Outline of the ministry from a spiritual viewpoint
The focus for this ministry starts with the vision given to Apostle Mary Pascoe in 1995. As with any new strategic work of God it has both a spiritual revelation and a foundational Scripture, i.e., Isaiah 61. Both bring their own dimension of understanding. The context in which this ministry has begun is also important to understand. The signs of the times strongly reveal we are in the last days before the Second Coming of Jesus.
As the leadership have prayed into all these concepts the key understanding the Lord has given is restoration of the Body of Christ that it may become a worthy “Bride” for Christ when He appears. The increase of demonic activity in recent times and the state of the Body of Christ currently show there is much to be done. The Bible is very clear that in the Last Days there will be an “increase of wickedness” (Matt. 24: 12). Prophetically, the Lord is nevertheless revealing His grace will also increase with increasing manifestations of His glory. The devil seeks to increase his activity to achieve an exalted and more powerful kingdom endeavouring to subdue the work of the Spirit-filled sons of God as much as possible. He comes with new strategies which are complicated and powerful. They are designed at producing deception, division and letting the “flesh” be encouraged without Christians realising it. This way Christians would be their own enemies because of the subtlety used. These strategies should not be underestimated. They are designed to build on the false divisions of traditions already in place and to encourage domination amongst leaders rather than a servant heart which the Bible teaches. Wherever this happens “the love of most grow cold” as cold criticism and the ploy for self-exalting power are clearly the work the devil desires but grieves the Spirit of God. What we tend to see today is still a picture of the weeds growing with the wheat in many churches (Matt.13:24-30). The true yet sad assessment of the situation is that many “are destroyed because of lack of knowledge.” This makes Satan happy. Nevertheless, it is not an irreversible situation.
Revival has always shown the fruit of dramatic sanctification of the people touched by the Holy Spirit and significant numbers of those who are called to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Revival which I will define as God coming by His Spirit bringing a great measure of heaven on earth (which answers the prayer Jesus taught His first disciples) has been a counter to the supernatural work of the devil. Whereas in the past revival has not been understood but usually thought of as a chance happening, this lack of clarity no longer remains. The Lord Himself has given Scriptural understanding in this matter so to encourage His people to seek Him for it. Ministries such as “Partnership Ministries” and “the Sentinel Group” are two examples which the Lord is using to propagate His teaching and to further encourage research in this realm. Revival is the only form of restoration in the church which achieves the level of change needed to create the impact and impetus needed to reach the final goal of transformation of society or Biblically stated, “to heal their land.” (2 Chron. 7:14) This intervening act of God enables Christians to live as sons of God in the full authority and power granted to them by the Holy Spirit to make them effective witnesses for Christ achieving a lifestyle reflecting the character of Christ. Thus although teaching is vital for understanding it is not in and of itself the way to change. Truly we speak of a radical intervention of the Holy Spirit. This is best understood by what happened on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit first saturated (or filled) the 12 original disciples of Jesus. See Acts 2:1-40.
Other ministries such “IHOP” and “In Christ’s Likeness” show from their teaching the Lord is seeking to take the initiative again in order to bring His people to the place He desires. As always it requires a response as the Lord does not override the freewill of His people. We believe that the founding of Royal Priesthood M I in Malawi is part of this new work of God. The Lord has given the leadership faith and anointing to work deeply in the spiritual realm through His Holy Spirit to facilitate revival right up to the national level. This has needed a deep sanctifying, transforming work in those He has chosen and a level of understanding to make the tools of intercession and spiritual warfare effective. On the other hand the pastors of the team have also found the usual means of Christian ministry ineffective to produce any real development at all. (Quite an interesting contrast!)
The desire in the hearts of the leadership is to provide an example of true Biblical Christianity in the churches it establishes, orthodox in theology but totally Spirit led with Jesus as our focus. Also the leadership seeks to encourage a coming together of church leaders who will submit to Christ to increase their mutual support and effectiveness of their churches. The ministry itself sees that a combined leadership as described in Ephesians 4:11,12 is paramount to achieving the goals. Although the ministry does have and will have its own churches, it is not primarily a church planting ministry. As already stated restoration of the existing Body of Christ is the concept for its work. The ultimate goal must be to see the true “Bride of Christ” develop for the great Day of the Lord.
There is another aspect which the Lord has revealed. Persecution is another growing phenomenon in the Last Days. The church needs to be strong spiritually with members who are restored individuals in order to face the challenges of this generation. “He who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13) is part of the teaching of Jesus on the Last Days. “To him who overcomes” is the repeated note given to the churches at the beginning of the book of Revelation. It is clear that the first disciples fled at the final persecution of Jesus but after they were filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost they were no longer fearful and able to courageously face their persecutions, even when it cost them their lives. Royal Priesthood M I therefore seeks to encourage and teach the work of the Holy Spirit for healing and deliverance within churches for this reason. For believers to become restored, mature and clear regarding their identity in Christ is therefore another foundational goal.
To conclude, it can be seen that all of the above also facilitates the final “harvest” (Rev. 14:15) as the church becomes more effective. Here is the promise fulfilled from Scripture regarding the “latter rain” (Hos. 6:1-3 & Zech. 10:1[KJV]) Yes, the Lord will reveal Himself increasingly on the earth of which He is Lord. Our God is greater than he is called the prince of the power of the air. The church of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, will be victorious through the blood covenant made by the Father, enabled by the Holy Spirit. God has committed Himself to us in this generation more than ever seen before by His supernatural and glorious works. He has not changed but we must.
a. To be an independent ministry for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Kingdom only. To develop and restore joining churches, and plant new churches for communities. The churches will minister to all age groups and all sections of the community.
b. To develop a fully functioning church base in Chileka, Blantyre to which all other arms of the ministry will relate.
c. To offer assistance to individuals and families, of any background, for their spiritual restoration, that they may have dignity in the sight of man and favour with God.
d. To provide assistance, both spiritual and practical, for orphans and unsupported elderly people in Malawi. The main focus is to provide caring homes for elderly people. (Well trained staff will be provided.)
e. To provide resources and training to give young people skills in order to provide for themselves.
f. To visit those in prison and to show compassion to their relatives, that they may receive the full benefit of God’s word and love.
g. To provide Christian-based Primary and secondary education to enable students to achieve recognised certification for their future higher education or advancement of their careers.
h. To provide nursery facilities to assist single mothers so that they can attend a place of work.
i. To pray for Malawi and other nations for their restoration, development and up-building in every way, especially that they may seek the LORD themselves and live according to all the commandments stated in the Bible.
j. To evangelise the people of Malawi that they may benefit from the love and blessings that come to all those who respond to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
k. To work in co-operation with like-minded organisations to build and restore the Kingdom of God in Malawi and in other nations.
l. To create missionary assistance to help individuals build and restore Christ’s church in other nations. This will include sending individuals and teams of workers to preach, teach and minister in Christ’s Name to other nations.
m. To be a faith ministry supported by the finances of God’s people as He encourages and moves them to give.
n. To accomplish everything revealed in the vision given to Apostle Mary Pascoe. The preceding items commence that fulfilment.
FOUNDER WITH CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR
Apostle Mary is Ministry Founder and Apostle Pastor Keith is Chief Administrator, Head Teacher and Chairman of Trustees.
SENIOR PASTOR
Pastor Geoffrey is Senior Pastor for our Base Church at Chileka, Blantyre. He is also a Trustee.
We are found just behind St Paul's Roman Catholic Church on Chileka Road which is on the road to the airport. This is about 1 kilometre from Kameza Roundabout, Blantyre.
Newsletter at 26th June 2023
Dear Friends,
The first half of this year has been most interesting for us. It really started with some shaking by the Lord. We said goodbye to some members including a pastor. We then needed to make up lost ground we felt and begin to re-establish some parts of the work at the base church. At the same time it was wonderful to see new development amongst the youth. A worship dance group was formed and at Easter made its first performance at the base church. We also baptised about 30 people during the Easter gathering. Praise God! A young boy was born-again during the Communion Service Easter morning too! Hallelujah!
The base church has certainly needed to be our focus. The Lord has started to bring in significant new people too. They are strongly supporting the leadership for which we are grateful to the Lord. This is a time for new expansion after the shaking. There is a sense of the Holy Spirit giving us “New Wine”! We are so encouraged to have been part of the Malawi Repentance Crusade following through the prayer during May and going into the crusade this month. It is a real answer to prayer for the need of this nation. To see more than a thousand pastors coming to participate in Blantyre alone has been overwhelming. Repentance must precede revival. Revival is what we are here for, of course.
The Lord is showing us we are right on course for what He wants to do. More significant events are upcoming which we believe the Lord will use to increase the spiritual hunger we all need at such a time as this.
I expect to bring more good news as the year goes on.
God bless you,
Pastor Keith Pascoe
Dear Friends,
“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.”
Heb 6:10–15.
Having faith and waiting patiently can be very demanding. Like Abraham, many have had to wait years and years to receive what the Lord had promised. We don’t know much about Abraham at the time he comes into Scripture. He was already 75 years old and lived in a time long before Moses when there was little revelation from the Lord such as Moses was to receive and empower the Israel nation. What we do know was that he was ready to answer the Lord’s difficult call for him to take his family to land he probably knew nothing about and relocate a very long distance away which would take a long and tiring journey. Abraham had no idea about the people already living in that land, whether they would be dangerous or what sort of life he would need to adjust to.
Abraham had learnt to be diligent in the every-day living out of his life. He was in no way lazy but always living for his God. Abraham was content to live continually with the promise that God had made to him and know he was also well protected by the Lord. Like in the Scripture above he would have shown his love for the Lord continually. When faced with a difficult decision that affected him and his relatives, he was not selfish. (See Genesis 13: 8,9) His character was strong and trustworthy.
Abraham was never going to see a large outcome for his faith whilst living in this world. He faced many challenges which he generally came through well. It was only after 25 years, at age of 100 years, that he saw the true beginning of what the Lord had promised.
I will make you into a great nation,
I will bless you,
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
Gen. 12:2.
It took the miraculous birth of Isaac at this age to begin to see the fulfilment of the promise. The full inheritance he would not see in this life on earth. So, it does not seem that the tangible fruit of his life was the main reason for his great accomplishment. No, it was the journey which revealed the relationship he developed with God. Yes, he became the “father of many nations” but greater still, he became “a friend of God!” (See James 2 :21 – 24) Developing that love and obedience was what the Lord needed. Abraham probably had found that “being still and know that I am God” was very fruitful indeed! It was the place to grow in intimacy with the Lord. His intimacy also made his faith strong. Abraham was able to wait patiently for the Lord. He did not have to make anything happen at all. He just had to keep his focus on the Lord, day in and day out.
What is important to the Lord may well be different to what we think is important. Have you thought how important your journey is? Will you finish your “race” as a friend of God?
God bless you,
Pastor Keith Pascoe.
THE BEGINNING OF REVIVAL & ITS MEANING TODAY
Acts 15:16-18 (ANIV)
"After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things” that have been known for ages.
What a wonderful prophetic word quoting Amos 9: 11-12 from James, one of the first apostles. It was part of a reply brought in the Jerusalem council of leaders. They were considering an issue brought up by many Jewish believers, viz.,whether circumcision, part of the Abrahamic covenant should be applied to the new gentile believers as a mark of separation to Christ. Their decision dismissed this notion and a few simple rules were stated instead as the Holy Spirit directed them.
This prophecy was applicable to Jew and gentile alike as there was little activity advancing the kingdom of God to be found anywhere before the day of Pentecost when revival began in Jerusalem. The first church was a church without walls, fully the initiative of the Lord. Revival is always God’s initiative, “I will return….. I will rebuild… I will restore…that…men may seek the Lord.” In the last 30 years God has been so active in doing these things though not everyone has seen it or been aware of it. Yet, there is a build-up of the work of God increasing in many parts of the world such as never experienced before. It has become clear to many that the Lord wants to uplift His church out of the ordinary and more into His supernatural realm of the Holy Spirit. Many have recognised the signs of the times which Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24: 4-8. But this not all the picture. Surely Jesus was adding to the prophecies already given which tell us there is more to understand about these days.
Let us consider also Joel 2:26-28 (ANIV) :-
“You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed.
"And afterwards, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”
Here is a prophecy fully about restoration and especially a greater experience of the Holy Spirit as a general and normal experience for God’s people. Let us keep in mind the restoration of the Jews to their own land. After 2,000 years in 1948 they became a nation again on their own land too. Having seen a great dispersion of the Jews up to then the Lord acted miraculously to begin to restore the Jewish nation. This is so clearly prophesied as is found in Ezekiel 36 which is such a clear account of the whole issue. As we were considering at the beginning restoration is for both Jew and gentile. Thus just as this Scripture applies to Israel it applies to the church which has fallen from the sparkling example in Jerusalem which we read of in the book of Acts. In Revelation 22:17 we see the church referred to as “the bride”. The Scriptures refer to Jesus as “the Bridegroom” in several places in the Gospels, e.g., Mark 2:19, John 3: 29. Without doubt the Father wants His Son’s “Bride” to be fully blessed and fully functioning before that great day of the Second Coming of Jesus. It is still true we have not been left “orphans”. The Holy Spirit has never left us but there is more and God is thus keen for us to have that “more”. Revival is certainly about this and creates the place where God can reveal His glory upon His people again. It is not about blessings and miracles particularly. It is about creating a holy committed people able to work WITH God because they are in deeper relationship with Him, secure in His love AND filled with His Spirit. So, what we are experiencing in our days is that the Lord is bringing about many more revivals for this purpose. Another aspect is that the Lord wants many, many people all over the world to become Christians, the fulfilment of Jesus’ prophesy:
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14 (ANIV))
So the church began with a spiritual harvest at the beginning! 3,000 people brought into the kingdom of God in Jerusalem on one day. The Holy Spirit brought the spiritual reign of the Lord back into His chosen people Israel after 400 years of spiritual barrenness. Now we will see, as in the beginning, in our day, the spiritual reign of the Lord increasing in Israel and the church together. Another harvest of souls indeed!
Royal Priesthood Ministries International in Malawi is part of the establishing the kingdom of God in this way. Our vision is for revival as described. It is wonderful to work WITH God in His purposes. God has not changed and loves His people so much to bring about an empowered church gloriously displaying who He is.
ONE THING
Psalm 27:4 (ANIV)
“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”
David, who wrote this psalm, did so in the middle of many troubles. What is so clear from all the psalms, is that his many troubles made him to keep focus on the Lord. This is always our need. We must keep Jesus in focus day by day, whether the day be difficult or easy. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith and wants us to walk in the knowledge of His Presence more and more. Truly, He wants us to know His help and blessing in every situation. We may be well educated and talented, but there is nothing like the wisdom and understanding of the Lord.
Some people think that we are called to work for God. That suggests we are left to our limited devices and ideas, with limited results. No, we must work in God, by the power of the Holy Spirit. That way God can take the lead whenever He wants, leading us in the right path. Jesus still wants to build His church today as ever before as He stated in Matthew 16:18, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
But how does this really happen? The simple answer is fellowship with the Lord in prayer. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit to be in fellowship with the Lord. In the quiet secret place we meet with the Lord and as we mature we find we can wonderfully “gaze on the beauty of the Lord” with the eyes of faith and enjoy being in His Presence. Here is a deep knowing of the Saviour and the encounter of His love in the most intimate way. Here we meet with the Father with great acceptance, care and love in the Holy Place. This is a place you always want to be and changes our concept of prayer. When the Lord is everything to us He can come and be everything through us too. This is where we are empowered as He imparts His will within us.
It remains a place of intercession and supplication. “To seek Him in His temple” implies this. We draw near to God to know His heart in each matter. We speak heart to heart honestly and openly. It is not religiosity but relationship. The Lord can put His Word and will into our hearts as we wait upon Him. It is the answer to the teaching of Jesus, “Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. It is giving the Lord time and opportunity to speak and share with us. It may be from there we have a platform to intercede also.
So we recognise this was David’s priority above everything else. Here was the “one thing” he wanted from the Lord. His great success was based on this desire I believe. It kept him abiding in the Lord, taking him through every trial and difficulty, and made him such an outstanding king in service for the Lord and in exercising justice for the people. Through the Lord he had learnt how to overcome, delighting and depending on the Lord.
Do you have “One Thing” you desire of the Lord like this?