The final session of the Apostolic Summit was the Sunday morning church service. These are always joyful times as we join the Peace Church to celebrate what God has done for us n Christ.

I have been to over 20 Summits and I think that this was the most joyful and peaceful of them all. I think there is a maturity in the movement now, and it feels solid, but not heavy.

A special visitor to this year’s Summit was Pastor Suresh and his will Jonthi from Hyderabad in India. I visited them some years ago and have maintained a friendship since then.

Another special visitor was our very own Evelyn who brought her family along with her.

After this session, some of us moved on to the Sons’ Retreat, a day and a half of more informal sharing and encouragement.

John Alley encouraged us to get a higher vision of our calling as followers of Jesus.

Two important ideas

1. Christ has an inheritance.
2. Trinity indwelling one another. Perichoresis.

Shared life of Trinity dwells in us. This is an extraordinary salvation. We are not simply saved to a better life.

“No eye has seen no ear has heard what God has prepared for us.” 1 Cor 2:19

This oneness with God is our inheritance

What is Christ’s inheritance? People!
Revelation 7…a great multitude no one can number. An eternal relationship.

John 17. “Father make them one as you and I are one.”
V. 9. All mine are yours.

We are called to something special… Unity with the Lord and each other, the same unity that Father, Son and Holy Spirit have.

The Saturday evening session of The Summit was particularly joyful. It seemed that we reached a higher level of praise and worship.

John Alley taught about Bold Apostolic Prayer

Praying bold apostolic prayers

The Son of Man has authority on earth.

As Christians we also have authority.

The word of God has power, and our words have power too. We need to find a higher level of power.

We must pray things through. Every believer can get a miracle. You have to persevere to get the outcome.

We need to ask but we also move beyond.

Matk 11:14. When you pray believe you have already received, and it will be done for you.

In the beginning simple prayers work for us. As we mature we have to learn to command or declare. This is growth in faith.

God meets us more than half way. He will sometimes grant requests even if we feel that we have no faith.

The power ingredient is choosing to believe God.

Two stages:

1. Ask. More specific the better. Explain to the Lord why you need it. Make sure your heart is clean before the Lord
2. Set your heart to believe. Say “Lord I believe” even if you don’t feel like you have any faith. Declare you believe and thank Him for answering already.

You will be in a better place if you are rejoicing in the Lord as opposed to focusing on anguished requests.

Higher level is to thank God for the answer without even asking.

Don’t pray “if” prayers. Open the door through declaration prayers. “Lord you have a purpose and I declare that doors will open for me” etc.

We sense what ought to be and declare that it will be done. It is OK to make mistakes as long as you persevere and search for the grace for breakthroughs.

In all the gospels where there are miracles, Jesus never prayed a prayer. Half the time He didn’t even give a command.

Peter and Paul healed without prayer.

If you learn to grow in the authority of Christ you can say to a mountain and don’t doubt, it will be done. You can give a simple command and it will be done.

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.

The final session of the Apostolic Summit is Sunday morning, when the Summiteers combine with the standard Peace Apostolic Church congregation. During the service there was a celebration of 50 years of ministry by John & Hazel.

David Alley, John’s eldest son, brought the message, which was a sort of summing up of the weekend.

John 21
Third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after the resurrection.

Vs. 1-7
“It is the Lord!”
The Lord directs everything

When Luther nailed the theses to the door, Zinzendorf took in the refugees, William Carey went to India, John Wesley heard the gospel, William Booth started preaching, it was the Lord!

In the early 1990s when John Alley sat down with Chuck Clayton for lunch in Sizzlers that was the Lord.

When the disciples first saw Jesus they didn’t recognise him. Sometimes things happen that don’t like the Lord, they are.

He is at work doing things among us.

If the Lord is not with us, nothing happens.

Vs. 8-14
Everything is about Jesus.

What’s the point of building the biggest church or visiting pastors in Africa, if it’s not about the Lord?

Vs. 15-24
Jesus is the focus
Jesus tells Peter three things

1. Feed the sheep
2. How he will die
3. Don’t worry about what He does with others

Look to Jesus, not what other people are doing. He is the Lord! Don’t compare self to others. Don’t be grumpy because you aren’t getting what you want.