River City History

The Faith of our Fathers

The Apostolic Church was birthed out of the great Welsh Revival of 1904 and you can read a fuller account on the official church website at www.apostolic-church.org. It is interesting to read how God has raised up churches and groups throughout history to accomplish His purposes. It would be more accurate however to say that He raised up men and women, for His Holy Spirit has always worked through individuals who surrendered their lives to Him.

The sort of history that really interests each of us is always that which is closest to home.

For many of us growing up in Ireland, our 'faith' was something we inherited from our parents and 'church' was the building or service we attended. When we see today how so many children are missing even these opportunities to come to faith, we can thank God for the faithfulness of past generations who sought at least to direct us towards Christ. Yet the story of our nation is also one of the words 'church' and 'faith' becoming synonymous with tradition and politics. Instead of being a force for transformation, unity and leadership in our society, they have too often become simply flags of identity raised above entrenched attitudes. The life and power of the Church is the Holy Spirit, who energises, directs, comforts and challenges the Church to move on by faith not by sight into true worship. In seeking first the Kingdom of God, people of living faith in Jesus Christ from whatever background, can aspire to a Kingdom that is not of this world

A Kingdom of Truth and Justice

Because it is a Kingdom of truth and justice, we are called to let that Kingdom come in this generation through the way we live in our communities, serving and loving each other as Christ showed us. Only through giving our lives over to the power and leading of His Holy Spirit can we aspire to love our enemies as He loved us on the Cross.

How can our communities ever aspire to live in genuine love rather than 'ceasefire' love, when they see that even the 'Church', those who claim to be anointed to freely serve others, cannot escape the ties to past generations and events? No Church can proclaim in truth that 'Jesus sets you free', while living afraid of the opinion of men. The power of the Holy Spirit is imparted to a Church that will love people as Christ loved them, that will love them enough to challenge them with unpalatable truths and then be prepared to still love them as they are rejected. 

The Land of Saints and Scholars

Before St Patrick faced this nation with the truth, he had a decision to take which he recorded in his writings. He wrote, "I have decided to face the insults of the unbelievers." May God bless this nation again with those who will love her enough to break ranks with popular opinion and walk as prophets in a moral wilderness and who will call a people who have grown hard in their materialism away from their love of this world and point them to their creator and redeemer.

We have such a rich heritage of faith in Jesus Christ in our nation. We were once known as 'the land of saints and scholars'. But scripture tells us that there is living faith and dead faith. A friend once told me "Tradition is the living faith of the dead, but traditionalism is the dead faith of the living." 

Our children deserve something better than to be handed the unfinished business of their parents, their fears and failures. The good news of the gospel is that through a living faith in Jesus Christ each of us can not just leave the past behind, but find healing, restoration and the freedom to transcend our histories and live as new creations and genuine witnesses to the power of the risen Christ.

The Journey of our Nation

That journey for a nation starts with individuals finding such freedom and hope and for each individual that journey starts with hearing the voice of God. Many have heard the 'Word of God' for years, but only heard a man or a woman speaking. There has as yet been no supernatural birth within. No one can follow Jesus Christ as Lord without the Holy Spirit, for Jesus said that only that which is 'born of the Spirit is spirit' (John 3.v6) The apostle Paul confirms in 1Corinthians 12,v3 that "no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit."

Only the Holy Spirit can lead the Church into all truth and maturity. It is a humbling experience for man to hand back the Church (of whatever tradition) to the Holy Spirit, but God has promised that such a humbling of the Church is the precursor to a revival in a nation.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

2Chronicles 7.v14.