Last week we covered a number of practical issues concerning the kingdom of God, especially how elders or anyone given authority in the church need to be given specific authority, not general authority. Those appointed need to know their sphere of authority and stay within it or there will be an open door for confusion and division.

The next work of the flesh in this study is "strife." This is from the Greek word, eritheia, which is usually translated "contention" or "strife," but also could be translated "intrigue." By implication, this is the tendency to secretly spread strife. This is an evil that can be found in almost every congregation, and has almost certainly done more damage to the church than all of the cults and persecutions combined.

Robin McMillan, senior pastor of MorningStar Fellowship in Charlotte, had an important and profound insight into the gospel of the kingdom. It seems that every message to date which has claimed to be the gospel of the kingdom was devoted mostly to bringing men back into obedience, and was usually demonstrated by having men submit to other men. Certainly obedience to the Lord is an important issue, but it was not the main emphasis of the Lord’s own teachings on the kingdom.

Our study this week is from Ephesians 6:12:

On August 22, 2005, I had a dream in which I was walking down a seemingly nice, tranquil street. Suddenly, I had the sense that there was great danger coming toward me from the west. As I turned to face it, I saw a most sinister looking dark cloud rolling along the ground. It stretched in a straight line for as far as I could see, and it was very close. I fled to the house nearby, and I knew if I could get inside I would be safe. When I tried to open the door it was locked, but I had the key in my pocket.

        One of the best biblical models of the kind of disciple we are called to be is Joshua. We see this in one of my favorite passages in the Old Testament, Exodus 33:7-11:

     I first want to apologize for this Bulletin being long overdue. We have tried to cover most of the issues that people have had questions about concerning Todd’s restoration in video bulletins simply because it was so much easier and faster that way. However, not everyone has been able to watch all of the videos, so I will try to address the most important issues and commonly asked questions in a series of Special Bulletins.

Last week we began our study of the equipping ministries listed in Ephesians 4 with a brief overview of the apostolic ministry. This week we will continue with the next ministry that is mentioned—the prophets. Of course, the best we can do in such a short format is very superficial, but we will highlight some of each of these ministries.