Wendy Salisbury preaches on God's pattern of house, tribe, trial, and territory at Rivers Apostolic Centre
A Sunday morning church service at Rivers Apostolic Centre featuring communion, announcements, and a sermon by Wendy Salisbury.
Summary
This episode is a recording of a full Sunday morning service at Rivers Apostolic Centre, including worship, communion, community announcements, and a sermon delivered by Wendy Salisbury. The service opens with Ps Aaron Salisbury leading communion, drawing from the parable of the prodigal son to call the congregation toward a generous, non-critical eye in preparation for a coming wave of prodigals returning to faith. Several community announcements follow, including news of a visiting New Zealand mission team (the "Kahu team"), a missions giving update, and a presentation by Bob about the Fishers of Men rehabilitation ministry. A congregation member (Sue) gives an extended anniversary testimony, thanking the church community for supporting her and her husband Dennis across 25 years of marriage and over 30 years of membership, naming many individuals, and closing with a personal exhortation to prodigals to come home. Wendy Salisbury then delivers the main message, building on the previous week's sermon by Wayne on house, tribe, and territory. She expounds what the house of Rivers Apostolic Centre looks like — its two pillars of the Royal Commission and the Royal Command, its missions DNA rooted in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, and the way God plants people in houses according to their generational inheritance. She then argues that God's pattern for growing His people always includes a desert trial between calling and territory — illustrated through Moses, Joseph, Esther, Jacob, Jesus, and especially Caleb.
Key Takeaways
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Opening Worship and Communion
Aaron Salisbury: Yes, Lord. Let's just close our eyes and acknowledge Him. Just let your mouth say, you're awesome, Lord. You're amazing. Thank you, Lord. A bit more. Come on, church. Let's just say yes. We bless you, Lord.
Thank you, Lord. You can have a seat. Even with a broken string, we can encounter the presence of the Lord. God's not looking for a performance. He's looking for our heart. He's looking for our presence. Isn't that great? I'm so glad that our Heavenly Father isn't keeping record of all of our wrongs. One of you is really excited about that. What are you here for if you're not excited about the fact that Jesus has paid for your sin? That Jesus has cancelled your unpayable debt. You could not pay it back. It was impossible for me to pay back the debt that was owed on my life. But He did it. Wham, bam. Thank you, ma'am. Right here. And I love it.
At Rivers, we have communion every week. It's a challenge, isn't it? Because we don't want this to become a routine, a religious routine. But we want this to be something that's meaningful, a holy ritual that we do. Just loving the presence of the Lord here today. Thank you for your presence, Father.
I just want to acknowledge that we're in a season change — corporately, nationally, internationally. So much is happening right now. And so much is most likely going on in our individual lives. But just corporately this morning, I just want to acknowledge something about our Heavenly Father that's really important for this season.
Proverbs 22 and the Generous Eye
From Proverbs 22, I just want to read a few verses. Because when we're facing so many things in our life, we have to ask the question, what is my response? How do I respond to what's happening? What's my action going to be? Am I going to stand back and be passive? How do I engage? Action, not reaction. What's my action?
It was such a powerful word from Wayne last week. And if you weren't here, I really encourage you, have a listen on the podcast. It was about tribe — the tribes, united tribes. And it was such a good word. And I think he articulated a shift of the season. He's articulated something that's been years and decades in the brew, and we've just crossed into it. Turn to your neighbor and say, we've crossed in.
So Proverbs 22, verse 1 says, A good name is more desired than great wealth. So you have a good name because of your Heavenly Father, but it's because you're attached to a great name. You could be a dirty, rotten scoundrel and have the worst name. But because of this, you get connected to a great name. And I'm going to say it — the greatest name. You can't get any greater than Jesus. So even if your name is so trash because you have done so much trash, you've lived a very poor life, and you would say right now today, I have a bad name — it's okay, because He has a great name. And you will learn to come into having your name changed because your character will change. And that's what I want to prophesy. We've been in a process of having character change, and God is changing our name.
Favor is better than silver and gold. I want you to just imagine that you're stepping out of disfavor and you're stepping into favor. What would it look like to step into favor and to not just visit, but live in favor? And we've been experiencing that this morning — His presence. When you come into the presence of the Lord, you cannot not have favor. It's connected to who He is. He gives favor to His sons and daughters. Just say, I am a son, I'm a daughter. Let's say, I am highly favored. Because Jesus is highly favored.
Verse 2, the rich and the poor have a common bond. The Lord is the maker of all. There's the humbler. Not one of us stands here today better than each other. Your financial standing does not give you your greatest position on the earth. In fact, Jesus even said, if you are really, really poor, it's easier for you because you've got less worries. Those who have more money and wealth have more worries. The Lord is the maker of them all. Turn to your neighbor and just say, you've got a good maker. God did a good job with you. He didn't make a mistake. He made you.
Let's go down to verse 9. He who has a generous eye will be blessed. Everyone say, a generous eye.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son — Luke 15
Let's go to Luke 15. The story of the prodigal son. The son has run away. He's taken his share. And he's squandered it. He has spent it all. He's got nothing left. He's hired himself out to whatever work he can get. But verse 15 and 16 — so he went and hired himself out and he sent him to the fields to feed the pigs because there was a famine. What happens in a famine, particularly to your tummy? When you're in a famine, you don't get three meals a day. And over time, something happens. You get hungry.
Another way of interpreting a generous eye is to have an eye of abundance. This is what I want to say. Our Heavenly Father has the most amazing, generous eye. And when He looks on us, He doesn't have a critical eye. He doesn't have an angry eye. But He has an eye that is so full of abundance. And I want you to get this. The famine was important for this son to experience. Because in his hunger and in his desperation and in his poverty, he has a revelation. In my father's house, the lowest servants are looked after.
I just want to declare this. We are in a season change right now where those who are in famine, in desperation, in hardship, and they're away from home are having the greatest revelation. I declare it. It's sweeping across Australia and New Zealand. And we're going to have the most amazing time. You're not going to have to preach hard out, repent. I'm not saying we're not to preach repent — we need to preach repent. But we don't have to go hard out when these prodigals are going to have the realization. They're going to come to their senses.
And here's my challenge to us. When they come home, are we going to be yelling repentance when they've already experienced that? Are we going to be ready with something? And the Lord said, we've got to have a generous eye. Because I don't want to be caught out with the older brother who's distant in religion, who's saying, what is this sound of celebration going on? And coming in, marching in, telling dad what to do. I want to repent of religion. And do you know what it looks like? Let it challenge you to the core. A critical eye leads to a judgmental heart. And you miss that someone has repented and changed. And they're coming in low. Are we ready to kiss them on the neck? Because that's what our Heavenly Father's doing.
So I want to prophesy right now. Let the critical eye go from my life. Let the judgmental eye go and step into the abundant eye of our Father.
Verse 16, And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were munching on. He's rummaging through the garbage bin, picking out yesterday's leftovers. But when he came to his senses, he said, how many of my Father's hired men and women have more than enough bread, but I am dying here in hunger?
When he came to his senses — I will go to my Father's house. I will get up and go to my Father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and on earth. So many sons are going to come home with their script. They're going to be ready to say, I'm sorry. They're going to be ready to be restored. But how are we going to be prepared to answer that? Are we going to answer with a critical eye? Or are we going to respond with, welcome home. You've been missed. You are loved. In fact, do you know what you need? Some new shoes. And you need a wash. Come on. Let's get cleaned up. And this is the Father's voice. I love you.
And so he got up and he came to his Father. But while he was still a long way off, his Father saw him — with a generous eye. The Father saw him. And while he was a far off, the Father runs to embrace him. Are we ready to have the prodigals come home? Are we ready to run with our Father? Are we ready to be a brother and a sister to the ones that are coming home?
Communion Prayer
Let's just put our hand on our heart today as we have communion. If there is any trace of criticism, any trace of a critical eye in our heart, let's just repent of that. And let's turn to the Father and to Jesus and say, give me your heart. I want to do what you're doing. I want to get with the program.
Just put your arm around the person near you. Father, we declare family. We declare that a season of celebration is upon us. And Father, today we let go of all forms of criticism toward our brother and sister, towards the lost, towards people who have got different colored hair, towards those who have got more tats than skin. Father, today we release your eye in our eyes, that we would see beyond the external pig-mud-encrusted life and we would see what you see. The treasure. Let's declare it. We are His treasure. His banner over us is love.
Father, we thank you for the blood of Jesus. Lord, would you just wash our eyes and shift our heart to come into such a generous abundance. And Lord, as we come into great wealth, help us to be good stewards of that great wealth, to be wise in the fear of the Lord. And we honor your name together. Let's say we love your name, Jesus. We honor your name. We honor who you are. Thank you for having a generous eye towards me.
Just take another minute or two just to receive that. If you need to today, just close your eyes and just let the Father embrace you. He's not angry.
I just want to encourage you this week. Be extravagant in your love towards others. Be kind. Catch yourself out if you're getting a bit annoyed. And choose not to respond out of criticism and anger. But just let the Father heal. Continue to heal. And let's be the most generous people. Let's be super generous.
Community Announcements
A quick announcement. For those of you who have not heard, Russell Witham, a mighty man of God, part of Access Street Ministries, passed away this last week. His wife Betty and Russell have pioneered an amazing work on the streets in Brisbane with Access Street Vans. And he got to go home to glory this week. So we just want to, as a church community, honor Russell, keep praying for Betty. The service was yesterday. It was very quick, but it's available online if you would like to watch that. Just want to announce that because we've felt that in our heart this week. Another champion's gone home to glory. And the streets up there are gold. So he'll be amazed. Just keep them in your prayers.
This week we've got the Kahu team arriving this Friday. Aaron, do you want to just come and share a few things to let everybody know about the Kahu team?
The Kahu Mission Team — Aaron Salisbury
Aaron Salisbury: I will stand up higher so you can see me. Hi, everyone. Just want to thank you for the amazing list of volunteers that have put their hand up to help. I appreciate your patience in waiting for the email. It actually went out this morning because I was having trouble finding all your email addresses, but I got it. So there's an email waiting for you. In that email it shows all the times where we need help and what type of help we need. I've also got clipboards with that information if you don't want to email me — you're welcome to look at the clipboards and we can put your name down.
We're very excited about the Kahus coming. So if you don't know what a Kahu is, it's a mighty hawk-like bird, rather than a kiwi who hides in the nighttime. So we're calling them Kahus to raise them up rather than getting them to hide in the corner. That's why we're calling New Zealanders Kahus. Can you say Kahu after me? Kahu. Yeah, they prefer it, just FYI.
I'm going to take my jacket off because we got fresh off the print this morning our new T-shirts. It says "Love One Another — ANZAC Mission 2026." So you can buy one of these shirts today for $40 if you would like. If you're coming on any of the events you're welcome to wear it. You're welcome to wear it cleaning at home. You can do whatever you want with it. But this is the shirt that we're going to gift the Kahu team when they arrive. So you can join in the fun and wear a T-shirt if you would like.
The big list of events that we've got coming up in the next couple of weeks — I've put it all on one piece of paper for you so we don't get confused. There's lots of flyers, so Katie has a whole lot of flyers that she'll put up after the service at the back.
But I want to highlight the working bee which is on Saturday the 11th. Anyone can be involved with that. One of the things we did when we were in New Zealand was love on their church house, and so they want to gift that love back to us. But it would be cool to work alongside some Aussies and build relationship while we're doing that. So next Sunday is a bring-and-share lunch. Like we do sometimes for missions, we're going to bring a plate of food to share. The Kahu team are going to be hanging around, so get to know them. Next Sunday morning, Pastor Andy's going to preach, and that's going to be amazing.
Just one thing not about Kahus — the SYS, Salt Youth Sunday service, is staying in for the word today. So all you youth people, we're listening to the word coming forth from Wendy this morning.
Anniversary Testimony
Congregation member: Just excuse my overwhelmed heart this morning. 25 years ago on Tuesday, Dennis and I said I do. And hey, not about us — the message this morning is so very much a thank you to this house, who that day did church. You were the church. There are quite a few of you here who were with us that day. But not only did you give us the most beautiful wedding — I wore a beautiful dress, thank you Janet, I have beautiful photos, thank you Graham Jensen — all through our journey you people have supported us and loved us. Marie Zimmerman, I cried on the floor with you and you washed my face and you walked me through a very dark time. Ruth Forbert, in the cemetery in Eagleby. So many of you. Wendy Salisbury, not that long ago. This house is the church. Aaron Crawford, you walked alongside my girl. We got married, she had some issues, you picked her up. And Joanna Jensen.
June is my month. 20 years ago my father passed away. This house supported me through that, a difficult time. I had a baby 38 years ago in June. Dennis was born years ago in June. Not that long ago, a couple of weeks ago, my daughter's father passed away. Hans, you allowed me to lean on you, and I thank you. This house is the church. This house has been the church for us, for me, for over 30 years.
We have a small token morning tea just to say thank you to you. But I would say if there are any prodigals listening, this is the house of God. Come home. You are loved. You are welcome. Come home.
I just want to say thank you to each and every one of you. All you people who were there 25 years ago, the ones that are here now and are still supporting us and loving on us through the good times and some really rotten ones. Andrew Zimmerman has been the biggest encouragement to me for so many years. Thank you. Thank you Malcolm and Marie. Thank you Trish and Colin. Thank you Ian and Kathy. Thank you Robert and Ruth. Thank you Mandy and Gary. Thank you Anne. Thank all of you. Know that you are the church. And from what was said today, let's keep doing it. Let's bring the prodigals home and welcome them with open arms and be the church for them as you have loved us. Thank you.
Aaron Salisbury: Just acknowledge that overflowing heart of gratitude. It's so good being a part of this community. We love you, Sue, and we bless you, Dennis. 25 years — a quarter century. Go for 50.
I just wanted to acknowledge Andrea this morning. Andrea just said she's not shy anymore. And Andrea, in the coming time, we would love you to have an opportunity to share your testimony and just give glory to our Father. So much love on the body this morning.
Bob, are you here? Bob, over to you. You've got something to share.
Missions Update — Bob
Bob: It's Mission Sunday. Can we have the slide up, please, to see where we're at? That's pretty good going so far, isn't it? Very early into it and that's an amazing result. So be encouraged and keep it up.
Being Mission Sunday, I'm going to take the opportunity to share a brief overview about one of the local organisations that missions do contribute to. Many of you know of it. It's called Fishers of Men. It's got a few roles. Probably the flagship operation of it is a residential alcohol and drug rehabilitation program. They also do things like collect furniture and distribute it to disadvantaged households. And a big activity of the participants in the program is they make up on Wednesdays and Sundays hundreds of really great quality hot meals and take them into homeless people in Logan City and also Roma Street, places like that.
There's a really exciting outcome that comes from this. Several of the guys in Fishers of Men are there because somebody gave them a feed when they were homeless and drug-addicted and contemplating suicide, actually feeling totally hopeless. And one of the team members gave them a phone number and said, mate, you don't have to live like this anymore. Ring this number tomorrow and make an appointment. And they come to a place where a significant number of men are all supporting each other to discover the restoration power of Jesus, to overcome their addictions.
There are several of us involved in this program — Malcolm and Ruth and Linda, who's not here today, and Darren and myself. Four years ago, I responded to a request to start a devotion session on Thursday nights. I said, just share a short message and get into some discussion. The amazing thing — it's been an amazing experience for me because it's challenged me to grow in areas that I didn't realise I needed to grow in, like being intolerant, impatient, and judgmental. The miracle for me is that I realised recently that over the four years, somehow I've miraculously come up with 170 short messages to share, which is something four years ago I never would have thought I was capable of doing. I've roped Darren Weeks into joining me in the last year. We both go together, we take turns in sharing. Sometimes I regret that I've done this because every time Darren shares, I know I've got a hard act to follow the next week.
All the messages I share come from insights and convictions that I've recorded in my journal. And over the past few months, I've been reflecting on quite a few of those insights and convictions that I believe God's given me. So I decided to compile a short book, which is a collection of many of the journal entries that have resulted in the things I share on Thursday nights. The book is called My Four Years in Rehab, for reasons which become obvious when you read the introduction. The book's not for sale, but we're making it available for a donation to the Missions Fund.
I just want to highlight three things in the book. The first one is the life journey of one of the past participants. It's an amazing life journey because it's both disturbing and inspiring, starting with childhood abuse and neglect, being introduced to alcohol and crime at the age of seven by one of his several fathers. Ending up in jail for obvious reasons. And coming from jail straight into the Fishers of Men program. And two years later, he's been alcohol and drug free and living as an amazing Christian family man.
So I've got about 40 copies of this book available today, and it's also available as an e-book, so I can give you my email address and you can request a copy.
Tithes and Offerings
My general attitude to giving comes from 2 Corinthians 9, verses 6 to 11, which you frequently hear up here at this time of the service. Verse 8 says, God is able to make all grace abound to you so that at all times and in all things, having all you need for yourself, you can abound to every good work. There's a challenge for me in this, which reads: aim to develop increasing freedom to give with increasing generosity from what you have, as you feel prompted by the Holy Spirit, believing that you will keep receiving more to give.
Also, in that passage, it said God loves a cheerful giver. So as I was preparing this, I realised that it's hard to be a cheerful giver unless you are grateful for the causes that the money is being given to. For example, tithes and offerings. Now, I am very grateful for the selfless hard work that the few paid staff in this church do, above and beyond. And for the privilege of coming into a church that's well maintained and the outgoings are met. Imagine the amount of electricity it would cost to air-condition this place.
In relation to missions, I'm grateful for the man in Port Moresby, who James has introduced us to, who is looking after 65 abandoned children in his family home. I'm grateful for the organisation we support in Africa, which rescues and loves children who have been mutilated and left to bleed to death following the rituals of child sacrifice. And I'm grateful for an organisation in Logan City which gives a hot meal to homeless drug addicts and shares a way of hope for restoration.
Aaron Salisbury: Let's come and release our giving. And we do that by coming up. If you want to give online, there are ways to do that.
Father, thank you for more creative ways that you can bring finances into your house. Lord, we expect in this season, this next 12 months of economic uncertainty in Australia, we want to believe for spiritual certainty, confidence with you, Lord. Hope in you with our finances. Father, thank you for meeting every single need. Thank you for providing buildings and houses and homes. Thank you for more food to give to the hungry. Lord, thank you for clothes we can give to people without clothes. We want to be that storehouse that you've prophesied over us. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Well, we're going to hear the word today from Wendy. Let's stand and welcome her.
Wendy Salisbury — Introduction and Acknowledgements
Wendy Salisbury: Thank you to my lovely husband for that beautiful piano. Thank you, honey. Awesome playing. So good to be in the house. There's a lot of love going around in the house of the Lord today. And why not? Because we've come to worship Him who is love. Amen.
So today I just wanted to give a very big thank you to a group of people who served beautifully in the house last week. We had the Echad Feast and there were multiples of ladies who just blessed with their gifts and talents. But there was one particular young man who came to Sue, who was doing the catering, and said, I don't want any of you ladies to miss out. So I'm going to gather a team and I'm going to ask them to please help. And this was Michael. So Michael, let's give Michael a hand. Thank you. Come on up.
So this lovely man of God chose to serve all of the ladies in a magnificent fashion from all day Friday, all day Saturday. Awesome man of God. Thank you so much, Michael. It's a little card for you to say thank you. And then if you would like to put up your hand if you were part of the team that served and you're a man who served on the kitchen team — yes, stand up please for those who are here. Awesome. Men of God. Gary should be in the room as well. Thank you so much.
I've got these chocolates. I'm going to give them to Michael. So for you guys who served, please come to Michael and choose your preference. But come quickly because he might take them home to his grandchildren. Thank you so much. Such a pleasure and such a joy to have these guys serving in the kitchen. And then they came out in their black suits and their bow ties and they walked around and they served the ladies their food, their drinks, they cleaned up, they did everything. And one of the ladies' testimonies was she was brought to tears when she saw the men come out and were serving. And she said she got a small glimpse into when we have the marriage supper of the Lamb and Jesus comes and serves His bride. So thank you for being an example to the ladies. We bless you in Jesus' name.
Welcome if you're a visitor with us. It's really great to have you here. And we had a great day yesterday. We were with Wayne Malcolm around the Entrepreneurship Business Summit and learned some powerful gems from the Word of God with regards to business, and a lot about the Word actually — deep dives into the Word of God. So if you were not able to be there, I know there were a number of people working yesterday who would have liked to have been there, then please have a chat with Jason and Sarah who will be able to help you to find some of the material that he brought forward.
Building on Last Week's Message — House, Tribe, Territory
But last week we had such a profound message from Wayne on three things. Do you remember what they were? We had house, tribe, territory. That's what he spoke about. And he expounded that from the Word of God, where Israel had been delivered from the land of Egypt from slavery, and they came to a certain place, to the mountain, and God established some things for them, and to them, and with them. He spoke about the tribes being named, and the people being put into their tribes. And this was a significant wake-up moment, with him speaking from the book of Genesis through into the New Testament about how God brings value, and brought value to Adam and Eve, and we are at our best when we bring value to other people. And I thought it was really a beautiful statement that he made.
I felt strongly that we should not run forward and do something else, that we should stay in that zone a little bit so that we can marinate on that Word. We get amazing words. We're very blessed with a rich feast of the Word of God here, but we can have so much of it that maybe we don't allow it to consolidate into us. We need to eat the Word, we need to marinate in the Word, and then the Word needs to become flesh.
I would say that probably from when Aaron Salisbury preached on coming out of Egypt, going into the desert, then going into the promised land, every message since then, even the three messages that happened at the Echad Feast last Saturday, sort of culminated in what Wayne said on Sunday. So I would highly recommend, if you have not listened to those messages, that you go back and have a listen to them, because it certainly is speaking into what the Lord is saying to the kingdom of God, to His kingdom people, now for this season.
I just want to say, awesome worship this morning. Greater is He that lives in us than he that lives in the world. And what the enemy might want to throw at us, the Word of God declares that what the enemy means for harm, God will turn for good, and for the saving of many lives. So I'm just on a bit of a segue here. In the name of Jesus, I am declaring publicly that every dart of the enemy to bring accidents against the females in this community will not be tolerated in the name of Jesus. We declare the blood of Jesus over this space, and we declare a sevenfold return on every person who's had a vehicle taken from them, an injury, or whatever it might be. We are calling the blessing of God into this house for the females of this house, in Jesus' name. Thank you, Lord. And let's keep praying for those who have had this happen in the last month. We say no in Jesus' name. And I am looking forward to the recompense for each one of those people and for this house in Jesus' name.
The Pattern of House, Tribe, Trial, and Territory
So just getting into the Word now. Father, we thank you for your Word. Thank you for the power of your Word. Lord, thank you for the ability by the Holy Spirit of God to be able to actually live your Word. Lord, help us to live your Word, not just be hearers, but to be doers in Jesus' name. Thank you, Lord.
I really resonated a lot with what Wayne said last week as a type and likeness to our own born-again journey. Always in the Old Testament, it speaks to a type and likeness either of Jesus or about our own journey as New Covenant people. So the type and likeness for me was so strong that I felt I'll pull on this for us and just see what this means personally for us, but also as a community of faith. So stay connected as we go along with house, tribe, territory. That's what we're looking at.
So firstly, when we are born again, we are delivered out of darkness into His glorious light. We personally are delivered from the Egypt of the world, the Babylonian system — not Egypt the country, but from what it represented for the people of Israel. So we are bought out by the power of the cross and the fact that Jesus overcame hell, death, and the grave. The tomb is empty. So we get delivered out of the place of darkness and we're bought into His glorious light.
Secondly, we are given, as the Israelites were given, the law of the Lord, which is the Word of God. Now for us, it's not on tablets of stone like it was for the Israelites. The Word of God tells us in the book of Hebrews, chapter 8, verse 10, it says this:
Wendy Salisbury: "This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after these days, says the Lord. I will put my laws into their mind and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they shall be my people."
So we have the Word of God written on our mind and in our heart as soon as we're born again. When someone says, oh, I don't have a Bible — actually you do. You have the fullness of Jesus Christ, who is the Word, living inside of you. So we're not bereft. If you can't read, all good. He's already there. Amazing. So we have that law given to us.
Next, there is a building of a personal empowered relationship with God. We know in the desert they were building a place for the presence of God to abide. You are the building of the presence of God on earth today. That's who you are. So we get a chance of indwelling just by being born again, and then we have the experience of Acts 2 where the power of God comes upon us for mighty works. And those mighty works are according to the giftedness that God has given you, but also according to the gift of the Spirit for the moment. So we have amazing endowments from the kingdom as kingdom sons and daughters.
Then fourthly, we need to find our tribe. When we are born again, we are born into a new house and a new tribe. We become the house and then we join a tribe. And the tribe that we join is the kingdom of heaven. It's a national tribe, and we'll look at that in a minute. But we do need to be planted in a house, and God does that. God will plant you in a house.
The Word of God tells us in Psalm 92, verse 12, the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They are planted in a house but they flourish in the heavenlies. Isn't that cool? So you're planted in a house and when you are planted and committed in a house, you flourish. We were just talking about the homeless and the gifts to the homeless that Bob was saying. It's very hard to flourish when you're homeless. But God plants us in the house via the spirit of adoption that He gives us so that we can flourish.
It says this, they shall still bring forth fruit in their old age and they shall be filled with vitality and foliage. So all of the 80-pluses in the house say yes and amen to that. Hallelujah. To show that the Lord is upright, He is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in Him. God is faithful. He plants us into a house.
The house in the kingdom is twofold. It's us personally, and then it's also the place that you have been called to be planted in. So this is a house. Rivers Apostolic Centre is a house. It's one of the houses of the kingdom of God.
What This House Looks Like
Our house here has two pillars that the Lord has established, and that's the Royal Commission and the Royal Command. So the Royal Commission is, go into all the world, make disciples. This house is a house of missions. It's been established by Mission Rees. It's established in mission and is a continual sending mission house. As I say that, please remember to pray for Deb Hammett, who is currently serving in Cambodia, and for Linda Fisser, who is currently serving in the Western Cape of Africa. So let's pray for our missionaries, praying for the Kahu team coming from over the ocean.
So this is a house of mission. It's a house of come and see, go and tell. The other pillar of our house is that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. So it's a place of worship. It's a place of learning your own identity and who you are in God so that you yourself can go out and love the people that God has called you to love. That's what our house, this house, looks like.
The mission of our house, which many of you will already know, is what is the Lord calling you to do? Where is He calling you to go? And as the ALT, Apostolic Leadership Team, we will equip you, because of what the Bible tells us to do, to go and do your mission. So Bob, for example, comes here. He gets filled up. He gets feasted in the Word of God. He gets encouraged. And then he goes out and he just builds a legacy in the city of loving the lost. That's his call. So that's what this house looks like.
Another house might look more like a social services situation where they give services and they give food. The Salvation Army might be an idea of that. So different houses have different characteristics. So if you're planted in this house, you will know for sure at some point you will be challenged — you cannot be a dry boat sitter, you have to be a wet water walker. You are not a pew warmer. You are an active, empowered, amazing man or woman of God who's going to see the fullness of their call of God come to pass. Amen.
So we have a great house. I love being part of this house. But this house is not where we live all week, although some people will be living here all week for the next two weeks. However, it's not a house that we live all week. This is the house that we come to get refreshed and then we go out. We come to glorify God and then we go out. So it's coming and going. This is not a stay at home and watch the telly kind of a house. You're going to be activated.
I have to say this — God has amazing ways of putting people together. And I'm going to speak about a young man who probably doesn't know that he's been spoken about now, but that's what happens when you get into the Salisbury household in a fashion. This house is largely built on a group of people who had missions and an almost eccentric mission to Papua New Guinea and then to the Pacific and to Bougainville. This young man did want to come to the church for a while, but after a while it was his day to come and visit this church and he came along and he's found home at this church. Little did he know that that was the case, and little did we know that this was the case. But this young man's grandparents on both sides — one are pastors, others are missionaries to PNG and to Bougainville. So Seth and Zach Wintour who come here — God bless them, they didn't know that — but they've been called here because that's in their lineage. That's why God brought them here.
So God knows before you get planted where you need to get planted, and there's inheritance and there are graces in those family homes that God has laid there, and then He starts to grab that and He works with that. There are amazing graces on each of your own personal households, and then you come together to a house of the Lord here.
The Holy Nation and the Tribe
In 1 Peter 2 it says this:
Wendy Salisbury: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may declare the goodness of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. In times past you were not a people, but now you are a people."
So it doesn't matter where you came from. It doesn't matter what you did. It doesn't really matter who you were. But as you come into the kingdom of God, you then become a royal priest, a holy nation. So you are part of the holy nation that lives on the planet today. And that's why the full kingdom tribe works, because we are one nation under one God with one mission.
So the tribes — it's like, how does this work? Well, they were one nation. They were the Israelites, but there were many tribes that worked together to actually serve and love God through that season. That's why this works. So I might just tiptoe into the political arena for two seconds. This does not work in politics. It does not work in natural nations. This works in the holy nation where we can honor one another. There's not competition. Wayne spoke about this last week.
So I'm super excited that I get to glean in the space of worship, but yet I don't have to be up here doing anything for worship because it's not who I am or what I'm called to. I'm super excited that Bob goes to Fishers of Men. That's where he's called to, but I'm not called to that, and so I can celebrate because of the gift and calling on his life. I can say he be of the tribe of ones who go out and minister to the men. Hallelujah. Yes, we can encourage each other when we come together. That's why this strategy of God works, because He made it for the kingdom of God. He made it for the holy nation. Your nationality is: I am a kingdom of God person. I am from a holy nation, a different nation, not one that's on this planet. Amen.
The Desert Trial Between Tribe and Territory
So we have our tribe, and then we are given a territory. We don't get to choose the territory. It's God who gives us the territory that we need to go into. Hallelujah.
So there is a bit of a trick though. There is a time frame between the house, the tribe, and the territory. And between the tribe and the territory is the trials. So today mostly I wanted to speak about the fact that if you are a man or a woman of God, this is the pattern of how God grows you up. He has done it through time and memorial, and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who didn't go through this process. This is not just a kingdom process, it's a personal process for God's people.
So I want you to think about Moses, Joseph, Esther, Jacob, and even Jesus himself. These people had a time frame of trials to be able to receive the territory that God gave them. In this time, it's a preparation for acceleration, and it's a time of training for reigning. Each of these greats of the Word had a very similar course — spent large amounts of time serving in somebody else's vineyard and walking in the desert. We sang today, when I'm found in the desert place, blessed be your name. And that's the test. The test is, can I bless God through the whole trial? Can I obey God through the whole trial? And if I can, God will give me a territory that I can go and take. Amen.
So Moses. Moses is brought up in royalty, but he doesn't have a hold on his temper. And he is exiled to his father-in-law's desert, tending the sheep. He is learning how to look after flocks, and he's learning how to hear the voice of his true Father in the desert. Amen.
So Joseph is gifted from the start. He has dreams from early. And most of you in this room, I would say by the Spirit, had dreams from early, whether it be sleeping dreams or internal desires of your heart. That's very much part of where the Lord wants to take you when you're older. So he's got these dreams, and with a total lack of wisdom, he shares them with his older brothers. In other words, I'm going to rule you guys. And they're like, no, you're not. Into the pit. Right? So he goes into the pit. It costs him. He is enslaved. And then he serves in Potiphar's house as an overseer and over a whole group of businesses. And for doing nothing wrong, he gets put into prison.
There are great trials to be had in the desert. Will he trust God, though, once he's been put into jail for not doing anything wrong? He's learning to be a manager, an overseer. He's practicing his gift, even in the prison. He's honing his art of oversight, dream interpretation, patience. And then a little area of his life he's honing as well — to not take revenge on his horrible brothers who threw him into a pit and pretended that he was dead. He's learning.
Esther. Esther is enslaved. She's actually trafficked. She's enslaved. It's not such a glorious story as what we like to make it. But in this way of enslavement, she's put into the king's harem. And there she learns and is cleansed for a long period of time. For a long period of time she is then taught, and then she is beautified for a period of time. And she is taught how to address royalty. And she's taught what the priority is. She learns that the priority is not all this wealth, it's not all this kingdom. The priority is God's people. And in that, she is learning the ways of the court of the king. And she's also learning how to fight for her nation.
Jacob. Jacob serves in Uncle Laban's farm. I actually quite like this story a lot. So go and read it because there's lots to be learned from this amazing story of Jacob, because Jacob is a deceiver his whole life. But when he gets to Uncle Laban's farm, he's ousted kind of into the desert away from his family, needs to go and serve. He meets his match. He meets somebody who is more of a deceiver than what he is. And then he learns what it feels like to be treated in that fashion. He also has some habits that need to be sorted out. Maybe one of them was a love of alcohol. Because how do you celebrate your wedding on your wedding night and sleep with the wrong lady? You are drunk. You do not know what you're doing. And your father-in-law has deceived you. And you then have to pay the price for that. So he learns what the price of deception is. But he also learns agriculture. He learns flocks. He learns how to do that well. And then he is taken out of that place. And he learns which God is the right God to follow. So desert place learning.
Note that none of these desert assignments are glamorous. They are not seen. They're not acknowledged. All of these people had a significant step down before they had to step up. So there is a way to learning the ways of God, and that's to step down. To go low. To learn. And to grow. And then He steps you up to where you need to be going.
Jesus himself steps down from glory into the body of a baby. He is humbled. He is helpless. And then He has to learn and grow. And as He learns and as He grows, He is being prepared for the ultimate humiliation. And He is being prepared to lay down the ridiculously significant power that He has. Because the taunts of Him on the cross — why don't you bring yourself down? He could have done that on any second of that day. But He chose to be humble. He chose to go low. He chose to lay down His life so that He could get the territory, which was every person in this room and every person who has been born again, and the territory of the high place of heaven where He now sits beside the Father. He had to humble himself to get there. And He went through a lot of trials to get there.
God Builds Us Personally
So we are a personal building. God builds us personally, should we say yes to Him. You are a temple of God. We know from the Word in 1 Corinthians, it says, do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you've received from God, and that you are not your own? God is building you from the inside out. He is a wise and great master builder.
There is in the book of 1 Kings 6 an instruction to Solomon, and it says this — this is God speaking to him, concerning this temple that you are building, because we co-labor with God:
Wendy Salisbury: "Keep all my commandments and walk in them. Execute my judgments, walk in my statutes. Then I will perform my word with you, which I spoke to your father David, and I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake you, my people."
So if we walk in the ways of God, if we keep on in Him, if we execute His judgments, if we walk in His statutes, then God — He's always with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. But blessings and territory come through one thing only, and that is obedience. Obedience. And we see this over and over in the Word of God.
Just like the Israelites were brought out of Egypt, God takes us through establishment, and He gives us and helps us to have the essentials for success in the territory that He's calling us to. We have the internal witness. We've got the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We've got the building of a personal relationship with God.
Just speaking to a lovely couple this morning, and they have a unique and different calling. It's like, don't be like anybody else. This is you establishing you with God so that you can do what God has called you to do. So Alex is working on a prototype of this amazing vehicle and excellent engineering and everything. Honestly, if I tried to do that, it would just be rubbish. But he has these amazing gifts and talents of God, and he's going through a trial to get there. But God is with him. God is for him. And though the storms come, I will bless His name. Amen.
Family Line Graces
So we have a family. We have a house. I just want to talk to your family's graces, because quite often we hear about the family curses, and your trial and desert period is the time to get rid of those and to grow strong in your graces and your skills and talents. Every family has amazing family line graces. And I would surely encourage you to go and have a look. What is in your family? What are the graces in your family? What are the gifts and talents in your family?
And for each of our three children, we are getting to see the outworking of graces that are in our family. So our son Joel is in the medical side of things, and he's learning how to be a leader in the house of the Lord. These are both things that are in our family graces. Our son Michael is a teacher, and he comes from a long line of teachers in our family. And he's also doing ministry for people who are younger than him, and he loves to help the broken young men in community. This is part of ministry. It's what his dad's been doing, and what his dad's dad did, and what his dad's dad's dad did. Graces.
Our daughter Sarah — singing. She has a gift on her life to sing. This is not something she just picked up along the way at high school. This has been in her generations, year after year after year, generation after generation after generation. And then she's running in this direction, and she hits a wall, and she finds a space in real estate, which she's currently doing. Pray for her. She needs your prayers. But she's in this place, and her grandparents were real estate agents who had their own estate agency, and saw that the way that the estate agency was worldly. And so they opened up a boutique agency that honored God in everything that they did. There is a trajectory happening in the generations.
So go and look at your generations. Look at your parents. Look at your grandparents. Look at your parents' parents' parents' parents, and see those graces, and tap into the graces of your generation, because you can be sure, even if not fully, there will be a resonance of that in the territory that God is calling you to go to. Is that good?
Have a think a moment and think about your family and see what they were really good at and what they were really bad at. Get rid of what they were really bad at and celebrate what they were really good at. All of our families are dysfunctional. We've heard from this pulpit, which is true. They all need a bit of help. We all need a bit of help, and the desert place helps us where we need a little bit of help. Amen.
Who Determines How Long We Stay in the Desert
So only two have the authority to understand and to determine how long we stay in the desert for. God and you. Only two. Not your cousin, not your friend, not your husband, not your wife, not your children, not your calling, not your workplace.
I talked to a lady that I met yesterday. Huge business, huge industry in the agricultural industry. And she was telling me about her time when she had children — five children they've got. She started her first business when she was 20, was a generational business, amazing woman of God, and she's like, I don't know what I'm going to do here. I want to look after my children, but I also know that I've got this call and I have to do this. And so she decided that she was going to ask her mom to come and help her. Her mom said yes, she'll come and help her. And they realized that it wasn't going to work, this homeschooling and the things that they were doing. And she said, after a week, we realized that I had to go and do the business stuff, and mom was going to stay home and look after the kids for me. God made a way. And she said, every single time, God made a way for that to happen. She was home in the mornings, home in the evenings. She loved her children, but she did the call of God on her life. She didn't say, I can't do that because I've got children.
To the ladies in the house — God bless your children, love your children, but don't forsake what God has called you to do. Amen.
In fact, this lady shared with me that she then brought on au pairs, people to help with the children. They were at school at that time, and one of her lovely ladies left, and she was sad, and she prayed. And the Lord just kept on laying on her heart a lady, and this lady didn't look like she needed work, didn't look like there was anything going on in her life. But she just took a step of faith, and she went and said, are you by any chance interested in having some work? And the lady just broke down and cried and said, you are the answer to my prayer. And her thing was to love other people's children, to bring them up. And they still have a great relationship with that lady as adults. So God knows He can work it out. He can work it out for you. Amazing.
The Story of Caleb
So I've just got a few minutes, and I want to speak to an amazing man of God who we will all know well because he's quite famous in the Word of God, but he kind of gets seconded quite a lot. And we all know about Joshua, part of the desert generation, who always spent more time in the temple and at and around the temple than he needed to, developing a relationship with God in the desert. We know he was a fierce and amazing leader of people who went into the promised land. But today I want to speak about Caleb.
Caleb and Joshua were the only two spies out of the 12 spies who went into the promised land to go and check it out. And when they went in there, clearly they saw what was in the land. And what was in the land was giants, fierce warring armies, but abundance. This was God's promise. They already knew because this was from the book of Genesis already. They knew where the promised land was.
So Caleb goes to a territory while he's spying, and he sees it's the most fertile place that he's ever seen. Huge bunches of grapes, amazing produce. And they come back, and him and Joshua say, this is a land flowing with milk and honey. There are giants there, but God is on our side. The other ten, not so much. There are giants there, and we are like locusts in our own eyes. So God's not bigger than the giants, clearly, for them, and they're not putting their faith in God.
So Caleb is a Canaanite leader in the tribe of Judah. We heard about the tribes last week. On that tribe was leadership, royalty, endurance. They were fierce. They were warriors, and they had endurance on their side, and they survived all of the exiles except the last one — the only tribe to survive all of them. So he is the only one of his generation to come out of Egypt and to go into the promised land. He's 85 when he goes there.
We know from the account of Numbers that only Caleb and Joshua come back with that good report. In Deuteronomy, this is what God says. The Lord heard the sound of your words, and He's angry with the ones who are faithless. Does God get angry? Yes, He does. He doesn't sin, but He does get angry. Why? I believe that God only gets angry because He knows how we like to shortchange ourselves when we don't believe Him, because He loves His children. It's like if you see your child doing something which is really bad for them, it angers you because you know what they could have, what they should have, and what's there for them to have.
Verse 35, not one of these men of this evil generation will see the good land which I swore to give to your fathers. The exception will be Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him I will give the land upon which he has walked, and to his children, because he has wholly followed the Lord.
In the desert place, it's a place to wholeheartedly follow the Lord. This was a promise that he had received 45 years before. Numbers 14:24, but my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and followed me fully, I will bring him into the land where he went, and his seed will possess it.
So when we are faithful in the desert, not only are we blessed, but our generations are blessed. Our generations are blessed. That's a word for you guys. Your generations will be blessed in your obedience. Thank you, Lord.
So for Caleb's leadership against the unbelieving spies and people that would single him out — and they wanted to actually stone him. They wanted to kill him because he was saying, God's word is true, God will do what He said He was going to do, God is faithful. He came under some trials. And the trials are there to establish who we are and to remind ourselves of who God is. If you're going through a trial today, don't look at it as a trial. Look at it as a refining, a polishing, a getting ready for what the Lord has for you.
The Comrades Marathon — Training in the High Place
A couple of weeks ago, Apostle Rory spoke about being weary and running a marathon. On the exact same day that Sunday, in the country of my birth, they were running what's called the Comrades Marathon. This is a marathon which is run every year that goes from a place called Pietermaritzburg, which is where I was born, to a place called Durban. And one year they run the up run, the next year they run the down run. It's 88 kilometers. On the up run, it's an amazing grueling achievement for all of those who run that race.
And there is a woman on that day who won that race. Her name is Gerda. And Gerda has got a strategy, and she learned the strategy. She goes and trains in a place called Dahlstrom, which is a northern part of the province where I lived. At sea level where they start to run up, it's totally sea level. And Pietermaritzburg, where they run up to Dahlstrom, is approximately a hundred and something feet above sea level. But Dahlstrom is 2,100 meters above sea level. So she goes there to train. She goes up to a higher place with a thinner atmosphere and she runs there. And a condition called hypoxia happens when you run in a place where there is very thin air, and it pumps through a whole lot of extra red blood cells so that you've got the best kinetic action in your body. And she trains there in the high place.
And I want to encourage us who are on the brink of heading into your promised land, heading into the brink of the fulfillment of what God has for you, or if you're in the beginning journey of your desert space and trial — go up higher. We are called in the Word and Revelation to come up higher and to see God's perspective of what's actually going on. And because she goes and trains up higher, she excels on the ground. So she ran 88 kilometers in five hours and 44 minutes, won the race, smashed the record. Unbelievable. We won't say that the male runner who smashed the record did it in five hours and 14 minutes, but hey, the Word of God's clear the men are the stronger race. But she was up there running, training hard, so that when she goes into the earthly space, which is a lower ground, she just beats everybody.
So there's a word from the Lord for you. Go up higher. Go to a thin place in the Lord. Hear what He's saying in the midst of your training, in the midst of your trial. Go up higher. Amen.
Caleb Receives His Territory
So Caleb, this man with a different spirit, he knows and believes the Word both written and spoken, this prophetic word. Against all odds, he stays the course. A profound man of God. He is patient. He endures many trials. He even endures the trials that he didn't cause. He spends another 40 years in the desert after he is faithful and has to walk with all those who are not. It's an amazing trial that he has to endure. He blesses God in every season. We have this beautiful song today — bless God in the sanctuary, bless God when there's no one watching, bless God. He had this down pat.
Caleb is given a territory. He reminds Joshua of what the Lord had said to him. He's holding on to what the Word says. The land that he acquired — and he didn't acquire it through feet up in Fiji, he acquired it through fighting for the territory that God gave him — is now called Hebron. The word Hebron means covenant and fellowship. It is the land that Abraham purchased long before for his wife and for his family. And this is a land where all the greats and the patriarchs of the kingdom of God were laid to rest. It's a very desirable piece of land, highly profitable piece of land as far as agriculture was concerned.
But it's an amazing thing. I want to just read this end of the story and we'll finish with that. According to the word of the Lord, to Joshua, Caleb, son of Jephunneh, was given an allotment amongst the tribe of Judah. Kiriath Arba, which is now Hebron — Arba was the father of Anak, who was a giant. So his territory that God gave him was filled with giants. Caleb, at the age of 85 — actually at this point probably about 90 — drove out from there three Anakites, Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, who were all giants, descendants of Anak. He went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir. Before the name of Debir was Kiriath Sepher.
Caleb said — here's a generational blessing that God was speaking about. When we hold the line, go through the trial, we know whose house we are, we know whose tribe we are, we're going to go and get that territory. Caleb says this, I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to whoever attacks Kiriath Sepher and captures it. Othniel, the son of Kenaz, one of his nephews, captures it. And so Caleb gave him Aksah, his daughter, in marriage, fulfilling the word of the Lord that we just read, that Caleb and his seed would inherit that land.
When you are walking through the desert place, you are not just walking for you. Yes, you're walking for you, but you are walking for the generations to come. To have a territory, to have a land. And from there, they will be sent out to go and find the territory that God has called them to.
Closing Call
Let's stand together this morning. We have a house, we have a tribe, and then we have a trial. We have a desert place trial, and then we have territory.
This morning, I felt really strongly that we needed to drill down into what Wayne was saying last week. And I want to encourage you to really hear from the Lord. Who am I? Whose house am I a part of? That house might look dysfunctional at home, but actually there are graces in that house that if you look beyond the pain and the trauma of your difficulty of childhood, for some of you, you will see what was meant to be. Look back, look up, and look forward.
We are in a transition and shift time, like Andrew was saying. And the Lord sees you. He saw Caleb — as someone from a tribe that worshipped other gods, that in the middle of captivity was brought into the tribe of God, who becomes a leader of the tribe of Judah, and then is one of the ancestors of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, who we sing and worship every week. God. God's plan is perfect, and His ways are true.
This morning, I just want us to worship. I think we'll do the Bless God song, if that's possible. And while we do that, I just want you to have time with the Lord yourself. Who am I? It doesn't matter what age you are at.
I want to encourage the young people. You may be serving in somebody else's vineyard, but do it with excellence. Do it with all of your heart. Do it as if it was already yours. Build a platform for your future. And for your future generations.
For those who are in your 80s and you haven't quite found your land yet, keep being faithful, because God will give you the land He has called you to possess.
And for those of you who are in a desert place, and you're finding the trials pretty tough, I want to encourage you that faithfulness to God is your currency to moving out of that desert place. Honoring God. Saying yes. Obeying His commands. Doing what He says, even when it's hard. Because I want to encourage you that God is faithful.
We're going to sing, and then we're going to have a few of the leaders up the front here to pray. If you're in a desert place, or if you're like, I have no idea who I am, I don't even know what my name is, I don't know that I know Jesus — come to the front. If you're in a trial place, and you're like, man, I just need a little bit of extra firepower here to help me to get through this space — then come forward, and we'd love to pray for you.
Let's sing, because the Lord is worthy, and He should be blessed every moment of every day of every season of our world. Hallelujah.