AT THE BEGINING OF CHAPTER ONE - OVERVIEW THE TRINITY SYMBOL SHOULD BE THERE.

FOLLOWING IS WHAT I SEND IN

Kingdom Focus

LISTENING TO GOD SERIES BY GLEN S. R. CARLSON: Listening A Journey with Jesus Day by Day Devotions for EACH DAY (2007) Listening 2 Reflections on Psalm 23 Listen to Jesus in Psalm 23 During Milestones. (2009) Listening 3 Planting Feet - Listening to Jesus through Martin Luthers Small Catechism. (2009) Listening 4 Listening to Jesus in the Book of Hebrews Jesus: Prophet, Priest, King (2010) Listening 5 Kingdom Focus Focus for the Church in the New Apostolic Age. (2010)

Listening 5

Kingdom Focus
Focus for the Church in the New Apostolic Age

Listening to God Ministries Glen S. R. Carlson

Kingdom Focus Copyright 2010 Glen S.R. Carlson All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the author and publisher. Unless otherwise indicated the Bible quotations are taken from the New Living Translation of the Bible. Copyright 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. All rights reserved. Published by: Listening to God Ministries Glen S.R. Carlson Box 2572 Stony Plain, AB Canada T7Z 1X9 listeningtogod@canadasurfs.ca

ISBN 978-1-897544-27-3

Publication assistance and digital Printing in canda by

DE DIC AT ION

I dedicate this book to those who have been called to be Apostles from the time of Jesus to the present age.

L I s T E N I Ng TO g OD

Listening to God is an art form of prayer that brings out your creativity and draws you into the presence of Jesus. It allows the Holy Spirit to work through you as you read the Scriptures to discover the treasures that are in the written Word of God. Once discovered this art becomes a way of life as you journey with Jesus on your own road to Emmaus. You soon discover your eyes are opened and life becomes a communion with Jesus as you break bread together. Listening to God is a healing form of prayer where your expectations come from Jesus rather than from yourself. In listening you receive a personal message for, Jesus is always whispering to you.

Contents
INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE KINGDOM FOCUS 1 5

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

The Fivefold Ministry The Holy Trinity In The Kingdom The Fathers Ministry - Worship The Sons Ministry - Equip The Holy Spirits Ministry - Send The Organism - Servant

5 5 6 7 8 9
11

CHAPTER TWO THE FIVEFOLD OFFICE MINISTRY

The Fivefold Ministry 1. Scripture References to the Fivefold Ministry 2. Hebrews 5 - Jesus Matures His Priests 3. Leadership Quotations on the Fivefold Ministry
CHAPTER THREE THE HOL TRINITY Y IN THE KINGDOM

12 13 15 16
19

The Holy Trinity In The Kingdom Focus 1. Scripture References to the Holy Trinity 2. Leadership Quotations on the Holy Trinity 3. A Look at the Historic Trinitarian Creeds

20 21 22 24

CHAPTER FOUR THE FATHERS MINISTRY IN THE KINGDOM 33

The Fathers Ministry In The Kingdom - Worship 1. The Ministry of Worship in the Kingdom 2. Scripture References to the Fathers Ministry 3. Hebrews 8 - Jesus Teaching On Worship 4. Hebrews 9 - Jesus Teaching on Tabernacle Worship 5. Leadership Quotations on the Fathers Ministry The Pastors Role As Shepherd In The Fathers Ministry Of Worship 1. The Pastors Role in the Fathers Ministry 2. Scriptural Reference to the Pastors Role 3. Leadership Quotations on the Pastors Role
Kingdom Focus by Glen Carlson

35 35 35 37 38 41 45 45 46 47
vii

CHAPTER FIVE THE SONS MINISTRY IN THE KINGDOM

50

The Sons Ministry In The Kingdom - Equip 1. Scripture References to the Son Equipping 2. Hebrews 1 - Jesus Identifies Himself as Gods Son 3. Hebrews 6 - Jesus Expects Growth 4. Leadership Quotations in the Sons Ministry of Equipping Teachers Role as Trainer in the Sons Ministry of Equipping 1. The Teachers role in the Sons Ministry 2. The Teacher Equips and Trains People 3. Scripture References to Teacher Equipping 4. Leadership Quotations on Teacher Equipping 5. Challenge Questions on Teacher Equipping

52 52 54 55 59 60 60 60 61 62 63

CHAPTER SIX THE HOL SPIRITS MINISTRY IN Y THE KINGDOM 64

The Holy Spirits Ministry - Send 65 1. Scripture References to the Holy Spirits Sending 66 2. Hebrews 13 - Jesus influence in the World 67 3. Leadership Quotations on the Holy Spirits Sending 71 The Evangelist/Missionary - Sends/Goes 74 1. The Evangelists/Missionarys Role as Sender In the Holy Spirits Ministry 74 2. Evangelists/Missionarys Influence 75 3. Scripture References to the Evangelist Sending 75 4. Leadership Quotations on the Evangelist Sending 77
CHAPTER SEVEN THE ORGANISM 79

The Organism of the Kingdom Church - Servants 1. Scripture References to the Organism. 2. Leadership Quotations on the Organism Ministry: Apostle 1. The Apostles Role in the Kingdom 2. Scripture Reference to the Apostle 3. Leadership Quotations on the Apostle Ministry: Prophet 1. The Prophets Role in the Kingdom 2. Scripture References to the Prophet
viii
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82 82 82 87 87 87 89 92 92 92
by Glen Carlson

3. Leadership Quotations on the Prophet Ministry: Servant 1. The Servants Role in the Kingdom 2. Scripture References to the Servant 3. Leadership Quotations on the Servant

94 95 95 96 97

CHAPTER EIGHT DISCOVERING THE REDEMPTIVE PURPOSE IN THE KINGDOM 100

1. 2. 3. 4.

Scripture References to the Kingdom Leadership Quotations on the Kingdom Scripture References to the Redemptive Purpose. Leadership Quotations on the Redemptive Purpose

102 103 105 106

110

APPENDIX

#1. Reference List 111 #2. Core Values of the Church in Jerusalem 114 #3. Patterns of the Church in Antioch 115 #4. Essential Qualities of a Team Player 116 #5. Discovery Form for Yourself and the Congregation 117 #6. My Dream 120 #7. What Are We Giving Birth To? 121 #8. A Church Planning Day for Anointing 122 #9. The Kingdom Church in Mark 123 #10. Hebrews 10 - Jesus Manifesto For The Church Today 126 #11. The Jerusalem Cross 130

Kingdom Focus

by Glen Carlson

ix

INTRODUCTION
Two Mandates At a recent meeting (April 2010) of the Canadian Coalition of Apostles, Mel Mullen , who leads the CCA and also is the Apostle for the Network of the Word of Life Church in Red Deer, made a passionate presentation on the importance of two things that are lacking in the Church
1. We need Jesus if we are to be the Church. Jesus has to be living among us and preached by us if we are to be leaders in His Church We need to believe in the church. Jesus taught us to pray Thy Kingdom Come. In the book of Acts we see the establishment of the church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If we do not believe in the Church it will die. So important are these two elements in Christian Ministry today.

2.

Church in transition In this book, I am addressing these two mandates. It will not only help you look at where Jesus is in your life individually, but also where Jesus is in the life of congregations. The Church is always in transition which is a journey of adventure into the unknown. Kingdom Focus is a road map which will help us, in the Church and in our ministries, to keep focused during our transition stages. some History Throughout my forty years of pastoral ministry in the Church, I have tried many church structures and created some organizational charts of my own. Pastors do this to fulfill the redemptive purpose that God has commissioned. It seems that each congregation designs its own structures to fulfill its own intended purpose. Every congregation is unique for there are many and various kinds and conditions of people across the face of the earth Trinity Focus One night my horizon was broadened when God showed me

His design for His Kingdom Church Ministry. I quickly got up and began drawing what was revealed so I would not forget it. In the design, I saw that the Trinity was at the very heart and center of the Kingdom Church. I did not see this replacing individual congregational structure but rather showing the Church the focus of the Kingdom. The next morning I was amazed at what I had drawn during the night. The Fivefold Office Ministries I saw the Fivefold office ministry gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to His Church as recorded in Ephesians 4:11: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers -incorporated in Kingdom Focus as well as the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit each having a specific focus of ministry. Write a Book In April of 2010, I made a brief presentation on the Kingdom Focus at the Canadian Coalition of Apostles that met at the Generation Conference in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. There was some interest but I did not get an overwhelming response. However, Dr. Peter Wagner said to me, You need to put this into a book because nobody has done this. This encouragement motivated me and gave me the desire to share what I believe God revealed to me. search the Word Since I envisioned this, I have discovered that the Word of God reveals this Kingdom Focus. For this reason, I have included many scripture passages that show the specific ministries of the Godhead. The Fathers ministry focus is worship; the Sons ministry focus is equipping and the Holy Spirits ministry focus is sending. In the middle of the Trinity design, we see the organism of the Kingdom Church that focuses on servanthood. The Fivefold office ministry fits like a hand in a glove, each commissioned by God through His Spirit, with authority to carry out the ministry. What Leaders say Today, countless books speak of the mission of the Church and numerous books speak about churches in the transition process as they recognize the need to be more current in todays world. I have included a number of quotations from

different authors to illustrate what is being said, in the field, about the mission of the Kingdom Church. Bird`s Eye View Chapter One is a birds eye view of Kingdom Focus. The following chapters break this down to include Scripture and quotations from leaders in the Church. I have also included discussion questions to challenge you to look at the Kingdom Church Focus in your current ministry and congregation. The Book of Hebrews Throughout this book, I have included portions from the Book of Hebrews that are relevant to the Kingdom Focus. Hebrews is Jesus message for the church today. To draw this out, I have written the text in the first person as though Jesus were speaking to you personally. I suggest you use your Bible to compare the text. This is taken from my book: Listening to Jesus in the Book of Hebrews. www.pagemasterbooks.com. Key Challenge Questions To understand and adopt Kingdom Focus there are only two questions: 1. How do we carry out the Fathers call to worship, the Son`s call to equip, and the Holy Spirits call to send? 2. What is the best way to incorporate the ministries of the Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Teacher and Evangelist into the life of the congregation or parachurch ministry? Apostolic Age A number of authors speak of the different waves that the church has experienced over the centuries regard to the fivefold ministry. The last wave is the Apostolic Age. One of the signs of moving into the Apostolic Age is when, in spite of doctrinal differences, we see leaders of denominations acknowledge and trust leaders of other denominations. The office of the Apostle is such a champion. The Apostle Paul speaks of the designation of Jews versus Gentiles (non Jews.) Today we have many designations: Catholic versus non Catholic, Liturgical versus Non Liturgical, Mainline versus Evangelical, Pentecostal versus non Pentecostal, Spirit filled versus not Spirit filled, and the list goes on. Whenever we use such terminology we set ourselves up against the other. We end up planting churches across from one another in a spirit

of distrust and thus confuse the very people we are trying to reach with the Gospel. Kingdom Focus helps us to overcome these designations and focus on what the Kingdom is all about. What Kingdom Focus does: it helps us pick up the banner of the Apostle Paul when he went around planting church and said: For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. (I Cor 2:2 NKJ) This moves us from denominational thinking to Kingdom thinking. This is the ultimate task of the Apostle and the fivefold ministry. Enjoy the Journey. By Glen S. R. Carlson Box 2572 Stony Plain Alberta, Canada T7Z1X9 listeningtogod@canadasurfs.ca

Kingdom Focus

by Glen Carlson