How Apostolic Judges Shut Down Illegal Works Before They Divide a Church

I am known for teaching the Courts of Heaven.

This is a revelation and mystery that God gave me to impregnate the church with. I believe it has been reserved for this time and season. With this said, one of the functions of an apostle is to operate as a judge in the spirit world. We see this in the apostle Paul’s ministry in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5. There is a blatant sin of immorality that is being allowed in the Corinthian church. A man is having sexual relations with his step-mother. Paul is appalled at this being allowed and not confronted. As a result, he addresses it in his letter to the church:

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife! And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 5:1-5).

Paul is stating that he has already been into the spirit realm, and has judged the situation. He is not saying that he has decided if it is right or wrong. It was an established fact that this was not to be allowed or condoned. When Paul said he had judged it, he was saying he had passed sentence against it. This would allow the man who was committing this atrocity to be turned over to satan. The purpose for this was to allow him trouble in the flesh so he would come to a place of repentance.

This is exactly what happened. The man began to experience a destructive effect as satan was allowed to have his way with him. This all resulted from Paul releasing a spiritual judgment as a judge. The end effect of this can be seen in 2 Corinthians 2:6-8. The man was brought to a place of repentance as a result of Paul’s judgment and the church’s activity. Paul is writing to urge them to now accept him and reassure him of God’s love and their love.

This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him (2 Corinthians 2:6-8).

These apostolic principles need to be reclaimed in the church. If we had apostles operating in these places of judicial authority, we could solve a lot of problems that otherwise might bring trouble. Apostolic authority as a judge can bring solutions to situations that otherwise would bring confusion and chaos.

When I was leading the local apostolic center in Waco, Texas, a situation arose. Two ministers I had helped in their time of trouble decided they would band together, take people from the church, and start their own church. This was very grievous to me. It wasn’t about losing people or them leaving the church. I knew it would not work well for the Kingdom purpose of God within that region. I had thought about it and prayed about it, as I knew they were conspiring to do this thing.

As I was in prayer early in the morning during this happening, suddenly the Lord told me to “Judge it now! But don’t touch my servants.” I had never done anything like this before. Yet I knew this was the moment in time when I could call something unlawful and Heaven would back me up. As I heard this word, I had some very clear understanding. I knew that I could speak against the work, but if I spoke against the men who were involved in it, I would enact Matthew 7:1-2:

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

I was aware that if I “judged” the men and not just the work, judgment would come back on me. The fear of the Lord was present as I considered this. I knew that to judge the work was from a Kingdom heart. If however I spoke judgment on the men, it would be out of a personal vendetta. This would not be pleasing to the Lord and would give the devil the right to visit that same judgment on me. Whatever measurement I measured out in this moment, would come back on me.

As I considered this, I declared with understanding, “I judge this work as illegal and unrighteous, and call it to the ground now, in Jesus’ name.” It was that simple. I was standing as a judge in the spirit world from an apostolic place. The result: the people who had joined together, disbanded and broke apart that week. The work that was planned to start never began. No one left the church to be part of this supposed gathering. Life went on as normal.

Those ministers still minister today, and I was found blameless and guileless in the matter. This was the result of standing as a judge in the spirit world as an apostle. This could have been a major upheaval with great negative circumstances. The power and right to operate as a judge, as an apostle, kept this from happening. If apostles would take their place as judges in the spirit world, much of the trouble would not occur. It could be dealt with as apostles functioning as judges. There would not be as much trauma and drama that happens in the church.

The whole principle of us being judges in the spirit world can be found in 1 Corinthians 2:14-16. We are told that those who operate as spiritual people can function as judges:

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:14-16).

The word judge is the Greek word anakrino, which means to “scrutinize or determine.” This word is connected to the idea of judicial activity. There is, therefore, some wisdom we can glean about how to apostolically function as a judge.

First of all we should perceive this from a spiritual perspective. The idea that we can judge things from a spiritual place might seem foolish to some. This is because they look at it from a carnal mindset. This is one of the problems in the apostolic movement of the church. The apostolic has been reduced to being good administrators or organizers. This however is not true. Apostles are to carry great authority in the spirit world.

We are to have the ability to operate as judges and set things in order in the unseen world. When we do this, things line up in the natural world. This can solve many problems before they become huge issues. This should not be thought of as foolishness. We are to walk in spiritual discernment and function there in authority.

Notice also that we are told to be spiritual. When we are spiritual, our passion and heart are set upon things above. Colossians 3:1-3 defines what it means to be spiritual:

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Spiritual people have their minds on things above. They are preoccupied with heavenly realities and seek after them. We are told in this Scripture that “you died” therefore my interest and desire should be not on earth but in Heaven. When we are said to have died, it means that our old sin nature, that was after the things of earth, died with Jesus on the Cross. Therefore our new nature that was raised with Jesus is passionate about heavenly things.

This is important because this is why we should be spiritual. When we are spiritual, we move into a realm of operating as judges as apostles. Perhaps something that happened to me as an apostle can help you to understand this better. I was part of an international gathering of apostles for many years. I was given the privilege to speak to this gathering on many occasions. As I began to pioneer the Courts of Heaven teaching, I was asked to speak on these spiritual principles for a couple of the gatherings.

Each time I would finish explaining the principles associated with this idea, the leader would say these words to me, “That was great. But next year, we’re going to get you out of Heaven and back to earth.” At first I thought the leader was joking with me. However, after each year the same remark was made. This happened for three years in a row. I began to realize we had two different perspectives of what the apostolic was. He, it seemed, saw the apostolic as about marketing, organization, and more administrative. I saw the apostolic much more about spiritual authority and operation in the heavenly realm.

I made the decision that this wasn’t my tribe. I believe that apostles should be some of the most spiritual people around. We should believe that the solution is almost always found in dealing with it in the spiritual, unseen realm before we attempt to solve it in the natural. This is because we are spiritual, not carnal beings.

The other thing I would mention concerning being a judge as an apostle is we must have the mind of Christ. This is what is said concerning operating as a judge. If we are to carry authority as a judge, we must be under the constraints of the mind of Christ. This means that I am not free to implement my own ideas and opinions as a judge. I must operate out of the mind of Christ and implement His passions and desires.

Even in the natural realm a judge is bound by the law. He renders verdicts based on what is in the law. He is not free to make arbitrary decisions. He is under the constraints of what is written in the laws of the land. So it is with us as judges. We must be under the dictates of the mind of Christ and the leading of the Spirit of God. We can then render judgments that we know agree with the heart and will of God.

The more I operate as a judge as an apostle, the more I must be surrendered and submitted to Him. I am not free to use my position as a judge in the spirit world for selfish purposes. I am here as a judge to set in place God’s apostolic agenda. When I approach it from this place, great realms of authority will be allowed to function in and from me.