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CITY CHURCH // an Apostolic Community
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News & Updates:

Announcements -

Our gathering on Sunday, February 25th was really a wonderful time. We had a great group in attendance - both in person and by Zoom. As always, it was great to be together. In the gathering Michael gave a message entitled, "The Weapon of an Unoffendable Heart." That message is posted in the upper right corner of this page. We urge everyone to listen to this very important and timely message. Also, feel free to share the message with those that you are walking with.


Also, please put Sunday, March 17th in your calendar. We will host a Household Gathering that day beginning at 10AM CST. As always, this gathering will be hosted both in person and also on Zoom. We hope you can be in this gathering with us. Additionally, please put Sunday, March 24th in your calendar for the next Zoom with Sam Soleyn. That meeting will begin at 11AM CST. We hope to see you on Zoom.

This is a busy time for us, and we are sure it is for you too. Both Melinda and I are working on resource creation projects. I am currently working on a large writing project. That is going very well. My plan is to have a new book published by the summer of this year. It is an exciting time.

Until we see you next time please know that we love you very much. :)

Michael & Melinda

New Message -

You will see on the center of this page a new message entitled, "I Don't Know How." This message addresses what I have often found to be a misperception and misunderstanding of one of the most quoted verses in the New Testament. In this message, I share my personal encounter with the broader truth of the Scripture that the message is taken from. I urge you to read this message and also listen to it's companion audio recording which is listed in the upper right side of this home page.

I also encourage you to periodically check this site for new messages. As the Lord is leading us along with the bread of revelation, it is my intention to continue to speak and write the things that I am hearing from the Lord. Part of the "re-engage" word that I heard last year involves writing and speaking messages that are current and relevant. "Profitable" (upper right on this page) and "Patmos" are both messages that are well suited for this time. And there are others soon to come. So, check back as you can.

Resources -

A recent quote from Sunday, May 7, 2023 Zoom meeting. Sam Soleyn said, "the problem with submitting to your own soverignty is that you can never move beyond yourself." If you are not on the email notification list for Sam's Zoom meetings, please email us and we will add you to the list. Email us by clicking this link: infoat@citychurchla.com.

Blessings to you,

Michael


SEAMLESS FELLOWSHIP
on 4/2/17
by Michael Barrett

THE ISSUE OF SOURCE
on 3/5/17
by Norman Moreau and Michael Barrett
  (
click here for companion notes)

AMBASSADORIAL REPRESENTATION
on 2/5/17
by Michael Barrett
  (
click here for companion notes)

ROYAL BIRTHRIGHT OR A BOWL OF STEW
on 1/1/17
by Michael Barrett
  (
click here for companion notes)

BUILDING GOD'S WAY (Spanish)
on 12/4/16
by Javier Lopez

THE GOSPEL OF PEACE
on 11/6/16
by Michael Barrett
  (
click here for companion notes)

DESTINED TO FAIL (Pt. 1)
on 9/1/16
by Michael Barrett


THE CRITICAL KEY OF SPIRITUAL HEARING
on 7/31/16
by Michael Barrett
  (
click here for companion notes)

LOVE - IF AND IS
on 6/5/16
by Michael Barrett

A TIME & A SEASON

on 5/1/16
by Michael Barrett

CRITICISM, A CRITICAL SPIRIT, OFFENSE & GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY
on 4/3/16
by Michael Barrett

ENTERING AND EXITING
on 3/6/16
by Michael Barrett

THE WEAPON OF QUIETNESS
on 2/7/16
by Michael Barrett

IMMEDIATELY
on 1/3/16
by Michael Barrett

THE BOUNDARIES OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
on 5/3/15
by Dan Crawford

THE DUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST
on 4/5/15
by Michael Barrett

RESURRECTION AND THE TELEIOS MAN
on 10/5/14
by Michael Barrett

A CITY WITHOUT WALLS
on 8/10/14
by Michael Barrett

A CULTURE OF ONENESS
on 7/13/14
by Michael Barrett

EMPOWERED AND ENABLED
on 4/6/14
by Michael Barrett

WHAT'S IN A NAME
on 2/02/14
by Michael Barrett


2013 - 2014
on 1/05/14
by Michael Barrett

A YEAR IN REVIEW
on 12/08/13
by Michael Barrett

CHRIST FORMED
IN YOU

on 11/03/13
by Michael Barrett

WHAT IS GOD TEACHING YOU IN THIS SEASON and WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION
on 10/06/13
by Michael Barrett

The Restoration of the Office
  and Ministry of the Apostle
         
         
By Michael Barrett

How important is the full restoration of the entire five fold ministry to the Church?  Are we seeing the continuing progression of this restoration gift by gift?  Do we understand that this restoration will in time produce a "functioning body."  In other words, that the Body of Christ (the saints) will be raised up to do the work of the ministry until the whole Body comes to maturity.  What an awesome vision and hope we have for these things to actually come to pass!  I am glad to be living in this generation and to watch this tremendous drama play out.  You are a part of these wonderful things too!!

As we consider the full restoration of the five fold ministry and a functioning Body, we need to consider some of the specific components of this process.  In the past 15 or more years we have watched as the Lord has progressively restored the prophetic office and ministry to the Church.  There has been a strong emphasis on this area of restoration (and rightly so) until we have now come to a time of transition.  (Having said this I want to also say that my comments are generally regarding the Western Church.  Members of our apostolic / prophetic team have just returned from Mexico and Central America where we observed a very different condition regarding the progression of apostolic and prophetic restoration.)

The last of the five fold ministries to be restored to the Church is the office and ministry of the apostle.  We are now in the early seasons of this restoration but we will see this gift and ministry fully restored.  How can I be so bold?  Acts 3:21 says that Jesus is held up or retained in the heavens until the times of the restitution of all things.  This simply means that everything that is in the heart of God will come to its full expression before Jesus is released from the heavenly realm to conclude the greatest drama of all the ages.

Navigating the Transition

As the transition from the prophetic to the apostolic continues, it will be very important for leadership to know how to navigate this transition.  We haven't been here before.  The shifting emphasis from the prophetic to the apostolic by no means should be confused to mean that the prophetic is diminishing.  No!  It means that the foundation of the prophetic in God's continuing plan of restoration has been laid.  Once a foundation has been laid, it's time to build on it, not continue to work on it.  The shifting of the emphasis from the prophetic to the apostolic will, in the early seasons, be misunderstood and resisted by many.  Because we are typically adverse to change, we tend toward one of two responses.  The first response is to resist, if not altogether reject the new offering.  Jesus said, "No man who has drunk old wine immediately desires new, for he says that the old is better."  Our human tendency is to resist change, particularly if our recent experience has produced favorably results.  We have seen much fruit in recent years as a result of the restoration of the prophetic but it is now time to take the next step in this Divine Continuum.  The prophetic is perhaps more important in this season than ever before.  We must see these gifts and offices work together.

The second response is to embrace the new and reject the old.  This can be just as, if not more, destructive.  We have a responsibility to walk in God's wisdom and perspective regarding His mind and plan.  God is not rejecting the prophetic; we must not.  In fact we have to understand that the foundation of the office and ministry of the prophet is vital to the Church coming to maturity just as are all of the other gifts and offices.  Now that the office and ministry of the prophet has been offered by the Lord and embraced by the Church (at least a sufficient constituency) it's time to move ahead into the next phase of restoration.

False or Immature?

As we move into the restoration of the office and ministry of the apostle we will notice a typical pattern or cycle of recovery.  Initially due to a lack of understanding in addition to the absence of brethren walking in and modeling the true office and function, there is confusion, fear and resistance.  As the Church begins to come into some understanding a willingness to embrace the move of God will rise.  As a result of this new zeal and excitement there will be a correspondent rise of ambitious and opportunistic men who will attempt to take advantage of this new wave.  This is not to say that those individuals are false brethren or even that they are not apostles.  It is a serious mistake to make a blanket judgment about these things.  We will commonly find a mix of immature and false.  In the example of the tares and the wheat, one of the reasons it is difficult to tell the difference is because the true wheat is very immature.  We must be careful not to judge the immature as false during the early days of the new season.

This early season is perhaps the most critical.  The little fox will always come through the vineyard as the vine is in bloom and beginning to set a new crop of tender grapes.  Give the new thing time to grow.  In time it will become clear what is false and what is true.  Time is our friend not our enemy!  Time will allow those who are true apostles to grow and mature while being disciplined and nurtured by the Father.  Time will also be an instrument of revelation--it will help the Church see who are the true and who are the false apostles.

We will look more into the subject of five-fold restoration in a second installment of this article in coming weeks.  Please pray for apostolic and prophetic leaders to arise and take their place of function in the Body of Christ.  Also, pray for the eyes of our understanding to be opened during this season so we can discern correctly.  Above all, let's be lovingly patience with one another as we grow in these things.  God bless you in your journey.

To go to a printer friendly version of this article click here.  To send this article to a friend, copy and paste this link: www.citychurchla.com/city/the_restoration_of_the_office__ministry_of_the_apostle into a new email by clicking here.  Address the email and send.

RECENT MESSAGE

THE WEAPON OF AN UNOFFENDABLE HEART
on 2/25/24
by Michael Barrett

A PROPHETIC WORD FOR 2024
on 1/21/24
by Michael Barrett

I DON'T KNOW HOW
on 11/5/23
by Michael Barrett

TRANSFORMATION & MATURING SERIES -
JULY, AUGUST & SEPTEMBER 2023

REPENTING, RENEWING & MATURING
on 9/24/23
by Michael Barrett

THE REVEALING OF THE SONS OF GOD
on 8/27/23
by Michael Barrett

PREDESTINATION, TRANSFORMATION & TRANSFIGURATION
on 7/23/23
by Michael Barrett

SUFFERING AND REIGNING
on 6/25-23
by Michael Barrett

SENDING AND RECEIVING
on 5/28/23
by Michael Barrett

THE IMPERATIVE OF UNDERSTANDING
on 4/26/2023
by Michael Barrett

PROPHETIC STEPS FOR 2023
on 3/26/2023 - Zoom @ Varghese Household
by Michael Barrett

PHILEMON -PROFITABLE FOR YOU & FOR ME
on 2/4/2023
by Michael Barrett

PROPHETIC MINISTRY - SOAKING IN THE ANOINTING
by Michael Barrett

SEAMLESS FELLOWSHIP
on 7/21/2022
by Michael Barrett

THE EMOTIONS OF THE SOUL IN THE NEW SEASON
on 7/4/2022
by Michael Barrett

VOWS & OATHS - A REFUGE OF LIES
on 9/6/2020
by Michael Barrett
   (
click here for companion notes)

REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE
on 6/14/20
by Michael Barrett
   (
click here for companion notes)

A CONSCIENCE VOID OF OFFENSE
on 3/1/20
by Michael Barrett

SAM SOLEYN MESSAGE
on 1/5/20
by Sam Soleyn

THE SPIRIT OF EVANGELISM
on 11/17/19
by Dan Fox

THE VOICE OF ONE
on 11/3/19
by Michael Barrett (with open sharing)

THE RELATIONSHIP OF SON TO FAITH
on 10/6/19
by Michael Barrett

ESTABLISHED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS
on 9/1/19
by Michael Barrett

FROM MOURNING TO DANCING
on 8/4/19
by Michael Barrett

WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG
on 7/7/19
by Michael Barrett


THE GENESIS FACE
on 6/2/19
by Michael Barrett

CREATION'S EXPECTATION AND GOD'S PROVISION
on 5/5/19
by Michael Barrett

SEAMLESS FELLOWSHIP
on 4/7/19
by Michael Barrett

JESUS - YOUR KINSMAN REDEEMER
on 3/3/19
by Michael Barrett
   (
click here for companion notes)

INHERITANCE - DOCTRINE & EXPERIENCE
on 2/3/19
by Michael Barrett

AN ANSWER FOR YOUR MIND
on 1/6/19
by Michael Barrett

A SON, A HOUSE, A NATION
on 12/2/18
by Michael Barrett

A SEASON OF AWAKENING
on 11/4/18
by Michael Barrett

BROKENNESS, HUMILITY AND PRIDE
on 10/7/18
by Michael Barrett

PEACE THAT PASSES UNDERSTANDING
on 9/2/18
by Michael Barrett

DAN FOX: A MESSAGE OF ENCOURAGEMENT
MICHAEL BARRETT: PROPHETIC WORD
on 8/5/18

THE EYES, WHICH EYES AND SEEING AS GOD SEES
on 7/1/18
by Michael Barrett
   (
click here for companion notes)

THE OIL OF GLADNESS
on 6/3/18
by Michael Barrett

THE HOUSE AND THE PRIESTHOOD
on 2/4/18
by Michael Barrett

EYES ALL AROUND
on 1/7/18
by Michael Barrett
   (click here for companion notes)

THE KINGDOM OF GOD - A KINGDOM OF ORDER
on 12/3/17
by Michael Barrett

APPROACHING THE GOD OF GLORY
on 11/5/17
by Dan Fox

CROSS OVER AND OCCUPY
on 8/6/17
by Michael Barrett

ANNOUNCING A CHANGE OF SEASON
on 7/2/17
by Michael Barrett

PERSPECTIVE - GAINING GOD'S VIEW (includes discussion)
on 6/4/17
by Michael Barrett


ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER
on 5/7/17
by Michael Barrett
  (
click here for companion notes)

*other messages may be found on the "Media Resources" tab at the center top of this page

    City Church
    132 Scopena Circle
    Bossier City, LA 71112

    email: City Church