Service Times
River City Church Sunday Worship
11:00 AM
School of Grace
Alternate Wednesdays 8pm
Midweek Home Groups
River City Church Sunday Worship
11:00 AM
School of Grace
Alternate Wednesdays 8pm
Midweek Home Groups
The Apostolic Church was birthed out of the great Welsh Revival of 1904 and you can read a fuller account on the official church website at www.apostolic-church.org. It is interesting to read how God has raised up churches and groups throughout history to accomplish His purposes. It would be more accurate however to say that He raised up men and women, for His Holy Spirit has always worked through individuals who surrendered their lives to Him.
The sort of history that really interests each of us is always that which is closest to home.
For many of us growing up in Ireland, our 'faith' was something we inherited from our parents and 'church' was the building or service we attended. When we see today how so many children are missing even these opportunities to come to faith, we can thank God for the faithfulness of past generations who sought at least to direct us towards Christ. Yet the story of our nation is also one of the words 'church' and 'faith' becoming synonymous with tradition and politics. Instead of being a force for transformation, unity and leadership in our society, they have too often become simply flags of identity raised above entrenched attitudes. The life and power of the Church is the Holy Spirit, who energises, directs, comforts and challenges the Church to move on by faith not by sight into true worship. In seeking first the Kingdom of God, people of living faith in Jesus Christ from whatever background, can aspire to a Kingdom that is not of this world
Because it is a Kingdom of truth and justice, we are called to let that Kingdom come in this generation through the way we live in our communities, serving and loving each other as Christ showed us. Only through giving our lives over to the power and leading of His Holy Spirit can we aspire to love our enemies as He loved us on the Cross.
How can our communities ever aspire to live in genuine love rather than 'ceasefire' love, when they see that even the 'Church', those who claim to be anointed to freely serve others, cannot escape the ties to past generations and events? No Church can proclaim in truth that 'Jesus sets you free', while living afraid of the opinion of men. The power of the Holy Spirit is imparted to a Church that will love people as Christ loved them, that will love them enough to challenge them with unpalatable truths and then be prepared to still love them as they are rejected.
Before St Patrick faced this nation with the truth, he had a decision to take which he recorded in his writings. He wrote, "I have decided to face the insults of the unbelievers." May God bless this nation again with those who will love her people enough to break ranks with popular opinion and point them to their creator and redeemer.
We have such a rich heritage of faith in Jesus Christ in our nation. We were once known as 'the land of saints and scholars'. But scripture tells us that there is living faith and dead faith. A friend once told me "Tradition is the living faith of the dead, but traditionalism is the dead faith of the living."
Our children deserve something better than to be handed the unfinished business of their parents, their fears and failures. The good news of the gospel is that through a living faith in Jesus Christ each of us can not just leave the past behind, but find healing, restoration and the freedom to transcend our histories and live as new creations and genuine witnesses to the power of the risen Christ.
That journey for a nation starts with individuals finding such freedom and hope and for each individual that journey starts with hearing the voice of God. Many have heard the 'Word of God' for years, but only heard a man or a woman speaking. There has as yet been no supernatural birth within. No one can follow Jesus Christ as Lord without the Holy Spirit, for Jesus said that only that which is 'born of the Spirit is spirit' (John 3.v6) The apostle Paul confirms in 1Corinthians 12,v3 that "no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit."
The good news of the Gospel is that because of the sinless life and atoning death of Jesus Christ, our Father in heaven HAS poured out His Holy Spirit and every believer now has "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ" (Eph.1.v3). For too long the Church has been waiting for God to do what He has already done and asking Him to give what has already been given.For years we have been trying to get ourselves cleaned up enough for God to send revival, because we have not had a revelation of this truth, that God has already poured our revival into every believer, for how can you have God’s Holy Spirit within you and God’s Spirit not be in revival?
Our problem is not that God has not sent us revival, but rather that we have not accessed the revival He has sent because the anointing of God flows by faith, not by religiosity.
No amount of prayer or good works are a substitute for faith.
The early church never prayed for revival in an area….they sent a revived man to an area. (Acts 8.v4-6).
For too long the Church has believed that a great move of God will come to our nation when the nation believes Jesus to be who He said He was. But the truth is, that great move of God begins when the Church believes that they are whom Jesus said they are; new creations, righteous, sons of God in Christ (2Cor.5.v17, Romans 5.v17, Galatians.4.v6). The Church is not called to beg God to send revival, but rather to be the revival, for His Spirit, the same Spirit that rose Jesus from he dead, lives in us and His Spirit does not need reviving!
