Who is an Apostle? Apostle is the Greek Word “Apostolos” which means the following:

1. A Delegate: A person sent or authorized to represent another).

2. An Ambassador of the Gospel or a Commissioner of Christ.

3. A Messenger: A Carrier of a message or is employed to carry messages on behalf of another.

4. One sent forth with orders Genuine Evidence Of An Apostolic Ministry

1. Evidence Of The Call Of God The first genuine evidence or sign of an apostolic ministry is His calling. Who then calls an Apostle? Jesus Christ! Apostle Paul described his calling; •He was not called or appointed by a group of people; •He was not called by any human authority; •He was called by Jesus Christ Himself, God the Father, who raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Galatians 1:1 NLT, Acts 9:1-6, 15, Acts 22:17-21,

2. The Evidence Of Having a Certain Degree Of Freedom (1 Corinthians 9:1). The next thing from being called as an Apostle is to have some degree or realm of freedom to do certain things. You cannot claim to be an Apostle a too much restrictions, your apostolic ministry may never be fulfilled. The word freedom is the Greek word “Eleutheros” which means;

•To be Free Born In a civil sense of not being a slave. How can you be an Apostle of Jesus Christ and also be a slave to one thing or the other; one person or another. That will curtail your movement and ministry. As an Apostle, you must even marry a woman who will give you some degree of freedom to do the work of God.

•To be Unrestrained Apostle need a certain realm of freedom to express their apostolic ministry especially when they are called in a ministry. The administrative structures must allow such apostles some degree of freedom from restrictions so they can express their apostolic ministry or calling.

•To be Granted Certain Exemptions from Laws Apostles are people who have a strange heart for the Lord of their call and their calling. So they often come up with a lot of innovations, ideas and creativity. Therefore without a certain of degree of exemption from rules, regulations and laws, they will be restricted and cannot fulfill their apostolic ministry.

3. THE EVIDENCE OF SEEING JESUS CHRIST (1 CORINTHIANS 9:1). One of the qualifications Apostle Paul gives to the genuineness of his apostolic calling is that he has seen Jesus Christ. A genuine of Apostle of Christ may encounter Jesus Christ once and again during his ministry calling. Be blessed as you listen to this thought provoking and challenging teaching from our father!

The passage does not tell us the exact method they used, but Scripture gives us several biblical principles that explain how they likely tested these false apostles.

1. They Tested their doctrine Against Apostolic Truth The first and greatest test was whether their teaching agreed with the gospel delivered by Christ and His apostles.

•Apostle Paul warned the elders of the church of Ephesus that false teachers will arise from amongst them. You must remember Paul taught in Ephesus in 3.5years no wonder they are sound in doctrine (Acts 20:28-31).

•The presence of strong teachers or teaching priests and shepherds keeps vicious wolves at bay and seems to neutralize the vicious wolf instincts. My aim is to turn as many people as possible into an army of apostles, shepherds and teachers to keep the spirit of vicious wolves at bay (Acts 20:28-32) Vicious means deliberately cruel or violent, immoral and brutal.

•Even if an angel preached another gospel, he was to be rejected (Galatians 1:6–10).

•The Bereans examined the Scriptures daily to verify Paul’s teaching and guess what? Paul was so excited they did. He recommended highly because He realized they were a different breed as compared to the Christians of Thessalonica (Acts 17:12)

Be blessed as you listen to this thought provoking and challenging teaching from our father!

The Things Jesus And Was Not Happy About The Church Of Ephesus Nevertheless means that all the good in the Ephesian church did not cancel out the bad Jesus is about to describe. You have left your first love: Despite all the good in the Ephesian church, there is something seriously wrong. They have left - not lost - their first love. They once had a love that they don’t have anymore. This can be described as “a definite and sad departure.”

1. The distinction between leaving and losing is important. Something can be lost quite by accident, but leaving is a deliberate act, though it may not happen suddenly. As well, when we losesomething we don’t know where to find it; but when we leave something, we know where to find it.

2. Though they had left their first love, everything looked great on the outside. If you would have attended a service of the church at Ephesus, you might have thought, “This is a happening church. They are doing so much, and they really guard the truth.” At the same time, you might have had a vague, uneasy feeling - yet it would probably be hard to pin down. It wasn’t hard for Jesus to see the problem, even though everything probably looked wonderful on the outside.

3. The problem was serious. Without love, all is vain. No wonder Jesus said, “Nevertheless I have this against you.” “A church has no reason for being a church when she has no love within her heart, or when that love grows cold. Lose love, lose all —— 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NLT), 1 John 4:7-13.

Be blessed as you listen to this thought provoking and challenging teaching from our father!