Vision
The vision itself shows three main parts:-
1. The triangle. The triangle represents the Trinitry and the rainbow colours the glory of God. Only a revival where God's glory would touch His people would be sufficient to fulfil the purpose of God.
2. The surrounding stars. These indicate the Lord's desire to see His people reaching their full potential in Christ, changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. They would then become sons of God in power, truth and love, fulfilling the vision originally given to Abraham.
3. The central dark letters. These the Lord called "aggravations" or spiritual powers of darkness hindering His people reaching their destiny in Christ. Here was the revelation of the authority needed through Christ to engage with these demonic powers by spiritual warfare in order to change the environment so revival could be established and maintained, seeing Christ's authority ruling in the "land".
The vision lead us to understand that the Lord wanted to bring the church into a worthy condition before the Second Coming of Christ. Also, as the Scriptures reveal, there will be increasing persecution of the church, that its members become strong enough to endure to the end.
HISTORY
The ministry began in October, 2008 starting with five pastors. The ministry was based on the concept of leaders stated in Ephesians 4: 11 :-
"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ."
A base was set up in Chileka, Blantyre, as the Lord previously indicated. It has the advantage of being close to the International Airport. We are situated behind the Roman Catholic church on the main Chileka Road about 1 km from the roundabout.
Full registration was gained in July, 2011.
Churches are now established in Blantyre, East Bank(Chikwawa), Fatima (Chikwawa), Mchinji. We also support other churches in Bangula, Luchenza and Thyolo.
The team actively engages with other pastors and their churches at combined meetings. This includes a strong work with the elderly in several places in Blantyre.
A great part of the work is intercession. Eventually we hope to establish 24 hour intercession for the work. Intercession is the main tool to revival, we believe.
Description
Outline of the ministry from a spiritual viewpoint
The focus for this ministry starts with the vision given to Apostle Mary Pascoe in 1995. As with any new strategic work of God it has both a spiritual revelation and a foundational Scripture, i.e., Isaiah 61. Both bring their own dimension of understanding. The context in which this ministry has begun is also important to understand. The signs of the times strongly reveal we are in the last days before the Second Coming of Jesus.
As the leadership have prayed into all these concepts the key understanding the Lord has given is restoration of the Body of Christ that it may become a worthy “Bride” for Christ when He appears. The increase of demonic activity in recent times and the state of the Body of Christ currently show there is much to be done. The Bible is very clear that in the Last Days there will be an “increase of wickedness” (Matt. 24: 12). Prophetically, the Lord is nevertheless revealing His grace will also increase with increasing manifestations of His glory. The devil seeks to increase his activity to achieve an exalted and more powerful kingdom endeavouring to subdue the work of the Spirit-filled sons of God as much as possible. He comes with new strategies which are complicated and powerful. They are designed at producing deception, division and letting the “flesh” be encouraged without Christians realising it. This way Christians would be their own enemies because of the subtlety used. These strategies should not be underestimated. They are designed to build on the false divisions of traditions already in place and to encourage domination amongst leaders rather than a servant heart which the Bible teaches. Wherever this happens “the love of most grow cold” as cold criticism and the ploy for self-exalting power are clearly the work the devil desires but grieves the Spirit of God. What we tend to see today is still a picture of the weeds growing with the wheat in many churches (Matt.13:24-30). The true yet sad assessment of the situation is that many “are destroyed because of lack of knowledge.” This makes Satan happy. Nevertheless, it is not an irreversible situation.
Revival has always shown the fruit of dramatic sanctification of the people touched by the Holy Spirit and significant numbers of those who are called to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Revival which I will define as God coming by His Spirit bringing a great measure of heaven on earth (which answers the prayer Jesus taught His first disciples) has been a counter to the supernatural work of the devil. Whereas in the past revival has not been understood but usually thought of as a chance happening, this lack of clarity no longer remains. The Lord Himself has given Scriptural understanding in this matter so to encourage His people to seek Him for it. Ministries such as “Partnership Ministries” and “the Sentinel Group” are two examples which the Lord is using to propagate His teaching and to further encourage research in this realm. Revival is the only form of restoration in the church which achieves the level of change needed to create the impact and impetus needed to reach the final goal of transformation of society or Biblically stated, “to heal their land.” (2 Chron. 7:14) This intervening act of God enables Christians to live as sons of God in the full authority and power granted to them by the Holy Spirit to make them effective witnesses for Christ achieving a lifestyle reflecting the character of Christ. Thus although teaching is vital for understanding it is not in and of itself the way to change. Truly we speak of a radical intervention of the Holy Spirit. This is best understood by what happened on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit first saturated (or filled) the 12 original disciples of Jesus. See Acts 2:1-40.
Other ministries such “IHOP” and “In Christ’s Likeness” show from their teaching the Lord is seeking to take the initiative again in order to bring His people to the place He desires. As always it requires a response as the Lord does not override the freewill of His people. We believe that the founding of Royal Priesthood M I in Malawi is part of this new work of God. The Lord has given the leadership faith and anointing to work deeply in the spiritual realm through His Holy Spirit to facilitate revival right up to the national level. This has needed a deep sanctifying, transforming work in those He has chosen and a level of understanding to make the tools of intercession and spiritual warfare effective. On the other hand the pastors of the team have also found the usual means of Christian ministry ineffective to produce any real development at all. (Quite an interesting contrast!)
The desire in the hearts of the leadership is to provide an example of true Biblical Christianity in the churches it establishes, orthodox in theology but totally Spirit led with Jesus as our focus. Also the leadership seeks to encourage a coming together of church leaders who will submit to Christ to increase their mutual support and effectiveness of their churches. The ministry itself sees that a combined leadership as described in Ephesians 4:11,12 is paramount to achieving the goals. Although the ministry does have and will have its own churches, it is not primarily a church planting ministry. As already stated restoration of the existing Body of Christ is the concept for its work. The ultimate goal must be to see the true “Bride of Christ” develop for the great Day of the Lord.
There is another aspect which the Lord has revealed. Persecution is another growing phenomenon in the Last Days. The church needs to be strong spiritually with members who are restored individuals in order to face the challenges of this generation. “He who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13) is part of the teaching of Jesus on the Last Days. “To him who overcomes” is the repeated note given to the churches at the beginning of the book of Revelation. It is clear that the first disciples fled at the final persecution of Jesus but after they were filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost they were no longer fearful and able to courageously face their persecutions, even when it cost them their lives. Royal Priesthood M I therefore seeks to encourage and teach the work of the Holy Spirit for healing and deliverance within churches for this reason. For believers to become restored, mature and clear regarding their identity in Christ is therefore another foundational goal.
To conclude, it can be seen that all of the above also facilitates the final “harvest” (Rev. 14:15) as the church becomes more effective. Here is the promise fulfilled from Scripture regarding the “latter rain” (Hos. 6:1-3 & Zech. 10:1[KJV]) Yes, the Lord will reveal Himself increasingly on the earth of which He is Lord. Our God is greater than he is called the prince of the power of the air. The church of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, will be victorious through the blood covenant made by the Father, enabled by the Holy Spirit. God has committed Himself to us in this generation more than ever seen before by His supernatural and glorious works. He has not changed but we must.
Objectives
a. To be an independent ministry for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Kingdom only. To develop and restore joining churches, and plant new churches for communities. The churches will minister to all age groups and all sections of the community.
b. To develop a fully functioning church base in Chileka, Blantyre to which all other arms of the ministry will relate.
c. To offer assistance to individuals and families, of any background, for their spiritual restoration, that they may have dignity in the sight of man and favour with God.
d. To provide assistance, both spiritual and practical, for orphans and unsupported elderly people in Malawi. The main focus is to provide caring homes for elderly people. (Well trained staff will be provided.)
e. To provide resources and training to give young people skills in order to provide for themselves.
f. To visit those in prison and to show compassion to their relatives, that they may receive the full benefit of God’s word and love.
g. To provide Christian-based Primary and secondary education to enable students to achieve recognised certification for their future higher education or advancement of their careers.
h. To provide nursery facilities to assist single mothers so that they can attend a place of work.
i. To pray for Malawi and other nations for their restoration, development and up-building in every way, especially that they may seek the LORD themselves and live according to all the commandments stated in the Bible.
j. To evangelise the people of Malawi that they may benefit from the love and blessings that come to all those who respond to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
k. To work in co-operation with like-minded organisations to build and restore the Kingdom of God in Malawi and in other nations.
l. To create missionary assistance to help individuals build and restore Christ’s church in other nations. This will include sending individuals and teams of workers to preach, teach and minister in Christ’s Name to other nations.
m. To be a faith ministry supported by the finances of God’s people as He encourages and moves them to give.
n. To accomplish everything revealed in the vision given to Apostle Mary Pascoe. The preceding items commence that fulfilment.
Team
APOSTLE MARY AND PASTOR KEITH PASCOE
FOUNDER WITH CHIEF ADMINISTRATORApostle Mary is Ministry Founder and Apostle Pastor Keith is Chief Administrator, Head Teacher and Chairman of Trustees.
Pastor Daniel Fry
Ministry Co-ordinator for rural churches. Pastor at Mitengo Village. Ministry trustee.Pastor Wayne Wilson
Pastor/Teacher at Base ChurchPastor Chiku' Katema
Base church pastor and Ministry trusteePastor Melody Ncube
Base church pastorPastor Eremiah Phiri
Maneya pastor. Ministry trustee.Pastor Chris Taulo
Base church pastorPastor Elizabeth Chafewa
Base church pastorLocation
We are found 500 metres from the Malonda hardware turnoff on Chileka Road, which is the road to the airport. This is about 2 kilometres from Kameza Roundabout, Blantyre.
Contact us
Apostle Mary Pascoe +265 880723278 (WhatsApp}
+265 997766716
Pastor Keith Pascoe +265 995446255 (WhatsApp)
Email: royalpriesthoodmi@gmail.com
Devotional
JANUARY 2026
Dear Friends,
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3: 20,21
I wonder if you have begun 2026 facing a situation containing more unknown than known, or the answer you need seems almost impossible, from a human point of view. These are hallmarks of the type of beginnings which the Lord chooses. He is Lord and He wants us both to recognize that and to know what He has placed before us He will not fail to lead us through. This is His way of bringing us into the next phase of our destiny in Christ. He is asking to believe and trust Him completely. Many people expect the Lord to do things a certain way which makes them feel safe. However, as the Creator, generally, He prefers to do things in a new way. This is where our faith must engage.
Our secure place is staying close to the Lord depending on the Holy Spirit to guide us. Our heavenly Father teaches us His ways so that we may know Him better. Hebrews 11: 1 reveals that our faith is not meant to be blind but that the Holy Spirit will give us enough guidance to take every step through the journey ahead. I love the way in which Abram was called to leave his relatives and go to the land of Canaan. The Lord did not say much about it except to make an extraordinary promise of Abram’s destiny to become a great nation. He may have thought, “Who me?!” Yes, he had more unknown than known but he obeyed the calling of God and went. He didn’t listen to anyone or get anyone else’s view. God had spoken and that was that. So it should be with us. There is no room for us to be double-minded when the Lord has put a clear calling before us. It takes patience also to see the purpose of God unfold. So often the Lord is making us fit for the fulfilled promise along the way. We don’t start off that way. Abram went through many steps of development very late in his life to have the first taste of his destiny with the birth of Isaac.
The birth of Isaac was a miracle. Abram could not enter into his destiny without this miracle. His old age was not what he expected. Bringing up children would not have been on his original agenda. Until Isaac was grown up Abraham’s destiny could not be ensured. The Lord knew that and so he and his wife Sarah remained strong well into their old age. So, if you have reached a point of no turning back without a miracle and you need a greater capacity than you have right now to see it through, you are like Abraham. You can take courage and be confident in the Lord who showed up in His own way to make the miracle possible.
When Moses was at the Red Sea, he had big trouble behind him and an impossible block right in front of him, humanly speaking. But Moses knew that God was the God of miracles and knew He would not let him, or the people he was with, down. God, of course, was faithful. I love how David expressed this in Psalm 36: 5:-
“Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.”
The Lord contained the bad trouble of the army of Pharoah behind them so they were all protected and did an amazing miracle of creating a path of dry ground through the Red Sea. The Lord has not changed! He protects us and He provides for us, especially when He wants us to see He is a miracle working God. Again, the Lord did something new to reveal His glory. Let the Lord do a new thing for you. His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). Don’t let what you think or have felt you can ask limit your possibilities. This is why we have that wonderful Scripture in Ephesians 3:20,21, quoted above.
2026 is a year for proving the Lord like never before. Let us put our hope and trust in Him.
God bless you,
Pastor Keith Pascoe
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Notes 1
Isaiah 61:9 (ANIV) “Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed."
Isaiah 61 is the main prophetic Scripture for our ministry. The latter section of this chapter describes the fruit of a restored people. But what is revival? My best description is simply when God comes to stay with continuing revelation of His glory. That, of course, has many effects upon the people present and those who will also come seeking His favour. Where there is a revival presence of God there is a work of the Holy Spirit far beyond the experience of God through a usual church service as most of us are accustomed to. There is an acceleration of the Spirit’s work to refine and sanctify in individuals. The Lord is creating quality of Christian character in the lives of many people which is the first intention. Secondly, there is a direct effect to produce quantity, in terms of converts, as people are then better equipped and in closer relationship to the Lord so it will be Him more than them. Truly, the Lord is taking the initiative in many parts of the world to bring about revival so that the end-time “harvest” is brought in before Jesus returns again.
Nothing satisfies our hearts like the Presence of God. There is no blessing like the blessing which is imparted in revival. Isaiah mentions a “double blessing” and “everlasting joy” to show the extra grace given. There will be miracles but these are not the focus. What God does is to create better godly order in our spiritual being so we can grow into our full spiritual potential. That in itself will be an incredible and complicated work of the Holy Spirit performed in a remarkably short space of time for some people. When we are so changed we have a greater capacity for the Holy Spirit within us. Our relationship with the Lord can thus go deeper and deeper. As I quoted in verse 9 at the beginning this change cannot be hidden. The light of Christ shines ever more brightly out of us and affect “all who see them”.Such blessed people can make unbelievers very uncomfortable, yet many will want what we have got. The good thing is that many will get it! This was the case in the early church as we read in Acts 5:13,14 :-
“No-one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.”
So what is a transformed person really like? Holiness is the real explanation. Holiness is beautiful; it is not religious unreality and extreme behaviour. It is God’s reward for those who will seek Him. It is the place where we are blessed, not for a day but continually. We come to abide in the knowledge of God all the time. We learn how to trust God better; obey God better; appreciate God better. It leads us to a place of humility and thus to be more like Jesus. We say “goodbye” to worldly treasures and pleasures as they lose their previous significance. We become content with what we have and uncomplaining about our circumstances because Jesus is Lord of both of these. We learn to give willingly and in humility to receive also. Our faith gets stretched out as God will stretch it out through trials and tests. That is for our good also. Love emerges as never before. Love becomes a powerful motivation both before the Presence of God and in our relationships. Marriages get better. The love which covers a multitude of sins grows within us. Through Christ we can love our enemies even when we are persecuted. Yes, persecutions will come also. Whenever the Presence of God is attracted so will the activity of the devil. We will keep casting him out but he never gives up! Despite this trouble God will still make it to work for our good so long as we trust Him.
When the Holy Spirit came empowering the first church, the season could be described as “the year of the Lord’s favour” (verse 2). The history of the church started this way and the Lord has shown it is His prophetic purpose to bring back the same degree of favour in the last days before Jesus returns. Let’s consider some verses from the prophet Joel:-
Joel 2:18 (ANIV) "Then the LORD will be jealous for his land and take pity on his people."
Joel 2:28-29 (ANIV) "And afterwards, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days."
An “outpouring” of the Spirit of God begins revival as we have described.
Let me say a little more about character. Verse 10 describes clearly the dignity God has given us. The Lord sees the image of Himself in us when He made us. The Lord wants us to see this for ourselves too and realise that this is what He wants to achieve as He restores us. We are to be so much like Christ, our King and High Priest. We have to learn how we should exercise dominion on the earth which is ours by God-given right. Sin took it away but Christ got it back again for us. We should have a prayer life which is a blessing to the Lord through worship and thanksgiving, and an intercessory side which changes the spiritual realm for others as we pray. Yes, we should be seen to have dignity without pride but love working through humility. When that develops from God transforming us, God can turn the world upside down using us.
Revival is for all. It is God’s best.
Notes 2
THE BEGINNING OF REVIVAL & ITS MEANING TODAY
Acts 15:16-18 (ANIV)
"After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things” that have been known for ages.
What a wonderful prophetic word quoting Amos 9: 11-12 from James, one of the first apostles. It was part of a reply brought in the Jerusalem council of leaders. They were considering an issue brought up by many Jewish believers, viz.,whether circumcision, part of the Abrahamic covenant should be applied to the new gentile believers as a mark of separation to Christ. Their decision dismissed this notion and a few simple rules were stated instead as the Holy Spirit directed them.
This prophecy was applicable to Jew and gentile alike as there was little activity advancing the kingdom of God to be found anywhere before the day of Pentecost when revival began in Jerusalem. The first church was a church without walls, fully the initiative of the Lord. Revival is always God’s initiative, “I will return….. I will rebuild… I will restore…that…men may seek the Lord.” In the last 30 years God has been so active in doing these things though not everyone has seen it or been aware of it. Yet, there is a build-up of the work of God increasing in many parts of the world such as never experienced before. It has become clear to many that the Lord wants to uplift His church out of the ordinary and more into His supernatural realm of the Holy Spirit. Many have recognised the signs of the times which Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24: 4-8. But this not all the picture. Surely Jesus was adding to the prophecies already given which tell us there is more to understand about these days.
Let us consider also Joel 2:26-28 (ANIV) :-
“You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed.
"And afterwards, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”
Here is a prophecy fully about restoration and especially a greater experience of the Holy Spirit as a general and normal experience for God’s people. Let us keep in mind the restoration of the Jews to their own land. After 2,000 years in 1948 they became a nation again on their own land too. Having seen a great dispersion of the Jews up to then the Lord acted miraculously to begin to restore the Jewish nation. This is so clearly prophesied as is found in Ezekiel 36 which is such a clear account of the whole issue. As we were considering at the beginning restoration is for both Jew and gentile. Thus just as this Scripture applies to Israel it applies to the church which has fallen from the sparkling example in Jerusalem which we read of in the book of Acts. In Revelation 22:17 we see the church referred to as “the bride”. The Scriptures refer to Jesus as “the Bridegroom” in several places in the Gospels, e.g., Mark 2:19, John 3: 29. Without doubt the Father wants His Son’s “Bride” to be fully blessed and fully functioning before that great day of the Second Coming of Jesus. It is still true we have not been left “orphans”. The Holy Spirit has never left us but there is more and God is thus keen for us to have that “more”. Revival is certainly about this and creates the place where God can reveal His glory upon His people again. It is not about blessings and miracles particularly. It is about creating a holy committed people able to work WITH God because they are in deeper relationship with Him, secure in His love AND filled with His Spirit. So, what we are experiencing in our days is that the Lord is bringing about many more revivals for this purpose. Another aspect is that the Lord wants many, many people all over the world to become Christians, the fulfilment of Jesus’ prophesy:
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14 (ANIV))
So the church began with a spiritual harvest at the beginning! 3,000 people brought into the kingdom of God in Jerusalem on one day. The Holy Spirit brought the spiritual reign of the Lord back into His chosen people Israel after 400 years of spiritual barrenness. Now we will see, as in the beginning, in our day, the spiritual reign of the Lord increasing in Israel and the church together. Another harvest of souls indeed!
Royal Priesthood Ministries International in Malawi is part of the establishing the kingdom of God in this way. Our vision is for revival as described. It is wonderful to work WITH God in His purposes. God has not changed and loves His people so much to bring about an empowered church gloriously displaying who He is.
Notes 3
Song of Songs Chapter 4: 6 (Passion Translation)
God’s love for us as his people is first recognised as “compassion”. He shows us mercy through His Son so we may be “saved” and change from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His own dear Son; totally different. We perhaps did not understand God’s “passion” for those whom He created in our mother’s womb as a Father bereft. “God so loved the world….”(John 3:16) has both components of truth. The Song of Songs, very skillfully and appropriately re-translated by Brian Simmons into the Passion Translation, really does bring us into the realm of God’s “passion” for His people.
It is a new concept for many that the Father is preparing the church, sometimes referred to as the “Body of Christ”, to become the “Bride of Christ”. This is a clear concept in the Book of Revelation but a verse helpfully translated in the N.L.T, is also helpful:-
2 Corinthians 11:2 (NLT)
After 3+ chapters of deep, affectionate, heart-reaching, passionate loving words to the young lady, (here called the Shulamite), given by the “Bridegroom-King” (or Jesus), she responds with the reply in the verse we began with above. Nothing less than love with deeply felt meaning that was surely enough to cause her to say “I’ve made up my mind”. It was an invitation into the unknown for sure. To be what? “Yes, I will be your bride.” How amazing!
It was an upward call to go to highest mountain peak with Jesus. Verse 8 tells us more:-
“Now you are ready, bride of the mountains,
It was the journey to the throne room of heaven, “the sublime sanctuary”. What we begin to see is a spiritual journey not found in our earthly realm at all. In verse 6 we see the young lady was clear about her lack of holiness or sanctification; yet, she truly could see Jesus, who has placed His righteousness within us, absolutely wants us to “come” fully accepted just as we are – “In spite of shadows and fears”.
Jesus is the “way” to the Father fully to be known in His supernatural realm. Did not Jesus say we would be those who would worship differently?
John 4:23-24 (ANIV)
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
Our idea of what “in spirit” means is often far too vague and lean. I like what the prophet Isaiah writes about it:-
Isaiah 32:3-4 (ANIV)
Here are the 3 main spiritual senses: to see, to hear and to “know” (perceive) and understand. We need to realise that this spiritual, or supernatural realm, is not a new understanding about the Lord. Who did Peter quote at the Pentecost feast? Yes, the prophet Joel:-
Acts 2:17 (ANIV)
Doesn’t that mean the Lord wants us to be able to use our spiritual senses? Well, it may take prayer, even a lot of prayer from the heart, to reach God’s heart. But Jesus promises to be the “way”. He will lead us up that spiritual climb, so to speak. Will you make up your mind to do just that? Another promise from the prophet Jeremiah:-
Jeremiah 29:13 (ANIV)
The “Bride of Christ” is not meant to be a weak partner to a ruling powerful King; not at all. What did Jesus say?:-
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you..." (Acts 1:8 (ANIV))
The people in the early church turned the world upside-down because they lived in this way. They knew the passion of God’s love and the power of God’s Holy Spirit working through them because of this supernatural oneness.
Perhaps you would like to discover more too by reading the “Song of Songs”, preferably in the “Passion Translation”.
(Also, recommended reading ~ “The Lost Art of Practicing His Presence” by James Goll)
Notes 4
ONE THING
Psalm 27:4 (ANIV)
“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”
David, who wrote this psalm, did so in the middle of many troubles. What is so clear from all the psalms, is that his many troubles made him to keep focus on the Lord. This is always our need. We must keep Jesus in focus day by day, whether the day be difficult or easy. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith and wants us to walk in the knowledge of His Presence more and more. Truly, He wants us to know His help and blessing in every situation. We may be well educated and talented, but there is nothing like the wisdom and understanding of the Lord.
Some people think that we are called to work for God. That suggests we are left to our limited devices and ideas, with limited results. No, we must work in God, by the power of the Holy Spirit. That way God can take the lead whenever He wants, leading us in the right path. Jesus still wants to build His church today as ever before as He stated in Matthew 16:18, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
But how does this really happen? The simple answer is fellowship with the Lord in prayer. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit to be in fellowship with the Lord. In the quiet secret place we meet with the Lord and as we mature we find we can wonderfully “gaze on the beauty of the Lord” with the eyes of faith and enjoy being in His Presence. Here is a deep knowing of the Saviour and the encounter of His love in the most intimate way. Here we meet with the Father with great acceptance, care and love in the Holy Place. This is a place you always want to be and changes our concept of prayer. When the Lord is everything to us He can come and be everything through us too. This is where we are empowered as He imparts His will within us.
It remains a place of intercession and supplication. “To seek Him in His temple” implies this. We draw near to God to know His heart in each matter. We speak heart to heart honestly and openly. It is not religiosity but relationship. The Lord can put His Word and will into our hearts as we wait upon Him. It is the answer to the teaching of Jesus, “Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. It is giving the Lord time and opportunity to speak and share with us. It may be from there we have a platform to intercede also.
So we recognise this was David’s priority above everything else. Here was the “one thing” he wanted from the Lord. His great success was based on this desire I believe. It kept him abiding in the Lord, taking him through every trial and difficulty, and made him such an outstanding king in service for the Lord and in exercising justice for the people. Through the Lord he had learnt how to overcome, delighting and depending on the Lord.
Do you have “One Thing” you desire of the Lord like this?
Notes 5
Notes 6
THE NATURE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17
We will consider the topic of righteousness. This is a big theological word which is not easy to grasp properly. From the Scripture above we are trying to ascertain what exactly is the “righteousness of God”. This is so important. I believe it is very different to a matter of right and wrong where most of our thinking tends to go. What has helped me is to consider the whole creation of God as it originally was. Though so vast, it was in perfect order and all creatures within it lived in beautiful harmony with God and one another. The two greatest commandments which Jesus spoke of in Matthew 22: 37-40 were being completely fulfilled without any difficulty. Let’s look at another Scripture-
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1: 15-17
So, the whole creation interacts with the Lord constantly; it is made that way. Truly, the Lord wanted both greatness and beauty to be displayed and the blessing of everything working together perfectly in respect of everything else so there was no conflict, clash or confusion at any moment. Therein is peace. This is the true state of the kingdom of heaven. It applies to the material side and all beings. The best description is a full state of harmony. The Greek word for righteousness in Strong’s dictionary is “dikaiosune”. The definition includes;- “In a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be. Righteousness, the condition which is acceptable to God. This includes integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting.” How does this apply in heaven we could ask? As we consider the two great commandments as we know them and are applied to God and His subjects in heaven, there is never any shortfall of relationship. Therefore, righteousness is easily maintained by the Lord Himself with beings who have freewill also. The sense of justice seemingly is irrelevant!
We can now begin to see why righteousness is about a state of being and has nothing to do with works accredited as pleasing God. So, in its proper place the idea of right and wrong disappears because there should be no wrong! A better view might be that we are not in step with the harmony which God originally created; we are out of order, i.e., God’s order of life. We can only start to get into step with His order by living by faith. That is why the Scripture says:-
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrew 11:6
And as above:
“The righteous will live by faith.”
The Christian life is based in the spiritual realm and is accessed through the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul explains this fully in Romans 8:-
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8: 5-8
Sin through the works of the devil have caused us to lose this beautiful state that God wanted mankind to have and that is why Jesus came to bring us salvation which is where we must begin. The restoration of righteousness cannot be completed in this world environment, yet it remains our final hope. Nevertheless, righteousness is our focus for spiritual reality and maturity. It is a full expression of a life in Christ. We now see this is a much deeper understanding than trying to do what is right. We must always remember that our context is “the Body of Christ” and we don’t live independently. The good news is the righteousness of God will be beautifully restored as God has always wanted it:-
2 Peter 3: 13 “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”
I am sure that you are looking forward to this state of being.
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