After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. Gen 15:1 

April 5, 2023 This season that is recognized as Easter for some people and Resurrection Sunday for others is a time when people usually think on light things like family celebration, fancy attire, Sunday worship service attended by even the unchurched and enjoying delicious food in gaiety on the holiday. The real meaning of the season is a lot more serious, cloudy and meaningful than that.  The real meaning of the season is the crucifixion and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, His triumphant resurrection over death and the Father’s gift of salvation for all mankind. Most of us can enjoy gaiety whenever we choose through eating and entertainment, but I am led today to talk about the deeper meaning of the season.  Where I was apt to think that these types of messages were concluding and I would begin to speak on some lighter topics of the gospel, I woke up with these heavy thoughts that I needed to put on paper before they were lost.  I have written previously on my blog that I am not moved by religious titles, but that the Spirit of the Lord compelled me to use the apostolic title He gave me.  Titles that God assigns reflect the duties and work He has assigned to that gifting.  If you carry the title, you are also responsible to do the work. Apostolic Authority The apostolic title represents an overseer, but it also means seer. Moses would have been an apostolic leader in our modern times. Moses spent time with the Lord and was given the blueprint for the house of God, the people of God and their responsibility to work and please the Father.  The Tabernacle and Ark of Covenant were made according to His vision from God.  God’s apostles today are those that He has called and given a vision of His house, His people and how they are to serve and show adoration and thanks for all He has done for them.

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Eph 4:11 -12

The disciples of Christ had already been warned by Christ and His teachers to try the Spirit and see if it be of God and not to follow any voice but that of God. Apostles that are sincerely God’s apostles are given spiritual gifts and talents, along with the fellowship of the Lord to accomplish His work and carry out their assignment in the earth.  An apostle is a higher office than a prophet because prophets see the things of God, but apostles both see in the Spirit and carry out the plans of God for His people.  Apostles Peter and Paul had different assignments, but both are examples of one called to do apostolic work. The Spirit of the Lord has given me insight to pass on to the people of God to help maneuver in these days of confusion in and outside the church. Apostles are given a blueprint from God, so then they also have the ability to bring correction when the people go astray because they understand proper order.  With that in mind, I want to impart some ideas from the gospel that may have gotten lost in our recent practice of the faith and will by the grace of God expound more over time. Principles From the very beginning of the reading of scripture, we find that God is a God of order, discipline, principles, and systems. In Genesis Chapter One, we hear God restoring order from chaos and reestablishing His systems in order for light and dark times, seasons of the year, species of animals, location of waters, vegetation in the land, the solar system, and male and female genders to populate the earth.  For all the things that God created, there were rules and principles that guided their function.  God, Himself, operates within disciplined ways with His systems; causing rain, sunshine, and seasons to cooperate with growth, harvest, celebrations and rest. In order to illustrate how God operates in conjunction with mankind, let’s examine a bible story.  One of the first lessons God taught the Children of Israel was through provision of manna. In Exodus 16 where the children of Israel are in the wilderness after fleeing Egypt and had run out of food; God miraculously provided from heaven special bread in the morning and meat in the evening. Here are some of their instructions:

I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God. Exo 16:12 

This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents. Exo 16:16 

Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. Exo 16:20 

And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. Exo 16:23

And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. Exo 16:27 

And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? Exo 16:28 

In this one example, we see some especially important principles being displayed. God is the giver of provision and He gives sacrificially to His people for their care.  Remember David declared in the 23rd Psalm that God to be the good shepherd leading His sheep to green grass and by the still waters.  He watches over and protects them. So, the people had the responsibility to gather and cook the food and then gracefully offer back to God thanks for His love and provision.  Here we see God’s responsibility of provision for His people and their job of giving thanks.  God’s whole system at that time was in His giving, our receiving and offering back thanksgiving. Because of disobedience to that simple principle, God later instituted a more detailed system involving our sacrifice of something we owned and loved given for His forgiveness and provision or reward of our obedience.  We see this system first in the tabernacle offering of animal sacrifices for sin and forgiveness and then in God’s sacrificial sending of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the best and final offering for sin. God loved mankind so much that He was willing to pay the ultimate price to redeem His own.  He sacrificed His only begotten Son, and the reward of salvation was ours to receive. Order from Chaos God is not only the Creator of the world, but He set the rules for how this world is to function (Gen. 1:1-31). There were principles set out in Genesis Chapter 2 that operate our whole world and our faithful God would be Overseer, Caretaker, Rewarder, and Enforcer over these systems that provide for us food, water, air, peace, and rest, with personal and divine fellowship.  Where we see these systems breaking down one by one in our present world, it is because mankind has forgotten that it is God who upholds the systems of our world that operate according to His principles to bring blessings or curses to those who are contained within them.  It has always been mankind’s temptation though to please himself and do things his own way or to listen to the serpent and be led astray.  When we see things getting chaotic, we must stop and remember, God.  He does not like our disobedience and His dissatisfaction shows up in evil consequences that occur in our environment. God has already made a way of reconciliation for our failures.  He is the Creator and can fix whatever is messed up because He brings order where there is chaos.  He can even rain down bread from heaven or bring up quail for meat, if needed. Restoration Jesus sacrificed Himself to get us back in fellowship with the Father. After His crucifixion, the church was left in the hands of His trained disciples. The order of the church was that the apostles were to bring order and obedience through the church that would begin to restore the world like it did on the Day of Pentecost.  If our world is souring before us, we need to know that the church is not functioning properly.  The church’s job is to introduce Jesus as the Peacemaker for all mankind and to demonstrate Jesus’ love to all who do not know Him. The failure we see in our systems today is the failure of true apostles standing up in the power of Jesus Christ operating to restore our broken systems. The evil we see triumphing in many places is because of the void left by top church leaders being silent and in hiding during crisis, waiting for the storm to pass.  We have seen God, Himself, bring to the surface sin that has gone uncorrected in our society.  Jesus as Chief Apostle is our best example of true apostolic leadership operating under the power of Creator God to restore peace and provision of His domain.  The enemy of the church had to be put down so that peace could reign for the believer.  The order we see in scripture is that churches that did not have apostles would send for one like Peter in Acts 10:5 to preach and set the house in order.  Believers possessing the Holy Spirit could themselves bear witness that it was the Holy Spirit at work reestablishing Gods order.  Churches operating under the unction of the Holy Ghost and proper leadership have the Christ’s authority to change the world by setting a godly example for society to follow. Like Jesus, God’s true stewards are entrusted to care for the sheep of the pasture.  We saw it emphasized by Jesus over and over with Peter in Joh. 21:16-17 to “fed the sheep.”  They received power and provision from God, the Father, to share with His children.  Like Jesus, they, too, will suffer and sacrifice for the wellbeing of the children are cared for because their suffering is a sign of their association with and carrying the cross of the Lord (2Co 12:12, 2Co 11:25-33).  The overseer’s sacrifice is expected because the good shepherd is willing to lay down his life for the sheep as Jesus taught.  The power of God flows down through the shepherd to God’s children so that they can have sustenance.  Where we have seen the leaders/stewards/shepherds getting fat and the sheep starving, it is because they are false shepherds feeding themselves instead of the sheep.  These are some of the things that the Lord has revealed that are hindering His church.

…Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. Eze 34:2-3 

Every Easter season and on Resurrection Sunday, we are reminded that a perfect sacrifice was made so that the God’s people could have true manna from heaven.  Jesus’ sacrifice was made to defeat the devil, correct our corrupted systems, bring restoration, and the flow of provisions for all God’s children that gives proof that there is a loving God who cares about them. His sacrifice was made so we could triumph over the devil and all his stewards that are placed in the earth to steal, kill, and destroy.  This season comes every year as a reminder that the Father cares for us, that He enforces the peace and He has made a decree for all to be restored. We must remember at this time that Jesus is high and lifted up, worshipped and adored because He was willing to pay the price of His life, finish His mission, carry His cross for us, and is now enjoying glory at the right hand of God until all evildoers are put down.  Every family, church and community should operate under the knowledge that our Sovereign God sees our earthly deeds and will reward us accordingly. Resurrection Sunday is about celebrating that God showed His sacrificial love for all people by giving us the Embodiment of that love lived out on earth among us to teach all mankind how we should also demonstrate a sacrificial love for one another, whereafter we, too, shall have access to heaven as our eternal home.

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: …Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him (1Pe 3:18, 22).

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