As you read through the scripture you see the Church at the heart of everything God does on the earth. Whenever you see revival, upgrade, healing, restoration and renewal, the Church is at the middle of it.
The Church of the Living God is His unique revelation to us. The scripture refers to the Church as the hidden mystery of Christ (Eph 3:4, 9, 10), and Christ the mystery of God (Col 2:2). We cannot assume we know what the Church is based on our experiences or traditions. The Church is literally a mystery within a mystery. But on the Day of Pentecost the Father gave us the key to decode this mystery when He poured His Holy Spirit out on the 120 in the upper room. These disciples were then thrust into the nations, spreading the gospel and establishing His Church across the globe.
“We cannot assume we know what the Church is, based on our experiences and traditions. The Church is literally a mystery within a mystery.”
God Encounter
The hidden mystery of the Church was then revealed to one of Israel’s most prominent and hostile Pharisees. Paul, then known as Saul, was authorising and witnessing the persecution and martyr of Christians. As he set out on the road to Damascus in Acts 9 he was still “breathing threats and murder against the disciples”. But he had a supernatural encounter that set him on course to go from persecutor of the Church to Apostle of the Church.
Paul was translated to the heavens where he met Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, who revealed the mystery of His Body on earth (2 Cor 12:2-4). When Paul returned he began his journey into a powerful apostolic ministry that laid the foundations for the Church. The revealed Jesus whom he met was the Chief Cornerstone (Eph 2:20). He communicated this revelation in his letter to the Ephesians. Here, he writes “this mystery was hidden from the ages, but it has now been made known to His holy prophets and apostles in the spirit” (Eph 3:4-5). The prophetic and apostolic ministries unlock the mystery of Christ and the Church and in the early Church people devoted themselves to the the apostle’s doctrine (Acts 2:42).
Every one of us must pursue our own encounter with God to unlock the revelation of what the Church of the Living God is. We also need to be connected with an accurate apostolic and prophetic ministry that can lay the foundation of doctrine in our lives. It is 2000 years after the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the Apostle Paul’s encounter, yet God has not changed. Jesus is still in the heavens interceding for us and the Father is still pouring out His Holy Spirit into our hearts and revealing the mystery to us.
Today the Church is still a hidden mystery to many. It is the Holy Spirit who unlocks that mystery on the inside of every human heart and sends disciples out in power to establish and reveal His Church just as the original 120 did. Following the outpouring in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost, 3000 people were added to the Church. The following day 5000 were added. This unlocked the corporate power of the Church. Individual believers can achieve a lot, but there is a collective power and a spiritual synergy when we come together with a revelation of the Church.
“Individual believers can achieve a lot, but there is a collective power and a spiritual synergy when we come together with a revelation of the Church.”
The Ekklesia
When Jesus left this earth He would have had thousands of believers spread across the nation. Yet there were 120 specifically who He instructed to wait for the promise of the Father. These 120 weren’t ordinary believers.
In Matthew 16:18 Peter’s revelation of Jesus as the Messiah unlocked the revelation of the Church. Jesus said “upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it”. The word Church in this passage comes from the original Greek Ekklesia. This means ‘called out ones’. Out of all the followers of Jesus on planet earth, the 120 were His specific ‘called out ones’. They were called to press in for the Holy Spirit in the upper room and receive power to spread the gospel throughout the known world.
The upper room was a geographic place in ancient Israel, but it is also now a figurative place. We are not called to be people who just go to church. God is calling His ‘called out ones’, His Ekklesia, in this generation. If we want to see the fullness of the Church we must answer the call to return to the upper room. The upper room is connected to the Throne Room, the place from which God rules and presides over the nations; and His Church, the Body of Christ, is the vehicle He uses to execute His plans and purposes on the earth.
We see God call Abraham out in Genesis 12. God called Abraham out of his country and out of his father’s house to a land He promised to show him. There was a cost to obeying God, but the purpose and the promise was to make Abraham a great nation, to bless him and through him bless all the families of the earth. By obeying this call, Abraham became the father of Israel and patriarch of the faith.
God is looking for His ‘called out ones’ in this generation who will leave the old behind, return to the upper room and receive a fresh baptism from heaven that can touch the nations. My heart is that through our connection with God, and every other church who answers the call, our communities can be blessed, families can be restored and lives can be transformed.
“God is looking for His ‘called out ones’ in this generation who will leave the old behind, return to the upper room and receive a fresh baptism from heaven that can touch the nations.”
The Unshakeable Church
Our home state of Victoria has been shut down again. There is the medical side of it, but there is also the God side of it. God is allowing a shaking because He wants His Church back. Hebrews 12:25-29 speaks of the shaking of man’s works so that divine restoration can begin* (The Holy Spirit and Restoration, James Robison, NKJV Study Bible, 1991 Thomas Nelson, pg 2012). Shaking removes everything that is inaccurate, earthly and temporary and what is left is a kingdom that is unshakeable. From here, divine restoration and rebuilding can take place. I believe we will see a powerful return to our unshakeable foundations and an accurate rebuilding of the House of God that will see it filled with a greater glory than what we have ever seen before (Haggai 2:9).
The Church can rise to be the birthplace of new moves of God. God’s intent is for the Church to become a gateway connecting heaven to earth. When this occurs the Church becomes an epicentre and a hub of divine activity – a place of supernatural activity, angelic visitation, God encounter, covenant and revelation. This was revealed to Jacob at Bethel in Genesis when he received a prophetic glimpse of the future Church.
“The Church can rise to be the birthplace of new moves of God and a gateway connecting heaven to earth.”
The Church of the Living God is the hope of the nations. This is not a denomination, these are His called out ones – wholehearted followers who exist in every denomination who God is gathering together as His remnant Church. When we emerge from this lockdown we will see this future Church begin to rise and usher in a powerful move of God in the nations.
If you would like to take the step of inviting Jesus into your heart and receive an unshakeable foundation in your life, I would encourage you to pray the following prayer and make contact with our church, or a local church near you that can help you on your journey.
Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you in prayer asking for the forgiveness of my sins. I confess with my mouth and believe with my heart that Jesus is your Son, and that He died on the cross of Calvary that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of heaven.
Father, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you right now to come into my life and be my personal Lord and Saviour. I repent of my sins and will worship you all the days of my life. Because Your word is truth I confess with my mouth that I am born again and cleansed by the blood of Jesus.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Pastors Brian and Lynne Heath have been married for 40 years and served as the senior leaders of City Builders Church (formerly COC) at Sale, in the heart of Gippsland, for the past 27 years.
Brian is one of the longest serving pastors in the Gippsland region and has become a true father to many spiritual sons and daughters and a valued mentor to younger ministers and community leaders.
Brian has a strong prophetic dimension to his life and carries the apostolic grace to build strong churches and to teach, train, impart and prepare the Church for the last day’s harvest. Brian believes the church of the future will not only carry the grace to win souls, but to impact and influence every domain of society.
Brian is also part of an apostolic team that travels regionally and throughout the Pacific. He is also working with ministry partners to build an alliance of like-minded ministries, churches, individuals and organisations that desire to rediscover and rebuild the Christian foundations that this great nation was built upon.