Today is John Alley’s birthday. As befits the occasion, he was required to extinguish a candle and insert a knife into a cake.

In Session 6, John talked about 1 Corinthians 9 and the references Paul makes to the requirement for the church to support its ministers.

1 Corinthians 9:27
[27] No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (NIV)

Need to discipline our bodies to be faithful to Christ.

1 Corinthians 9 starts with Paul’s claim to be an apostle. Even if others don’t accept him, he is an apostle to the Corinthians.

Vs. 3-6. He and Barnabas have the right to eat and drink.

Vs. 7-9. Nobody serves in the army or tends a flock at his own expense. The law says you cannot muzzle the ox when it treads the grain. It’s not about animal welfare.

Vs. 10-12. Ox is symbol of ministers.. they carry a heavy burden. 5 -fold If we sow spiritual thinks, should we not reap material things? There is a right for support, but we do not claim anything that might put an obstacle in the way of the gospel.

Normally John expects an offering when he ministers in rich countries, but if there is no offering he does not make any demands. He knows that the Lord provides every need.

Vs. 13-14. The priests in the temple get food from the temple, and those who preach the gospel should get their living from the gospel.

When you do things God’s way, giving of yourself, he pays the bills.

Vs. 15-19. He does the work willingly for reward. He preaches free of charge so that there is a reward in the call. It is not necessity, but a free offering.

V. 25. Athletes run for a perishable crown, but we discipline ourselves for the sake of an eternal reward.

Marren is one of the special characters at Peace Church. She overflows with love and has a laugh that can be heard across the ocean.

In Session 5, David Alley talked about Unity in the Church

The unity of the Church.

Why do Christians have such little regard for each other?
Transformation videos… stories of revival all underlined the power of unity and love between pastors.

Jesus commands us to love one another. Disciples were together with Jesus for 3 years but didn’t get it. Being together physically does not bring real unity.

Unity is about loving one another not just about getting together.

As he fasted and prayed for people in Mt Morgan he found that God had changed him.

Ministers Fellowships need authentic love among the clergy.

For pastors, be friendly and don’t talk about what you are doing. Listen rather than talking.

Rockhampton churches did a survey. They asked what each church does socially. Costed at minimum wage, they contribute $13 million per year.

Acts 10. If Peter went to the house of a Gentile, surely we can overlook differences between churches.

Session 3 of the Apostolic Summit was an interview in which David asked John some questions about the ministry of apostles.

Q: What would John Piper say about his book?

A: We don’t know what he would say, but he would hope that there are so many people calling themselves apostles that he would want to find out more.

The teaching that there are no apostles has no basis in Scripture. The more you look at the Bible there is more to learn about apostles.

Ephesians tells us that the 5-fold ministries are there until the church grows to the fullness of the stature of Christ.

God has never stopped appointing apostles and prophets even if they weren’t recognised as such.

Q: What is the New Apostolic Reformation? Are we a part of it?

A: The NAR was a term coined by Peter Wagner and has become seen to be an organisation or a cult. We have never claimed a name, title, or doctrinal position. Just see what is in Scripture and teach that.

The NAR is a mythical organisation that doesn’t exist.

The apostolic movement is grass roots.

Q: In early days there was a lot of talk about the end of denominations.

A: I am still thinking these things out. The Lord has a way of working his plans very differently to what we think. The apostolic message will influence the denominations.

Q: What is the relationship of the apostle to the whole church?

A: Not every apostle relates to the whole church. There will always be apostles who work in ways that the world does not see. Messages or prayers might shift demonic powers and have a great effect in the long term. Many apostles will be unseen.

Q: What should it mean for the average Christian to know there is an apostle in their town?

A: While ordinary Christians might not be directly aware of apostles, the apostles actually have great influence on their town and the churches of the city.

Q: Where does the human limitations of apostles come in?

A: Chuck had foubles, but Holy Spirit came on John with such power that he overflowed in love, and the foibles were endearing not annoying.

Q: How can someone get close to a leader in the church?

A: Without spirit of sonship you see a leader as being limited, but when the Spirit of Sonship comes on you, you see the immense potential that God has put in them. It’s about love for them and honour. If you can see something in a leader’s heart, it means that the quality is available to you as inheritance.

The spirit of Sonship has to be found in the local leaders. That is, they look for it in their pastor.

The blessing does not come from the quality of the spiritual father, but from the heart of the son. No matter what happens you have to honour and love the father.

Q: What does the statement that apostles and prophets are the foundation of the church. What does that mean now?

A: It isn’t easy to see whether that verse relates to the original apostles or not. The use of the present tense suggests that it continues. It is fundamental to the faith that leaders sow their lives into the church and the ever growing foundations of it.

At Peace Church, pushing babies is always a popular past time.

In Session 2, David Alley expounded on the so-called Passover Problem. This relates to whether Jesus was crucified on the date of Passover (14 Nisan) or the following day (15 Nisan).

The Passover Problem

God can be confusing but that is what you expect from a God who is far greater than we are. He is bigger, grander and more wonderful than we can imagine.

Some people like to find so-called contradictions in the Bible. But there is usually a solution that can be found.

Luke 20:14-16. Jesus is having Passover with disciples

John 20:28 Passover has not happened yet, on day Jesus is executed.

Passover starts 14 Nisan night. Luke says Jesus died 15th, John says 14th.

Last Supper and crucifixion are actually the same day in the Jewish calendar.

Some scholars think the discrepancy is real. Typically they say John is right and others are wrong.

But if we believe the Bible is the Word of God then there must be a solution that honours both.

There are many speculative theories to harmonise the accounts.

Leviticus 23:5-8.

Passover begins 14th

In Australia, Christmas is 25th but all December is called Christmas

In Leviticus Passover starts 14th, but 15th is start of Feast of Unleavened Bread. The 15th is a Sabbath, or Day of Assembly.

In synoptics, Jesus has a Last Supper on the 14^th, and calls it the Passover.

He dies on the 14th which is not a Sabbath, but the Day of Preparation.

Jesus likely died on the Friday and the next day was both the normal Sabbath and the Passover Sabbath

But why did Jesus celebrate the Passover a day early? This is a theological not a chronological problem.

At the Last Supper there is no Passover lamb. Jesus Himself is the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. He redefines the Passover in a new covenant.

Jesus died at 3 pm, the time when Passover Lambs were sacrificed.

Jesus manages to fulfil both sides of the Passover… the lamb at the meal and the sacrificial lamb on the cross.

The trip from Narrabri to Rockhampton is long; it is a full day. We leave at 7 am and arrive usually by about 6 pm. The rain slowed us down, and we didn’t arrive until 6.30 pm. It was a rush to get into the apartment, get some dinner and then to the church by 7.30 pm.

As usual, we had lunch at Condamine. This used to be a sleepy little place where nothing happened, apart from occasional gigantic floods. It seems to be going ahead, and these days a coffee and donut van comes every Thursday. The freshly cooked donuts are delicious.

At the church, we sat not far from the Coopers. Both Danielle and Evelyn enjoyed dancing to the upbeat music.

We quickly caught up with old friends, including Suresh and Jonthi from Hyderabad. I think the highlight of the Summit each year is renewing friendships with people from all over the country and around the world.

Here are my notes from Session 1, much of which consisted of video interviews between John and David Alley.

Video interview between John and David Alley

John talked about the origins of the Apostolic Summit. John originally thought it would be a gathering of apostles but it hasn’t always worked out.

It’s a place for teaching of revelations from Scripture e.g. it was thought that there were no modern apostles but we now know Scripture does not teach this.

Arthur Schopenhauer

Truth passes 3 stages

1. It is ridiculed

2. It is violently opposed

3. It is accepted as self-evidently true.

Apostolic movement is about bringing church to maturity.

People assumed it was about gifted leaders, but apostleship is an anointing not just leadership.

In Revelation the church of Ephesus was commended for testing so-called apistles and finding them false. So how do we test apostles? The various tests we can use are described in the book, “The Testing of Apostles.”

Two kinds of tests:

1. Those Christ puts them through in order to bring out the qualities necessary for the ministry.

2. Tests the church must apply to weigh up whether a person is a genuine apostle.