that you own it. You can get the financing as an individual, and you should finance it right to the hilt. Then take the money that you get from that and go over and buy the church.” For several weeks they tried, but nothing happened. So the other pastor said, “Well, we just loose it.” All three transactions occurred in a day or so.
One thing that we have learned in the last few years is that we do not have much need for church auditoriums, because we are no longer audiences. We are participators. Our times together will be the business meetings of the Kingdom. When you come together you come in His name to change things, and to create them. You will not come because you are trying to bring yourself up to zero spiritually, and you hope that there will be some encouraging ministry which will help you a little bit more. Instead you are going to take this new step and come into the maturity that God wants within every one of the citizens of the Kingdom, every member of the Father’s family (Ephesians 4:13–16, 25).
Start a service on a level at which you used to end them. That’s where you can start. Assemble for something other than just the help that you hope to receive. Come spiritually on top.
We have seen a little about what we are going to be as a Kingdom church. Now let us look a little bit further into this. Are you aware that God started shaking the walk until there is nothing left but the Kingdom? Read Hebrews 12; that gives you a good picture that the Lord is speaking, and that His Word is shaking all things. Out of it we will receive a Kingdom that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:26–27). God grant that very shortly, we will be one of the most solid, united people that the world has ever seen.
What is happening in the meantime? A few of the ministers have withdrawn, because they have wanted to preserve their “kingdoms,” including in some cases, their financial privileges and interests. The Word is shaking them. If any man is building a kingdom it is going to be shaken. What is the difference between the true Kingdom of God, and a church that has become its own kingdom? It is this: If any man builds a kingdom around himself, God will bring that down. There will be no other lords but the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah’s prophecy for the Kingdom was, “Many lords have had dominion over us, but in that day Thou alone, O Lord, shall have dominion” (Isaiah 26:13). Only the Lord will have the dominion. The day in which things can be hidden is past. In the Kingdom, there will be nothing hidden that shall not be revealed (Luke 12:2). There is not one thing—not one thing!—that will be swept under the rug in these days. How many pray, “I’d rather have these days of honesty come; I’d rather be searched out by God. I’d rather have the days of honesty come so that when a Word is proclaimed, there is no double dealing as in the days of Ananias and Sapphira” (Acts 5:1–10).
As the dominion of the Lord is established in the local churches, we will see the mobility of the Kingdom ministries come forth. Philippians 3:20–21 explains this principle: For our citizenship (ASV) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself (KJV). Moffatt’s translation makes the meaning quite different; it says, “We are heaven’s colony.” This phrase came from a time during the Roman Empire when roads connected every place throughout the empire. When Rome expanded its territories, the first thing the Romans did was build a road for the rapid transporting of soldiers. The only way Rome could maintain a tight rein on that vast empire was by building roads over which troops could be moved quickly. Then after the roads were built, they went on to build the Roman bath and other facilities. This is how they colonized all their territories. Tarsus was one of those places that had been so extensively colonized, and for some reason had gained such approval by Rome, that Paul (though he was a Jew by birth and not a Roman) was still freeborn, which made him a Roman citizen. You are aware of this as you read the book of Acts. When the trials came he could appeal to that which belonged to Roman citizenship because he had been born free in such a city (Acts 22:25–28). So Paul knew what it was to be a colony.
Today we talk about colonizing churches. Some churches need help; they need to be colonized. Why? They may have contributed so many ministries that they need others to come in and fill in and help build up the church again. This has happened in several places. Many churches have sent people elsewhere; colonizing is a common thing. The churches look to the Lord to give a witness of what is to happen, and people are sent out accordingly. You may be surprised, for example, at what your pastor can minister, because there may be some churches that need just exactly the ministry that he has right now, the vision and revelation that he has. We are on our way, in the Kingdom of God, to becoming the most mobile people that have ever existed. When the Lord says, “Let’s go,” we’ll go! We’ll follow the pillar of fire! Do you feel excited that we are not locked into a local level, but we’re locked into a broader expanse of the Kingdom of God? We advance into the things that will happen and the changes which will take place first within the local church, and which then will move out over the entire earth. You believe it is coming, don’t you? Then let’s be prepared for it. This time of change is the most practical and ideal thing in the world.
On this level, what kind of personal ministry should we have? The Lord can give us directive prophecy and revelation, but this is not the most important thing. We need, in church after church, to have hands laid on the brothers. We need to minister to them with the view of imparting. This impartation is explosive and it changes the whole balance in the spirit world. And you can always be aware of this because there is always a reaction in the spirit. In this impartation we are moving exactly in the will of the Lord.
This brings such a deep cry of intercession in our hearts. We find ourselves breaking into a level of intercession that we have not known before. This country is going to change. How is it going to change? By our speaking the Word of the Lord. Our intercession is not born of desperation; it will be born of the fact that the prevailing spirit of the Kingdom will be able to bring down principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12). Our weapons will never be carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of the strongholds (II Corinthians 10:4). It’s going to happen; we are already in it now. These churches will never be the same again. This impartation ministry must explode us all into the action that God has for us.
For a ministry in a local church, which emphasis should come first now—the Kingdom or the local church emphasis? The Kingdom emphasis should be first. This seems to be an enigma, a contradiction. Elders should not be limited to the local church level; that seems to create two separate entities. Let us instead first create the oneness of the Kingdom within them, then let the local church ministry come forth. That ties both the universal and local functions into the oneness of the Kingdom. There may be a local church, but it will not be a limited local organization. There is only one Kingdom, one Lord (Ephesians 4:4–6).
Now what is the difference between the Kingdom center and the local manifestation? When a local church becomes a Kingdom center, that does not mean that it becomes a headquarters. It means now, just as it did in New Testament times, that there would be a center that God would raise up and the Word would begin to be disseminated out from it. Establishing a Kingdom center is different from trying to build a denominational Jerusalem or an Antioch or a Rome which is to be a headquarters. Instead, it will be a central focal point where the oneness of the Kingdom church is manifested, and then that oneness spreads out. In its final manifestation, there is no denomination created. There is no hierarchy, there are no bondages put upon the people. There will always be local churches, but the Kingdom will never be divided.