Everybody’s An Apostle

In a previous blog where I shared my thoughts on the disease of “apostleitis” that has hit the church, I lamented the fact that there are so many people today who call themselves apostles and organize their apostolic networks and join apostolic clubs. If you have not read that article it can be found Here. The truth is I believe that we really do need apostles today and we need more of them–not less. But we need those who are genuine apostles in the biblical sense of the term.

When the Holy Spirit chose the term apostle, I think he did so with great intentionality so as to describe accurately what the lifestyle ministry of these people would be. He chose a word that had been in use long before Jesus began his earthly ministry. In the Greek language, the word apostle literally means “sent one.” Prior to the ministry of Jesus, the Greeks used it in three ways: (1) It referred to an ambassador or an emissary of the king. (2) It referred to a fleet of ships or an expedition of the army sent to a foreign land by the king to establish an outpost or a colony of his kingdom in that distant land. (3) It was also used to refer to the military head of the fleet or the expedition that was to establish the outpost or colony. This leader or apostle made sure that everything there followed the laws, customs, and culture of the king and kingdom that had sent them. It was also his responsibility to make sure that the colonists extended their culture into the foreign land until it eventually overshadowed or overcame the existing culture.

In Mark 3:13-15 Jesus summoned the twelve to the mountain so that they might spend time with him and also so that he might send (the Greek word for apostle) them to preach, heal the sick, and cast out demons. In heaven the name of God is constantly being exalted, there are no sick people, and there are no demonic bondages to destroy people’s lives. Thus when Jesus sent (apostled) them to exalt God’s name with preaching, heal, and cast out demons, he was sending them out to bring heaven’s atmosphere and culture into the places they went. In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus then charged those sent ones to teach others who would follow him to do the same thing.

Do you get the picture? We are all apostles. We are all sent by the Lord to bring heaven’s culture to this earth. That’s what Jesus did. We have mistakenly thought that Jesus came to the earth to get people to heaven. But he really came to bring heaven to us. And that is what we are to do.

Don’t spend your efforts in trying to get people to go to heaven. Bring heaven to them–its love, its power, its righteousness, its peace, and its joy. When we take heaven’s atmosphere into an apartment project or to our neighbors or to our schools or to our jobs, then people will be able to taste and see that the Lord is good. When they get a taste of heaven, believe me, they will want to go there.

Stop trying to convince people that they need God. Stop trying to get them to agree with your doctrines and pray a prayer that the New Testament never tells people to pray. Instead, bring heaven’s culture (heaven’s reality and the love and joy that fill heaven) to them and at some point they just might catch a glimpse of the high king of heaven–the Lamb seated on the throne–and become his followers. Be what you are dear apostle!