The Apostolic Christian: Enforcers Of The Kingdom by Apostle Joshua Selman: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Always Give God Glory on Time

Always learn to give God glory on time. Do not wait until disaster forces you to remember his faithfulness. For as long as you see the good hand of God in your life, give him glory on time. He lifts you — say thank you. Let the nations see you saying thank you. Give him glory on time so that your lifting and your rising will not become the reason for your downfall.

Four Areas of an Accurate Teaching Ministry

For a teaching ministry to build people and raise a vibrant community of transformed believers, it must capture four major areas:

1. Doctrine — the sound communication of biblical truth
2. The mysteries of the kingdom — the ways and principles of how the kingdom operates
3. Wisdom for living — wisdom for operating within the cosmos
4. A word-compliant worldview — interpreting the happenings of life through the lens of scripture

Three Errors That Can Proceed from the Pulpit

1. False Teaching

2 Peter 2:1-2 — Damnable heresies. Falsehood does not end with prophets — there are also false teachers. These are teachings that are inconsistent with the word of God.

2. Corrupted Teachings

These are accurate kingdom principles approached and applied wrongly. The error is not in the concept itself but in the application. Giving is an accurate kingdom principle, but approached wrongly it becomes manipulation. Grace is a foundational kingdom concept, but taught poorly it leads people into carelessness and licentiousness. Deliverance is accurate, but taught from a posture of victimhood rather than victory, it produces people who are forever fighting demons with no victory in sight. Honor is a profound principle, but applied incorrectly it turns members into slaves and men of God into demigods.

3. Imbalanced or Incomplete Teachings

Acts 20:27 — Paul declared the whole counsel of God. Half-truths are dangerous because when Satan tempted Eve, he did not use a complete lie — he used a half-truth. The fact that something is true does not mean it will liberate unless it is completely and accurately communicated. The devil does not always need a lie to destroy. He can use part of the truth and hide the other part that brings liberty.

You can learn about consecration and character and not learn about finances — and you will be a victim even though you are a child of God. You can learn about diligence and not learn about spiritual empowerment — and you will labor night and day only to eat the bread of sorrow.

The Value of the Word of God to the Believer

When preachers tell people to submit to the word, they must explain the value. People will not commit indefinitely without understanding what they gain. There are three profits:

• Spiritual growth — 1 Peter 2:2 says to desire the sincere milk of the word so that you may grow. The four indices of spiritual growth are: conformity to the character of Christ, level of spiritual enlightenment, the outworking of God's power through the gifts of the Spirit, and your love life. Spiritual growth is impossible outside of submission to the ministry of the word.
• The basis for walking in victory and dominion — John 1:3 says all things were made through the Word. Acts 20:32 says the word is able to build you up and give you an inheritance. Colossians 1:15-16 declares the supremacy of the Word over all thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers. Dominion in the kingdom is not a gift — it is a resultant effect of comprehending the mysteries of the kingdom. As you grow and become fortified with knowledge, you come to a point of mastery. Isaiah 60:1-3 (amplified) — arise from the depression and the prostration that circumstances have kept you in. That is dominion. High-level spiritual illumination translates to dominion. Victory in the kingdom is revelation-dependent, light-dependent.
• The empowerment to be an effective witness — the extent of your efficiency as a witness is predicated on your spiritual understanding. The apostolic model of the early church — Acts 2:42, Acts 6:4, Colossians 3:16, Colossians 1:9-10 — was built on the centrality of the word and prayer.

Two Categories of Believers

From a study of scripture, believers fall into at least two categories.

Category 1: Nominal or Lukewarm Christians

Revelation 3:14-16 — The Laodicean church. Neither cold nor hot. These are genuinely saved, born-again believers — but nothing else. Whether they pray or not does not concern them. Whether they study the word does not concern them. Whether they are involved in kingdom advance does not bother them. Whether they are effectively connected to a larger body of believers or not is irrelevant to them.

Category 2: Apostolic Christians

The word apostle comes from the Greek apostolos — used in Titus 1:1. It is not a religious word — it is a governmental word. It means a delegated envoy: one who has been sent to promote, protect, and defend the interest of a kingdom. An apostolic Christian is a believer whose entire orientation is shaped by kingdom mandate.

Note carefully: the opposite of a nominal Christian is not a serious Christian. You can be a serious Christian and not apostolic. Zeal without knowledge — Romans 10:2 — is not apostolic. Fanaticism is based on zeal. Terrorism is based on zeal. Kingdom advance is based on zeal. But zeal must be handled with understanding.

Five Characteristics of an Apostolic Christian

1. Unconditional Passion for God

When your passion for God is conditional — if you bless me I will love you, if you lift me I will serve you — you cannot be called apostolic. Romans 8:35-39 asks what shall separate us from the love of Christ. The apostolic answer: nothing.

There are four dimensions of genuine love:

1. Passion — the energy that drives you to reach
2. Commitment — the staying power regardless of storms
3. Pleasure — the consolation that comes from investing your time and emotions
4. Sacrifice — the ultimate proof of love

Of these four, the noblest is sacrifice. John 15:13 — greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life. Jesus did not just live for you — he died for you.

Until Abraham's passion is yours, his blessings will not be yours. When God told Abraham to take his only son and offer him, Abraham rose early the next morning and went. He had already determined in his heart that he would obey and trust God to raise Isaac back to life. When God stopped Abraham's hand, he said: now I know that you love me, because you did not withhold your only son. And in blessing I will bless you.

Many transactional Christians claim the blessings of Abraham without having the passion of Abraham. The believer who will last must peg their love for Jesus on him — not on what he gives. There are many people who love the hand of God but not his face. They want what is on his hand.

Our understanding of covenant must be managed with intelligence, lest it push us into transactional Christianity.

God is a covenant-keeping God — but love overrules all things. In authentic covenant there is no mercy. God introduced love and mercy to tell you that this is not operating like a business contract. God does not deal with men the way you would handle a contractual default.

2. High-Level Spiritual Understanding and Empowerment

You cannot be an apostolic Christian in ignorance. This requires understanding of doctrine, the ways of God, and the empowerment that comes with that illumination. Line upon line, precept upon precept. You must have a thorough understanding of the ways of the kingdom — and that comes by submitting methodically to the ministry of the word.

Jeremiah 3:15 — God promised to give pastors and shepherds according to his heart who would feed his people with knowledge and understanding.

I pray for you the prayer of Ephesians 1 — that the eyes of your understanding be flooded with light, that you know the hope of his calling, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and the exceeding greatness of his power toward those who believe. May the spirit of revelation rest upon you. May you walk in accuracy of understanding. Let it be high-level spiritual illumination.

3. A Clear Understanding of God's End-Time Program

You cannot be an apostolic Christian without understanding God's program. An ambassador who does not know his nation's program is not functioning.

God's kingdom program is threefold:

1. World evangelization — global missions, soul-winning. This is his program for the unbelieving world.
2. The maturity of the saints through discipleship — this is his program for the church, transiting believers from infancy to witness-bearing maturity.
3. Territorial transformation — penetrating systems and cultures, the social strata with the value system of the kingdom. This is his program for society.

Soul-winning is foundational but not complete. That is why souls won at crusades often go back — we executed program one but neglected programs two and three. A man can be saved (s-a-v-e-d) and the society may not be safe (s-a-f-e). Lot was a righteous man, but Sodom was not a righteous place. He nearly lost his daughters and ultimately lost his wife. The fact that you are born again does not insulate you if your territory imports a destructive value system.

In Koinonia the summary is: Jesus revealed and Jesus glorified. Jesus is revealed in the saints — but glorified in the cosmos.

4. A Co-Laborer Mentality

1 Corinthians 3:9 — We are co-laborers with God. God depends on you. Not because he is helpless — but because he has deliberately incorporated you into his program. He has left a space for you intentionally so that you feel the joy of participating in kingdom come.

God's method has always been men. Satan's method has always been men.

• The Word wanted to become flesh — Mary, are you available? She said, "Be it unto me."
• When there was need for the salvation of the Gentiles, God did not send angels to evangelize them. He used Peter, sent him to the house of Cornelius.
• Jesus told Paul after blinding him — he did not heal Paul himself. He told Ananias the bishop of Damascus to go and heal him.

God depends on me is a statement that sounds presumptuous but is true. He can do without you a thousand times, but he has chosen to incorporate you. That God-man partnership is an orientation you must never divorce yourself from.

Psalm 89:20 — "I have found David, my servant." This is a profound statement. God found David — but it can take years after finding a person before he finds his vessel. For many, God has found you as a church member, but he is still looking for the witness in you. He cannot anoint just a church member. He needs a yielded vessel, a battle axe.

Anywhere you see darkness, think men — the machineries used to import wickedness into the earth. Anywhere you see kingdom come, look for the vessel that said yes. When Satan is advancing in any territory, it is because a vessel said no to being used.

Apostolic Christians do not pray: "God, move. Revival, come." That is a prayer of ignorance. The prayer of an apostolic Christian is: "Lord, I am available. Let's go."

The prayer of availability is a prayer of responsibility.

5. The King-Priest Dominion Strategy

Knowing you are a co-laborer is not enough — you must understand the rules of engagement. The strategy is called the king-priest dominion strategy.

The efficiency of your partnership with God begins with the strength of your priesthood — your secret place, your prayer life, your intimacy with God. From that altar, you receive wisdom, power, and understanding. Then you go to the geography of your witness — the place of execution.

Your office is not the place of prayer. It is the place where you execute the result of your prayer. The priesthood happens in your secret place. The geography of your witness is the place of dominion.

Daniel was a man given to prayer, given to intimacy with God — and nobody could find fault with his public life. He was dexterous and intelligent in the palace.

Joseph's brothers — always spiritual, always prayerful — were the first to suffer when famine came. Why? Because they were only priests. They needed to go to the one who was also a king.

Those who have the co-laborer awareness but neglect priesthood, trying to help God in the strength of the flesh — they work in defiance to divine strategy.

If this balance is not taught in the church, we will keep praying and fasting and falling and rising while society remains in decadence — because we are excellent priests but poor kings.

Six Ways to Enforce the Kingdom

Daniel 7:27 — The kingdom and dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the saints of the Most High.

Matthew 5:13-16 — You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.

Revelation 5:10 — He has made us kings and priests and we shall reign on the earth.

Matthew 6:10 — Your kingdom come. This is not merely a wish — it is a mandate. Pray that the life, the culture, the value system of the kingdom — what makes heaven heaven — be executed and enforced within your domain. That earth as an earthen vessel be transformed, and that your physical territory be brought under kingdom influence.

1. Prophetic Intercession

Ezekiel 22:30 — I sought for a man to stand in the gap, to make up the hedge. But I found none.

Effective prophetic intercession has a three-fold focus:

1. Establish victory over demonic and territorial forces — warfare prayer against the controlling spirits assigned to bind families, plague children, destroy economies, and corrupt societies. You do not pray unintelligently. You challenge the forces specifically.
2. Pray for believers within that territory to be empowered with wisdom, faith, and power to execute kingdom come — the tripartite combination required for dominion.
3. Pray for the hearts of the people you are sent to — that when you come, they will receive you. There are territories where you can be anointed and sent, but a blinded generation will fight their savior. Pray that sentiments will not make your generation reject you.

Kingdom cannot come when we simply wish about it or wait for God to act without us.

2. Manifesting the Values of the Kingdom

The second way we enforce the kingdom is by living out the values of the kingdom — the fruit of the Spirit — through our lifestyle.

Galatians 5:22 — love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. These are the attributes of the Holy Spirit living out through a recreated human spirit.

The first assignment of the anointing is not to make you heal the sick — it is to change you from within. There is the anointing within: not for signs and wonders, but to produce Christlike character.

Many believers cannot be recognized as Christians until they pray in tongues. That is a problem. Your lifestyle should be so distinct that the kingdom is visible before you speak.

Moses had the presence of God but did not allow it to change him from anger — and anger destroyed him. Elijah yielded to the power dimension but not to the lifestyle dimension. John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah but yielded only to the power part — it was anger and offense that got him imprisoned and ultimately beheaded.

Wounded people always wound others. They bleed their pain and frustration on those around them. There are people who are adults on the outside but there is still a bleeding child inside them. That child victimizes spouses, children, and congregations.

3. A Display of the Manifold Wisdom of God

Ephesians 3:10 — To the intent that now to principalities and powers in heavenly places might be made known by the church the manifold, multi-dimensional wisdom of God.

Witty inventions. Solutions that change the course of a territory. Professionalism and excellence. Being excellent is an act of worship. Being competent is an act of worship.

Reveal Jesus in the office through intelligence and professionalism. Do your work with impeccable excellence. Be like Daniel — faultless — so that the corporation can trust you. No man is indispensable, but you can be difficult to replace. Your professionalism will veto the sentiments of race and gender. Every man's need is his point of contact. When you are exceptionally excellent, men will find excuses to keep you.

There are books to be written, companies to be started, projects of national relevance. The anointing should not just rest on your head — it should flow through your brain, your mind, and reveal the wonder of God.

4. Kingdom Leadership and Influence

Influence is defined as the capacity to compel people to buy into your belief systems and ideologies without force or cruelty.

The kingdom of God advances at the pace of influence. If I be lifted up, I will draw men — according to the degree to which I am lifted up.

We need believers in positions of kingdom influence: companies headed by genuine Christians, policy makers with the ears of presidents, economic architects whose intelligence and engineering bears the mark of the kingdom. Believers must rise to positions where they can represent the purposes of the kingdom. The church must have a voice not of fanaticism but of value, intelligence, and national development.

For too long, believers have been victims of the conclusions of unbelievers. Unbelievers decide our destinies and hand over the verdict helplessly. We can revolt and advocate, but the one in the palace is the one who changes or maintains what is there. We need to get to the palace.

5. A Display of the Supernatural

Micah 3:8 — But surely I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord.

Acts 4:33 — With great power the apostles gave witness of the resurrection.

Acts 10:38 — God anointed Jesus with the Holy Ghost and with power, and he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed.

Miracles, signs, and wonders. It does not end at healing sick bodies. A nation can be born in one day. Samaria was converted in one day through the display of the supernatural.

Do not overintellectualize your living to the point where you downplay the Holy Ghost. There are doors that have no keys — they were not designed with keys because the enemy built them. They do not open to intellect. They need to be broken.

Matthew 11:12 — From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom suffers violence and the spiritually violent take it by force. Satan will not leave your children without power. Satan will not leave your destiny without the exertion of spiritual force.

Demonic spirits are stubborn. They do not yield just because the word says so — you must exert power. Power is the capacity to influence outcomes. Power is the force that compels compliance.

At midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang. God came and the foundations rattled, every door opened. That supernatural display led to the salvation of the jailer's entire household.

6. A Display of Love and Compassion

Whether through humanitarian activities, feeding the poor, gifts, or acts of charity — the world needs to see Jesus revealed through a loving heart.

Compassion begins not with a giving hand but with a loving heart. The love, the peace, the joy of the kingdom must radiate from you so that people encounter the kingdom before you open your mouth.

John 13:35 — By this shall all men know — not some men, not church people — all men shall know that you are my disciples, by your love for one another.

It is very Christian to be kind. It is very Christian to give. Some of us have neighbors and have shown no concern whatsoever for what happens across our fence.

The Power of One

Big is small plus small plus consistent small. One million is 1 + 1 + 1 added consistently. An army is one person plus another plus another. Do not think thousands. Think one. And let that one be you.

The way to change the world is to change yourself. Be the change you desire the world to be. Then another one comes alongside you, then another — and before long you are an army.

Tonight is a transition from church member mentality to being an apostolic Christian — an enforcer of the kingdom. Take this fire to your home, your workplace, your parliament, your school, your altar. Study more, pray more, make a determination that when next we meet it will be glory to glory.