The Book Gather My Apostles
by Cary Goodwin   copyright 1996

Chapter Seven

In the book of Zechariah 6:12-13; And speak unto him, saying Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon this throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

This scripture, prophesies of the Lord Jesus and the building of the Temple of the Lord, that you and I are helping Him build today. In Verse 15,.. And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the Lord, and shall know that the Lord, of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God. This verse speaks of us, who were far from the covenant, coming to build in the Temple of the Lord. This is the Temple that the Lord has desired to build.

In John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. (21) But he spake of His body. In this scripture we see that Jesus called His body the temple and Himself the builder. He also spoke of His Resurrection. We who have entered into the Kingdom of God by being born again are resurrected as the Body of Christ and everyone who enters in after us, are also of the Body of Christ. And If Christ's Body is the temple of God, then We Are the Temple of God. And each Salvation, adds to the completion of the Temple.

Taking this Gospel into all the earth, should be considered Temple building. This is the Temple where God dwells, in and among His people. Not a building made with earthly hands but a temple made without hands Mark 14:58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.

Daniel 12:2-3 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. Here the Lord calls those who turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever and speaks of a great reward.

I firmly believe, that all the resources we need are at our disposal, if we would just understand God's Order of Priorities and obey Him.

The Lord showed me this scripture in Thailand, after He told me to build a Mission Center. It is in Ezra 6:7-12, Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place. Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the Kings goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered. And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail; That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savors unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons. Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this. And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius had made a decree; let it be done with speed...

This is a rich scripture, you could preach from this for a long time. But in this scripture, we see that King Darius made a decree. In any Kingdom a decree like this is a very serious matter. The king said, of all his possessions even the tribute beyond the river, would be given to the men building the temple, so that they were not hindered. How much greater, is the Temple the Lord is building today. He is King. He too has made a decree to take this Gospel into all the world. The earth is His and the fullness thereof. If we would understand this and our priorities, can't we expect to have all we need for this purpose of building this Temple? Couldn't you expect God to move these resources through you, if you are in alignment with His Will putting His Kingdom first? I believe that we can expect God to bless us richly. But in God's order, He has called each one to give unto this work, and to participate. No one man is going to stand before God on the day of Judgement and say you have to let me in, I have done the work you called me to do and I did it all alone. I really don't think so. There will be many that gave unto his work, who will sit in a higher place.

King Darius in his decree, also commanded that anyone who altered this decree should be hung from their own house and that the house should be made a dunghill. This is very serious stuff!

In the Kingdom of Israel, all the talents of men, and all the resources of God's people were called forth to build the Temple of God. The Temple building in the time of Soloman, was a time of peace and prosperity.

In the Body of Christ, all the resources of talent and money are there. There is, I am sure, no shortage. But if we are out of Order, how can we bring all these resources into focus. God will not be found guilty for not giving the resources. He will simply show us how because of our wrong priorities, wrong doctrine, and yes, for our love of money, we could not let go of it. If we as a Body spent every nickel he has given us, right now, to do His Will in the Earth, He is able to replenish everyone. The shortage is in our minds and in wrong doctrine.

Think about this, if everyone in the Body of Christ gave directly for the Gospels sake and for Jesus sake (benefit) and the Lord had to give each one a hundred fold return, now in this time, it would not be long, before we would see the wealth of the wicked, being poured into the Body of Christ. It all belongs to the Lord.

I want to discuss something that I have experienced and something that the Lord showed me while in the Jungles.

When the Lord first began to call me into the ministry and had showed me His clear direction. I began to seek help from the Body of Christ. I wrote many letters explaining the calling and asking for help. What I am about to say here is for the sake of our learning. It is not designed to slander anyone in anyway, but we must understand. The two examples that I am about to give are of ministers who are called of God. I love their ministries. Even If you know who they are, by the examples I am writing, don't judge them or voice it.

In 1987, I attended a convention in Anaheim, California. During these meetings the Minister, began to speak, If God has called you out into the jungles, Just Go, Just Go, Dear God, don't bother us. I felt pretty sure this was a response to my letter to him. I know that these ministries receive many such letters. He went on to speak other things directly related, such as He could just parachute out into the jungle with nothing but his Bible and do well. He would also tell the people that he never asked for an offering in his meetings. As one who had attended many of these conventions, I can tell you he never did. He always had another minister ask for the offering. But why would he make such statements. Was it to suggest that he is a great faith hero? In this convention there were about 10,000 people and three television cameras.

Just Go, Just Go, Dear God, don't bother us! Isn't that about what you should say to the devil? This is definitely not the way to respond to those called to take the Gospel into the World. It is not of God.

First thing we need to understand here is, that God calls no one just as a test of faith. I mean just to see if they can survive on their faith. There is a job to do throughout the world. There is already an attitude in the Church, that certain ministries such as missionaries, shouldn't even have what they need because everyone knows, the purpose of that calling, is just to sacrifice. No, the purpose for a missionary being where he is placed by God, is to reach as many people as he can for the Lord. It takes more than survival rations to do this well.

The reason I am writing about this, is because this attitude has been prevalent in the Church. It is wrong doctrine. It hinders the Gospel. Let's examine this; He is imparting a thought to the Body of Christ that they are not to help with these callings. Telling these ministers "don't bother us" is imparting a wrong doctrine or wrong spirit into the Body of Christ. I am convinced that this is just one more doctrine of Devils, that Satan has managed to slip into our midst. It cuts off the ministries called of God, to anything other than their message. And it gives the Church the impression, that they have nothing to do with taking the Gospel into all the earth. Or with another member called of God. This robs the people of their blessings from God, who said, that they would receive a hundred fold now in this time for giving for the Gospels sake and Jesus sake. I can assure you as being present at that convention, that no one suggested for a moment that you shouldn't help with this convention, teaching faith to believers. And many since then, have repeated this response in just this manner, regarding the needs of our ministry over the last ten years. This hinders greatly the work of Jesus Christ in the earth. I am not against the prosperity message or faith message. But I am against any doctrine or thought, that would hinder us from taking this Gospel into all the World. Or doctrine, that neutralizes the greatest people on the Earth, The Body of Christ.

Anything that hinders the Gospel is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. Just like that time, the Lord the showed me those hideous creatures attacking the Gospel in a vision, it was an abomination.

These kinds of teachings have even suggested that there is something wrong with ministries who have to ask for money to do their work. This gives the impression to many, that if the Lord wants it done, it will just rain from heaven. This is not God's way! He uses and works with His people. These ministers who suggest these things, have not been able to finance their ministry work without the help of the Body of Christ. Be alert and aware of how demonic these teachings are. These teachings, are designed by Satan, to hinder or stop the Gospel of Jesus Christ from going forth.

One night in the village, I was watching videotapes of Christian television. My Mother would send me tapes, from time to time, so that I would be spiritually fed. While I was watching this one ministry, the camera was showing this huge crowd of believers, about twenty thousand, the Lord spoke to me and asked me "How many in that crowd do you think I've called to the ministry?" Naturally my answer was, "I don't know Lord". The next tape, I placed in the VCR, came up on the same minister preaching in his Church. This Pastor was asking his congregation for a show of hands, from those who felt like the Lord was calling them to do something. Hands went up all over, but this was a crowd of perhaps two thousand people. After looking around, the Pastor just began to shout, "well just go do it"! If you agree with this kind of teaching and attitude towards those God calls, pray that He will not call you or someone in your family. The Lord had been telling me for a long time, that He had been calling many and they were not able to go. This is because the Church was out of order and didn't put priorities on seeking the Lost.

Jesus of Nazareth came seeking that which was lost. He said to His Church, follow me. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords calls men to follow Him, to seek the lost sheep. And these ministers cannot receive the help they need from their brothers and sisters, because too many have been taught, not to give to something that doesn't entertain them or bless them. This is way out of Order. If you will really grasp this, I believe many will be released out of Jonas fish.

There is one Pastor right now that comes to mind as a good example. This is John Osteen. Pastor Osteen gives a testimony of how he was pastoring a church of about 250 people. He said he tried everything to increase the congregation. The Lord was dealing with the Pastor about the World Harvest. Apparently, Pastor Osteen vowed to serve God in this and everything turned around. Now he is Pastoring a huge Church and they are giving to missionaries and ministries called out to the lost.

If you are a Pastor, think about this. If you are not Kingdom minded and you don't teach God's people to be Kingdom minded. God may not send more of His people to you, lest He multiply the problems that are in your Church to more of the Body of Christ. I think the ministries in this time that are the most blessed, have caught on to these principals.

Yes, there is a need for many teachings out of the Word of God. They are important but we must keep the priorities in order. For example, If you are giving strictly to the prosperity message, so that the prosperity message goes forth with greater frequency and power. That is not where your blessings are. We are not called to perpetuate any one teaching in the earth, except the Salvation of our Lord to a lost and dying world. This is where the blessings are, to the Church of Jesus Christ.

The very essence of Salvation, is that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord to be saved shall be saved. The people of the World will not call on the Lord if they don't know about Him. Many in the Church believe that we must control all facets of their salvation. Every one that the Lord saves, He keeps, even if we can't build them a building and control them, the Lord will keep them unto the day of salvation. It is His job to save. He is the one who heals. He is the one who delivers them. He is the only one who can fulfill the promises of His Word. But we must go and tell them. Yes, it is better if the people, who hear and learn of Jesus, can be taught continually. But sometimes it is not possible and yet they can be saved. Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Once they are born again, they will continually call upon the name of the Lord and the Lord will keep and direct them. I am speaking here mostly of very remote locations.

I write these things because of my experiences in these remote places. We would meet and have church in someone's house there in the villages. Many that I had seen come to the Lord would not show up. I began seeking the Lord for an answer to this problem. Shortly after I asked the Lord for answers, this one man returned to the village with a testimony that Jesus had saved his life. He had been in Bangkok working and while returning to the villages he was in a terrible car accident that took the lives of every one involved except him. He came back to the villages telling everyone that Jesus had saved his life. This man was absolutely convinced that it was the Lord who spared him.

Shortly after that, another had gone hunting for three days out in the Jungle. These jungles can be dangerous in the best of conditions. But during his journey the weather changed for the worst. There were tremendous thunderstorms and very high winds. He told us, how he thought, he would never make it back to the villages. But while he was fearing for his life he thought about Jesus whom he had just learned of. He had no reason to believe that Buddha would help him. He remembered what we had spoken of Jesus and decided to call upon Jesus to help him get home. For two days, he was led by the Lord out of that jungle. This mans story was very moving. On his return, he vowed that he and his family would serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord brought these two incidents to me at the time; I was seeking the Lord for answers concerning those I didn't see regularly. The Lord let me know that He is indeed the Great Shepherd. He is able to cause people to call upon Him, once they have heard the Gospel.

One woman there, was saved when she could not sleep for several days, she had no peace. It dawned on her one day, to call upon our God. She said, I ask the God of Goodwin, please give me peace I can't sleep and I don't know what to do. She said, the Lord came upon her and gave her the peace she sought. After this experience, she wanted to know more about the Lord. Before this experience, she was against us Christians. I write these examples to you to show you how important it is that we publish the Gospel to every creature. There are so many examples of how the Lord has turned the hearts of the people to Himself. But they cannot call upon Him in whom they have never heard.

Everyone, who comes to the Lord to be saved, is another part of the Temple of God. They are another part of the Body of Christ. They are each one purchased with a high price. They are precious to the Lord. I am not writing this as though it was revelation to you, but we must keep these things in mind, so that we can keep our priorities.

The Apostle Peter wrote, 2 Peter 1:13-14 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me... The Tabernacle he spoke of was his body. So too are we, a part of the Temple of God.

In all of the History of the Earth, there is not a greater work put forth than the Building of this Temple that God has desired and provided for. This is the only time and chance you have to be a part of the Building of this Temple. You will lose out if you buy the lies of the Devil, telling you that this is none of your business. If the work of taking this Gospel to the lost is none of the Churches business then whose business is it? There is no greater Priority given to men.

Consider this, Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our Faith. The Author and Finisher of your Faith, is busy building this Temple. And He has ordained and called His people to this work with Him. This is a great Honor bestowed on us.

The Apostles, Prophets and Evangelist are designed and placed by God in the Body of Christ as ordained workers, in this Building of the Temple. Satan really wants you to persecute and slay them to try to stop the building. Satan wants you to say and think that they no longer exist, that they don't matter. The Almighty God says differently, who will you listen to.  

Revelation 21:3....