Chapter Four

Apostle and Prophet

by

Cary Goodwin

http://apostles-gathering.com

If you were called by God to go as a minister of the Gospel, into a Buddhist Stronghold, a place that has been the Devils domain. In these places, the Devils have Literally walked up and down the roads for thousands of years, telling the people there, that they are God. You're there, the only foreigner, telling those people the Devils a liar and you are telling them who the True and Living God is. A place where you had to work as a minister establishing for the first time the Kingdom of God in those places. Everyday you are in spiritual warfare and persecution. Your very existence depends on the Lord sustaining you, and anointing you for what He wants you to do. And you have no support from any Churches. Would you seek Him harder than you have ever sought Him before? I did. I had to seek Him daily and He answered. It was during these times, that the Lord began speaking to me about writing this book. Think about this, I am there ministering to the people there and the Lord would talk to me daily about, His Church in America, and about the affairs of His Kingdom. I ministered in these places from 1988 till June 1995 without returning to America. I did learn a lot from the Lord over there.

When the Lord began telling me to go to Thailand, in 1986, it was an every day thing, until we were able to leave America. For two years, He was commanding me to go and showing me many visions in the Spirit, about what I was to do over there. Parts of these visions showed me lighthouses dotted throughout the jungles. He was telling me to use Video in publishing the Gospel. At that time, I described them as Video Churches. There have been many such visions. Before that in 1979, He gave me a larger Vision, where I was caught up in the Spirit and taken into another time, into the future, to see my own work. This was a very serious Vision.

As I said earlier, I began hearing the Lord tell me something I really had a problem with. I thought that the devil was trying to puff me up with pride and I would rebuke these words every time I heard them, for a long time. God Forgive Me, It was not the Devil. It was the Lord and He was very patient with me about this.

This is what He would say to me; "I have called you to be an Apostle, after the order of Paul". I had never heard these words; after the order of Paul before. Now remember, this is when I had just been called out into full time ministry. I didn't have much religious tradition, but I too had heard that Apostles were no more. It took me awhile to except what the Lord was telling me. I wouldn't have been able to accept it, if He had not begun to explain it to me and then confirm it to me many times. It prompted a study of the subject, asking the Lord to give me understanding.

I believe after all this time, I understand the subject much better. I believe that there are many on the earth today that have heard the same or similar things spoken to them by God. I also believe that these people do not mention it because of the persecution we discussed earlier. I too would rather do without the persecution, but I do Serve the Lord and I know that He wants to deal with this matter in the Church.

Hopefully, by the time you reach this Chapter your doctrine will be more in line with the Word of God and you won't feel any religious indignation.

Apostles are not synonymous with perfect, Jesus of Nazareth was and is the only one who ever walked sin less and perfect before God, always doing the Will of the Father. Jesus of Nazareth is and was the strongest man who ever lived.

After my return to the United States, I found that no one I spoke to, understood what an Apostle is. One Pastor, was teaching his congregation that Missionaries were called Apostles in days gone by. You are not an Apostle just because you are doing the work of a missionary. You are not an Apostle just because you have established a church or churches. It is an Office, a calling by God. It is not based on a promotion scale, meaning it isn't something the Lord will promote you to. God does not work according to these earthly values. What ever you are called to be, it is preordained by God even before you are born. The Lord knew us from before the foundation of the World. In these new discoveries and revelations of God encoding His Word, these codes show for one example, the names of all the first Apostles including Matthias, throughout the book of Isaiah. A book that was written over seven hundred years before the Messiah was to come.

With the first twelve Apostles, there were witnesses that saw and heard Jesus speaking in the flesh telling the disciples which ones were chosen to be Apostles. With the Apostle Paul, there is no fleshly witness. Neither has there been to any of the Apostles since. It is told to them by the Lord Jesus Christ through the Holy Ghost. The Lord has told me that He has had Apostles in every generation.

If you have some preconceived ideas that Apostles are perfect, such as their clothes would glisten; they would walk as men with clouds surrounding their feet. Your thinking is Hollywood. All of this kind of thinking is Religious and again a doctrine of devils. It is, designed by Satan to stop the Gospel, there is no truth in it.

Listen, to what the Apostle Paul spoke, to the people of Lystra, after the crippled man was healed, the people began to call Paul Mercurius and they called Barnabas Jupiter. Paul and Barnabas rent their clothes, and ran in among the people crying out and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from; these vanities unto the living God which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein; Acts 14:15 in Acts 10:26 But Peter took him up, saying, stand up: I myself am a man. Apostles are servants of God. They work for God.

Let's remember always that most of the first Apostles, were simple uneducated fishermen from Galilee .

This Book is about Apostles. Apostles are a Part of God's Order; He has given some, Apostles; and some Prophets; and some Evangelist; 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: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. Ephesians chapter 4:11--14

This scripture is clear, that all these ministries, given by God, will remain until or Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. This would indicate that they Will remain until the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We have all heard the definitions of an Apostle as; one who is sent, a trailblazer, etc. Let's begin to see what the Apostles are. The first place we see Apostles mentioned in the New Testament is Luke Chapter 6:12-14 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples; and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles. Now lets look in Mark Chapter 3:13-14 And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach. And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:

In these two accounts, we see that Jesus had continued in prayer all night. When day was come, He knew what the will of God was and he called His disciples to Him and then He chose twelve, that would be close to Him and ordained them as Apostles. So here we see that the Lord Jesus Ordained them to be Apostles after the Will of God.

Notice how the Apostle Paul introduced himself in his epistles; In Romans; Paul, A servant of Jesus Christ called to be an Apostle, separated unto the gospel of God. In Corinthians: I Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God. Corinthians II; Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. Galatians; Paul an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead:) Ephesians; Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. In Timothy; Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope. This should be enough examples.

Here we see the same thing with Paul, as we see with the first twelve Apostles. By the will of God, these men were chosen by God to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and separated unto the Gospel. Only the first twelve would be able to be in the physical presence of Jesus to learn from Him. Unto these twelve Apostles, Jesus said in Luke 29:29-30, And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Paul, was not able to be physically present with Jesus during the Lords three years of ministry on the earth. Paul was not offered this same position, a judge over the tribes of Israel. It is very clear, Paul knew he was called to be an Apostle only from the Lord. Peter did not call Paul into his office one day, to offer him an Apostleship. It cannot be given of men.

Jesus is the Head of the Church and regarding the Gospel, which is still the Mission of Jesus, He has chosen and ordained men that He can impart His direction and visions, for taking the Gospel into all the earth. These men work for Him and are responsible directly to Him. They are Bond-Servants of the Lord Jesus. These men are separated, and called apart from everything else.

Before Jesus ascended to be with the Father, he spent time with His Apostles giving them clear direction for what to do after they received power from the Holy Ghost. Acts 1:2 Until the day, in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the Apostles whom he had chosen. We don't know what the commandments were to each Apostle. But until the day he was taken up He was with them and leaving each one with clear instruction.

Let's consider this scripture carefully. This is very important; Acts Chapter 1:2 thru-4; Until the day in which he was taken up, after that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God: 

Here we see Jesus after His Crucifixion and Resurrection appears unto His Apostles for forty days. He doesn't stay with them continually as He did before. He doesn't preach to the multitudes, like He did before. He doesn't heal the sick or cast our devils, like before. He doesn't confront the Chief Priest or the Pharisees, as He did before. Instead, the Glorified Lord spends His time giving His Apostles commandments and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. He was making preparations for the launching of His Church through the Holy Ghost. His Apostles would be responsible for carrying out His Will. If you thought the Apostles were not important to the Body of Christ and to the work of the Lord in the earth. You can see here that the Lord thought they were very important. Many saw the Lord during this forty days. But only to the Apostles, did He give commandments, direction and speak of things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. I believe we are in a similar time now.

This is why Satan has gone to so much trouble to plant false doctrines that would cause the office of an Apostle to be null and void to the Church. Direction is given to them directly from the Lord, for the direction of the Church and for taking the Gospel into all the world. They carry within them Visions and Commands from the Lord. If these Visions and Commands are not fulfilled many in the world will perish, who should not. Proverbs 29: 18, Where there is no vision the people perish: but he that keepeth the law happy is he.

Jesus is the one who knows what to do in the earth and how to do it. It is still His Mission to perform. When we set ourselves through demonic doctrine to fight against something as basic to our faith as the Office of an Apostle, we are hindering the work of Jesus in the Earth to Save His World. I have learned through my experiences and from the Lord, that every thing that hinders the Gospel from going forth as ordained by God, is an Abomination to the Lord. It serves only Satan. And we are called to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

If the Church would receive the Apostles that are on the earth today. And purpose to help them fulfill the direction that is given to them by the Lord, We would see the World coming to the Lord in a way that has never been seen before. We would begin to see the Glory of the Lord manifest in His People, His Church.  

When the Lord was praying for his Church in the presence of His Apostles. John Chapter 17:18-22, As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be Sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the Glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: This prayer that the Lord prayed in Chapter 17 can come to pass in our midst. But it will not happen, when we let wrong doctrines lead us. It is worth making the effort to dispel all that is not true, all that is not of God. And embrace with passion, all that God has given us.

Spiritual Authority has been imparted to Apostles and Prophets for the Kingdom of God. I said for, not against. Paul said, in 2 Corinthians 10:8, For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed. An Apostle and Prophet walk under a direct covering of the Lord Himself. When the Lord sends them out into a new frontier He ordains them with the spiritual authority and covering that they must have. Again, No wonder Satan has fought so hard to stop the Apostles throughout all generations. These false doctrines and wrong thinking must stop! Too many will perish, if the Apostles cannot fulfill their visions and commandments given to them by the Lord Himself.

We must address the authority that is given to Apostles. Even as I begin to write this, I am struck with a reverent fear. I can feel the importance of what I am about to write. When the Lord appeared unto His Apostles after His resurrection He told them that, Whosoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them; and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained. John 20:23

I have heard it taught that this authority is given to all the Body of Christ. It is not. And it is a very serious matter that I trust no one, not even Apostles will take lightly and execute, unless it is absolutely a judgement given by the Holy Ghost. This too was spoken by the Lord, during those forty days after His resurrection when he was preparing His Apostles. We see several examples in the word, of the Apostles passing judgments on different situations.

I have never experienced the Holy Spirit telling me to retain the sins of someone. I have experienced this kind of authority and judgement while working as a missionary over in Thailand. The first time it happened was with the first church we started there. One of the men, who was a Buddhist monk before his conversion, decided one day, that he should be the Pastor and decided to cancel me. This man had been converted a short time. He could not read or write. But he was bound and determined that he should lead these people. His experience as a Buddhist monk, taught him how to talk to these people in the village, with some authority. The Lord spoke a prophecy to me, to deliver to him, in front of the congregation. The Lord told me to tell them, that this man would have the most cursed year of his life. The Lord told me that all three of his water buffaloes would die. Within a short time, His water buffalo began to die one at a time, in short order.

He had an argument with his wife, and his wife in anger, kept pounding his head into the floor. This caused him in total humiliation to flee the village. He went to a village about fifty miles away, for about three months. I don't know what happened to him there. On his return to his home, he was accused by several people to have had intercourse with a dog. Again, he fled to a different village. All this time, the others in the Church were watching and considering the prophecy that I had delivered.

I was opposed by a headman over twelve villages. He opposed me and spoke openly about me to people in the villages. He tried to block everything I tried to do. I took this to the Lord in prayer and prayed that this man would not be re-elected in the next year's elections. The Lord did not wait until the elections. Within two weeks, he was fired by the Governor of the Province. This Headman was into many illegal activities that we were not aware of. He was exposed and brought down in shame.

Another, was a member of the Buddhist Council in the village where we were living. He also opposed us at every opportunity. One day, he began to rage against me. The next day, he was paralyzed from the waist down.

Throughout my time there I was opposed by teachers, police, Buddhist council, and many others. Many times, I had to stand before these different men and fight for the rights of those who chose Jesus as their Lord. These forces, driven by the devils, were always trying to intimidate the new converts. Teachers would not let the children attend classes etc. They would hide and watch our meetings, taking names. The list goes on and on. Each time I knew, I had the authority to stand against them. Now you must remember that I am the only foreigner in these places and in the natural you do not oppose their ways. It is very dangerous.

The greatest example of this Authority from the Lord coming on me, was the last confrontation I had before I left the villages. It involved the Police Commander over that region. I had witnessed to him early in my stay in the area. I had offered to shoot several free videos for him. He was quick to take me up on this offer. The man was known for his corruption. He was dealing with these poor people without mercy. He was a definite oppressor of the people there. He was feared by many. I can even remember telling this man in one of our earlier conversations, that I had to fear God more than his gun. He never opposed us head on. But he was against our ministry there and did speak his mind to the people of the villages.

One morning, I awoke to find a man squatting and trembling just outside the door of my one room house. He was one of the new converts. This brother had not slept all night. You must understand how simple and poor many of these new converts are. As I ministered in this region it seemed as though the Lord was calling unto Himself the poorest of the poor. This Brother had been out in the jungle catching frogs after a rainstorm. This is a very normal activity that has been going on forever. This night he was standing in a creek knee deep. His small motorcycle, his gun, and the other frogs he caught were on the bank.

A teacher came up behind our brother and began to act like a king, telling this brother that he was the owner of this land and this was his frog farm. The teacher confiscated his gun, flashlight and all the frogs he had caught. He told our brother, that he must show up at school the next morning, before the teacher started his class with 5000 baht, or he would have him thrown in jail. 5000 baht is the equivalent of $200. In Thailand there are different levels of land ownership. This teacher has the lowest of all levels. He couldn't even put a fence around the land legally. The creek belongs to all. Our brother was greatly intimidated by this teacher, speaking with great authority.

When our brother told me the story, I knew the land and knew that there could be no real problem. I assured our brother that he had nothing to worry about. I told him he would not show up at the school with money for that teacher. I remember laughing about the situation it was absurd.

For two weeks, this problem, that was not a problem, roared on. I tried for two weeks to stay out of it, only counseling my brother. This teacher had intimidated the entire family of our brother. The family, led by the eldest sister took up a collection and took many members of his family with flowers, over to the teacher’s house. There, they all begged for mercy and with flowers and incense, bowed themselves to the floor begging for mercy. As they did this, the teacher began to speak more and more like a king. He told the family that our brother would now need 7000 baht and with the extra 2000 baht he would have to go and give and bow down, to every Buddhist monk and every one of the Buddhist Council. He also spoke against me to this family.

After this, our brother’s family became more frightened than ever. His sister would come over to our house, when he was there and begin yelling and shouting, forbidding him more than ever, to be a Christian. A short time after that, about nine o'clock at night, the police came and picked up our brother. About an hour later they sent a policeman with an invitation for me to come to the police station. I knew what it was about and I sent them a message saying there was nothing here, that couldn't be handled during business hours.

That night, the teacher and police commander held a jungle court for our brother. All the people in that village were running around drunk and shaming him. The next morning we found out, the police commander had told our brothers sister that we Christians don't take care of our own, like Buddhist do. She was more adamant than ever that her brother could not be a Christian. The teacher had promised to share with the police commander all the money that they could get.

That morning, the anger of the Spirit of God came on me. It was not of me. I had never experienced anything like this before. A tremendous shaking started in my feet. It swiftly moved through my entire being. It was like hearing your own bones rattle within your body. There was a great boldness that came with it. I drove down there and parked in the compound so that, if necessary, I could drive out of there in a hurry. The anger of the Lord was still there, but no longer vibrating.

When I arrived, the police commander was not there. I told one of the policemen on duty to go and get him. I told the policeman that the Commander had called me. There are no phones in this area. The policeman came back telling me that the Commander did not understand and said, he had not called me. I commanded this policeman to go and tell the Commander that I was waiting and would not leave. A few minutes later, the Police Commander began walking across the compound with a sheepish smile. I had not talked to this man for at least a year, and in times past, I spoken to him with respect and love as my ministry there dictated. He was very surprised, as I began speaking to him with authority. I was there most of the day and returned that night for another trial, on my terms. The entire story is long, but I must give you the highlights.

I was seated in the waiting area, outside of what would be described as the officer of the days office. It was under a covering facing the compound. There was a wooden table there. I began by telling the Commander that I was going to take him to court in the city. Then, I began describing his corruption. About this time many of the other police officers were showing up like an audience. They were carrying M-16s and side arms more than they usually do. I knew that this was for my benefit. As I was talking, a Police Commander from another district showed up. He took a seat in the audience and seemed to be enjoying my speech. He would smile and nod in agreement with everything I said. I know that God ordained his being present there as a friendly witness. At one point, the Commander I was speaking to, began to defend himself and tell me that I could not take him to court. I remember standing and hitting that wooden table as hard as I could. The noise of it roared throughout the jungle. All of the officers around there jumped and became more intent on what was being said. They didn't appreciate it. When I hit the table, I told them that we would surely go to court. After this, he knew I was serious and there was no way, he wanted his superiors in the city to know what he was doing in the villages.

The visiting Commander was overheard, telling him that he had better take care of this foreigner and do whatever it took, to keep me from going to the authorities in the city. During this day, I rebuked this commander for speaking against the Christians there. I let him know that these people had a legal right and moral right to choose their God. The police commander was then trying very hard to get me not to take him to court. He told me that if I would agree not to take them to court, he would tell me the truth about this teacher and his family. At that point I asked him, "what, is he a murderer?" He answered with, no nothing like that. I didn't take him up on not taking him to court. I let the threat remain. Finally, he asked the right question. "What do you want"? At this time I let him know that we wanted to hold another trial that night. We wanted all the ridiculous charges against our brother dropped. I told him we wanted to file charges against the teacher for slander. He agreed. I also let him know that if it didn't come out in our favor, I would still take him to court.

Now I know, that this does not set well with your American sense of justice and fair play. I know that it doesn't seem like much. But you have to know that this is deep inside the devil's territory. This is a mountain region, dotted with ancient villages in the North of Thailand. The Gospel is being established there for the first time, in spite of all the authorities and devils will. I am the only foreigner in that region. People disappear all the time in those jungles, and they are not accidents. One of the men listening to me this day, was the official assassin for the police. His job description was to shoot and kill those that they couldn't handle. His face was like stone and his eyes black and cold. This is just a reality of that society.

Another fact, is that I only had about $40.00 to my name. There would have been no way for me to start any legal proceedings. I didn't even have enough to run away. What seemed like a simple act of corruption, by the teacher and police, had in fact become a spiritual battle. The danger from this act was too great for me to have taken on of myself, without the moving of the Holy Spirit within me. I would have never done it in the natural. Without the anger of the Spirit of God manifesting in me that day, I would not have had the boldness and wisdom to see this through. As it turned out, I was in complete control all day and all night. It was the Lord's Spiritual Authority.

That night, I showed up at the police compound for the trial. When I got there two policeman came up to me and told me they had gone to get the teacher and he wouldn't come. I told them to go and don't come back without him. They did. When the teacher arrived, he wouldn't look at me. The commander, looked like he had been through some kind of hell, since I left him that afternoon. His face was very drawn and tight. At first I thought he might be drunk, but he was just under tremendous spiritual pressures.

The trial started out in a very official and orderly manner; the commander was taking the part of the judge. He swore all the witnesses in by telling them that if they lied the spirit that is over the police station would get them. This teacher was friends with many in the police compound. After all the witnesses testified, I began to ask the teacher questions. I began to show how he had been trying to act with an authority that only belonged to God a King or a Judge. About half way through that night, the commander was no longer referring to the spirit over that station, but he made several references to the Almighty God Jehovah.

When I was through, no one would even look at that teacher. Our brother was exonerated. It was as though they all had turned their back on the teacher. When I was through, all the villages had heard what had happened that night. They all knew that it was legal for these Christians to be there. They all knew that they could legally choose the God they worshipped.

This was the last thing the Lord had for me to do, before I left that area. About two months later, I heard that this Police Commander had confiscated two motorcycles with a load of bamboo shoots. He had taken the lively hood of two men, to extort money. These two men rallied three villages to anger and rage. These three villages attacked the police compound threatening to kill every policeman and burn the compound to the ground. The Police Commander in panic, called out the army and all of the other police in other districts. After this night, he was fired and brought down hard. I knew that this was a judgement brought against him by the Lord.

All power and authority is from God and being King above all, He should be able to delegate that power and authority according to His own order and ways. By rejecting His order and not receiving those called forth of God, the subjects dictate to the King whom He can delegate authority to. This can only block and hinder the flow of power and authority in the Kingdom of God.

There are those who teach that there is no hierarchy in Christianity. This is wrong. In any kingdom or great house there is an order of hierarchy. To adapt a false doctrine that says there is none is to create a vacuum that Satan will surely try to fill. 1^st Corinthians Chapter 12:4-6 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 1^st Corinthians Chapter 12:18-21 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Verses 27-30 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?

The proper flow of power and authority in the Kingdom of God is to every members benefit and to the salvation of all man kind. We cannot experience the full intended power and authority of God by dictating to Him who He can use. By embracing and recognizing His order, we will see the Glory of the Lord manifest in the earth the way it was intended by God to be. Call the Church to Order!!

John 10:16, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me: I think many in the Church today, do not really believe that the Lord talks to men just as He did, when He was present in the flesh, this is unbelief. And unbelief is not rewarded. Believe the word of God. I have had the Lord talk to me in many different places and times; sometimes it is in the bathroom, sometimes while showering, sometimes driving down the road. Think about it, when the Lord was present in the flesh, would he have barged in on His disciples while they were going to the bathroom. Would he have suddenly been in a car with them? (Nothing to do with cars but physical abilities) He is more able now, through the Holy Ghost, to disciple us and many more of us, than He could, if He were here, limited by the flesh.

We are all, what the Lord calls us to be. It is not vanity; it is not pride to speak your true calling. It is not wrong. After all, it is not meant to be a secret. I have heard men preach on television, that if you are called an Apostle for example, that you don't have to tell anyone. This is wrong!! This approach to God is very wrong. Why would we assume that God thinks like that!? If a man is going to walk in the authority of the office God has called him to, he must be willing to stand in that office.

To keep your true calling of God a secret, is not humility, it is not wisdom. It could be viewed as deception or cowardice. There must be a warning given here, that it is not a light thing to call yourself something the Lord did not call you to be. It is clear in the scriptures that the Lord gave these callings from apostle to teacher. It is not unreasonable for you to ask the Lord and expect Him to tell you what He calls you and then confirm it. You can and should ask the Lord what part you are to play in His Kingdom. Our God is in charge and He does speak.

Some in this day have described themselves as Apostles, not by saying they are an Apostle, but by saying they have a five fold ministry. That would be an Apostle. An Apostle, can operate in the office of a prophet, or evangelist, pastor, or teacher. A prophet, called to be a servant of God, not by man, but of God. He too is accountable directly to God. But He can operate in the kingdom as an Evangelist, Pastor, and teacher. He cannot be an Apostle, which is given only by God. An Evangelist can work as a Pastor and Teacher but cannot assume the office of a Prophet or Apostle. A Pastor can and does work as an evangelist and teacher, though he is not called to that office. His primary function is as a shepherd to the flock of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is to feed them and to protect them from wolves entering in, with false doctrines. It is not given to the Pastor to exercise ultimate control over the congregation. That is the Lords position. I've seen too many Pastors trying to exercise complete control over God's people even to keep them from participating in the other affairs of the Kingdom of God. A Teacher called of God has a special anointing and talent for teaching God's Word. The gifts of the Spirit should operate in all. Evangelism is the overall work and Direction of the entire Church of Jesus Christ.

There is the gift of prophecy, which the Apostle Paul tells us to seek. This gift is not the same as the office or calling of a Prophet of God. A Prophet of God has to obey God in everything; He must speak forth what God tells him to speak without respect of persons, regardless of any consequences. There is a special anointing for this calling. We see in the New Testament that Prophets were placed in the Apostles path to confirm the words of the Lord. I have had prophets cross my path on several occasions, to confirm the things the Lord was telling me. We see many examples of Prophets in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament Apostles were not called and sent because the children of Israel were not told to evangelize the world.

Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, and He has chosen Apostles and Prophets to discuss the affairs of His Kingdom and direction for the Church with. His order would be, that He can tell the Apostles what to do in the earth, that would further the mission of taking this Gospel into all the earth. Then the Apostles would turn to the Churches and direct the Churches towards that end. The Lord would also be able to give them Correction for the Churches. The Apostles would be concerned with right doctrine in the Churches. The Prophets would confirm and deny things that are of God and those things that are not. They would be able to impart wisdom from the Lord to the Church.

The word of God says, He gave some Apostles, only God knows how many Apostles there are in each generation, or Prophets, Evangelist, Pastors, and Teachers. This we know, every calling, from Apostle to Ministry of Helps is equally important. We cannot afford to cut off any one of these ministries, any more than we would want to cut off an arm. Satan has really attacked Apostles and Prophets, don't help him anymore. Amen.

The word of God talks about false prophets and Apostles you need to understand what an Apostle is. You may not have had to think about this, because Apostles and Prophets for the most part, have been denied, which slays their calling. An Apostle does not cease to be an Apostle because he is denied by the church, but his ability to function fully, as Ordained of God is limited. But as the Lord calls His Church to Order, you will have to deal with it. Even the Lord Himself is deterred by doctrines of men and devils. We ask for revival while trashing His Order and Ways.

Someone, who is truly born again, of the Blood and water and Baptized in the Holy Spirit, are not to be judged as liars without proof. In other words, you cannot call a man who is of God, a liar because his appearance or demeanor is not according to your doctrine. Those who are false prophets and Apostles are not born again but are of the synagogue of Satan. Revelation Chapter 2:9, I know thy works and tribulation and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. As born again children of God we are grafted into the vine, we are of the house of Israel, we are Jews.

To deny all Apostles, for fear of a false Apostle, would be ridiculous. We have a system of man right now fully entrenched. There are many that call themselves Pastors who are not called Pastors by God. Many of these have never even had a personal experience with the Lord they claim to work for. If you look at the Church now, you could begin to believe, that the office of the Pastor, is all there is. This can only cripple the Body because it is not whole. It is not true.

False Pastors, have much to do with the false doctrines that are in our midst even now. The Spirit of God does not move with signs and wonders in their ministries. I am not just speaking of what you might call dead denominations. False Apostles, do not usually last too long. We have seen several in our recent history that have even elevated themselves to the height of a false messiah. They usually come to a swift destruction. Unfortunately, those that follow them fall into the same destruction. This is why you must have the wisdom of God. The Lord will hold you responsible for who you follow. Therefore, you want to walk in agreement with those who are truly following the Lord Jesus Christ.

You really don't want to invest your lives and money with a false Pastor. If you truly serve the Lord Jesus Christ you will want your life and giving to be able to make a difference for the Kingdom of God. Following a ministry that really does not care about the Kingdom of God or for that matter what the Lord wants or thinks, is a true waste, greater than you can imagine now. But it will be revealed in the world to come.

Remember this scripture, Matthew 7:22-23 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Now let me ask you this, are there men on the earth right now who prophesy in Jesus name, who cast out devils in Jesus name, who heal the sick in Jesus name, and who cast out devils in Jesus name. Would some of these who are not known of the Lord be teaching the Churches a wrong way to go today? According to the Scriptures YES!

You can be sure that the Apostles of Jesus Christ by the will of God, will have experiences with the Lord, that to them is infallible proof that He is Alive and His Word is Alive. Their testimony will be strong enough that it can't be shaken, even at the threat of death.

God has given me a direction towards the villages of the world. These kinds of villages are made up of poor uneducated people. They are in remote places and are all but forgotten by the rest of the world. The Lord began talking to me about these people in Argentina; he has talked to me about them on three different continents. The Lord told me that the Governments and the Churches don't care about these people but He cares for each and every one. They make up at least Half the Worlds Population. He has had me ministering in these places and learning all about them. I am directed to use video to publish the Gospel, directed to them and to plant churches.

Last year, the Lord told me to build a mission center to the Nations of the Indo-China region in the 10/40 window. These are the countries of Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. This Mission Center, would train up indigenous Evangelist and Pastors to go into these villages and equip them with the tools of video to help publish the Gospel. The Lord told me to begin to take His people on missions trips back into these villages. As you can see this is a big order and no one can do it alone. But it is very important that every Vision and Command given to me, for the purpose of taking the Gospel into these places be fulfilled. Only Satan wins, when we entertain his false doctrines that would hinder us, from doing all that the Lord has told us to do.

Once again, this must be repeated. I cannot stress these truths enough. How can we be blessed of God, slaying and persecuting the Apostles and Prophets of God? Or by entertaining any doctrine of devils designed to stop the Gospel. The Apostles and Prophets are called by God, to play a great role in this Calling to take the Gospel of the Kingdom of God into all the earth.

Can anyone read the word of God, and believe that the Pharisees and Sadducees were in line for God's blessings. Of course not! He cursed them and then warned us to take heed, beware of their doctrines. Let's read what the Lord Jesus had to say about this in Luke Chapter 11 verse 47-51-- Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. Therefore also said the wisdom of God; I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation the world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. Woe unto you lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

In these scriptures, the Lord is saying, that by slaying and persecuting the Apostles and Prophets, the blood of ALL the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation. This is very serious, you may have read this and thought this is only to the Pharisees. No, it is to all of this generation as well. The dispensation of time that is called the Regeneration, is from the time of Jesus until the return of Jesus. And here we see a very serious warning to those who hinder others from entering in to the Kingdom of God. If it were not possible that we could be as guilty and be cursed with the same curse as the Pharisees and Sadducees, why then did the Lord warn us so carefully about the Leaven of the Pharisees?

Again, how do you slay an Apostle or Prophet? Persecution we know is designed by Satan to hinder the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many have been physically slain in our Church history. But many more throughout that same history have been slain by the denial of their callings due to wrong doctrine introduced into the Church by Satan. They are not physically killed but their God given Authority, God given direction, ministry and benefits to the Body of Christ are Killed. I believe in God's eyes it is the same. By denying the callings you cause them to be of none effect among you. Even as our Lord Jesus was denied by the people of His home in Nazareth. Why then, would the Lord keep sending them in each generation? Because they are an important part of God's order and He will be true to His Word. The judgements that the wisdom of God spoke in Luke Chapter 11 vs. 49. will remain, whether or not we approve or accept it. Wisdom here literally dictates that we accept His Order.

Since we understand that it is God, who calls these ministers and we know that God is perfectly able to speak His Will, to those He calls, shouldn't we try to discern, who is truly called of God and Help them first, to accomplish their missions? This would insure that we recognize the Lord Jesus as the Head of the Church.

If a man is called by God, he will be accountable to God for his work, for the money and where he goes and what he does. A man who is not called of God but by men, may not be accountable because the Lord might just say, I didn't call him you did. The man that is called by God would be arrested by God, even as Jonas was captured in the belly of the Whale and taken to his destination by God. Those who are called by God, will be more effective in their ministry because they are ordained and equipped spiritually by God for that work.

Many are more confident in the titles of men and of men’s systems. For example: I believe that there are many men called by God as Apostles and Prophets who write and preach with the title Doctor in front of their name rather that the title of their calling from God. And many only hold that title as an honorary degree. We need to consider God's ways and uphold them to the best of our ability.

There are some new trends (?) I've seen working in our midst. There are ministers who are calling other men Apostles, as though the Calling, was a reward of men for great accomplishments or talents. None of us as earthen vessels are called to be Apostle Makers.

This move of God to Restore Order in His Church is not a movement of men or a new trend. It is a Holy and Sacred moving of the Most High God and must be treated as such.

I have heard people describe a powerful anointing as Apostolic, inferring the minister is an Apostle. Many now seek the Apostolic anointing but do not seek the Apostles. This can only start new false doctrine as the Lord reinstates His Apostles and Prophets. It would also foster or breed false Apostles. Satan will use these errors to diminish the impact of the calling forth, of the Lord's Apostles. We must be aware and alert more than ever.

One day, I asked the Lord about this Calling the Church to Order and the Gathering of His Apostles. I was feeling very concerned about the battles, this would generate in my life. As I was questioning it, the Lord told me that the Apostle Paul, was the first used by God to establish Order in the Churches. As we read his epistles in context, he is giving order and establishing Apostles and Prophets as a normal functioning part of the Church.

Jesus never spoke anything in His Word that would hinder the Gospel. Neither should we. As a matter of fact we need to be very careful, not to be used by Satan to create any new false doctrines or to perpetuate any of the old.

End of Chapter Four.

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The Book Gather My Apostles
by Cary Goodwin   copyright 1996

Cary Goodwin  

Apostles Gathering Ministries

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