The Apostolic Role Demystified
Ché Ahn has been a dear friend of mine for about 20 years. One of the great privileges of being in covenantal relationship with people is that you get to know them both in and out of their ministry setting. In our case, we have ministered at each other’s churches and vacationed together. In that time, I have watched him fall in love with a city and, through that love, initiate ongoing transformation. Southern California will never be the same because of the apostolic calling on his life. God has used Ché to infuse many with hope, advancing the kingdom into every sphere.In Modern-Day Apostles, Ché has written a book that will help clarify and equip a new generation of apostles. With years of experience behind him, Ché calls on those anointed as apostles to rise to the biblical standard of character, of leadership, and of union with the Holy Spirit. This book does an excellent job of demystifying a leadership role in the Body of Christ that has been misunderstood—and therefore underutilized—for too long. The apostolic is not spooky, nor is it a corporate ladder to climb. It is a vital issue for us to attend to for where the Church is headed.
We are in an hour where God is restoring the apostle in a way that reflects His beauty, while avoiding the pitfalls of prior generations. One of the evidences of this is the rising “water level” for the miraculous in the church. This is just a byproduct of the restoration of that gift. Years ago, Bob Jones said, “I am waiting for the full release of the apostolic gift. I won’t be able to work in the fullness of the miracle realm that God has called me to until the apostle is in his place.” This was a man who experienced the supernatural in an astounding way. And yet, he said that there was an element missing. He felt that, until the apostolic was restored, there was a level of the miraculous that was not going to be released into the world. New wine cannot be poured into an old wineskin. The infrastructure of heaven needs to be in place to sustain a full outpouring of God’s presence. The apostle is a gift to the Body, used to set the standard and release the anointing. Done right, this gift is a benefit to everyone and is the opposite of “self-serving.”
Like Nehemiah returning to build the walls of Jerusalem, we have been called to heed the invitation of God on our lives so that we can change the trajectory of the world. I encourage you to read this book, as it outlines something that I believe to be paramount in God’s heart. The call of the apostle is to release the blueprint of heaven into the earth, equipping the saints to join the vision. In order to do this, the apostle’s first awareness must be heaven’s reality. There must be a transformation of the mind.
Jesus didn’t look at a hungry crowd with fear, wondering how He was going to feed them. He knew that He lived from a realm that was superior to what He saw before Him. He was able to pull from the unseen and watch the food multiply. Once you have kingdom truths in place, it attracts heaven’s building materials. But we need to be transformed people in order to transform our cities. When God calls someone to step into an apostolic anointing, He is inviting that person to release His will on earth. I encourage you to let His Word and His promises possess you so that you can fulfill the commission to bring heaven to earth.