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Book of Acts, Christian fellowship, Christianity, Gospel Fellowships, Gospel of Jesus Christ, house church, persecuted brethren, persecution of Christians
This book is an extraordinary project of the Gospel Fellowships, put together by many faithful servants of Christ. It is a blessing to the Body of Christ in these dark days. Please share it!
This book is being offered 100% freely by the authors.
Principles for Gathering of Believers Under the Headship of Christ
PRINCIPLES FOR THE GATHERING OF BELIEVERS UNDER THE HEADSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST
The Scriptures declare that the Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. This preaching and spreading of the Gospel will be done not by the ingenuity of men, but by the working of the Spirit of God. Do you want to be involved with God’s work at the end of the age? God uses the simple to confound the wise. His ways are not our ways. We need revival in our countries like what we see in the underground house Churches in China. May God teach, gather, and raise a remnant for His glory.
Learn the following from this volume:
-Prepare for coming persecution in non-persecuted countries.
-Learn Principles of how to gather as the Church from the Book of Acts and current underground Churches.
-Access resources that will help your gathering or house Church meeting.
-Experience personal revival and the Spirit’s empowerment.
A preview from the Foreword:
The time is now. Count the cost. You will be persecuted, tested, and tried. You will be misunderstood, hated by the world, and sometimes hated even by the members of your own household. There will be tears, heartache, tribulation, suffering and pain. But, you will be living for the One who is worthy of all, and whose eternal kingdom cannot be shaken nor ever fade away. You will have the privilege of serving the King of kings and the Lord of all lords. Moreover, you will one day have the awesome indescribable experience of seeing His glorious face and hearing Him call you by name as His own. – brother Brian
Select the book format of your choice, plus other free resources here.
Read the book or listen to the audio free:
PRINCIPLES FOR THE GATHERING OF BELIEVERS UNDER THE HEADSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST
Acknowledgements (pdf) (mp3)
Foreword (pdf) (mp3)
Preface (pdf) (mp3)
Introduction Letter (pdf) (mp3)
PRINCIPLES FROM THE BOOK OF ACTS
Principle 1 – Solely Looking to the Person of Jesus Christ (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 2 – Where 2 or 3 are Gathered Together (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 3 – God’s People Scattered in Sects (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 4 – God Directed Churches Needed (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 5 – The Book of Acts our Example (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 6 – Not Depending on or Needing Buildings (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 7 – The People of God are the Church (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 8 – Taking a Stand for the Testimony of the Church (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 9 – The Early Apostles didn’t Seek after Money (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 10 – Preaching the Good News (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 11 – Leading is Serving in Humility (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 12 – Jesus Christ: The Head of The Church (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 13 – A Growing Vibrant Movement (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 14 – Making Disciples not just Converts (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 15 – Not Pleasing Men but God Alone (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 16 – The Church Was Birthed In Prayer (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 17 – The Spirit is Essential (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 18 – The Satanic Counterfeit (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 19 – Dependence on the Spirit of Jesus (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 20 – Holy Spirit Normal Christianity (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 21 – Hungering after the True Holy Spirit Baptism (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 22 – God Uses the Weak by His Spirit (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 23 – Cults, False Gospels and Division (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 24 – Christ the Unity of the Body (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 25 – Not Judging Others (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 26 – Having a Right Doctrine but Wrong Spirit (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 27 – The Priority of Love (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 28 – Examine Yourself and Correction in Love (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 29 – Being Rich in Mercy (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 30 – Reading the Entirety of Scriptures (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 31 – Godly Disciplines For Assemblies (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 32 – Godliness Through the Act of Submission (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 33 – The Obedience Of Believers Baptism (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 34 – The Body of Christ: An Army of Evangelists (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 35 – The Lord’s Supper: The Death of Christ (pdf) (mp3)
PRINCIPLES FROM THE UNDERGROUND CHURCH IN CHINA
Principle 36 – Dependence on the Moving of the Holy Spirit (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 37 – Jesus Christ as Lord and Head (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 38 – The Spirit of Martyrdom (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 39 – God Actually Answers Prayer (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 40 – The Body of Christ is the Church (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 41 – The Back To Jerusalem Movement (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 42 – The True Mission of the Church (pdf) (mp3)
PRINCIPLES FROM THE UNDERGROUND CHURCH IN NORTH KOREA
Principle 43 – North Korea Leader, an Image of Antichrist (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 44 – A Cost to be Part of the Church (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 45 – Five Challenging Reminders (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 46 – Meeting in Home Churches (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 47 – The Lord’s Day can be Everyday! (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 48 – We are a Body of Christ Together (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 49 – Sharing and Memorization of Scripture (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 50 – Not Merely Listening (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 51 – Measuring True Christian Growth (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 52 – The Practice of Teaching Children (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 53 – Raising up Many Leaders In the Body (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 54 – Remembering the Poor (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 55 – Witnessing and Missions Work by Faith (pdf) (mp3)
PRINCIPLES FROM THE UNDERGROUND CHURCH IN IRAN
Principle 56 – Explosive Growth in an Antichrist State (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 57 – Sharing the Faith Constantly in All Situations (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 58 – New Converts Every Church Meeting (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 59 – Networking of Small Groups of Believers (pdf) (mp3)
Principle 60 – Martyrs Esteemed in the Church (pdf) (mp3)
Epilogue: The Call to Gather as Fellowships (pdf) (mp3)
APPENDIX I – PREPARING THE BODY OF CHRIST FOR PERSECUTION
Preparing for Persecution; To be a Christian by brother Edgar (pdf) (mp3)
The Coming Tsunami of Persecution by brother Greg (pdf) (mp3)
A Plain Vision for Coming Persecution by brother Brian (pdf) (mp3)
APPENDIX II – SELECT TEACHINGS FOR GOSPEL FELLOWSHIPS
Chinese House Churches Interview by brother Denny (pdf) (mp3)
God’s New Thing by brother David (pdf) (mp3)
Submission and Leadership by brother Zac (pdf) (mp3)
Baptism of the Holy Spirit by brother Denny (pdf) (mp3)
Without the Holy Spirit of God by brother Chadwick (pdf) (mp3)
Loving Your Brothers and Sisters by brother Edgar (pdf) (mp3)
APPENDIX III – GOSPEL FELLOWSHIPS ADDITIONAL HELPS AND RESOURCES
Statement of Faith for Gospel Fellowships (pdf) (mp3)
Chronological Bible Reading of Scriptures (pdf) (mp3)
Guidelines For Gathering (pdf) (mp3)
Gospel Fellowships Hymnal (pdf) (example music) (mp3)
Gospel Fellowships Readings (pdf) (mp3)
The Narrowing Path 
Hi Sherryn,
I actually found your site some days ago but have had some other loose ends to tidy up but am able to come back and have a look. I’d agree with most of your comments re the new federal government – less taxes, more profits and of course, less services too.
New ‘infrastructure’ is probably only going to benefit the rich, and things like the recent revamp of Brisbane’s Translink bus services are a joke. I actually got some airtime on local Ten TV news late last week, “sentencing” those who plan such things to 3 months riding on their new timetables. It won’t happen, but that’s whatneeds to happen…
We’ve actually lost one service where I live and others have had their timetables changed to suit early morning and late afternoon commuters. Pensioners, people on the dole and other misfits (self funded retirees with a Go Card too?) can either catch two buses into town, or get off earlier and leg it the rest of the way!
Anyway, that’s my public transport rant for now. On to more serious things. I’ve been around the body of Christ for some 35 years this last August just gone. In that time, I’ve witnessed the rise and fall of Hillsong, the AOG, and many other institutions and individuals. I never thought that I’d see these things coming to pass but there they are.
To say the least, it’s been a bumpy ride for the most part. I’m not sure where you’re living, but here in Brissy, we have a number of NAR churches to deal with. I went to one last year for a good, long look-see and left feeling rather alarmed at the level of deception (Todd Bentley, Brian Simmons, Che Ahn et al) and all the rest of the NAR lineup. There’s a lot of young people there in deception to a local ‘apostle’ and most of the congregation are just ordinary, hard working family oriented people, who have pinned their hopes on ‘revival’ but have unfortunately been sold a pup, which could one day turn out to be a ‘wolf pup’…
I suppose it’s easy to look out the window on any given day – and then decide that it’s better to just stay home and let the world take care of itself, but then the Lord never called us to monastic solitude, but to go out there and be proactive and reach the lost. I’ve done some work in downtown Fortitude Valley over the last 2 years to that end and have seen little in the way of results, but then again, I have to leave the results to the Lord.
Several largish churches have moved out of the Valley area recently (including the long term AOG,- the former Glad Tidings Tabernacle – a once time honoured assembly, the ICC – predominantly Asian believers, as well as the CLC many years ago). Now with the CLC gone forever – (another church took it over after the 2011 floods, and then sold it 2 years later for $15 million dollars) – it’s being bulldozed into real estate as I write), leaving a spiritual vacuum in this part of town.
Incidentally, I found the freeby book that you’re offering last week too and downloaded most of it – I must admit that I’m a little wary of ‘house churches’ as they can be good, bad or indifferent, but very few have been well run in my experience. Perhaps the book will show us how to ‘do church’ that way better than some others who have written on the subject in the past. I spent 6 years on an independent house church down in Newcastle in the 1980’s, then joined a ‘Christian’ commune and after 2.5 years of that, had to ‘escape’ from what I finally realised was a cult! And that’s not all, but enough of me for now.
I’d like to stay in touch and say hello and keep tabs on your website. What about you – do you have an exciting and ‘colourful’ history too???
Austin Hellier
Brisbane Qld.
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Hi Austin, welcome and my apologies for taking so long to approve your comments. I will just do this one for now as I have to head out for the day,and feel I need to prepare a response for your first comment. I really appreciate your feedback and am happy to have your contribution from up north! I will be catching up on my correspondence tonight so will post a more complete response to yours, but just wanted to let you know I had read the comments. Blessings in Christ, Sherryn
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If you want to know where I stand on all of this stuff, then go to
http://hillsongchurchwatch.com/about/
and scroll down.
Austin Hellier
Brisbane
(Austin, I have posted this part of your comment as it points both to an excellent site and to your very helpful insights!)
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Sherryn,
I must apologise for my knee-jerk reaction. Some time ago I logged onto a website (in Adelaide or Melbourne I’m not sure which,) which purported to be a kind of ‘help desk’ for ex members of the Potter’s House cult. As it turned out, it was a ‘honey trap’ website, set up by current members of that group,.
They had established the fake website, as a means of ensnaring their former members back into the cult. Apparently, they would arrange meetups after having gained the trust of ex members, and at the meeting, would then try to intimidate them into coming back with all kinds of scary stories about lost salvation and burning in Hell for betraying the ‘brotherhood’!
I went into that one rather blindly, and tried to ‘help’, only to finally realise what was really going on (and this whole ploy of theirs was confirmed to me a few months later, by people who manned a genuine ex P.H. website!)
So they took all of my posts, and for the next several weeks, continued to use them as a kind of bait, then took pot shots at them, then finally removed them, but never gave me the right of reply. And here I am, silly me, thinking “oh-oh, here we go again!!!”
I don’t use other people’s websites or blog sites to promote myself or my beliefs, and I don’t have a website for anyone to ‘follow’ or link to. I have found that the majority people who do run a web site or blog site, have been kind enough and accepting of my comments, for the most part. So once again, I apologise for the gross misunderstanding, and for badly misjudging you at our first encounter.
You can post this one too,if you like, as a warning to others, as there are so many online traps for the unwary. After some four or five weeks of pursuing the ‘fake’ website, I finally gave up, realising that I would probably do more harm than good – to both of us.
Austin Hellier
‘suitably chastised by his own folly…’
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Wow, that is an awful experience and thanks for letting me post this comment for others to benefit from. Thanks also for your truly humble apology. I honestly wasn’t offended. I sensed there was more to the situation so kept the comment between us. 🙂
I have heard of the Potters House. Is this the group you are talking about?
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c105.html#cult
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By the way, it really is a pleasure to have you here Austin!! 🙂
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Sherryn,
yes that is the one. There was an independent work started over in Perth WA back in the late 1970’s I believe, as an offshoot of the then ‘Jesus Revolution, but Wayman Mitchell (founding ‘father’ of the original PH HQ known then as Victory Chapel in the USA,) came over to Perth, and somehow wangled the control of that particular group, and that’s where PH started here in Oz.
According to a story told by Adrian Van Leen of CCGM (a cult awareness ministry that has since folded,) Wayman Mitchell came out of the Four Square Pentecostal church in the USA (Aimee Semple McPherson being the founding ‘mother’ of that work movement) as he had rebelled against the then leadership. He thought that he was ‘leadership’ material and basically went his own way, and did his own thing, and Potter’s House is the end result – ouch!!! (1 John 2:19?)
When I moved from Alice Springs to Adelaide in early 1998, I bumped into a married couple from the PH group of young adults that I’d had some contact with while still in the Alice, who turned up at the same church I did to hear Darren Beadman, the famous jockey (who got saved, then went to the AOG bible school for a year, and then left in disgust, as he realised that it was becoming cultish and more of a business – like Hillsong).
They looked embarrassed and a little scared at first, but I reassured them that I wouldn’t be telling any of my friends still back up in Alice that they had moved, or that I had seen them – I also told them that I understood why they had to move interstate in order to get away from ‘pastor Richard’ and the ‘brethren’ – I had seen their kind of cultish behaviour of PH first hand.
They had those poor kids up til 11:00 pm at night, ‘witnessing’ in the Hartley Street Mall, on a Thursday night (most people in town were at home in bed by then,) in case “one lost sinner went to Hell because they weren’t out there ‘doing their duty’!” Of course, pastor Richard was never seen in the Mall at that time, or for the most part, at any time, seeing that he had some willing ‘disciples’ who could do all the leg work for him.
They were also expected to keep up a rigorous routine of early morning and late night “prayer meetings” and anyone not showing up was spied on, and asked in front of the whole congregation as to why they were ‘backsliding’! They certainly fulfill at least 5 or 6 points in Lifton’s 8 points on mind control for an identifiable cult, and I’m surprised that they’ve lasted for so long.
The genuine ex PH website people told me that there is dissension in the ranks over here in Oz within the PH movement, and there may have already been a number of splits, similar to the Revival Centres, (RCI, CAI, Noel Hollins,) etcetera, but you won’t ind any of them published on their websites!
They were driven by fear of God’s wrath for not performing to the cult’s expectations of their commitment to the group. They also indulged quite openly in ‘pastor worship’ and even at marriage ceremonies inside their church, the bride and groom were expected to use that occasion for preaching hell-fire and brimstone at those unsaved guests – even if they were close family and friends – and I could go on!
According to reliable testimony, pastor Richard was ‘fished out of’ a mental health facility in Darwin by a PH recruiter, stood back up on his feet (thank God for that) and then ‘reeducated’ by PH leaders as to his new role in life, then sent to Alice Springs and the rest is history.
Austin Hellier
‘forgiven…’
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Austin, your story is a remarkable witness to God’s grace and mercy. I understand the source of your genuine humility…it comes from the realization of the enormity of what Christ has done for you. Every day it dawns on us anew! I praise our Almighty God that he saved you out of those false movements. It is wonderful to have you as brother in Christ.
I have spent a year researching the church, it’s various branches and beliefs, after being led by the Holy Spirit to repentance and a truly saving faith in Jesus Christ. If you are interested, my Baptism testimony is filed in the June 2013 archive. It is only a summary of my life (I shared it in front of my kids and the full story would have had to come with a different rating!!) but it will give you an idea. A classic, rather tedious tale of a missionary/preacher’s kid gone wild and finally saved from herself and eternal doom. A happy ending at least!
I didn’t get into any cults, but dabbled in many other truly sinful beliefs and activities. I did a psychology degree a while ago, so I understand the destructive, controlling aspects to cults and cult-like environments. Which of course we see in the C3 stuff, which is so tragic to see unfolding. Plus I have met real sociopaths. So I at least have an idea of the evil you have experienced.
I hope this blog is helpful to you. If you want any particular type of article, or to address a particular topic just let me know and I will do some research and see what I can come up with. Feel free to contribute any time you want to!
Again, I praise God that you are indeed, as you so concisely and correctly put it, forgiven. Bless you! Sherryn
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Sherryn,
do you have an email where I can send you something? I have written a brief testimony story (not yet finished) but would like to share it with you. I’m not sure whether I can cut and paste into this ‘form’ space on your blog or not. Most of them do not ‘like’ cut and pastes, and some of them refuse anything above 200 to 300 words. It goes for some 5 x A4 pages. It will let you know where I’ve been, things I’ve learned, and where I’m coming from – your move.
PS – I was never a part of PH or RCI et al, but was part of the LRM. I went to the NAR church to see for myself, but didn’t get ‘burnt’ there – it was ‘strange fire’ all right! I was more of an observer and a visitor than a member.
I felt for the decent people and their youth, and ended up staying for most of 2012, but got out in October last year. I’ve also written an article on that church too, and published it in newsletter format, as they are parked quite close to one of Brisbane’s largest university campuses.
I noted John McArthur’s reference to ‘strange fire’ in the case of Aaron’s two sons. Back in the Tabernacle of Moses, the priests had to mix a mixture of three herbs and spices -stactye, onica and galbanum, and then mix that with frankincense. If it was mixed just right, then the ‘fire’ on the altar of incense burnt just right.
If the mix was wrong, then the ‘fire’ was wrong too. It didn’t look right, didn’t smell right and it didn’t burn right – that was, I believe the “strange fire” that those young men offered before the Lord, and that was what got them burnt to a crisp!!! Temple worship was exacting, as the High Priest, on the day of Atonement, had a rope tied around one ankle, in case he got it wrong too – he would die instantly for violating any Temple protocol. The other assisting priests would then ave to pull his dead body out of the Holy Place, as no one was allowed in there, except for him. Seriously!
AH
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Austin, your information on the ‘strange fire’ of Aaron and the priests reminded me of how blessed we truly are to be a part of the new covenant, and secure in the knowledge that we can do nothing to earn our salvation but have received it by grace through faith in Christ! I am not a very consistent person by nature (a bit of an ADHD brain) so would have been burned to a crisp with such exacting standards to meet. Ughh. Well, actually I am a woman so would have probably ended up stoned to death for my sins. Yikes! Either way, thank God for his Son!
You can email me at sherrynloke@gmail.com. I would love to read your testimony, and perhaps publish it if you want. I have a category called ‘transformational testimonies’ I could post it under. 🙂
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http://gfel.org/2016/02/06/principles-book/ — new link to this book
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Dear brother, just so you know the links are outdated on the book above. You can re-copy them from here: http://housechurchbook.weebly.com glad to see you hosting this free resource for the body of Christ. Praise God.
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