The Spiritual Journey Into Eternity - By Terrance Hill

8/2/2019 The Spiritual Journey Into Eternity - By Terrance Hill

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Printed in the United States of America

Published by: Just God’s Word

Email: [email protected]

Scripture quotations are derived from Biblesoft and International Bi-

ble Translators, Inc. The versions that are used in this publication are:

The New International Version

The New King James Version

The Living Bible

The Amplified Bible.



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Introduction

Has God been asleep all these centuries and left us in the dark so that to-day we have nothing more to say about the Bible than did our fathers, even though

God says " Blessed is the one who reads and understands"? Are we never to be able

to come boldly before the throne of Grace and yet have the ability with science towork with the very fabric of life in the study of such things as genetic engineering?Will God let man see into the depths of space and see His mighty hand at work and

yet leave His creation in the dark as to who He is and how He works?

God has revealed Himself in the body of nature and speaks about thedeeper mysteries and of heavens wisdom. He has brought before men knowledgeof a greater kingdom and a victory to be won. But in these days of luxury and ease,

most are happy with what they have and have no desire to seek for God; and theknowledge that God would give to them is left by the roadside and thrown to thewind in the face of logic, philosophy and mans science built upon a foundation of disbelief in Him. But for those who seek His face and desire to know His will, God

gives His love and wisdom without measure.

We are living in times when everything that can be shaken will be shaken.The whole fabric of mankind and all their affairs are heaving and rolling like anangry ocean in the midst of a storm; and no nation is or will be left out of this real-

ity. No matter how advanced or primitive the society seems to be, trouble loomsaround every corner. The rising and falling of the global financial markets is just

one of the many symptoms that speak of this reality. One problem after another hasbrought many to a point of seeing no way out and seeking to end their lives instead.Heart attacks and strokes have increased at an alarming rate and humanity sees no

way out.

But lest we think that everything in church is ok; religion is not by ANY

MEANS exempt from the searching, disintegrating influences of the times either.Within the walls of religious bodies the world over is an atmosphere of uncertaintythat has brought about a change of the myriad of once held ‘holy’ doctrines andliturgy of their sanctuaries and temples. Fundamental teachings have been re-routed

and once held standards and doctrinal foundational pillars have all but disappeared.The church body that once relied upon God for wisdom and power has given swayto academia and its demand for principles based upon psychological hypothesis and

scientific theories.

But for those who are seeking for Truth and would like to go further to gobeyond the complacency, hate and intolerance, to see with the vision of the earlyreformers and to take a Spiritual Journey into eternity to the very throne of God, tohear His voice and seek His Word, Gods door is forever open. This is where theSpiritual Journey into Eternity travels as it looks into the height, depth and width of

Gods wisdom and knowledge.



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We hope you enjoy this in-depth look into the many truths that have beenkept from sight for so long. We pray that it drives you to look again at Gods Word

with a heightened vision of His desire and will for His children. Read, contemplateand test what you see. Leave no stone unturned. And may Gods grace fill you as

you take this Journey into Eternity.



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Contents

The Journey Begins.............................................................................................................5

Come On Up........................................................................................................................8

Come Up And See The Godhead.......................................................................................11

Come Up And See My Plan...............................................................................................13

Come Up And Receive My Faith.......................................................................................17

Come Up And See Tomorrow...........................................................................................19

Come Up And See The Secrets of Heaven........................................................................22

Come Up And Become My Own.......................................................................................27

Come Up And See The Lamb And His Christ...................................................................33

Love...............................................................................................…................................36

The Beginning................................................................................…...............................37

The Highway of Holiness................................................................…..............................41

If You Love Me...............................................................................…..............................44

God Is Love........................................................................................…............................47You Must Be Born Again....................................................................…..........................50

The Former And Latter Rain.................................................................….........................52

Priests And Kings..................................................................................…........................55

Dead But Now Alive..............................................................................…........................59

Court Is In Session...................................................................................…......................62

The Atonement..........................................................................................….....................70

The Mediation of Christ..............................................................................…...................73The Priesthood of Christ, Melchizedek or Levi.................................................................77

The Judgment.............................................................................................…..........…......80

The Faith of God.............................................................................................…...............86

To Come By Faith............................................................................................…..............88

The Opening Door of Faith................................................................................…............90

The Essence of Faith..........................................................................................…............94

The Law of Faith.................................................................................................…...........97



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The Journey Begins Eternity. The word evokes many different thoughts, especially in this present

world that we live in. We have judged the word eternity through our own existencewith the little time we have on this earth. Yet God speaks of His knowledge of time

as "A day is as a thousand years to the lord. " Time, in the aspect of a day beingequal to a thousand years has very little meaning to our understanding of it. Weonly see a beginning and an end. And this is the beginning level of understanding

of what God is trying to tell us.

God has commanded us to seek a Spiritual understanding of His Kingdom and

who He is.

He said to “Seek you first the Kingdom of God and his righteous-

ness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matt: 6:33

In Matthew 5 Jesus explains the real or spiritual understanding and He showsthe kind of character His people will have when they give themselves to Him and

are able to see with a spiritual vision.

Humble men are very fortunate!" he told them, "for the Kingdom

of Heaven is given to them. Those who mourn are fortunate! for

they shall be comforted. The meek and lowly are fortunate! for

the whole wide world belongs to them. "Happy are those who

long to be just and good, for they shall be completely satisfied.

Happy are the kind and merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.

Happy are those whose hearts are pure, for they shall see God.

Happy are those who strive for peace-- they shall be called the

sons of God. Happy are those who are persecuted because they

are good, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.”

"When you are reviled and persecuted and lied about because

you are my followers-- wonderful! Be happy about it! Be veryglad! for a tremendous reward awaits you up in heaven. And re-

member, the ancient prophets were persecuted too. You are the

world's seasoning, to make it tolerable. If you lose your flavor,

what will happen to the world? And you yourselves will be

thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the

world's light-- a city on a hill, glowing in the night for all to see.

Don't hide your light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds

glow for all to see, so that they will praise your heavenly Fa-

ther.” Matt 5:3-15

So many people seem to only see the surface value of the Bible even afterstudying it over and over again. For more than 500 years (from the birth of MartinLuther in 1486) we seem to be no closer to a more mature answer of many parts of

scripture than the early reformers. Even the 95 theses that Luther nailed to the



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church door in Wittenberg have not yet been answered. This has caused many tosay that ‘the scriptures will only be understood in heaven when God gives us the

answer,’ yet God commands us to study and understand.’

“Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that need

not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”2 Tim 2:15

Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand.

Matt 15:10...

"Those with spiritual understanding will have a wide ministry of

teaching in those days…”Dan 11:33

Why are so many of us today without an understanding of so much of the Bi-

ble? Could it be that many believe that the knowledge they already have is enough?Could it be that many are so busy defending what they have, that they have no timeto listen to anything different that is presented to them? Or could it be that theyhave been told not to listen to anything that might differ from what they have been

taught?

The time in which we live with knowledge overload and the information super

highway, it would be a ridiculous thing for a person to make a statement that thereis nothing new to learn, that all that is to be learned has been learned. And in thistime God has allowed man to probe into the depths of creation, to see the deeper

things of His handiwork, and yet it is said that parts of the scriptures have beenlocked away, never to be understood until God reveals it in heaven. This just does-n’t fit the character of God when in His word He has asked us to study and under-

stand.

However, we have seen what this kind of thinking has done. Day after day, andweek after week, and year after year, many are powerless against their enemy the

devil, and victory is no more in sight than the nearest star. Many live their day-to-day lives with as many questions as they had the day or week before. Yet, in God's

Word is the promise to give to us what we ask in His name.

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you

will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone

who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks,

the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for

a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg,

will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know

how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Luke 11:9-13

Q. Why then is there so little receptiveness and understanding of the Word of God?

A. “...the reason you don't have what you want is that you don't



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ask God for it. And even when you do ask you don't get it because

your whole aim is wrong-- you want only what will give you

pleasure.” James 4:2-3

There are those who would say that in fact they are asking God constantly fortruth and direction in the study of His Word, so what they have must be the truth,

right? The one thing they are overlooking is the heartfelt reason they are asking.Only God knows the heart, even the intent of the heart. In our heart lie the deepest

secrets, hidden from humanity's vision, but not hidden from God. We may fooleach other in our pompous prayers and seemingly deeply devoted intentions that weare religious and in contact with our heavenly Father, but God sees into the hidden

depths of our hearts and knows our true intent.

When we seek to please ourselves instead of seeking those things which are

from God, we can do no good thing.

Ego-centric pleasures come in many different forms. They can be anything that

makes a person feel justified, even when it has to do with God.

• Many use authority like a double edged sword, and that is their pleasure.

• Others may brag of their connection with God, and that is their pleasure.

• Some may just like to fit in and that is their pleasure.

But few ever come to a point in their life when the ultimate pleasure they findis in doing only that which pleases God. This can and will only occur when the

Word of God is set as a foundational pillar is one’s life.

Much of what makes many feel pleased is based upon a false interpretation ormisconception of God's Word. And in the end they find themselves in agreementwith the world and its beliefs, because it fills in the gaps that God has seemingly

left unanswered.

“You are like an unfaithful wife who loves her husband's enemies.

Don't you realize that making friends with God's enemies-- the

evil pleasures of this world-- makes you an enemy of God? I say

it again, that if your aim is to enjoy the evil pleasures of the

unsaved world, you cannot also be a friend of God.” James 4:4

If we aspire to nothing higher than the evils of this world, then we will never

be in a position to receive God’s Spirit and for Him to reveal His hidden mysteries.We must come to a point where we can see what God means when He says that to“obey is better than to sacrifice.” We need to look beyond what we have conceived

in our own minds and to see God in a way that allows us to obey Him in an effortof love and not in ignorance of His Word. This is the goal that we must strive to

reach and be zealous for.This is not a place where we can throw away EVERYTHING that we have

ever learned, but rather a place to weed out the errors and then rebuild upon theTruth. If we do this without prejudice, bias or becoming emotionally distraught, we

will see what God has done in our lives and how He has been leading us to a point

where we can discern with clear vision, the mysteries that lie ahead.



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Come On Up

Since you became alive again, so to speak, when Christ arose

from the dead, now set your sights on the rich treasures and joys

of heaven where he sits beside God in the place of honor and

power. Let heaven fill your thoughts; don't spend your time wor-rying about things down here. You should have as little desire for

this world as a dead person does. Your life is in heaven with

Christ and God. Col 3:1-3

We are admonished to have our minds stayed on Christ, to be filled with heav-enly thoughts. As two old sayings go: “you are what you eat,” and “by beholding,

you become changed.” And in the words of an old hymn, “Turn your eyes upon

Jesus, look full into His wonderful face, and the things of this world will growstrangely dim in the light of His Glory and Grace.” If a person begins to keep their

eyes on God and feed on His Word, then they will begin to resemble the character

of God.

So we can see that in order to begin this journey, we must allow our minds tobe caught up in heaven, to behold God. It is here we share in God's Wisdom andHis Glory. Knowing this, we must realize that all things in heaven are eternal, andto exist there we must begin to sample, even utilize, God’s own eternal thinking.(We believe and claim that God does not lie, and that He will do as He has said that

He would.)

For God is not a man that he should lie, neither human that he

should change his mind. When he gives his word, does he not

perform it? Or does he promise and not fulfill it? Num 23:19

...Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD has said, 'I

will show myself holy among those who are near me, and before

all the people I will be glorified.'" … Lev 10:3

This Scripture is a true statement of what God has declared about His relation-ship to those who are near Him and here is where we begin this Spiritual Journey to

walk with God.

When we make claim that God has meant what He has said, then we can readHis Word and believe exactly what it says. (We will stay within the context of how

each word in scripture finds itself in agreement with itself.)

Entering His Kingdom

God has said that in order for mankind to enter His kingdom they must first

receive a new life.



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Jesus replied, "With all the earnestness I possess I tell you

this: unless you are born again, you can never get into the

Kingdom of God." John3:3

Many have stated their view and preconceived views of this scripture read-ing, but if we will just continue on we will see that Christ finishes the painting

for us so that we can see the whole picture.

Jesus replied, "What I am telling you so earnestly is this:

unless one is born of Water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter

the Kingdom of God. men can only reproduce human life, but

the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven; John 3:5,6

After his baptism, as soon as Jesus came up out of the water,

the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God coming down in the form of a dove. Matt 3:16

Today, there are many different forms of this ‘renewal’ that takes place allover the world. From Russia to China to the USA, this baptism or being reborn

is performed with having holy oil applied to the body, sprinkling water on thehead, total immersion under water, speaking in unknown languages and many

more.

These different forms of receiving the Holy Spirit each leave out a part.One has water, but not the Spirit. One has Spirit, and leaves out the water,

while others have neither or both but leave out the Truth that the Spirit brings.

"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.

John 16:12-13

So the question arises: ‘does that mean that you have to have water to be-come born again or to be anointed with oil or speak in tongues?’ The questionis good, yet it lacks the deeper meaning that God was trying to unveil, for He

baptizes with the Spirit and with Fire.

... he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Matt3:11

One can make sense of all of this when they read on; but the chaff he will

burn with fire that cannot be put out. Matt 3:12Fire is one of the best ways to cleanse a piece of ground and let it bring

forth new and stronger life. So it is with water. Water will wash off the dirt of

this world and leave behind a clean vessel for the Spirit to fill.

So if one is reborn again of Water and Spirit, then they will have allowedGod to burn away the chaff and leave behind a cleansed piece of ground for the

Spirit to water and bring forth a new and stronger life.



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The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a

sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will belike a well watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isa

58:11

If the Spirit is allowed to do its work, then the secrets of God, the mysteries of God can be revealed to the one who seeks and they may live the life that God hasasked them to (without the idea that there are just some things in His Word that

may never be understood.)

But we know about these things because God has sent his Spirit

to tell us, and his Spirit searches out and shows us all of God's

deepest secrets. I Cor 2:10

Being born again is the essential first step to our Spiritual Journey with Christ.

However, Christ wants us to come closer to a deeper understanding of Him as well.

Summary

The spiritual journey is available to ALL who are willing to be born of God’sSpirit, God’s Water and His Fire, and who are willing to let Him show them the

deeper secrets of His Word.



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Come On Up And See The

Godhead

T o live with someone is to become intimately aware who he or she reallyis. You watch them act and react to life and its many twists and turns. Andwhen a person comes to the place where they are now living in the presence of God, they will see Him in action in the everyday affairs of mankind, especially

in their own life.

Those who live with God begin to see the His character and to understandthe things that once caused them to misunderstand God, instead of loving Himin the full knowledge of what Love is. They begin to see with heavenly visionGod's view of life, death, salvation, wrath, and the many aspects about His

character. And they begin to see His Word from Genesis to Revelation as tohow God works with His ideal plan and with the crisis measures He used, bothbecause of the hardness of men's hearts and or their unwillingness to followHim. These crisis measures from a law that ends in death to a sacrificial system

that required the death of an innocent animal, were never intended to be ashowing of the character of God, but were used because mankind refused tolisten to God’s voice and obey. And when God used His crisis measures, it wasnot done because He wanted it that way, but because mankind would not come

to Him on a loving and understanding basis. And today, mankind is still un-willing to come to Him and understand His ways. So they continue to look for

that elusive rest spoken of in Hebrews, but never seem to find it.

So I became sorely displeased with that generation and said,

they are always going astray in their hearts; they did not

learn my ways. As I swore in my anger, they shall not enter

into my rest. Heb 4:9-11

But if, as many say, that there are always going to be things that we willnever understand, then God's ways may never be known, and we may never beable to partake in that rest, like the nation of Israel. But the questions are: “Is

what God says in His Word true?” and “Can we really understand the things of

God as He has said we can?” and if so, “Just what are those things?”

The Beginning of Wisdom

Each person seems to have a view as to what we are to know and notknow about God. Each interestingly enough, seems to fit the religion that it

belongs to. But if each religion is correct and everything that they say we willnever understand is really true, in the end, a vast majority of the Word of Godwill never be understood. Then that makes the Word of God a lie when it says

that,



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“ ALL of Scripture is given for reproof, for correction, for

training in righteousness. II Tim 3:16

Through an inability to understand certain portions of the scriptures, it

makes the Bible speak a lie in stating such things.

But we know that the whole of Scripture is given for reproof, for correc-

tion, for training in righteousness and all of God's Word is Faithful and True.We are then the ones that make up rules about the Word of God and then teach

it to others as though it were truth, not God. But if we will believe that what Hehas said is true, then we may not only be able to read but to understand because

He will teach us His Word.

But you have received the Holy Spirit and he lives within

you, in your hearts, so that you don't need anyone to teach

you what is right. For he teaches you all things, and he isthe truth, and not a liar; and so, just as he has said, you must

live in Christ never to depart from him. I John 2:27

The sad reality is that so many have allowed man to lead them in the waysof God and to help them determine what is right and good without going toGod themselves for a mature point of view on His Word. This is the spiritual

journey, to see with heavenly vision the deeper things of God, and to grow up

(become mature) in His Word by allowing Him to teach us Himself.



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Come Up And See My Plan

For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son

so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have

eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to con-

demn it, but to save it. John 3:16,17

When we look at the plan of salvation for mankind, we can see that a lov-ing and thoughtful God set into action a way for all to be saved. This plan wasnot born out of anger or frustration on the part of God; it was done because He

loves us.

We know how much God loves us because we have felt his

love and because we believe him when he tells us that heloves us dearly. God is love, and anyone who lives in love is

living with God and God is living in him. I John 4:6

The cause of Christ was not, as many have made it seem, to build up reli-gious bodies and call themselves every imaginable name under heaven nor wasit for man to set himself up as the authority of God on earth. The cause of Christ was to rid this world of the one who keeps it in a sinful state and thus

He came to draw all men to Himself that all might be saved, and that all mightbe victorious over the flesh (selfish desires) and sin.

The time of the judgment for the world has come and the time

when Satan, the Prince of this world, shall be cast out. And

when I am lifted up, I will draw every one to me. John

12:31,32

If we can get beyond the fleshy understanding of the life, death and resur-rection of Christ and see with heavenly vision what God the Father and God

the Son were doing, then we will have a totally new experience with Them. If we would do this, the arguments of the centuries, the deep discussions

of theology, would find their answers in the single act of the ultimate form of Godly love. Those proclaiming God’s love in their life would pass beyond thehuman level of authority and see that the life, death and resurrection of Christ

was for the throwing out of Satan and the lifting up of God.

Mankind must see that all authority and all truth belong to God. But so

often, for the sake of pride and the realization of how much money can bemade, they will not move forward into His Kingdom.

For the love of money is the root of all evil. . . I Tim 6:10

...I pray that you will begin to understand how incredibly

great his power is to help those who believe him. It is the



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same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and

seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in

heaven, far, far above any other king or ruler or dictator or

leader. Yes, his honor is far more glorious than that of any-

one else in this world or in the world to come. and God has

put all things under his feet and made him the supreme head

of the church which is his body, filled with himself, the Au-thor and Giver of everything everywhere. Eph 1:19-23

If we will see it, God has a place for us to fill, and a job to do that goes far

beyond where we have gone before.

And he has made us kingdoms and priests to God and his father; to him be the glory and Dominion forever and ever.

Amen Rev 1:6

And has made us to our God kings and priests: and we shall

reign on the earth. Rev 5:10

This title and rank is given to a special group of people who believe. Butthis belief must make a difference in those who accept this position, for they

now exist with God in heaven.

And has raised us up together, and has made us to sit to-

gether in heavenly places in Jesus Christ. Eph 2:6

This existence of heavenly living has an effect on the one living there, justas one is a product of his or her environment. To live with God is to becomeOne with Him. Therefore, if Christ is our High Priest, and He has made uspriest and kings, then we will come to the point where our actions become just

like the actions of our King and Priest because He has become One with His

people.Yet it must be realized that many refuse this picture because they believe

that this is a future condition yet to come. To state that this is a future eventand not a present reality is to ignore the statement of 'being raised up with him'

as being spoken of His resurrection. And also that this statement is written in

the present tense, not future tense, and Christ is already risen from the dead.

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that

grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how canwe live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who

were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Rom 6:1-4



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For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,

and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head

over every power and authority. In him you were also cir-

cumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a

circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circum-

cision done by Christ, having been buried with him in bap-

tism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead . Col 2:9-12

When we can see that this is true, that we have been raised up into heavenwith Christ, and that we are priests and kings, then what God says about those

who worship him becomes understandably clear.

But the time is coming and is now when genuine worshipers

will worship the father in Spirit and in Truth; for the father is

looking for such as his worshipers. God is Spirit and his

worshipers must worship him in Spirit and in Truth. John

4:23,24

We want to get beyond the fleshly (surface) view of this text, and see itwith Spirit filled vision, for God exists on a level of higher understanding, and

in order to worship Him we must come to that place or our worship is in vain.

But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines thecommandments of men. Matt 15:9

For the sake of keeping the status quo, mankind to often continues to wor-ship God in the flesh and not in Spirit and Truth. They refuse anything otherthan what is already accepted as truth in their area of influence. The Spiritual

Journey is one of victory and seeking the deeper things of God. If it is filledwith complacency and tradition, then the journey will only go as far as those

who believe they are leading it.The wheel stayed for centuries in its basic form of wood, all because of the

lack of imagination and invention. Even in the introduction of the automobilethe wheel changed very little. It was not until someone came up with a

new idea, that the wheel changed at all. Many a person, like the wheel, havetraveled in the same circle only to end up where they began. They have studiedthe scriptures from a physical ( fleshly\surface ) viewpoint and have, as of thisday, yet to understand the deeper mysteries of God. And sadly, when a spiri-

tual understanding comes, they throw it and its presenter out.

‘We have what God has given us, and we are what we are because Godhas made us, and nothing is going to change that’ are the words heard over

and over again. But does this answer the questions? NO!!!

Then Jesus called to the crowds and said, "Listen to what I

say and try to understand: You aren't made unholy by eating



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non kosher food! It is what you say and think that makes you

unclean." Then the disciples came and told him, "You of-

fended the Pharisees by that remark." Jesus replied, "Every

plant not planted by my father shall be rooted up, so ignore

them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and both will

fall into a ditch." Matt 15:10-14

If only a surface value is put on the scriptures, then the deeper meanings of

God's Word will never be understood. As with the Pharisees, many have putvalues on the Word of God that have lead people to only a surface relationshipwith God and the deeper thoughts of God are not allowed to permeate the

mind.

Heavenly thoughts are not natural to the carnal mind, but with constanteffort to allow God in and to push Satan out (through the blood of Jesus Christand His power and authority) then we will become heavenly minded, and that

which was not natural now becomes natural.

God is waiting to bestow upon us gifts beyond our wildest dreams. Gifts

that allow us to be caught up with Him, where this world grows vaguely dim,

in the light of his glory and grace.



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Come Up And Receive My Faith

T o live with God means to partake of His nature and what He offers us.

To live by His Love means to understand how He lives, and how He runs His

kingdom. And to live by His authority means to trust Him completely.

Note this: Wicked men trust themselves alone, and fail; but

the righteous man trusts in Me (has faith in me) and lives!

Hab 2:4

One of the most important parts of any relationship is trust. If that is notestablished at the beginning, then the relationship that is needed to form a last-

ing friendship never matures past the introductory stage. And if a person can-

not put full trust in God and know Him as their friend and misunderstands Hischaracter of Love, then he or she cannot or will not ever have the ability to

stand in His presence in full peace, with power and authority on their side.

For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and

of love, and of a sound mind. II Tim 1:7

God loves us and desires that we all come to this relationship with Him

and a higher plane of thinking where He can teach us His deeper mysteries.But to accomplish this we must first have faith that He is who He says He is,and that He will do what He says He will do, and that He has done what He

says He has done.

For we walk by faith, not by sight. II Cor 2:9

Many refuse this understanding of Scripture and are determined that

heaven literally has gold streets and that angels have pink fluffy wings. Withthis view, they determine in their own minds just what is to be applied in aphysical understanding and just what is to be applied in a spiritual sense. Theyview the Bible in a legal context through the teachings of those who believe

that the Word of God is to be only read in a certain way.

They separate the spiritual understanding of the scriptures from its physi-

cal connotation. Thus all that is seen is the “letter” of the law.

But the “letter” of the law is only what is seen on the surface and thusmany a statement is made that leads people to believe a misconception or amisinterpretation of the Word of God; and instead of living by faith, they live

by what they can physically see. But the “deeper mysteries”, the “spiritual”secrets of God are those things that are seen with heavenly vision that goes

beyond surface boundaries and human reasoning.

Then the Pharisees approached him to test him. They asked.



20

Come Up And See Tomorrow

H istory has played a big role in religious circles. Many have used it to

help them study the Bible. But it can produce a negative effect: instead of see-ing deeper into the desire that God has for mankind, only surface values of

war, strife and the day-to-day living are often seen.

Such is the case when Bible students study prophecy. Instead of seeinghistory and what lies just ahead of them in a spirit filled perspective, they have

often been taught:

1. to view Jerusalem as a literal geographical area on this earth;

2. that when they see swords and battle armor, they are to interpret it as hu-

man warfare;

3. that it will happen at a literal place on earth; and

4. that all of this understanding be wrought from an idea of prophecy having

a meaning of future event(s) to come.

This scenario is played out over and over again despite scriptural refer-

ences that there is a spiritual understanding of it and instead they are not taught

to see the spiritual understanding of what they are reading.

Ignorance of the fact that God has a higher level of thinking for his people

has caused many to see everything in the scriptures on an earthly or fleshlylevel. Yet scripture speaks of a higher Jerusalem, a spiritual battle, a highertemple, and a greater building process going on than that of physical mansionsfor the saints, and the paving of literal streets of solid gold, or the fighting of

physical battles.

But Jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Gal 4:26

Therefore, you are no longer strangers and immigrants, but you

are fellow citizens with the Saints and members of God's house-

hold; you are constructed on the foundation of the apostles and

prophets, of which the cornerstone is Christ Jesus. The whole

building, framed together in him, rises into a temple that rises

together for a dwelling of God in the Spirit. Eph 2:19-22

Now before anyone becomes confused or annoyed thinking that we aresaying that there are no physical meanings or any historical applications, other

than in a spiritual understanding, may this be said in defense of a literal orphysical application. God himself spoke of things that have happened both onthis earth and in heaven. What we are saying is, that just as He made refer-

ences to the physical, He spoke of a spiritual Kingdom and understanding

of His Word.



21

While on this earth, Christ tried to take the eyes of the people off of them-

selves, and help them to look up and see a greater Temple and a God they did not

know. He tried to help them to understand that through their ignorance and lack

of spiritual vision, they had made earthly things holy that He never meant to be

made holy. He tried to help them to come to a whole new understanding of His

True Temple in heaven, not the one they felt so proud of here on this earth.

Blind guides! Woe upon you! For your rule is that to swear by

God's temple means nothing you can break that oath, but to

swear by the gold in the temple is binding! Blind fools! Which

is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And

you say that to take an oath by the altar can be broken, but to

swear by the gifts of the altar is binding! Blind! For which is

greater, the gift on the altar or the altar its self that sanctifies

the gift? When you swear by the altar you are swearing by it

and everything on it, and when you swear by the temple youare swearing by it, and by God who lives in it. And when you

swear by heaven you are swearing by the throne of God and by

God himself. Matt 23:16-22

What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?

What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?

For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I

will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their

God, and they will be my people." 2 Cor 6:15-16

Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of myGod. Rev 3:12

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Al-

mighty and the Lamb are its temple. Rev 21:22-23

By misinterpreting the scriptures, and taking out of context what God had

spoken, and looking only at the surface value or the letter of the law, the Jewish

nation and their leaders had complicated the scriptures so well that only someone

who was learned in the schools of the prophets could explain them. The averageperson could never hope to understand them on a personal level.

Today this same procedure has been duplicated. Those who do not seek to

move up in God need to have the scriptures interpreted for them by those who are

thought to be learned in the ways of the Word. Thus the understanding of scrip-

ture and the experience that goes with it is left to those who must become

schooled in the understanding of Scripture in order to see the deeper secrets of

God. Many walk in ignorance of the Word of God and blindly follow what their

leaders command, yet God has spoken that we have no need that any man teach

us.

You have no need that any man teach you. I John 2:27

Many have given over the spiritual experience that God has wanted each

person to have in seeking truth for themselves, and have given that glorious ex-

perience over to the learned men. Have we become as so many others before us,



22

as our forefathers, and have turned away from God by failing to become partak-

ers in His divine nature and falling short of the place in God where our experi-

ence becomes His and His becomes ours?

The experience of studying prophecy through earthly eyes while discounting

any spiritual meaning causes many to misunderstand it (for only learned man can

ever hope to understand such a complicated matter). Yet many believe that they

have the truth and are going to tell others about it when in fact by their own ad-mission they do not even understand the Word of God. So evangelistic seminars

have been rushed to the rescue saying, “Now there is no need to know the deeper

things of God, for we will supply a learned man to come and teach the people so

they may feel comfortable in what they do not understand in the scriptures.”

"I know you well—you are neither hot nor cold; I wish you

were one or the other! But since you are merely lukewarm, I

will spit you out of my mouth! You say, 'I am rich, with every-

thing I want; I don't need a thing!' And you don't realize that spiritually you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind

and naked. My advice to you is to buy pure gold from me, gold

purified by fire--only then will you truly be rich. And to pur-

chase from me white garments, clean and pure, so you won't

be naked and ashamed; and to get medicine from me to heal

your eyes and give you back your sight.” Rev 3:15-18

Ignorance of the Word of God has made it easy to disobey and ignore the

very essence of God's Word. But this ignorance is not without its price. It hasbrought about the destruction of millions and millions of God's children. And

today His Word is as true as it has ever been.

“...my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge "Because

you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests;

because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ig-

nore your children.” Hosea 4:6

The plan of God has been for His people to be knowledgeable of the time in

which they are living and to be a witness to the world about a God who never

leaves or forgets His people. His plan has been for everyone to know Him and to

love Him. But that is not the way it has been.

The view of a God who writes in a language too difficult to understand, and

then tells people to obey it, and changes His way of dealing with them from one

generation to another, does not portray an all loving God. So today, many fear

Him and obey Him out of a survival mode. And modern day religion’s view of

God’s words to His people (prophecy) has taken on an aspect of a God of wrathwho will visit this world in judgment and bring His rod of iron down upon the

heads of those who have misused his name.

From the Secret Rapture theory to the many studies in Daniel and Revela-

tion, the fleshly or surface understanding of prophecy has caused many to never

know if their salvation is sure or to know God as a trustworthy and faithful

friend.



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Come Up And See The Secrets Of

Heaven

I n the Spiritual Journey, the walk of a child of God draws them closer andcloser to Christ and puts them in a place where they can see the Truth moreclearly. This connection with God is a relationship built into what is calledFaith. As the child of God continues to grow in Him they see the relationship

that Daniel, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah had with God and why they were so close to

Him and He could use them as He did.

These men who lived thousands of years ago did not have to wait untilChrist came to receive heavenly vision and to see the deeper meanings of God's Word. They saw with clear vision heavenly things that go beyond

earthly sight. They spoke from a position that went beyond man’s understand-ing, and were led by God into His ‘Kingdom view’. Yet today, those whomake claim to be children of God show that they see the Word of God as out of reach and not to be full understood until sometime in eternity. They have

learned to misuse the Scriptures just to argue or to prove their point.

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to

face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I

am known. 1 Cor 13:12

There is an old saying, “here a little and there a little, but what about therest?” If a person understands in part but not in whole they will never be ableto come to a spiritual conclusion on any matter. For if you only read a part,then that's all you will know only a part. But if God’s Word is read in its en-tirety then more information can be gathered and people can come to a more

truthful conclusion of the matter. Sadly, much of scripture is understood onlyin part. Very little is presented in its entirety. Instead it is presented in a fashionof “here a little and there a little.” Because of this kind of presentation andstudy many have come to a conclusion that a text like I Cor 13:12 is meant tobe read as some futuristic event that is still to take place. Yet, if each personwill read all of God’s Word to the end, they will see that it is in fact about their

relationship with Jesus Christ.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It

always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perse-

veres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, theywill cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled;

where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in

part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the

imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a

child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I

became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see



24

but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to

face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I

am fully known. 1 Cor 13:6-12

The thought here is about growing up in the Word, that when growing upin the study of God's Word each person will see how much they know now in

comparison to when they first began to study. The spiritual walk with God islike the growth from childhood to adulthood. Each person continues to look

forward as though they are still a child in the learning process, for they see thatthere is so much to know. Therefore there is no reason to believe that much of the Scripture cannot be understood until Christ comes. I Cor 13:6-12 is thenunderstood like this: ‘But when grown up thinking comes, the childish

thoughts will pass away. When I was a child and my thoughts were imperfect,I spoke like a child speaks, and I thought childish things, I therefore reasonedlike a child does. But when I grew up and my thinking patterns became more

mature or perfected, I no longer dealt in childish behaviors and thoughts. Now,as children trying to look in a mirror that seems out of reach, we see a poor

reflection, but when we grow up, we will see face to face.’

If we will grow up and see beyond the surface values of what we havebeen taught, and see deeper into the Word of God, we will find the real mean-ing of His Word. This text, as many, points out that we need to grow up andget out of the baby stage where we have been stuck. And if we can see heavenin this kind of spiritual thought pattern, then we are bound to have a whole new

experience in our walk with God and see His magnificent character of Love.And God uses many analogies to show us His kingdom, His character and

what He desires us to be. In Ezekiel 47 He lays before us another analogy, this

time it is speaking of the River of Life.

Then he brought me back to the door of the Temple. I saw a

stream flowing eastward from beneath the Temple and pass-

ing to the right of the altar, that is, on its south side. Then he

brought me outside the wall through the north passageway

and around to the eastern entrance, where I saw the stream

flowing along on the south side [of the eastern passageway].

Measuring as he went, he took me 1,500 feet (457.2 meters)

east along the stream and told me to go across. At that point

the water was up to my ankles. He measured off another

1,500 feet (457.2 meters) and told me to cross again. This

time the water was up to my knees. Fifteen hundred feet

(457.2 meters) after that it was up to my waist. Another

1,500 feet (457.2 meters) and it had become a river so deep I wouldn't be able to get across unless I were to swim. It was

too deep to cross on foot. He told me to keep in mind what I

had seen, then led me back along the bank. And now, to my

surprise, many trees were growing on both sides of the river!

He told me: "This river flows east through the desert and the

Jordan Valley to the Dead Sea, where it will heal the salty



25

waters and make them fresh and pure. Everything touching

the water of this river shall live. Fish will abound in the

Dead Sea, for its waters will be healed. Wherever this water

flows, everything will live. Fishermen will stand along the

shores of the Dead Sea, fishing all the way from Engedi to

Eneglaim. The shores will be filled with nets drying in the

sun. Fish of every kind will fill the Dead Sea just as they dothe Mediterranean! But the marshes and swamps will not be

healed; they will still be salty. All kinds of fruit trees will

grow along the riverbanks. The leaves will never turn brown

and fall, and there will always be fruit. There will be a new

crop every month-- without fail! For they are watered by the

river flowing from the Temple. The fruit will be for food and

the leaves for medicine." Ezek 47:1-12

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the

holy place where the Most High dwells. Ps 46:4

This river is Life (God’s immutable character) and those who come incontact with it are changed and healed by it and find peace in it. This water isnot made up of two parts oxygen and one part hydrogen, it is made up of the

Love of God, and it flows from those who believe in Him.

“For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water shall flow from the inmost being of anyone who believes in me."

John 7:38

This river has its beginnings from the Author of us all. It finds its strengthfrom God in heaven and flows out to those who will experience the power of

God and will take the Spiritual Journey that leads to the throne room of the

Lamb.

And he pointed out to me a river of pure Water of Life, clear

as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb. Rev

22:1

If we will reach beyond the surface reading of Scripture and try to see intothe very throne room of God, we will be privileged to drink of the water fromwhich we will never thirst of again. This water is the Spirit of God, and its lifegiving properties cause the sinner to be reborn again, to be refreshed and to

bear fruit in every season.

...coursing down the center of the main street. On each side

of the river grew Trees of Life, bearing twelve crops of fruit,

with a fresh crop each month; the leaves were used for medi-

cine to heal the nations. Rev 22:2



26

Language has often proven to be a barrier in understanding truth through-out history. And as well as many have tried they have come short of seeing the

spiritual meaning of scripture. With this kind of understanding they havetaught the same misunderstanding to others and have built doctrinal beliefs

around these misinterpretations.

Today we see what divisions this has caused in religious circles and what

kind of intolerance has been handed down from generation to generation.Those who are supposed to be acting like they have the Love of God in

their hearts, are instead breeding misunderstandings that have caused them tohate each other and to fear the One who wants to give them the power to be

victorious. They have a form of Godliness, but deny It’s power.

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power: from

such turn away. 2 Tim 3:5

Many have not realized what they have been doing in the name of Godand how they have misunderstood His Word and misused His character. Yetmany look at those who claim to be children of God and see the hatred and

disharmony that these teachings have brought about and how anyone who doesnot believe what they claim as truth is unsaved; and they say to themselves: ‘if this is the way to truth, then I want nothing to do with it.’ Sadly they have alegitimate reason for not wanting anything to do with this kind of god and thesad part is that most will not recognize this fact and thus only continue to pre-

sent a distorted view of God and His Word. The question then arises, “Willthere ever be those who will exemplify the character of Christ”?

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow evil men's advice,

who do not hang around with sinners, scoffing at the things

of God. But they delight in doing everything God wants them

to, and day and night are always meditating on his laws and

thinking about ways to follow him more closely. They are

like trees along a riverbank bearing luscious fruit each sea-son without fail. Their leaves shall never wither, and all they

do shall prosper. Ps 1:1-3

Praise the Lord , there are those who come to that place of knowledge, butthe numbers are not high. For the pomp and glory that only this world can giveand for the desire to be comfortable in one's belief, most will not allow them-

selves to be put in a position of what they see as ‘rocking the boat.’

Many are called, but few are chosen. Matt 22:14

But for those who choose to work with God, it is said of them; “...blessed

is the man who trusts in the Lord and has made the Lord his hope and confi-

dence. He is like a tree planted along a riverbank, with its roots reaching deep

into the water-- a tree not bothered by the heat nor worried by long months of



27

drought. Its leaves stay green, and it goes right on producing all its luscious

fruit. Jer 17:7-8

There are many advantages and benefits of taking the Spiritual Journey,

such as the experiences that God has for His people to enjoy so they may seethe beauty of His Kingdom. His plan is for them to knock at His door and to

seek His Truth.

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you;

seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to

you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds;

and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Luke 11:9-

10



28

Come Up And

Become My Own

M any have asked the question as to whether anyone can ever becomeperfect or sinless? They see themselves as imperfect, and realize that they donot match up to God's requirements as they understand them. Then they add tothis understanding, their idea that God’s requirements are as they have been

told to read them and not to see why God gave them in the first place.

Because of the lack of spiritual eyesight into God's Word, they come upwith a version of the character of God they call grace. This doctrine is builtupon the premise that God loves them so much He would never destroy thosewho claim His name; and He would especially not do this if they were doing

what they consider to be the will of God.

Because of the traditional teachings, this kind of message is taught as theabsolute Word of God despite how this teaching makes scripture speak againstitself. This has made many feel religious and believe that they are all right

with God.

"Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They

may refer to me as 'Lord,' but still won't get to heaven. For

the decisive question is whether they obey my Father inheaven. Matt 7:21

Despite good works and many good intentions, God will say to many who

thought they deserve to be in heaven; “Depart from me.”

“ At the Judgment many will tell me, 'Lord, Lord, we told oth-

ers about you and used your name to cast out demons and

did many other great miracles.' But I will reply, 'You havenever been mine. Go away, for your deeds are evil.” Matt

7:22-23

“Yes” they say, “that is correct, but that can't apply to me, I believe inGod. Are you trying to tell me you are better than me? You are trying to con-

demn me, aren't you?” And soon, the one who wants to help is demonized andis looked down upon by the one who feels he or she is a Believer; and by doingso are then achieving what they believe their Lord would do in the same situa-

tion.

The struggle to see deeper into the Word of God has never been so great,

yet the struggle for truth must go on. The question must be answered; ‘will the

real child of God please stand up?’

The deeper Words of God call for a higher level of understanding of Hischaracter. But the position of the major portion of those who claim to be chil-



29

dren of the King is: they have seen in the Bible that they have an advocate withthe Father and that He (Christ) lives to make intercession for them by continu-

ally bringing His blood before the Father and asking for the forgiveness of their sins. They then build their many doctrines on this, when in fact if the restof the story was told, they would see that the scriptures unveil a most blessed

picture of just what He did by being the sacrificial Lamb for mankind.

He never needs the daily blood of animal sacrifices, as other

priests did, to cover over first their own sins and then thesins of the people; for he finished all sacrifices, once and for

all, when he sacrificed himself on the cross. Heb 7:27

Christ fulfilled (filled it up, bring to an end) the need for sacrifice. Whatwe need to understand though is the meaning of sacrifice. It was for the annul-ling or washing away of sin. But due to the belief or excuse used by so manythat states “I can't ever become perfect,” they continue to seek a god that willcontinually officiate as a Levitical priest, one who will accept the sin offering

(confessionary prayer) and take it before the Father to ask Him to forgive them.

The Scriptures tell us that Christ did that once and for all at the cross. Thequestion of whether ‘will we be forgiven’ seems out of place in this under-standing; where instead it should be the knowledge of God’s Love for us andthe shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ as being enough to answer the ques-tion as to whether God loves us. And it should reflect our knowledge of the

cross and that it is not God's willingness or unwillingness to forgive us, ratherit is we who need to claim the forgiveness and start acting like a forgiven peo-

ple, and go and sin no more.

The Bible tells us in Hebrews that Christ is not a Levitical priest (one whomust take the sins of the people before God to have them forgiven) but rather apriest after the order of Melchizedek. It is to be seen here that this priesthood isthe one that has it’s beginning and ending in the throne room of God (a placeof FULL power and FULL authority.) All power and all authority belong tothis priesthood which is not built on a foundation of continual sacrifices for sin

and the continual shedding of blood.


priests did, to cover over first their own sins and then the

sins of the people; for he finished all sacrifices, once and for

all, when he sacrificed himself on the cross. Heb 7:27

That blood, that precious blood, was shed on the cross for the annulling or

forgiveness of sin. There is no more blood to be shed, no more forgiveness thatcould be offered than that which was given at the cross. Our High Priest gave

all that He could give.

His Priesthood is the highest of any kind mentioned in the scriptures.

What we are saying is this: Christ, whose priesthood we



30

have just described, is our High Priest and is in heaven at

the place of greatest honor next to God himself. He ministers

in the temple in heaven, the true place of worship built by the

Lord and not by human hands. Heb 8:1-2

If we can rise above the surface values (the flesh) and see with Spirit-filled

eyes, we will not miss the deep implications of God’s Word. Not only is theMelchizedek priesthood the greatest of all, but there is also a greater temple in

heaven in which the Melchizedek Priest officiates.

Again, God is trying to raise our vision to heavenly standards, not to

earthly demands.

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Al-

mighty and the Lamb are its temple. Rev 21:22

The temple of God has been presented before the people with four wallsand all the furniture that the earthly temple had in it. Yet, Scripture says thisview was brought to an end at the cross through the sacrifice of the Lamb thatwas slain from the foundation of the world. It must be seen then with heavenlyvision that Christ is a high priest only after the order of Melchizedek, not Levi.The Levitical priesthood was one of continual shedding of blood and the con-stant need for the forgiveness of sin. Under the priesthood of Levi, the peoplenever came into the rest of God due to the hardness of their hearts. They never

came to the point where God could successfully bring the Melchizedek priest-hood back into its original place. They would not obey God and keep His com-mandments. Thus, instead of going beyond the walls and furniture and ritualsof the temple service and obeying God, they envisioned that what God haddone in telling Moses of how to build the temple, was the form of worship that

God required.

Today, a large majority of the world feels that sin will always be a part of their lives (just like Israel did) and they continue to worship in temples made

by man and then add to this belief that the standards of God have changed andthough God no longer requires the law to be obeyed as Israel had too that theystill must worship in the Levitical style of tithes and offerings and the offeringup of much prayer, and this causes them to need a daily ritual of asking God toforgive them of their sins. God is then seen in this view of salvation that re-quires the Word of God to play the role of a Levitical priest, bringing before

the throne the continual blood offering for forgiveness.

The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he

commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyoneobeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him.

This is how we know we are in him: I Jn 2:4-5

...Get some sense and quit your sinning. For to your shame I

say it; some of you are not even Christians at all and have

never really known God. 1 Cor 15:34



31

Some say: “I don't sin because I am reborn, for the new man inside of meis now right with God.” But their actions and reactions to life do not show an

intimate relationship between themselves and God.

For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father

with his angels; and then he shall reward every man accord-

ing to his works. Matt 16:27

This does not say that all you need are works to get to heaven, but that by

your works you are known as to who you serve. Good works are how the out-ward man shows that his inward or new man has given all of who he is, andhas given all of what he is to God and has come into the will of God. All hasbeen brought into subjection to the commandments of God and the power of

God streams out of the new creature/creation.

With spiritual vision we see that God has said that His people are notknown for their evil deeds but are known for their good deeds. This is the waythe outward man shows that he has come into contact with the Highest Powerof all. But there is great sadness that many only see the surface value or teach-

ing that has presented the works issue in such a way as to cause many to reject

any kind of work as being a bad thing. They have said that any outward show-ing of sinless living must be from the Devil for no man is perfect or sinless.Then they use the Bible to back up this teaching and it is done without realiz-

ing that they have just made the rest of Scripture a lie.

Then a demon-possessed man—he was both blind and unable

to talk—was brought to Jesus, and Jesus healed him so that

he could both speak and see. The crowd was amazed.

"Maybe Jesus is the Messiah!" they exclaimed. But when thePharisees heard about the miracle they said, "He can cast

out demons because he is Satan, king of devils." Jesus knew

their thoughts and replied, "A divided kingdom ends in ruin.

A city or home divided against itself cannot stand. And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is fighting himself and destroy-

ing his own kingdom. And if, as you claim, I am casting out

demons by invoking the powers of Satan, then what power do

your own people use when they cast them out? Let them an-

swer your accusation! But if I am casting out demons by the

Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among

you. One cannot rob Satan's kingdom without first binding

Satan. Only then can his demons be cast out.” Matt 12:22-29

From this point, those that take the position of non-perfected living, will

not hear or believe anything else on the subject no matter how much of theBible is read which disagrees with their belief. The problem lies at the door of tradition. Many have made definitive statements about what they believe the

Bible says and have formed a religious movement around it and have designedtheir rulebooks and dogma to back it up and because the majority agree on the



32

issue and it has been held up as truth for so long, it is both taught and acceptedon its own merits. Does this prove that what has been accepted and taught is

truth, or does it show that even if God himself showed up in veiled human

form as He did before, that today they would also refuse to listen to Him?

This is where tradition has taken us. We will not allow God to speak to usfor the sake of holding up a misunderstood belief about Him? Will we continue

to shut off any avenue that God has for us to see deeper into His Word, or willwe seek and knock until the door is opened and see with heavenly vision all of

the wonders that God has waiting for us?

All of this and more is possible if we will take this Spiritual Journey. If wewill get beyond tradition and preconceived opinions, we will be in a positionthat God can now do for us and to us all the things He has wanted to do for

almost 6000 years.

Many cannot imagine that God could use such filthy vessels as they see

themselves to be, but God does not see them that way.

For they are spiritually undefiled, pure as virgins, following

the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from

among the men on the earth as a consecrated offering to God

and the Lamb. No falsehood can be charged against them;

they are blameless. Rev 14:4-5

God has a people who will show His character to the world. The question

is, “will it be you and me?”

But you are not like that, for you have been chosen by God

himself-- you are priests of the King, you are holy and pure,

you are God's very own-- all this so that you may show to

others how God called you out of the darkness into his won-

derful light. 1 Pet 2:9

What a beautiful promise God made to those who would be called Hisvery own, to be priests and kingdoms living in this world but not being a part

of it. A pure and holy people set apart to do His will and His alone.

We are, (not yet to be), kings and priests. We have been brought up to

heavenly places with God.

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in

the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the com-

ing ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace,expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Eph 2:6-7

Another reason for right living is this: you know how late it

is; time is running out. Wake up, for the coming of the Lord

is nearer now than when we first believed. Rom 13:11



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Will we answer the call, or will we continue to stay right where we are andfight any attempt that comes our way to see the Word of God in any new light?

Time is running out. As the old song says;

The Lord is coming, are you ready

The Lord is coming, are you ready

If He came tonight,would your heart be right

The Lord is coming, are you ready?



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Come Up And See The Lamb And

His Christ

For just then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and therewere loud voices shouting down from heaven, "The Kingdom

of this world now belongs to our Lord, and to his Christ; and

he shall reign forever and ever. Rev 11:15

The body of Christ, the church of Christ, the temple of Christ, the dwellingplace of the most High. These are all ways God has referred to His people wholive in Him and worship Him. These are they who have overcome as He hasand sit with Him/in Him on His throne just as He sat in the Father on His

throne. (And for those who are wide awake they quickly realize that all theyare seeing is One throne and One God sitting there on it.)

This is the body of Christ, those who live in Him and are His body whichis Him. These are those who have overcome and become a part of Him. Theyhave taken on His name just like an adopted child takes on the name of the one

who adopted them.

Therefore all that is seen when we look at the throne is one person who

sits there, GOD!

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on

my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father

on his throne. Rev 3:21... I have been crucified with Christ:

and I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the

real life I now have within this body is a result of my trusting

in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Gal 2:20

This action of “sitting with the Father ” is an authoritative remark, but thatshould not be a hard thing to understand when Christ has made us kings and

priests. What seems hard for many to understand is how God could let sinnersrule with Him in any seat of authority. What we fail to see is that God's view of

those who are truly His, is not one of being inferior, but instead, being virgins,blameless, first fruits, sons of God, not sinners. What keeps us from obtaining

this stature is that Satan steps in and deceives us and makes us feel unworthy.

This great Dragon-- the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world-- was thrown down

onto the earth with all his army. Rev 12:9

Any deception that would cause us to doubt God and His Word is not fromGod! What God says, He will do, and what He said He would do He has done.These are promises we can claim and prophecy we can count on. God cannot



35

nor would not lie!

He has given us both his promise and his oath, two things we

can completely count on, for it is impossible for God to tell a

lie. Now all those who flee to him to save them can take new

courage when they hear such assurances from God; now

they can know without doubt that he will give them the salva-tion he has promised them. Heb 6:18

God is not deceived. He knows what He has done. It is only mankind thatis so easily convinced (due, of course, to the lack of knowledge that could havebeen theirs) that God hates us or that God is just waiting to destroy us, or that

God will one day get even with those who are evil. These deceptions of Satan, and many more have convinced people

throughout time that it is a hopeless battle against his power, yet God hasmade us priests and kings and this position is one of power and authority

over Satan.

The seventy returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the de-mons submit to us in your name." He replied, "I saw Satan

fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to

trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the

power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” Luke 10:17-19

This is not talking about real scorpions or real snakes. It is referring todemons and satanic powers. God has given power and authority to be over-comers, and to wield that authority over Satan and take back the territory (ourdominion/our lives) that he has made claim to for so long. This is the reasonwhy Christ can claim us as His. His own have claimed back their dominion

(through co-rulership with God) in His name, as we must do when we pick upour cross and follow Him. Christ won the battle against evil when Satan made

claim to this world and became the prince of the air. That is the reason Godrefers to Satan as the prince of this world and tells those who are willing tolisten that they their fight is not against each other but against the spiritual

forces in heavenly places.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against

principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the dark-

ness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the

heavenly places. Eph 6:12

I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does

happen you will believe. I will not speak with you much longer,

for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me,

but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do

exactly what my Father has commanded me. John 14:29-31



36

We need to act the part that Christ has asked us to as priests and kings, towin the battle over sin and Satan and make claim to our domain as God's King-

dom. We must see this through Spirit-filled eyes or we will see only hopeless-ness in the struggle over sin and Satan and we will make claims that are not

Scriptural.

The world is watching. What is it seeing; a people with the power of

heaven on their side or a people with just a feeling of power? God says eachperson will be able to say, “there is a child of God” when they see the worksor character of the person. Emotions will not determine it, the religious organi-zations of today will not decide it, the world will not feel it, but all will see it

with open eyes and will have to make a decision for or against Christ. No one

will be left out. All will know the Lord God on that day.

And no one then will need to speak to his friend or neighbor

or brother, saying, 'You, too, should know the Lord,' because

everyone, great and small, will know me already. Heb 8:11

The priesthood of God will be known as it was known before. No one onthat day will have to seek for someone to tell about Christ. It will be all aroundthem. The world and the true believer will be so different from each other thatno one will have to guess as to which is which. The question is, ‘will you and Ibe the correct representation of Christ on this earth; will we see through Spirit-

filled eyes the Truth about God?’ The whole Universe is waiting for our deci-

sion and time will tell who is truly seeking for more Truth. May it be said of us: “Well done My good and faithful servant, enter into My rest.” God’s love

will be seen through His Anointed and no one will be ignorant of His cry for

them to come into His kingdom and receive His gift of salvation.



37

Love

And [Abram] believed, (trusted in, relied on, remained

steadfast to the Lord); and He counted it to him as righteous-

ness [right standing with God.] Gen 15:6

From the beginning, God has poured upon humanity a Love that is neverending and ever abounding. This Love of His has caused Him to be hurt and attimes to be ashamed that He ever created man. Yet, through all of this, HisLove has never ceased or failed anyone, anywhere. Abraham knew this Love,

when, despite his misinterpretation of God’s promise, God still loved him anddid not count his stumbling against Him; but instead counted his desire to Him

as “righteousness” (perfection).

Man has tried to understand the Love of God in many ways, and in manydifferent times of this world’s history, but has failed to find the Love that

Abraham found in knowing God.

They say that they have it, yet find a reason or ability to allow anger, hate,resentment, and a myriad of selfish motivations and emotions to be broughtbefore the Lord God day after day. These supposedly ‘hidden’ sins are coddled

and kept by many who claim to know the Lord.

The world looks at these kinds of actions as hypocritical, and churches

find it harder and harder to fill their pews. So programs are brought in that of-fer love through entertainment and or those programs that try to instill withinthe laity an idea of love that resembles that of their Lord. Yet, despite these

attempts the people still lack The Love of an all forgiving, always giving God.

Abraham knew this Love, that even though his life did not always go the

way he expected and hoped, God never left him nor forgot him. When Abra-ham needed an answer, God gave it and when he talked with Him he knew he

was talking to a friend.

So what is the difference between Abraham and many who claim to be Hischildren? What is it that they lack or need, to be able to talk with God as Abra-ham did? Let's look at these questions a little closer. Lets see what answers

God has for us to see in his Word. Let's start at…..



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The Beginning

One of the questions that have been brought up in many circles is, ‘what

was God’s original plan with Israel and with whom did it start?’ To answerthese questions we must look at the repeated attempts by God to have a peoplewho would be His lights to the world and would help prepare for a great har-

vest of souls.

These attempts have not brought the response that God was pursuing. Yet,in all of these attempts there has been a solid line that never wavered orchanged one iota. That constant was known as The Promise. The Israelites

believed that one day a Messiah would be born who would rule the world witha rod of iron and they would be the beneficiaries of the kingdom God hadpromised to father Abraham. They believed that through the covenant made

with Abraham, they were the rightful heirs to the Kingdom of God and ownersof the property called Jerusalem. This understanding led them to believe thatthey could do nothing to cause the anger of God to ever punish their nation inany way, or would cause them to be at odds with their God. They believed that

the covenant could never be broken because they were Abraham’s descen-

dants.

"Abraham is our father," they answered. John 8:39

Israel held to the belief that if God says He loves you then you must be

O.K. or specially favored in His eyes. What they failed to realize is that God isnot a respecter of persons or position and rank. He has spoken His Word of who He can use and who shows themselves to not be a part of His Kingdom.

He made it very clear just who belongs to Him and who is a child of the devil.

He then began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted

a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the wine-

press and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to

some farmers and went away on a journey. At harvest time

he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of

the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and

sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant

to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him

shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He

sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

"He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent himlast of all, saying, 'They will respect my son.'

"But the tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come,

let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' So they took

him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

"What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come

and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have-



40

who is Christ... There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor

free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Gal 3:16,28

God, in His great wisdom, spoke in His Word to His people throughoutthe ages. Yet many prefer to be only surface readers. But when we dig deeper

into the Word of God we will see a greater picture unfold, a greater value thatis attached to that which we once saw as just a story of the past. Here we can

see it with spiritual eyesight—that God is calling Abraham’s seed, God’s onlySon. This was not to be applied to Isaac or Ishmael, for they could not be sentfor the remission of sins. God's love reached down through time and wouldfind its final fulfillment in greater movements than just setting up human na-

tions or kingdoms.

“Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my

day [My incarnation]; he saw it and was glad.” “You are

not yet fifty years old,” the Jews said to him, "and you have

seen Abraham!" "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered,

"before Abraham was born, I Am!" John 8:56-58

Now Abraham died long before Jesus Christ was born, therefore, was notpresent on that day, yet, he gloried in that day for he saw it with heavenly vi-sion. He walked and talked with God as a friend and it was revealed to him as

from one friend to another. And the love of God is brought down to us throughHis Promise which He gave to those before us. Through this Promise we claim

victories over sin and Satan.

And he raised us altogether with him and made us to sit

down together – giving us a joint seating with him – in the

heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus, the

Messiah, the Anointed One. Eph 2:6

The Promise made to Abraham was one of the Spirit of adoption not the

claim of being a blood relative.

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again

to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we

cry, “Abba, Father.” Rom 8:15

In order to understand the Promise made to Abraham we must first crossthe chasm of traditional teaching and see with Spirit [Christ] filled eyes what

He wants to give to us and the journey He wants for us to take. There is a journey, a Spiritual Journey that goes beyond our first understanding of thepromise through Abraham. The flesh has not allowed us to travel beyond the

teachings of men yet we need to see the deeper meaning that the Lord, the IAm, Yashua, Jehovah revealed to those who would see the Promise that spoke



41

of an eternal Kingdom that went beyond mountain ranges and arguments overwho owns what. It went way beyond anyone, anywhere, being able to claim

themselves as the rightful heirs. Those who were to be called the children of Abraham were those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. This crosses allpossible boundaries or religious beliefs that claim they are the heirs. Everyonewho loves God is one of God's children and an heir to the throne. But if only

this would mean that all would be saved.

"So the last will be first, and the first will be last....” "For

many are invited, but few are chosen." Matt 20:16 & 22:14

But all receive the boundless care and love of a God who loves His creation.

"There is a saying, 'Love your friends and hate your enemies.'

But I say: Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute

you! In that way you will be acting as true sons of your Father

in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the

good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust too. If you

love only those who love you, what good is that? Even scoun-

drels do that much. If you are friendly only to your friends,

how are you different from anyone else? Even the heathen do

that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven

is perfect. Matt 5:43

How many have taken these things to heart, or have known these things?

How many have received the eternal blessings that have been laying in store for

them? It is most likely to be said without worry of offense:

But the Gateway to Life is small, and the road is narrow, and

only a few ever find it. Matt 7:14

The Father and the Son have throughout time tried to raise the view of

humanity to a higher level where they would then see with Spiritual eyesight thedeeper meanings of His Word. So many conflicts over a piece of ground or over a

religious body would never have occurred if only it would have been realized that

the Promise has always been a promise of an eternal, unshakable Kingdom, a

Kingdom not of this world.

Then he said to them, "You are from below; I am from above.

You are of this world; I am not...Then Jesus answered, "I am

not an earthly king. If I were, my followers would have fought

when I was arrested by the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is

not of the world." John 8:23 & 18:36

So let's go beyond the elementary understanding and pass into the next level

of study. Let's find out where God is trying to lead us. Let’s walk down this way

called the narrow road or highway of holiness.



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The Highway of Holiness

And a main road will go through that once-deserted land; it

will be named "The Holy Highway." No evil-hearted men

may walk upon it. God will walk there with you; even the

most stupid cannot miss the way. Isa 35:8

At different times, many have sought wisdom from those they saw as wisein the Word, but now is the time for maturity in the Word. A relationship be-tween man and God becomes pertinent to see the deeper meaning of what God

has spoken through His Word, as with this highway called the Holy Way.

This Holy Way is one road. An attempt has been made to make this roadmean many roads and in church doctrine they have said there are many ways to

God, yet Christ has said:

"I am the Way—yes, and the Truth and the Life. No one can

get to the Father except by means of me." John 14:6

"Heaven can be entered only through the narrow gate! The

highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide enough for all

the multitudes who choose its easy way. But the Gateway to

Life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it." Matt. 7:13-14

There is a wide path or many ways that lead to destruction, but only one

way that leads to eternal life. This highway of holiness was a Promise givento Abraham that if he walked with God he and his posterity would be given the

land that God had promised him, an eternal Kingdom. Abraham’s posterity(those who believe in God) were to be partakers in this eternal Kingdom. But itdid not take long before his posterity lost sight of this eternal Kingdom andbegan looking for a piece of property. Many have not seen the deeper meaningof the Promise, that God was speaking of a heavenly Kingdom not some

earthly real-estate.

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He knew I

was coming and was glad." The Jewish leaders: "You aren't

even fifty years old – sure, you've seen Abraham!" Jesus:

"The absolute truth is that I was in existence before Abraham

was ever born!" John 8:56-58

Abraham did not have to live to see Christ born, die and be raised up, hesaw it all through the Melchizedek priesthood. He saw the love of God and His

saving Power. He saw God's forgiveness and mercy and stood clean before hisLord. Abraham walked and talked with God and God unveiled to him what Hehas been trying to say to all of us; and those who walk this highway of holiness



43

stand clean and pure as Abraham before them because of their willingness to

obey God and do His will.

"...because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements,

my commands, my decrees and my laws." Gen 26:5

The Love of God is immeasurable and is given to ALL. And to those whowill listen and obey, He gives the greatest of all gifts, Eternal Life! The high-way of Promise (Holiness) is based upon a decision. Will we let go and let God

have ALL of us, or will we refuse His ever constant bidding and have our own

way?

Despite what we may want to believe, God's love for us alone does notmake us into what we do not want to become. Because we were created as freemoral agents we must make the decision and step out in the faith that what He

has said He will do in us and that He will give to us whatever we ask in Hisname. Will we ask for overcoming power and become over-comers, or will we

deny that He has the power to change us into a new person?

The Promise given to Abraham was about a Spiritual piece of property and

a people that would have faith in God, a faith that He could help keep them outof sin and become their life. These people would be given the title priest andkings, a holy nation, virgins and first fruits. As priests and kings they would

rule with Him and for Him over kingdoms not of this world. In other words:

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strong-

holds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets

itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive

every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Cor. 10:4-5

These first fruits or virgins follow the Lamb whereever He goes and jointhe good fight of faith that goes beyond human boundaries and as priests and

kings they look beyond the surface values that were once put on the Scripturesand see with heaven's vision the true Jerusalem and the great controversybetween God’s eternal Word and Satan’s attempt at misconstruing that Word.

And if we will let God come into our lives we will become first fruits and

citizens of that eternal Kingdom, the Jerusalem that is above.

But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our

mother. Gal 4:26

...Abraham did this because he was confidently waiting for

God to bring him to that strong heavenly city whose designer

and builder is God. Heb 11:10

Our Kingdom, by Promise, is not of this world; it is a kingdom whose ar-chitect and builder is God Himself. We are truly just passing through; and we



44

have a higher hope and a goal to achieve that reaches beyond the stars.



45

If You Love Me

T he Promise of God is for ALL and for ALL time. But the Promise of God

is dependant upon obedience to His will. This is the very essence of knowing

God, that is:

IF YOU REALLY LOVE ME, YOU WILL KEEP (OBEY) MY

COMMAND. John 14:15

One of the most misunderstood pieces of Scripture ever received from God

to mankind was the letter that many have called the law of Moses, yet this one

piece of Scripture has brought more hate, anger and a denial of its need than al-

most any other in Scripture. Jesus said;

“...because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my

charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Gen

26:5

“Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my

day; he saw it and was glad." John 8:56

People, throughout time, have made excuses for not obeying God. Yet thecommandments of God have a part to play in our desire to know God and show

our love and obedience to Him.

Abraham rejoiced to see God's day, yet so often many think it’s a burden to

do that which Abraham did. Is it really a burden to love God and keep His love

request to us, or have we misinterpreted what God said?

This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his com-

mands are not burdensome, I Jn. 5:3

God’s laws were set up to show the Spiritual cleanliness that needs to take

place in the body temple. His precepts (instructions) were to be a teaching or a

how-to instruction booklet of how this love shines out in day-to-day living. His

commandments were His desire for His people to see how far they had fallen

away from Him and what needed to be removed from them to serve Him and to

be a living witness of what the Love of God does in each individual life.

But the love of God was never to be a law of command. However, many see

God as a commanding person, who, if He is not obeyed, will bring down Hell

Fire upon those who do not make Him happy. Many fear Him for this very reason

and shy away from Him; and this reason is often given to provide a need for

saints to intercede on man’s behalf as well (acting as mediators between God and

man.) This interpretation of the character of God has been taught by many

through the centuries causing the world to see a God with a split personality. On

the one hand God is seen as the ultimate expression of love, on the other hand He

is seen to be as angry as the Devil.



46

Abraham rejoiced to see God’s day, he did not tremble and shrink in fear, for

he talked with God and knew Him as his friend, not as a slave fears his master or

as one may fear an enemy. Moses was a friend of God and met with Him face to

face. These men did not need a law to remind them of their faults and sins, for

God lived in their hearts. This is what the promise to Abraham was all about.

If we will get beyond the human understanding of what the promise to Abra-

ham was, we will see that what really took place between God and Abraham wasa relationship between friends. This relationship was to be fulfilled by a coming

Messiah, and a people that would have the faith of Abraham and Moses and

would know the voice of their Shepherd.

Just like a fireman goes into a burning building to seek and save someone

who may be lost or unable to find their way out, Christ went into the midst of an

unholy fire, kindled by lies through deceit, to save/call out those who were in the

valley of the shadow of death.

When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

Jn. 10:4

God's love extends throughout eternity. But if the promise was all fulfilled in

Abraham and his immediate descendants, then where is the eternal nation called

Abraham (Abramites)? There is no such nation, but there are a people called ac-

cording to The Promise; these are a holy nation, first fruits, and virgins that are

undefiled of women (untouched by spiritual adultery.) The love of God reigns

through these people.

Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promises to the Jews?

No! [For these promises are only to those who are truly Jews.]

And not everyone born into a Jewish family is truly a Jew! Just

the fact that they come from Abraham doesn't make them truly

Abraham's children. For the Scriptures say that the promises

apply only to Abraham's son Isaac and Isaac's descendants,

though Abraham had other children too. This means that not all of Abraham's children are children of God, but only those

who believe the promise of salvation which he made to Abra-

ham. Rom. 9:6-8

With all the referrals to Abraham and The Promise, one would think that all

that is necessary to understand about The Promise (the why's and wherefores and

how's and when's) would be an understanding that those of Abraham’s seed must

reach Christ the same way, through the same Love, the same Faith, with the same

Law, precepts and commandments as did father Abraham (if we are going toserve the same God that NEVER changes.)

"I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob,

are not destroyed. Mal 3:6

There were emergency measures used by God to teach the Israelites in the



47

wilderness things like: cleanliness of mind and body, purity of worship and obe-

dience in love instead of slavery as the way as they were used to; and He did this

because they had been brought up without this teaching. But the problem that has

occurred over time is that many perceive this way that God worked as some kind

of dispensation or as the way God always works. Yet the whole rest of Scripture

reveals God showing compassion beyond measure as He did before the Israelite

experience, showing the friend relationship that He would rather have with His

people. But if we have our eyes open we see how God has shown that He will

work within mans disobedience and misunderstandings to accomplish His will

even though He desires obedience in Love rather than by force of death.

The Love of God in judgment and mercy are the same yesterday, today and

tomorrow. It is man himself who sees them as diametrically opposed to each

other and misunderstands that they are witnessing the diverse ways God has had

to work with His people because of their disobedience and ignorance. If God

were truly as vengeful as many imagine, THEN WE HAVE DONE WORSE

THAN THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE US AND ARE WORTHY OFHIS IMAGINED WRATH 10 TIMES OVER. But God's mercy and justice were

established before the foundations of the world’ they have not changed; and on

this desire of Godly Love the whole universe rises or falls.

Father, I want them with me—these you've given me—so that

they can see my glory. You gave me the glory because you

loved me before the world began! John 17:24

God's Love, through His Son Jesus Christ, has been and always will be thesame, it is man's love that is faulty and in need of repair. If we mean what we say

about our love for God then we are going to want to do what makes our God

happy and pleased. Either we will act like Able and give the Lord God an accept-

able sacrifice, or we will be like Cain who brought before God what he deter-

mined was right and just.

Just like Hophni and Phinehas who kindled an unholy fire before the Lord,

many bring before God their version of obedience of falling down and getting up

and offer it before Him as their sacrifice when it really is an abomination. No

matter the choice that is made, to act in disobedience or to obey the voice of God,

His love never changes.

But I say: Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute

you! In that way you will be acting as true sons of your Father

in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the

good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust too. If you

love only those who love you, what good is that? Even scoun-

drels do that much. If you are friendly only to your friends,how are you different from anyone else? Even the heathen do

that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven

is perfect. Matt 5:44-48



48

God Is Love

I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant be-

tween me and you and your seed after you for the genera-

tions to come, to be your God and the God of your descen-

dants after you. Gen 17:7

This is God's changeless promise of which Paul remarks:

Dear brothers, even in everyday life a promise made by one

man to another, if it is written down and signed, cannot be

changed. He cannot decide afterward to do something else

instead. Now, God gave some promises to Abraham and his

Child. And notice that it doesn't say the promises were to hischildren, as it would if all his sons—all the Jews—were be-

ing spoken of, but to his Child—and that, of course, means

Christ. Gal 3:15,16

The Promise, as is spoken here, is referring to Christ not Isaac or Ishmael.It is not speaking of land or seas but to an event, the birth of the Messiah. Wecan read this in a whole new light if we will only see that God is not interested

in wars over property that is thought to belong to any one person or tribe be-cause of a misinterpretation of His Word. God's Promise was given in the giftof His only Son, sent to live, die and rise to a glorified life for mankind. Hislife, death and resurrection did not happen for a struggle over any earthly king-dom, but was set in the backdrop of an eternal Kingdom that was not of this

world.

Paul continues on, and speaks of the law.

Here's what I am trying to say: God's promise to save

through faith—and God wrote this promise down and signed

it—could not be canceled or changed four hundred and

thirty years later when God gave the Ten Commandments. If

obeying those laws could save us, then it is obvious that thiswould be a different way of gaining God's favor than Abra-

ham's way, for he simply accepted God's promise. Well then,

why were the laws given? They were added after the promise

was given, to show men how guilty they are of breaking

God's laws. But this system of law was to last only until thecoming of Christ, the Child to whom God's promise was

made. (And there is this further difference. God gave his

laws to angels to give to Moses, who then gave them to the

people; but when God gave his promise to Abraham, he did

it by himself alone, without angels or Moses as go-

betweens.) Gal 3:17-20



49

God's Love was sent in a Promised Child, His only Son to this world to be

the Lamb slain, the ultimate Sacrifice, and this sacrifice would be for all sin

(Satan’s) power, past, present, and future.

God's Son shines out with God's glory, and all that God's Son

is and does marks him as God. He regulates the universe by

the mighty power of his command. He is the one who died tocleanse us and clear our record of all sin, and then sat down

in highest honor beside the great God of heaven. Heb 1:3


priests did, to cover over first their own sins and then the sins

of the people; for he finished all sacrifices, once and for all,

when he sacrificed himself on the cross. Heb 7:27

The greatest of all gifts, the greatest of any promise, was met in one Per-

son, one Lord, one Savior, Jesus Christ. What better gift could be given? Sin

had lost its power and those who had been its prisoners were set free.

For everything Satan tried to do, God took it to the cross so that we might

be free from the grip of sin.

So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free-- John 8:36

Freedom is a wonderful thing but many have been weighted down by find-ing themselves in a constant spiral of sinning and asking for forgiveness where

they are found trapped under a law that points out their sins. They have tried

and tried to keep that which was only to point mankind to the Law Giver, but

instead of coming into the fullness of the will of God and obeying His com-

mands they have found what they believe supports their stand in the scripture

and have denied obedience to God’s voice while they demand constant obedi-

ence to that which by their own actions they show they will not or cannot keep

it themselves.But if the law was only to show sin in its real light and reveal the Savior,

then what law was in question when the lawyer asked Christ:

"Sir, which is the most important command in the laws of

Moses?" Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all

your heart, soul, and mind. This is the first and greatest com-

mandment. The second most important is similar: Love your

neighbor as much as you love yourself. All the other com-

mandments and all the demands of the prophets stem fromthese two laws and are fulfilled if you obey them. Keep only

these and you will find that you are obeying all the others."

Matt 22:36-40

God's Love is enveloped in His first principles, the Law of heaven to



50

which the Angels themselves Live in. If sin would lose its grip upon mankindthen they would live by the same Law that the Angels and father Abraham kept

(that Law that Lives in the heart, not on tables of stone.)

In other words, love that is established under law is a love based on condi-tions (not being unconditional.) That form of love ends in fear. On the otherhand, the Love of Christ is unconditional, all forgiving and encompassing all.

This Love is in contrast to the belief that Christ, or the saints in heaven aremediating between man and God because God needs to be asked to forgive us.If that were true man would need a go-between, a Levitical type of priest tobeg for forgiveness on behalf of the person or people and then the work of theHeavenly High Priest would never be finished as long as people were asking

for forgiveness from God. But this doctrine does not agree with the Word of

God.

For God so loved and dearly prized the world that He [even]

gave us [his only-begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever

believes in (trusts, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish-

but have eternal (everlasting) life. For God did not send the

Son into the world in order to judge-to reject, to condemn, to

pass sentence on-the world; but that the world might find

salvation and be made safe and sound through Him. He who

believes on Him-who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him-is not judged (he who trusts in Him never comes up in the judg-

ment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation; heincurs no damnation). But he who does not believe (not

cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already; ( he has already been convicted; has already received his sentence)because he has not believed on and trusted in the name of the

only begotten Son of God, He is condemned for refusing to

let his trust rest in Christ's name. John 3:16-18

God does not sit in a judgment seat and pass out condemnation or accep-tance. In His Love He allows mankind to condemn (judge) themselves by their

own choice to turn away from Him.

Oh, that we would see that our Lord loves us so much that He allows usthrough our own decisions to be saved or lost and still rains His Love upon therighteous and the unrighteous alike. And to add to that, He has promised to

give whatever we request of Him. In other words, if we ask for Him to comeinto our life and give us His abundant Life then He will give it. And if we ask for Him to leave us alone and we let Him know that we do not want life then

He will also give us what we ask for. Life or death, blessings or curses, thechoice is ours to make.



51

You Must Be Born Again

W hen Christ met with Nicodemus, He used these words to explain to him

that the old self (the way he used to be) must be set aside and a whole new manmust appear in the place of the old one. This kind of thinking goes beyond tra-dition and into whole new lines of thought where old preconceived opinions

and biases must be set aside to understand just what is being said.

This is the situation that occurred between Elijah and Elisha ( II Kings 2.)Elisha saw beyond the surface of what was going to happen to Elijah andwould not honor Elijah's request for him to stay behind while he prepared to

leave. Elisha wanted and desired to have that which God had given to Elijahand would not settle for anything less. Oh, that we would desire to have a por-tion of that Spirit of God as did many who have gone before us. What a won-

derful relationship of power and might we would have with God.The sons of the prophets could not turn Elisha from his desire. And over

and over again he showed his willingness to do what it would take to reach thisgoal. Elisha would not be content to stand in the traditional understanding of the events that many knew would take place. He loved his friend and loved hisGod so much that those who did not see into the depths of God’s Love and

workings could not persuade him.

Many have been taught to believe, read and understand in such a way that

when God comes to them in His way, they cannot understand and thus fail tosee just what God is trying to reveal to them. As with the sons of the prophetsin the days of Elisha, they only see the fleshly or surface value of what is hap-

pening right before their eyes.

The converse of this is shown in the maturity of the child of God, in theunderstanding of the His Word. So many times we often show our immaturityin our failure to go beyond our forefathers, our leaders or our friends under-standing of God's Word. God said to Nicodemus; "You must be born again."

On the surface it seemed that Jesus was asking an impossible thing, but Jesus

knew that Nicodemus thought like his forefathers and He was going to have toexplain to him just what He meant. He revealed to him a new way of thinkingand took Nicodemus in his mind to a whole new level of understanding of theWord of God. Nicodemus was shown by Christ that despite all the outward

acting of righteousness (right doing), the heart (mind) must be changed to re-

ceive eternal life.

The physical or fleshly level of thinking in the Word of God is only thebeginning of wisdom. The deeper things of the Word are the maturity of the

walk of the child of God. We all crave the baptism of God, yet the baptism weneed, as did Nicodemus is to come to an at-one-ment (atonement) with Godwhere the mind of Christ has replaced our old way of thinking and the newman now exists. Sadly, this atonement is skimmed right over and many timesignored in our refusal to go beyond where those who have traveled before us

have gone.



52

If we do not go beyond traditional thinking we will be destined to continueto act out the same immaturity in our understanding of such things as: the law,

the prophets, the precepts, the nature of God, the cross, the virgin birth of

Christ, faith, works, miracles, prophecies, acts of the Spirit and the limitlesstopics in the Word of God. We will, without understanding, continue to liter-ally toss out portions of Scripture that we believe were only written for others

and for other times. We will ignore the very Word of God that states:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that

the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good

work. 2 Tim 3:16-17

The Word of God is True, a Rock, a sure Foundation that is held up by theCornerstone. All of Scripture points to the One God who " Does nothing lest he

tells his prophets first." This principle of God holds fast and true no matter thetime or place. God's love never changes. He has told us what He has done and

what He wants to do and what He will do if we will let Him into our hearts. Hewants to pour out on His people the Rain of Heaven that they may be thor-oughly washed (bathed), tempered, prepared and equipped for every good

work.



53

The Former And Latter Rain

Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD

your God: for he has given you the former rain moderately,

and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former

rain, and the latter rain in the first month. Joel 2:23

God in His infinite love, promised to give to Israel the former and latterRain, without which there could be no harvest. Many believe that this Rainwould be poured out in great measure at the end of time. Some have believed

that it is poured out little bits at a time and others have stated that all of Scrip-ture (the former and latter rain) was met in Christ and that all heaven was givenin this one great gift, Jesus Christ the Messiah. Then what the Rain consists of

is fulfilled in God. The Word of God came veiled in human flesh, lived amongmen and made Itself known to us through The Son of God and overcome sin

on man's level and gave Himself to everyone who would be born again, even to

His death on the cross.

All this was done out of His Love for His children and as a balm for theweary. And when He went to sit at the right hand of the Father He made apromise to those that believe on Him and would work within His Love and

would walk and talk with Him and overcome this world as He did.

And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name

they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;

they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly,

it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick,

and they will recover." Mark 16:17-18

He sat down at the right hand of His Father and assumed the role of poweras an equal to the Father. Not lesser than or greater than, but an equal at theright hand of God. No one sits at the right hand of power unless they are recog-

nized as one equal to the one in power.

God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received

from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out

what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to

heaven, and yet he said,

"'The Lord said to my Lord:"Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies

a footstool for your feet." '

"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has

made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

Acts 2:32-36



54

In other words: We have a God who is acquainted with us in every possibleway, who sent His Only Son to die for us and to rise again with power and glory

and reigns in heaven as our Brother.

Then he added, "Anyone who obeys my Father in heaven is

my brother, sister, and mother!" Matt 12:50

Whatever is, whatever exists, is because of God and through Him every-thing has its being. There is no distinction of blood relation and family tiesother than in those who believe and receive His rain. His Rain, former and lat-ter exists in Him and through Him and is not bound by genealogies or tradi-

tional thinking.

Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He

has always been alive and is himself God . He created every-

thing there is—nothing exists that he didn't make. Eternal life

is in him, and this life gives light to all mankind. John 1:1-4

Just believe it—that I am in the Father and the Father is in

me. Or else believe it because of the mighty miracles you

have seen me do. "In solemn truth I tell you, anyone believ-

ing in me shall do the same miracles I have done, and even

greater ones, because I am going to be with the Father. You

can ask him for anything, using my name, and I will do it, for this will bring praise to the Father because of what I, the

Son, will do for you. John 14:11-12

In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I

will ask the Father on your behalf [for it will be unneces-

sary]. John 16:26

Since Christ returned to heaven and sat at his Father's side, the Rain of heaven, the former and latter, has been poured out on those who would receiveit, but not in the great measure that He has been waiting to give it to those whowould receive it and use it to overcome this world and help others to do thesame. The Truth presented in heaven's power has the promised ability to unitethe sinner with heaven and cause them to stand clean before the Lord. But if

mankind continues to misunderstand God, then the love that it takes to be a

friend to God and man will never be found.

If the law (tables of stone) are seen through these eyes, then the beauty of it will not be seen and will be rejected as a leftover from history. Yet even thisone simple thing we overlook, The Law Lived Among Us And Became One

Of Us And Became Acquainted With Our Sorrows And our Grief! We throwout and disregard that which is God and came from God, Christ Our Savior!Would we be so quick to agree with those who find a reason to disregard or seeparts of Scripture as being of no use for us today if what we were actually do-ing is disregarding God Himself and throwing Him out like common garbage



55

for the trash man to come and pick up?

We cannot disregard the former Rain and be accounted worthy of receiv-ing the latter Rain. For these two are One, both being in and through and a part

of God. We build on Truth, be it young or old in its thoughts. But whatever itis (young or old) it must be continual in growth. The early view of the law wasonly that. An early view, a view that would bring lost mankind to accept the

Law (Christ Jesus) that would live among us. And thus what the law (tables of stone) could not do for us, the Law (Christ Jesus) would do.

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weak-

ened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in

the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he con-

demned sin in sinful man. Rom 8:3

What a loving God we serve. One that knew what we needed and gave itin its fullness to us so that from beginning to end nothing would be found miss-ing in His great plan. It is only in our inability to see with Spirit filled eyes that

we continue to make the same mistakes over and over again.

The fullness of the Love of God must do its work—but much has to beremoved from our path so that we may walk in this Love and live It out fully inour lives. The former and latter Rain, the Love of God is awaiting our recep-

tion and will continue to fall all around us whether we accept it or not.



56

Priests And Kings

T he positions which we hold in this life are often imagined to be as valu-

able as gold. Yet the one position that rates higher than any other is the onemost overlooked. In many peoples eyes to hold a position of deacon, elder,eldress or head elder is thought to be a great thing and something to be soughtafter and to be a pastor or a leader is to sit in the seat of highest knowledge and

Godly authority.

Yet God sets before ALL the greatest of all opportunities, to be a workerfor Him but in a position that is not puffed up or overflowing with pride and

does not bring any recognition from others. But it is the greatest of all positions

to be held and to be a part of: A Heavenly Priest And King.

...Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was,and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his

throne, and from Jesus Christ who faithfully reveals all truth

to us. He was the first to rise from death, to die no more. He

is far greater than any king in all the earth. All praise to him

who always loves us and who set us free from our sins by

pouring out his lifeblood for us. He has gathered us into his

Kingdom and made us priests of God his Father. Give to him

everlasting glory! He rules forever! Amen! Rev 1:4-6

Christ's priesthood must be understood to see just what kind of priests wehave been fashioned after. And as we look into His Word we see that Jesuswas chosen as a priest by His Father, a Priest after the order of a heavenly

Priest (Melchizedek.)

Another thing to remember is that no one can be a high

priest just because he wants to be. He has to be called by

God for this work in the same way God chose Aaron. That is

why Christ did not elect himself to the honor of being High

Priest; no, he was chosen by God. God said to him, "My Son,

today I have honored you." And another time God said to

him, "You have been chosen to be a priest forever, with the

same rank as Melchizedek." Heb 5:4-6

The view of Christ as a High Priest has over the centuries been represented

through hierarchical church government and liturgical services, as one of aJewish high priest or Levite. He has been and continues to be seen as a priestthat needs to be a go-between (mediator) to help the Father see the fact that we

need to be forgiven or have our prayers answered. This has been the reason forthe need of having the saints and the virgin Mary (as some believe) to help in

this process.



57

This view of having Christ acting the part of a Levitical (Jewish) highpriest is and has been the part of accepting the past without participating in the

present or going forward into the future. Scripture plainly states that Christcould not even be a priest of Levi because He was not of that tribe or lineage

Heb 7:14; yet many keep Him in that role so as to please their need to sin andhave a high priest to whom they can offer up their sins. But as far as sin is con-

cerned, they have no need to wonder what position God takes on the issue. OurGod is very plain about this thing called sin.

Well then, shall we keep on sinning so that God can keep on

showing us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of

course not! Should we keep on sinning when we don't have

to? For sin's power over us was broken when we were bap-

tized to become a part of Jesus Christ; through his death the

power of your sinful nature was shattered.... Therefore do

not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil

desires. Rom 6: 1-2, 12

Those who claim to be one of His chosen ones must deal with the sin issueand determine if what God says is true that if they were in fact baptized intoHim that the power of sin over them was REALLY broken and shattered. If itwas then sin must come to an end by those who claim that the Power of heaven

is on their side. To fail to do this is to deny the Power of God to help the sinner

overcome his or her problems.

Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes

that Jesus is the Son of God. I Jn 5:5

If we cannot believe that what we ask in His name will be done then we

choose to see Christ as playing a go-between role. However, to do this, we

must first call the scripture a lie when it states;

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if

we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we

know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we

have what we asked of him. I Jn 5:14-15

God, through His Love for mankind, has given us a promise that whateverwe ask within His will, He will do it for us. This promise takes on a deepermeaning when we realize that He has made us to sit together with Him in heav-

enly places and reign (to have authority) with Him and through Him.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love

with which He loved us, even when we were dead in sin,

made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been

saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together



58

in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to

come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in

His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Eph 2:4-7

God’s Love was shown in the selfless act of Christ dying on the cross formankind, yet many turn it around and claim that He really didn't fulfill this

complete act of love by stating that promises like this are yet to come. Tradi-tion and doctrine must be set aside so that we may see that we can live by the

same Power that Christ our Lord used while living a sinless life as one of ushere on this earth. In the end we have no excuse for not overcoming sin(Satan.) God has given us His only Son and has given us His Power and haslifted us up to reign in His kingdom with Him as priests and kings! Praise His

Wonderful Name!

And to reach this goal each must have the Love of Christ in them for with-out Love (Christ) all is vain. The character of Christ is presented to us as a goalto reach and one that is obtainable. This character is based in and encompasses

all that is Love.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not

boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is

not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love

does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always

protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they willcease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where

there is knowledge, it will pass away. 1 Cor 13:4-8

This is the nature/character of Love (God) for God is Love. All things

come from Love for all things came into existence by God (Love). Some saywe will never be able to understand the character of God but it is here for theentire world to read and understand. Yet still, to come to a complete under-

standing of this Love the Spirit of God must be working in the life.God says that His people will be known by their fruits, (that is the fruits of the Spirit.) Today the one thing that so many need is still the same as it hasalways been, they need Love. So many people are seeking out methods anddifferent ways of having or obtaining this Love so that they might be able togive it to others. As many ways as there are people to seek them from Freudian

psychology to Christian Freudian counseling, they seek and seek and seek forthat which has already been given to them in the Word of God. Some pass overthis point lightly or miss it altogether, while some are just happy with what

they have been told and don't really know if it is true or not. Yet God employsus to:

Study to show yourself approved to God, a work-

man that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the

word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15



59

If we do not strive to learn the Word then we will continue to convinceourselves that we can get into heaven without making any change or being any

different than we are right now. But in God's Love He sets guidelines and givesdirections to lead us to a particular state with Him. He calls this His rest and

asks us all to come into it.

Although God's promise still stands--his promise that all mayenter his place of rest--we ought to tremble with fear because

some of you may be on the verge of failing to get there after

all. Heb 4:1

But we cannot come into any restful position with God as long as we seethat we are not matching up to His character. Therefore we must be born againwhere all things become new and the new man has replaced the old man thatonce lived in us. This is the New Birth experience of being dead to sin and

being raised up again with Christ.

Your old evil desires were nailed to the cross with him; that

part of you that loves to sin was crushed and fatally

wounded, so that your sin-loving body is no longer under

sin's control , no longer needs to be a slave to sin; Rom 6:6

We must die to this thing called sin so that we may participate in the new

Life giving Way that leads to the very throne of God. If we will die to sin thenwe may rise with Him (as so to speak) from the grave and be alive in Him.

PRAISE GOD!

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that

grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can

we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who

were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

We were therefore buried with him through baptism intodeath in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead

through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Rom 6:1-4



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Dead But Now Alive

Y our old sin-loving nature was buried with him by baptism

when he died; and when God the Father, with glorious

power, brought him back to life again, you were given his

wonderful new life to enjoy. Rom 6:4

How simple the Word of God is. It could not be said with much more sim-plicity. We can behave like God has asked us to and we can habitually live inthe newness of Life. Yet we must be buried with Him first. The death of the

old man must take place and the temple of God must be cleansed.

Haven't you yet learned that your body is the temple of the

Holy Spirit God gave you, and that he lives within you? Your own body does not belong to you. For God has bought you

with a great price. So use every part of your body to give

glory back to God because he owns it. 1 Cor 6:19-20

This is very often overlooked or even made to fit one’s own belief system.Yet repeatedly God refers to His temple as our bodies. There are and have beenliteral temples where priests have officiated daily and yearly, but before there

were buildings called temples, there was The Temple of God.

"However, the Most High does not live in houses made by

men. As the prophet says: "'Heaven is my throne, and the

earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for

me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? Acts

7:48-49

God Himself makes it known that his dwelling place is in each of us, forwe are His temple. This earth will pass away and a new heavens and a newearth will take its place, yet His temple (His home), His Love and His Truth,

remain forever.

Then I saw a new earth (with no oceans!) and a new sky, for

the present earth and sky had disappeared. And I, John, saw

the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God

out of heaven. It was a glorious sight, beautiful as a bride at

her wedding. I heard a loud shout from the throne saying,"Look, the home of God is now among men, and he will live

with them and they will be his people; yes, God himself will

be among them. Rev 21:1-3

Israel, as many have, looked to their temple/church as being the house ortemple of God and therefore could not understand (and took an offence to)



61

Christ stating that he would tear down the temple and rebuild it. But they didnot understand that He was talking about His body just as so many do not un-

derstand to this day what the temple of God is and therefore only see thefleshly understanding of this and look to physical buildings and leadership foranswers as did the Jewish nation before them. It seems as though we have notlearned much from the past and continually make the same mistakes over and

over again, never being able to come to a greater understanding of the Wordthan did Israel.

Christ had spoken a prophecy about His death and resurrection and pre-sented a picture of what His people, who believed in Him, would accomplish if they would allow Him into their lives. They would (just as He did) die to self

and be raised up with Him as a new creation. And this action, if repeated overand over again, would create a holy nation, first fruits, virgins, a kingdom of people who would be in a position of being able to be translated rather thanexperiencing death that sin brings. They would ascend with Him to His throne

never to depart again.

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a

mighty shout and with the soul-stirring cry of the archangel

and the great trumpet-call of God. And the believers who are

dead will be the first to rise to meet the Lord. Then we who

are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up withthem in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain

with him forever. 1Thes 4:16-17

This is a loving promise coming from a loving God. If we will let Himcome into our lives (for He will not force Himself upon us) then He will do inus what is needed for us to become His first fruits. These qualifying features of His children go beyond religion and all of its rules and dogmas and goes be-yond the physical view that so many have held of His kingdom and allowsthose who love Him to have a whole new experience with Him and finally be-

come mature plants to bear seed/fruit. Just as Paul states:

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain be-

cause you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you

ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the

elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need

milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an

infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteous-

ness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use

have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Heb5:11-14

Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be

infants, but in your thinking be adults. 1 Cor 14:20

And when we come into this state of mind we then become a witness to



62

others that it can be done (and fulfilling the dept that we owe) even in this

world of sin and that we are His and He Loves us.

(owe no man anything) Pay all your debts except the debt of

love for others-- never finish paying that! For if you love

them, you will be obeying all of God's laws, fulfilling all his

requirements. Rom 13:8

Any attempt to perform this work outside of God's absolute will and teach-

ing others that total obedience to God is impossible and that certain parts of His Word are not to be understood or are for a time far off, will in the end of

all things reap what they have sown.

"Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They

may refer to me as 'Lord,' but still won't get to heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my Father in

heaven. Matt 7:21

To stand clean before our Lord is not just a fantasy or a reality in somefuture time, but is a command of God for those who claim to be His this veryday. For Today has always been the day of Salvation. He will not leave us orforget us and all things are done in His time and in His way and If we learn tolean on Him, knowing that He will never fail us or leave us no matter how dark

the day may seem, we will come to love Him more and walk in His path of righteousness. And let us not forget that ALL things DO work together for our

good, for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

And we know that all that happens to us is working for our

good if we love God and are fitting into his plans. Rom 8:28

Oh, may we all come to know Him better, to see His Love as we have

never seen it before and experience it as it fills us and surrounds us. May wesee Him so clearly that we may live with Him and rule with Him as the priest

and kingdoms He has designed us ALL to be.

God

May we see you more clearly,

love you more dearly,

and follow you more nearly



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Court Is In Session

W hen sin began in heaven, God could have made the claim that He was

right and Satan was wrong. He could have said to the rest of His creation, be-

cause I am right, and I sit in the seat of authority and power, I am going todestroy Lucifer. If you choose to rebel against me, then I will have no choice

but to destroy you too. If God had done this, would it have answered the ques-tion of who was right? Would all of His creation have worshiped Him in love

and understanding?

The idea is that just claiming you are right and throwing your power of

authority around does not make you right and does not win over the love of those around you. Then how would God settle this issue before the whole uni-verse and how would He prove that He was right in His decision to give to His

new creation dominion and authority just as He had given to Lucifer? Let’s seewhat the Bible says on this point.

What if some failed to believe? Their unbelief surely does not

nullify God’s faithfulness, does it? Not at all. Rather shall it

be: God must be true though every man is a liar, as it is writ-

ten, “That You might be vindicated in Your sayings and

might triumph when You are tried.” Rom.3:3,4

Another way to read this is: May You win Your case when You take it to

court. We see in this text that God and His Word were on trial, not humanity,and if God was on trial then what evidence would He show to help prove His

case and before whom?

We are justified freely by His grace through the ransom that

Christ Jesus provided; whom God put forward as a reconcil-

ing sacrifice (restoring a friendship) through faith in His

blood. This was for the vindication of His righteousness in

forgiving the sins that were previously committed under

God’s forbearance... Rom. 3:24,25

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God

to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration,

not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who sub-

jected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated

from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious free-dom of the children of God. Rom 8:19-21

God revealed through the life, death and resurrection of His Son the evi-

dence to prove His righteousness. But how would the death of Jesus prove that

God is not a liar, that His Word is True and His Way beyond reproach?

In this question is the idea that in order for God to have a people that



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would obey and worship without any fear as to what might happen to them if they stepped out of line then He must handle this problem of sin and still offer

complete freedom of choice. Although God's Word says that the...“wages of

sin is death” Rom. 6:23, ...yet, salvation is a free gift to all that sets men freefrom the wages of sin. The question therefore must be answered, could God

bring an end to sin and still preserve freedom of choice?

In Gen.3, Satan contradicted God when he told Eve that if she would listento him she would not surely die if she would listen to him instead of what Godtold her. With soothing, deceiving words he proved that you do not die fromdisobeying any of God’s commands. The statement that she would not sufferdeath was overpowering to her and she believed by sight not by faith (trust.)

Instead of seeing with spiritual eyes, she saw only the surface value that Satan

put on death.

God has shown the world that the Lamb of God would pay the penalty of sin (death) for all mankind and that if they would just believe on Him He

would not count their sins to them as unrighteousness. If they would seek Himfirst, He would make them His own, His first fruits and virgins. These have the

victory through Him over death and the grave. Only those who refuse to acceptGod's ever constant bidding, His free salvation, His Love, will suffer the pen-alty of sin, TOTAL SEPARATION FROM GOD FOR ALL ETERNITY( ETERNAL DEATH.) At the cross, Christ paid the cost of sin for mankind(though many make it seem that He died to calm the anger of His Father to-

ward us.) But did His Father kill Him in His anger towards His Son?

Just what is God’s wrath, and how did He treat sinners?

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so

that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have

everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world

to condemn the world but in order that the world might be

saved through Him. John 3:16,17

I have given them the glory you gave me—the glorious unity

of being one, as we are—I in them and you in me, all being

perfected into one-so that the world will know you sent me

and will understand that you love them as much as you love

me. John 17:22,23

And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, and l

am wonderfully pleased with Him.” Matt. 3:17

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that whilewe were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then,

having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved

from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we

were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much

more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our



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Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the

reconciliation. Rom 5:8-11

Then just what is the wrath of God?

But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, evil

men who push away the truth from them. For the truth about God is known to them instinctively; God has put this knowl-

edge in their hearts. Since earliest times men have seen the

earth and sky and all God made, and have known of his exis-

tence and great eternal power. Yes, they knew about him all

right, but they wouldn't admit it or worship him or even

thank him for all his daily care. And after awhile they beganto think up silly ideas of what God was like and what he

wanted them to do. The result was that their foolish minds

became dark and confused. Claiming themselves to be wise

without God, they became utter fools instead. And then, in-

stead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they took

wood and stone and made idols for themselves, carving them

to look like mere birds and animals and snakes and puny

men. So God let them go ahead into every sort of sex sin, and

do whatever they wanted to—yes, vile and sinful things with

each other's bodies. Rom. 1:18-25

God’s wrath is His love for mankind. Just as with Israel, instead of gettingin the way and forcing His will on them He lets them have their own way andto reap what they had sown. He had promised to never leave them or forsakethem, yet He allowed them the privilege of being made slaves and dying forwhat they believed in. Instead of being the nation of all nations they became

just like those around them as they had chosen to be.

Yet notice what God did for those He called, though it was not He who

sinned:

Who was delivered (given up) for our offences, and was

raised again for our justification. Rom. 4:25

At the cross, the Father turned away from His only Son, the One He mostdearly loved, because of sins sinfulness. Yet Christ did not cry at the cross Fa-

ther why are you killing Me, no He said

“Father why have you turned away from Me?” Matt. 27:46

The Father gave Him up to bear the sins of the world. It is only traditionthat teaches that Christ went to the cross to calm the anger of the Father againstmankind. Christ died because He bore sin ALONE on the cross. Mankind willonly suffer the penalty of sin, ETERNAL DEATH, just because they wanted



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what they wanted, and not what God had to offer. They told Him to leave them

alone, and so He did, but with pain and sorrow for:

the Son of Man has come to save the lost. Matt. 18:11

Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign

LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn

from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?'

Ezek 33:10-11

God honored Israel’s requests just as He always does for everyone andcomes into our lives when we ask and leaves if we choose not to obey Him.Thus the only reason that the wicked are destroyed is that sin cannot exist in

the Holy atmosphere of God’s presence. Either sin is driven out or God isdriven out of the sinner’s life.

It is a sad thing that so many today base their doctrines on the crisis meas-ures that God used because of mans hard hearts as He did with Israel in thewilderness. Rather than seeing God through His plan of mans redemptionmany continue to read the Scriptures and only see what tradition has taughtthem about a god of wrath and justice. And because of this view they believein grace over law that Christ’s death shows them that now the things they do

that are sinful are forgiven and overlooked by God.

Because God does not punish sinners instantly, people feel it

is safe to do wrong. Ecc. 8:11

We need to look with clear sight at what God has actually said about His judgment system and what impact it does or will have on us if we will allow

Him into our life.

If the death of the sinner is inflicted by God because they sinned, then all

humanity must die the same eternal death. Yet God requires only a repentantheart. This is why a child of God can stand in His presence and live. God's lovefills the repentant sinner and now God and the person who was once disobedi-ent and unknowledgeable of God’s Love and what He did for them, is being

united in perfected harmony. The two become one as long as the new creaturein Christ trusts (has faith) in God for all their needs. Therefore in order forGod’s creation to live in freedom, they must learn to obey Him, not in fear of retribution as Israel did when they remembered what happened when theirforefathers disobeyed God, but in Love and power and of a sound mind that

comes from knowing God as a friend.

One may ask the question why then is the Old Testament filled with so

much death, and why does it appear that God did all the killing if He is such a

loving being? This question has caused many today to drop the Old Testament

and not even deal with it. They form an opinion of God that causes them toFEAR Him and His JUDGEMENT; and this has all come around because of



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the Ten Commandment Law recorded in both Exodus and Deuteronomy thatGod had to give to a people that were always going astray. In this law system

there was a requirement to obey, and if anyone disobeyed, the life of the dis-obedient one was required (or at least it seems as such). This system of Mosaiclaws seems very strict in comparison to the all loving Christ of the New Testa-ment. Yet if one will look closer at the 40 year experience of the Israelites,

they will see that God did not in fact bring an end to every person’s life whodisobeyed His laws and commandments.

Upon inspection each will see that there was always ample time given for

repentance of the deed done and to acknowledge their disobedience.

In all of this, there are some questions that arise: Why then did God make

these laws for Israel to keep? And do they apply to us today?

Because of the lack of study or knowledge, two basic sides have been

taken in this discussion.

1. The law was only for the Jews and thus has no meaning for us today.

This group has taken the stand that they will never be able to overcome theirsins because Christ came to this world to show us that only a god could keepGod’s laws (This is the very thing that Satan said in the garden of Eden: “God

is a liar and knows that you really can’t do what He has asked of you.”).

2. The law must be kept, and anything less is disobedience to God, and the

sinner will have to stand before God Almighty and give an answer as to

why he or she did what they did. ( Although at the same time this group

believes that they have an “advocate”, Jesus Christ, who argues their

case in heavens court for them, but only if they confess their sins.)

This group also believes that total overcoming of sin is not possible, butwith a different twist to it. They believe that because they keep some of God's

laws i.e. Saturday Sabbath, no swearing, no idol worship, tithe paying, etc. and

believe that the Old Testament was written for modern man, that they arewithin the will of God and that He will look upon their attempts to keep His

law and take them to His kingdom at His appearing.

(An attempt has been made here to sum up each of the two major beliefs

about the law. We know that there are many fine details to each opinion, butfor the sake of space they have been shortened to their barest minimum without

any significant loss to their understanding on the subject).

In Galatians 3:19 Paul asks a question. “Why then, was the Law given?”

He then gives the answer to this question. “ It was added to show sins in their

true light,…” Humanity had moved so far from the original plan of havingGod’s Law written on their hearts that God had to have a physical object pre-sent so that they could always see that which He wanted them to do. As a childthat needs to be constantly reminded of what they are suppose to do, the Israel-

ites needed constant reminding of what they promised over and over again that

they would do.



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So the law became a school master to them and they were lead by it tolearn the lesson of obedience and what God expected from those who would

call themselves children of God. This is a point that many miss in their under-standing of the law and its intent, for without the beginning of wisdom there

can be no growth. A baby kept in a locked room never learns, but if a parentapplies a teaching method with both verbal and physical applications, the child

learns the lessons of life that he or she will need to know to function well inthis world.

God had to apply this form of teaching to those who had become as littlebabies that needed to learn the first lessons of life. They had been kept asslaves and forgot about the God of their fathers. And many today are in that

same situation again where they have forgotten about God and are acting as

little children who have to be told over and over again what is right.

You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to

be teaching others, but instead you have dropped back to the

place where you need someone to teach you all over again

the very first principles in God’s Word. You are like babies

who can drink only milk, not old enough for solid food. And

when a person is still living on milk it shows he isn’t very

skilled in the word of righteousness, and doesn’t know much

about the difference between right and wrong. He is still a

baby! Heb 5:12,13

When God took the Israelites out of bondage (involuntary obedience) inEgypt, He placed them as babies in a position of bondage to Him through thelaw (voluntary obedience) and as a baby does not know how to handle or un-derstand the concept of Freedom or Love, they also did not or could not under-

stand this new idea.

It has become a highly visible lesson today as we have had the opportunityto watch a similar lesson in progress in the country of Russia. Upon receivingtheir freedom for the first time in over a hundred or more years the people

showed to the world what happens when one is kept in abject darkness in areasof life that are taken for granted by many who have not had to live in that samekind of situation. As time has progressed, the people begged for the old system

of harsh communism to be brought back.

Unstructured freedom for those who have never experienced it before can

create an explosive situation. And as the Israelites cried out let’s go back to

Egypt , so those who are given freedom for the first time often return to thatwhich once caused them to suffer under unbearable leadership that even killed

those who dared to raise their voice against it.So God gave Israel a law that would be an emergency method to teach

them the very basics of life in this world and if they would do as He requiredof them they would grow up and see the larger picture and realize what Godwas doing and going to do for them. The sanctuary with its rituals and theLevitical priesthood would then become a building block to lead them to the

heavenly Priesthood. But instead all they saw was a way to sin and yet be con-



69

sidered God’s remnant people and many today come to that same conclusionand add to it that this must be how God runs His government (though to the

exclusion of the rest of Scripture) and use it to create of system of religiousrulership. This system is one built on fear of possibly stepping out of God’s

favor and suffering the wrath of God. Yet Scripture states most emphatically:

“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power,and of love, and of a sound mind.” II Tim. 1:7 (this of course

is the mature state of a child of God).

We punish our children in love to teach them obedience knowing if wefail, outside forces (police, government, employers, etc.) will punish them fordisobedience. This is called being under the law or being found guilty of breaking the law. This is not where God desires His people to be found. Hewants them to come to a mature (rational, reasonable) state where they now

obey out of Love and full knowledge of His Word.

And so, dear brothers, I plead with you to give your bodies to

God. Let them be a living sacrifice, holy--the kind he can

accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this

too much to ask? Don't copy the behavior and customs of

this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh

newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from

your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you. Rom. 12:1-2

If the plan that leads to doom was glorious, much more glo-

rious is the plan that makes men right with God. 2 Cor. 3:8-9

If the crisis measure where death was used as a form of punishment wasgood, then how much better is the kind of rulership that draws men to God

through a mature state of mind! Yet we dare not miss a specific point here; andthat is the reason so many fight God on this sin issue (why they sin.) They, asthe Pharisees before, keep looking at the letter of the law instead of looking at

the deeper meaning of God’s Law and by now we should have been at a new

and higher understanding of It.

Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it

lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every rea-

son?" "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning

the Creator made them male and female, and said, ‘For this

reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united

to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no

longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together,

let man not separate.’ "Why then," they asked, "did Moses

command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and

send her away?" Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to di-



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vorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was

not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who

divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and mar-

ries another woman commits adultery." Matt. 19:3-9

A surface reader never sees the real intent of the law, to bring the sinner

back to God's original plan. But a Spirit filled reader realizes their sin and whatit cost the Lord and comes to a mature position of obedience where God andman can work in total harmony with each other without the constant struggle

of sin's hold that was once upon them.

I have been crucified with Christ: and I myself no longer

live, but Christ lives in me. And the real life I now have

within this body is a result of my trusting in the Son of God,

who loved me and gave Himself for me. Gal. 2:20

It is a sad thing that many today base their doctrines on the idea of law and

doctrine that lead them to an idea of rules as being the answer to their prob-lems. Thus many read the scriptures and only see what they have been taughtabout a God of wrath and vengeful justice. And through this view they believe

that Christ's death opened the way for a sinful righteousness to now exist

within those who call themselves His children.

Because God does not punish sinners instantly, people feel it is safe to do wrong. Ecc. 8:11

The doctrine of sinful righteousness is based upon the idea of a judgment

that is yet to come where righteous and sinners will stand before God to beweighed in the balance of heaven and to be declared as saved or lost. So at thispoint we need to look with clear sight at what God has actually said about His

judgment system and what impact it will have on us or has on us when we seek

Him and find Him and become one with Him (which is referred to by some asthe atonement.)



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The Atonement

(at-one-ment)

God's kingdom is built on the Foundation Stone. That Stone is Love. It is

not an agape or melancholy or phlegmatic love, but it is what Love is, and God

is Love. It is not a kingdom of law/s that end in death, but is a kingdom of Life.So the time came (the time appointed) for God to take His people out from under

the law of death (being in bondage to it) and show through the Life of Christ thecharacter or nature of His kingdom. He wanted them to be one with Him as one

friend is to another and live in Love.

I no longer call you slaves, for a master doesn’t confide in his

slaves; now you are my friends, proven by the fact that I have

told you everything the Father told Me. John 15:15

So Christ came, born under law (Mosaic) and made Himself subject to The

Law (His Father) to redeem those under the law (Mosaic) by His continual con-

nection to His Father (obeying His commands) and then took upon Himself the

curse of law (death) and gave Himself as the sacrifice for sin on the cross. All

this was done that those who are called according to His purpose could have

VICTORY over sin and stand before His throne with boldness.

Christ has ransomed us from the curse of the law in as muchas He became a curse for us, for it is written, “Cursed is every

one who hangs on a tree.” Gal. 3:13

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so

that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our

time of need. Heb 4:16

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love withwhich He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses,

made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been

saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in

the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come

He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kind-

ness toward us in Christ Jesus. Eph 2:4-8

Does this mean that there is no more that the law can do for anyone? NO,

but God wants us as friends not as slaves that give homage and obedience out of fear rather than Love. He wants us to see righteousness (right doing) through

Him (the perfect Law.) So when God says: If you love Me, keep my command-

ments... we then understand that it is about obeying Him not a law of stone.

If you love me then your desire will be to obey Me. John 14:15



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And only God can bring righteousness, not the law.. If pleasing Him could

have been achieved by the law, there would have been no reason for the Law to

come and make Himself subject to the Father to show us that we can do nothing

(righteous living) unless the Father (not a law) lives in us and works through us.

Thus only those that refuse to grow up in Christ are to be found (as Israel before

them) living under the law. They see the law as a needful reminder of all the

things that they need to do to appease (please) God or see it as a constant re-minder of the things they can't do and thus they need an advocate with the Fa-

ther. Yet it is said so clearly about Israel that though they were once estranged

and of a hostile attitude, that Christ reconciled them to introduce them into His

presence (did you catch that, HIS PRESENCE) as holy and blameless.

You, too, who once were estranged and of a hostile attitude

with your evil activities, He has now reconciled in His human

body through His death, to introduce you into His presence

holy and blameless and irreproachable... Col. 1:21,22

This is truly the grace of God, that even when Israel was not in harmony

with His will He brought them into His presence by the blood of His Son. This

should make everyone realize that there is not one thing we can ever hope to do

to bring us into a more favorable position with God than was done by His own

Son. No amount of prayers and begging for forgiveness and favor will ever do

more than His life, death and resurrection have already done for mankind. Then

when we realize just what He did for us, our obedience to Him becomes nothing

more than a showing of our love for Him just as true friends would do for each

other.

For if as enemies we were reconciled to God through the

death of His Son, surely much more shall we who have been

reconciled be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also

exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we

have now received the reconciliation. Rom. 5:10,11

Does this mean that in the presence of God we will continue to sin, even in

grace, that His grace may flow through us? How can we ever convince ourselves

of that? How can we believe that when we become a new person in Christ we

never really become a new person? Shall we continue to sin as we did before we

met Christ but now under the premise of a false concept of confession and for-

giveness?

In the Old Testament sanctuary service when someone wished to confess a

sin, he had to bring a lamb, a spotless and perfect lamb as a sin offering (or an-

other reasonable sacrifice.) When the sacrifice was slain the priest took some of the blood and placed it on the horns of the alter in the first apartment. This re-cord of sin remained in the holy place until the day of atonement when the sanc-

tuary was cleansed of sin. Many have taken this example and seen it as the way

that God runs His kingdom. They believe that there will come a day when God

will open up the book of records and all men will be judged out of them. But if

this is the picture that God wants us to see, then He nullifies His own Word. In



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this doctrine none of us can ever hope to be forgiven or to be looked upon by

God as holy UNTIL THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT. Many fail to see that God's

version of holiness and the cleansing His temple, which moves them in a totally

different direction than they have been willing to go. God revealed through par-

ables and figures a bigger picture then of buildings or temples made of sticks

and stones and shows us just how He sees His creation.

Do you not know that YOU are God’s temple and that the

Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the temple of

God, God will destroy him; for the temple of God is holy, and

YOU are such a temple. ICor. 3:16,1 7

But in order for God to dwell (live) in His temple (us) we must be as clean as

the temple was to be kept by the Levitical priesthood, both in their daily work

and the work of the day of atonement. That service was to point out to the people

of God that Light (God) has nothing to do with darkness (sin, Satan).In that system, confession brought forgiveness through the PROMISE of the

death of Jesus. It was not the slaying of an animal that saved the sinner. Legally

that sin was held on record until the cross.

For this reason He is the Mediator of a NEW COVENANT so

that, with a death occurring for the atonement of the transgres-

sions under the FIRST covenant, those who have been called

may receive the eternal inheritance that was promised. Heb.

9:15

The sacrifice that was promised from the beginning answers all questions,

but to the Greek (the blind who will not see) it answers nothing but what wants to

be seen. Yet God with His Son, brought a fallen race up to their level and washed

away their sins and made them to sit in heavenly places where they rule as priests

and kings.

And if all that is not enough: “...and blotted out the charges proved against you, the list of His commandments which you

had not obeyed. He took this list of sins and destroyed it by

nailing it to Christ’s cross. In this way God took away Satan’s

power to accuse you of sin, and God openly displayed to the

whole world Christ’s triumph at the cross where your sins

were all taken away. Col. 2:14,15

One thing must be settled at this point: God, did all of this because He loves

us not because He cannot tolerate us and just wants to get this thing over with. He

sent His only Son to die for us so that we may inherit eternal life. As it has been

said earlier in this study the Father Loves us. There is no reason then for Christ to

plead our case or beg the Father to forgive us another time. Christ did that once

and for all at the cross. No begging on our part or carrying the load of guilt that

plagues so many of us will ever do what the cross has already accomplished.



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Once we understand that to be true, then the judgment spoken of in God’s Word

must have a deeper meaning to it, for the judgment brings everlasting peace to God's

universe and cleanses the temple of God. If you and I are God's temple and God

abides in us and the God of peace sanctifies us and makes us holy then judgment takes

place in our life when we choose this day who we will serve. All is forgiven and for-

gotten and for those who have chosen God as their God and Priest, the cleansing of

God’s temple takes place. Now the one who was once seen as being a sinner is in a

position where Deity can work with them to bring about a heavenly perfection of

character and all the power that was required to overcome EVERY TEMPTATION is

given just as it was given to Israel. And when that is accomplished in us as it was with

the Israel of God then He can come to a people who are holy still as He has done.

He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be

filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is

holy, let him be holy still." Rev 22:11



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The Mediation of Christ

M any have viewed the ministry of Christ in heaven as one that takes on

the form of hierarchical church leadership (humans guiding other humans.)This is where there is a chain of command from president and committees tolocal leadership and its committees and finally down to the laity (laity = bot-tom of the spiritual ladder.) In this view the top leadership are looked upon asthose who have been chosen by God Himself to be mediators or a go-betweenbetween God and man. This form or structure is based upon the Levitical

priesthood which began at mount Sinai when God gave to Moses the directionsto build a movable temple where the priests were to officiate in the wilderness.This view is continually taught to people though the Scriptures say that this

system was only to last until Christ came with a better way.

This has an important lesson for us today. For under the old

system, gifts and sacrifices were offered, but these failed to

cleanse the hearts of the people who brought them. For the

old system dealt only with certain rituals—what foods to eat

and drink, rules for washing themselves, and rules about this

and that. The people had to keep these rules to tide themover until Christ came with Gods new and better way. Heb.

9:9,10

What many have failed to realize about this system is that as long as oneattempts to keep this system alive as if it had never been changed then he orshe is not allowed entrance into the Most Holy Place (the presence of God/

heaven.)

But only the high priest went into the inner room, and then

only once a year, all alone, and always with blood which he

sprinkled on the mercy seat as an offering to God to cover his own mistakes and sins, and the mistakes and sins of all

the people. And the Holy Spirit uses all this to point out to us

that under the old system THE COMMON PEOPLE COULD

NOT GO INTO THE HOLY OF HOLIES AS LONG AS THE

OUTER ROOM AND THE ENTIRE SYSTEM IT REPRE-

SENTS WERE STILL IN USE. Heb. 9:7,8

Many who teach this idea even go to the extent of using pieces of the ser-vice of the sanctuary i.e. robes, miters on their heads, golden incense holders,etc. to make the people think that they are performing the correct duties of a

good mediator or minister/priest; and through this teaching many hold the viewthat when leadership speaks it is as though God Himself were there speaking tothem. Thus, when the majority of the leadership make a decision it is believed

that it should be obeyed without question or any reluctance from those it is



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presented to.

But human mediation was only a crisis measure used by God for a peoplethat would not listen to soft words and gentle authority; and sadly God’s

Words were ignored time and time again, so He used a type of service and

priesthood with laws and a show of power to get their attention.

All the people saw the lightning and the smoke billow-ing from the mountain, and heard the thunder and the long,

frightening trumpet blast; and they stood at a distance, shak-

ing with fear. They said to Moses, “You tell us what God

says and we will obey, but don’t let God speak directly to us,

or it will kill us.” Ex. 20:18,19

Instead of coming into a friendly relationship with God, the Israelites con-

tinually saw God as a domineering force that would snuff out their lives at anyminute. They never came to the place where they could come “boldly before

the throne of grace” without needing a mediator.

Many today repeat this mistake by seeking others to rule over them and to

talk to God for them by choosing priests or leaders who presents themselves asmediators between God and man. And the people look at their hierarchicalstructured organizations and think that this pleases God even though this struc-ture is the one that killed the prophets and finally took care of this man calledJesus. They see this form of governance and imagine it to represent holiness

and order.

PLEASE DO NOT CONFUSE HOLINESS AND ORDER, WITH CHAIN OF

COMMAND. God does have order.

Jesus said to him, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life;

no one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6

God's order is one of a Spirit filled life, not of a fleshly (carnal) or humancontrived method.

But Jesus the Son of God is our High Priest who has gone to

heaven itself to help us; therefore let us never stop trusting

Him. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses,

since He had the same temptations we do, though He never

once gave way to them and sinned. So let us come boldly to

the throne of God and stay there to receive His mercy and to find grace to help us in our times of need. Heb. 1:14-1 6

This orderly system of God’s is not one to fear (as many fear their leaders)but is one in which to find peace in. For so long, mankind has seen God as aunmerciful and vengeful creature through the actions of men that treat eachother that way. And very few, if any, have been able to go before His throne



77

without being afraid of Him. Yet God says, come and find Peace, Joy and

Love.

It is all too sad that so many have seen the Father as being needful of

someone to appease Him. So the theological answer to this has been that whenJesus went to heaven He went there to stand before the Father for as long astime lasts and beg Him for mercy on behalf of mankind. This of course is in

total ignorance of the fact that the Father LOVES US. But by listening to oth-ers present the Bible (as they interpret it) that they have convinced themselves

and others that this is what Christ is in fact doing.

Dear children, I write you these things so you may not sin,

and if anyone does sin, we have a counsel for our defense in

the Father’s presence, Jesus Christ the Righteous One. He is

Himself an atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours

only but for the whole world. I John 2:1,2

But Jesus being in the Fathers presence is the proof evidence (our defense)that all has been done to save humanity. But is the Father here accusing us of

any wrong doing? Is this the picture of an angry God? Just who then is the ac-

cuser that would require evidence to be shown on man’s behalf?

Then the angel showed me (in my vision) Joshua the High

Priest standing before the Angel of the Lord; and Satan was

there too, at the Angel’s right hand, accusing Joshua of many things And the Lord said to Satan, “I reject your accu-

sations, Satan; yes I, the Lord, ... “ Zech. 3:1,2

Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “it

has happened at last! God’s salvation and the power and the

rule, and the authority of His Christ are finally here; for the

Accuser of our brothers has been thrown down from heaven

onto earth—he accused them day and night before our God. Rev. 12:10

The Accuser Satan was thrown out of heaven, it was not Christ who was

thrown out! And God has nothing against those who hear His voice and obeyHis Word, but stands in our defense against the accuser (Satan) who lost thewar against God. GOD LOVES US, and sent us His only Son so that we may

live.

Then you will present your petitions over My signature! And I won’t need to ask the Father to grant you these requests,

for the Father Himself loves you dearly because you love Me

and believe that I came from the Father. John 16:26,27

If Jesus and His Father are defending us against Satan, then how can they



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do this successfully for sinners that are worthy of death? Because, as it hasbeen taught, “the wages of sin is death.” Satan lays legal claim to us through

our sin and tries to uphold that claim before God. But God has given mankindan ultimate gift, His Only Son. And through His Son came a promised gift,

HIS WILL AND TESTAMENT.

Now, if someone dies and leaves a will-a list of things to begiven away to certain people when he dies, no one gets any-

thing until it is proved that the person who wrote the will isdead. The will goes into effect only after the death of the per-

son who wrote it. While he is still alive no one can use it to

get any of those things he has promised them. That is why

blood was sprinkled as proof of Christ’s death before even

the first agreement could go into effect. Heb. 9:1 6-1 8

All those who believe were written into Christ's will and they may partakeof its wealth. Christ’s death gave that will its power to work, and His resurrec-

tion gave power to the new man to come boldly to the throne of grace withoutthe need of a go-between, between man and God. Then all who come to Him in

Spirit and truth will become partakers of His divine will.

This gift, will or testament, goes beyond anything you and I could ever doto earn our salvation in ANYWAY. For if Christ's life, death and resurrectionare not enough for the Father to see that all has been done for mans redemp-

tion/salvation, then nothing a mere human can do will ever be enough.So the evidence is that Jesus has written us into His will and testament and

sealed it with His death. This not only brought us power but also the forgive-ness of our sins. He took upon Himself the sins of the world and looked at hu-manity from the cross and said: “Father forgive them.” If the prayer of a right-eous man avails much then the Righteous One’s prayer was heard and was

answered by His Father.

The sad part of this picture is the fact that for anyone to be lost and to miss

out on heaven, is that he or she must literally fail to claim the inheritance thatis already theirs. And God’s will is incontestable and stands for all time. No

one can change it or rearrange it to read any differently.

Dear brothers, even in everyday life a promise made by one

man to another, if it is written down and signed, cannot be

changed. He cannot decide afterward to do something else

instead. Gal 3:15

The will of God is complete and we are now partakers of that wonderful

Gift, Jesus Christ



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The Priesthood of Christ,

Melchizedek or Levi

As we have seen, God has always had an original plan for mankind. Andin the Levitical system it is no less understood. God tried to have Israel see Hisplan for salvation through rituals and a type of service that pointed to a timethat God would redeem them and set them free from sin as Moses had led them

to freedom from their servitude to Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And then whenChrist came to this earth He brought them to the next step in the learning proc-ess of who He is and what He has always wanted for them to be free from sin,where the law is taken from stone and placed into the heart. And hopefullythey would now want to do what is right because it is in their heart, not be-

cause it has to be written on a stone tablet to constantly remind them of whatthey should do if they love God and their neighbor as much they love them-

selves.

But after all of this history now behind us, most can only see God through

that Levitical system of worship and have ended up the same cold relationshipthat Israel had with their God. And thousands of years after the fact, Christcontinues to try to bring mankind to a spiritual level where they see Him forwhat He is, their Lord and Savior; and the kind of Priest He really is, A MEL-

CHIZEDEK PRIEST.

If the Jewish priests and their laws had been able to save us,

why then did God need to send Christ as a priest with the

rank of Melchizedek, instead of sending someone with the

rank of Aaron. Heb. 7:11

And since every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and

sacrifices, Christ must make an offering too. The sacrifice

that He offers is far better than those offered by the earthly

priests. (But even so, if He were here on earth He wouldn’t

even be permitted to be a priest, because down here the

priests still follow THE OLD Jewish system of sacrifices.)

Their work is connected with a mere earthly model of thereal tabernacle as shown to him (Moses) on Mt Sinai. But

Christ, as a Minister in heaven, has been rewarded with a

far more important work than those who serve under the old

laws, because the new agreement which He passes on to us from God contains far more wonderful promises. Heb. 8:3-6

The Levitical system was not the ideal for the salvation of man, it was a“mere earthly model” of the One in heaven. It was only meant as an illustra-

tion not as the true temple service of God. Christ came with a new and“better” priesthood and a higher understanding of that Temple, and thus a



80

change in the law of the Levitical system was required.

For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also

be a change of the law. Heb. 7:12

There has been a consensus among many that this means that Christ did

away with the Mosaic law. As Christ did not do away with the priesthood thenHe also did not do away with the law. The Bible says that He CHANGED the

system, not abolished it. Christ came as a priest of God Most High and changed

the priesthood of man back to the order of Melchizedek. This order (the Eternal

Priesthood) was in existence even before the change had come, for it was the

original Priesthood of God.

This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most

High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings

and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of every-

thing. First, his name means "King of righteousness"; then

also, "King of Salem" means "King of peace." Heb 7:1-2

Christ came to restore the original Priesthood of God and put it back in it's

rightful place, and when put into practice the Melchizedek Priesthood restored

Peace and Righteousness to the universe of God. The original plan laid from the

foundation of the world accomplished what it set out to show to anyone with

eyes to see and ears to hear. It brought about a kingdom, a people that wouldbecome one with this Priesthood and start acting like the priests and kings that

God has designed them to be after the order of Melchizedek. These are they

who are virgins, victors over sin and firstfruits of that Kingdom, the Temple in

heaven and come into obedience to God’s laws, statutes and commandments as

Abraham did.

Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge,

my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. Gen 26:5

Statute: chuqqah (khook-kaw'); feminine of OT:2706, and meaning substan-

tially the same: - appointed, custom, manner, ordinance, site, statute.

choq (khoke); an enactment; hence, an appointment (of time, space, quantity,

labor or usage): - appointed, bound, commandment, convenient, custom, decree

(-d), due, law, measure, necessary, ordinance (-nary), portion, set time, statute,

task.

chaqaq (khaw-kak'); a primitive root; properly, to hack, i.e. engrave (Judg 5:14,

to be a scribe simply); by implication, to enact (laws being cut in stone or metal

tablets in primitive times) or (gen.) prescribe: -appoint, decree, governor, grave,

lawgiver, note, pourtray, print, set.



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The law that Abraham kept, the statutes he lived by, the commands he

obeyed were those written on the heart that spoke of a appointed time, of a Seed

to come. That Seed was Jesus Christ and the time appointed was when He was

to be born, crucified and resurrected. And the temple on earth that was laden

with gold that spoke of God’s character and His desire for our characters to be

refined like gold, was to point to the One who would fulfill His will spoken in

the law and prophets (the old testament.) His desire from the beginning of timewas to have His Law (the Light of the world) living in our hearts. It was started

that way and will end that way in those who believe on Him.

The only letter I need is you yourselves! By looking at the

good change in your hearts, everyone can see that we have

done a good work among you. They can see that you are a

letter from Christ, written by us. It is not a letter written with

pen and ink, but by the Spirit of the living God; not one

carved on stone, but in human hearts. We dare to say thesegood things about ourselves only because of our great trust in

God through Christ, that He will help us to be true to what

we say, and not because we think we can do anything of last-

ing value by ourselves. Our only power and success comes

from God. And He is the one who has helped us tell others

about His new agreement to save them. We do not tell them

that they must obey every law of God or die; but we tell them

there is life for them from the Holy Spirit. The old way, trying

to be saved by keeping the Ten Commandments, ends in

death; in the new way, the Holy Spirit gives them life. Yet that

old system of law that led to death began with such glory that

people could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For as he gave

them God’s law to obey, his brightness was already fading

away. Shall we not expect far greater glory in these days

when the Holy Spirit is giving life? If the plan that leads to

doom was glorious, much more glorious is the plan that

makes men right with God. II Cor. 3:2-9

Now, if the old laws which were brought to man with such glory and pomp

and the Glory of God was with them and yet the breaking of these laws brought

punishment by death, then how much greater is the new Way (His life, death

and resurrection) that gives Life? There is no denial here of the old way, but to

see its reason for existence to bring men back to the original Way of keeping

the Law as Abraham did, IN HIS HEART.

But this is the new agreement I will make with the people of

Israel, says the Lord: I will write my laws in their minds so

that they will know what I want them to do without my even

telling them, and these laws will be in their hearts so that they

will want to obey them, and I will be their God and they shall

be my people. Heb. 8:10



82

So if the Levitical system of worship was ONLY to point to God and His

plan of redemption, then the Melchizedek priestly ministry of Jesus is to restore

us to the Way that Joseph and Abraham and others served the Living God,

through a faith relationship that initiates God's eternal benefits. One of these

benefits is the Promise (Jesus Christ) that brought Salvation (Jesus Christ) and

gave it as a free gift through Love (God.)

Many never realize that Promise because they have never traveled any fur-ther than the children of Israel at Mt Sinai. They think that the old way is better

than God’s new agreement with man. They have never come to the place where

God can live in them and that what they do is right because it is right rather than

having to have a law on stone that reminds them over and over again what is

right to do. This kind of obedience keeps one in fear of breaking any of the laws

and bringing God’s disfavor (His judgment) upon their heads. Thus they con-

tinue to keep the Levitical priesthood alive although God came with His priest-

hood built on Life not death. This Melchizedek Priesthood was the original

priesthood that was from the foundation of the world. There is no fear of God’s judgment in that knowledge, just a desire to be one in Him and be free at last.



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The Judgment

I n the study of the judgment of God and how He will handle sin and sin-

ners, many use the books of Daniel and Revelation to show the wrath of Godagainst sinners. They believe that in the cleansing of the sanctuary of God thatHe will wipe out sin and sinners from the earth. Many sit back in complacencyin that thought and that this is an end time event tied up in the mark-of-the-

beast.

And he said to me, “in two thousand and three hundred

days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Dan. 8:14

The interpretations of Daniel and Revelation have sought to prove that

there is coming a day when God will bring a final judgment to this world and agreat battle will ensue called ARMAGEDDON the day of judgment. This is allbased upon a concept of the rebuilding of an earthly temple and God coming

to rule in it though He has said just where His temple really is.

He ministers in the temple in heaven, the TRUE PLACE OF

WORSHIP built by the Lord and NOT by human hands. Heb

8:2

God also has more to say about His temple:

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple…” I Cor. 3:16

In His Word God has told the story of how heaven and earth have bothbeen defiled with the presence of sin and that He has been accused of being aliar and demanding that mankind must obey Him when He knows they can’t

(this is what many people say.) But we know that Christ came to vindicate thename of His Father and He took upon Himself sin and all its trappings and be-came defiled for the world as its redeemer and rose again with full victory overeven the result of sin, death. This was accomplished and the Way was made

clear to the throne and the power of sin was cleansed away.

It was through what His Son did that God cleared a path for

everything to come to Him—all things in heaven and on

earth—for Christ’s death on the cross has made peace with

Himself for all by His blood. Col. 1:20

Jesus died that the Way would become known and His blood was shed tobring back PEACE to His sanctuary (you and I.) A battle was fought and God

was the Victor.



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Then there was war in heaven; Michael and the angels under

His command fought the Dragon and his hosts of fallen an-

gels. And the Dragon lost the battle and was forced from

heaven. This great Dragon—the ancient serpent called the

devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was

thrown down onto the earth with all his army. Rev. 12:7-9

The life, death and resurrection of the Son of God answered the accusation

of Satan that God is a liar. He showed a Creators care, a Love that knows nobounds and that everything that was possible to give for humanity’s needs wasaccomplished. Yet the “accuser of the brethren” still scoffs at Christ's death,for mankind has not yet answered the accusations of Satan. ‘God's children

cannot obey Him and their lives are proof of it. I can keep them sinning morethan God can keep them from sinning. God’s Word is powerless, and so are

His people.’

One day as the angels came to present themselves before the

Lord, Satan, the Accuser, came with them. “Where have you

come from?” the Lord asked Satan. And Satan replied,

“From patrolling the earth.” Then the Lord asked Satan,

“Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in

all the earth—a good man who loves God and will have

nothing to do with evil. “Why shouldn’t he, when you pay

him so well?” Satan scoffed. “You have always protected him and his home and his property from all harm. You have

prospered everything he does—look how rich he is! No won-

der he “worships” you! But just take away his wealth, and

you’ll see him curse you to your face!” And the Lord replied

to Satan, “You may do anything you like with his wealth, but

don’t harm him physically.” So Satan went away; ... Job 1:6-

12

The question is, can God’s children today answer the accusations of Satanas well as Job did? Are they in such an obedient state that God could call uponany one of them to show that they can and will hold Him up as the answer to

ALL of their needs, wants and desires?

Satan as the accuser looks at humanity’s stumbling and knows that he has

them right where he wants them. Many who should be filled with the power of heaven argue that sin is impossible to overcome and that Satan has more powerto keep them in sin than God has power to keep them free from sin. And they

have given up the struggle of good over evil and have consigned their troublesto genetic imperfections or to some mental defect of psychological proportions.

Yet in all of this the purpose of God's judgment is not to decide who willbe saved or lost, God already knows this (because He knows the very intent of the heart) His purpose is to demonstrate before the whole universe that HisWord is true. Thus God can only place before the heavenly counsel only those

persons He can defend against the accusations of Satan. Why then do we fight



85

so hard against overcoming sin? Do we really like it so much that we will de-fend that which Christ died to do away with? In the Scriptures God has prom-

ised to give us His robe of righteousness, but once covered with this, do wethen continue to do that which once kept us from the relationship that we al-

ways wanted with Him?

He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white rai-ment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life,

but I will confess his name before My Father, and before the

angels. Rev. 3:5

God says that there is a reason why we need this raiment (robe or gar-

ment.)

“You say, ‘I am rich, with everything I want; I don’t need athing.’ And you don’ t realize that spiritually you are

wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. My

advice to you is to buy Pure gold from Me, gold purified by

fire—only then will you truly be rich. And to purchase from

Me white garments, clean and pure, so you won’t be naked

and ashamed; and to get medicine from Me to heal your eyes

and give you back your sight. I continually discipline and

rebuke everyone I love; so I must discipline you, unless you

turn from your indifference and become enthusiastic about the things of God. Look! I have been standing at the door

and I am constantly knocking. If anyone hears me calling

him and opens the door, I will come in and fellowship with

him and he with me. I will let every one who conquers sit

beside Me on My throne, just as I conquered.” Rev. 3:17-21

When faced with the decision to listen to the voice of God, Israel was not

asked to use grace to buy this righteousness or white raiment. They were toldthat it is purchased by overcoming as He has overcome; and that this work isonly done by the indwelling of the Spirit of God, not by human effort. And

they had His promises:

“...I will never leave you or forget you.” Jos. 1:5

“I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”

Phil. 4:13

“Now glory be to God who by His mighty power at work

within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to

ask or even dream of-infinitely beyond our highest prayers,

desires, thoughts, or hopes.” Eph. 3:20



86

There is no difference today, for as someone has said ‘There are reasonswhy you will not overcome. You will not pray, you will not strive against evil

habits and unholy thoughts. Do you dare contend with the eternal?’ The brideof Christ has always had a preparation to make before her marriage to the

Lamb.

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him for themarriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife has made herself

ready. And to her was granted that she should be dressed inthe finest of linens, clean and white: for the fine linen is the

righteousness of His people. Rev. 19:7,8

The bride makes herself ready for the wedding, not the wedding before thepreparation, just as no one goes to live in another country without makingsome kind of preparations first. If we are going to speak heaven’s languagewhen we get there, then the learning process must take place now. God knowsour hearts and He will not go against our will and do something for us that we

show by our actions that we do not believe even needs to be done.

A GOOD TREE CANNOT BEAR BAD FRUIT, NOR CAN A

BAD TREE BEAR GOOD FRUIT. Every tree that fails to

bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Simi-

larly you will know My people by the deeds they do. Not eve-

ryone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord!” will enter into thekingdom of heaven. Many will say to Me on that Day, “Lord,

Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name and in Your name

cast out demons and in Your name do many wonderful

works?” Then I will frankly say to them, “I never knew you.

Get away from me, you evil workers.” Matt. 7:17-23

To be connected to the Vine, Christ, you must bear the kind of fruit that

speaks of your connection to the Vine. And the power that flows through theVine to the branches causes the branches to bear good fruit (good works.)These works are only a natural occurrence because of the connection to the

Vine, not because the branch forced out it's own fruit by itself.

I Am the true Vine, and my Father is the Gardener. He cuts

off every branch that doesn’t produce. And He prunes those

branches that bear fruit for even larger crops. He has al-

ready tended you by pruning you back for greater strength

and usefulness by means of the commands I gave you. Takecare to live in me, and let Me live in you. For a branch cant

produce fruit when severed from the vine. Nor can you be

fruitful apart from Me. Yes, I am the Vine; you are the

branches. Whoever lives In Me and I in him shall produce a

large crop of fruit. For apart from Me you cant do a thing.

John 15:1-5



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Its all about being connected to God and to His Son for our source of strength. For without the right connection we will not produce the good fruit

that is required of the one who is connected to the Source of Power. But thisconnection will also bring on a pruning process (although this is not the wrathof God as many have suggested) pruning only makes a good branch evenstronger. We will love the pruning process for it fits us for living in the King-

dom; it is not something to be dreaded. This process prepares the people of God for the white raiment that He has for them to wear in the place of the rags

that they have been referring to as clothing.

Then the Angel said to the others standing there “Remove his

filthy clothing.” And turning to Joshua He said, “See, I have

taken away your sins, and now I AM giving you these fine

new clothes.” Then I said, “Please, could he also have a

clean turban on his head?” So they gave him one. Zech.

3:4,5

We cannot just put on this robe whenever we want. It only happens be-cause we have been willing to be connected to the Vine for our strength. Menhave felt that by their good works or keeping the law they deserve this cloth-ing. Yet their very lives show that they in fact are not connected as they imag-

ine themselves to be.

In this connection to the Vine there is no fear or concern that comes from

the thought of standing before God's judgment because of not always doingwhat God said is to be done by those who claim to be His children. Instead, the

judgment is seen as a time of rejoicing, not a time of wondering if one is savedor lost. For the connection to the Vine and the fruit that is produced is the real-ity of each persons relationship to their heavenly Father and His stamp of ap-proval on their life already. If they are connected to the Vine that work or judg-ment has already taken place in their life (just as it has for the one who does

not believe.)

He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not

believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in

the name of the only Son of God. John 3:18

“...choose today who you will serve…” Josh. 24:15

Unlike what so many believe about the judgment, God does not relish in thedestruction of the wicked, He wishes for ALL to come to Him; and He has

done ALL He can do to provide EVERY possible thing for each to be what Hehas asked them to be. Now (as it is said) the ball is in our court. Will we comeinto this Love relationship with God where divinity (the Vine) and humanity

(the branches) can combine to produce righteous works/acts (fruit) that showvictory instead of defeat and become for the world a witness of the power of God? If that is going to happen (and it will for the one who is connected to theVine) then we must rely on the knowledge that God is Love and Love does not



88

fail us.

We know how much God loves us because we have felt His

love and because we believe Him when He tells us that He

loves us dearly. God is love, and anyone who lives In love is

living with God and God is living in him. And as we live with

Christ, our love grows more perfect and complete; so we willnot be ashamed and embarrassed at the day of judgment, but

can face Him with confidence and joy, because He loves us

and we love Him too. I John 4:16-18

Since the beginning of time God has been preparing a people to be able tostand like Job to vindicate His character. And those who stand for God havethe right understanding of His character as Job did. And they are declared per-

fect by God as Job was.

Then I saw a Lamb standing on Mount Zion in Jerusalem,

and with Him were 144,000 who had His Name written on

their fore heads. (in their minds) And I heard a sound from

heaven like the roaring of a great waterfall or the rolling of

mighty thunder. It was the singing of a choir accompanied by

harps. This tremendous choir144,000 strong-sang a wonder-

ful new song in front of the throne of God and before the four

Living Beings and the twenty-four Elders; and no one could sing this song except those 144,000 who had been redeemed

from the earth. For they are SPIRITUALLY UNDEFILED,

pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever He goes. They

have been purchased from among the men on the earth as aconsecrated offering to God and the Lamb. No falsehood can

be charged against them; they are blameless. Rev 14:1-5

When we see the ministry of Christ in heaven, in His role as a Melchize-dek High Priest, and we see that ministry through His eyes, we begin to realizethat His work is far greater than we ever imagined. We begin to see withheavenly vision that God has been working to cleanse the soul temple so Hemay have a house to live in, not a house of sticks and stones but a church madeup of those who have asked Him into their life. These are those who have won

the battle over sin and Satan and have claimed back their kingdom that God

gave to them.

This is His bride that has made herself ready for the wedding and the peo-

ple that prepare the Way of justice and peace. This is that Kingdom, that Daythat Father Abraham saw and rejoiced in it. This is the Kingdom of Faith.

Then justice will rule through all the land, and of justice,

peace. Quietness and confidence will reign forevermore. Isa.

32:16,17



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The Faith Of God

M any ask the question what is faith? All types of answers are given to thisquestion but usually fall far from the mark and leave the questioner still won-

dering exactly what the answer is. Why has this occurred if in fact the answer

is in the Scriptures? Could it be that no one really knows the answer or that it isone of the mysteries of God that may never be understood until He comes?

Yet God calls His children to receive or have His Faith. So it would bereasonable to believe that He does not ask of His people something that He

knows they cannot achieve. Therefore we must be able to come to a full under-standing so that we may not only receive it but also help others to have it as

well.

FAITH-confidence or trustin a person or thing.

Confidence or trust in a person or thing is what is referred to as the BE-GINNING stage of understanding of what it means to have faith. We all start atthis point from birth. We learn to trust or have confidence in things around usas we test them and see that they are able to be counted on when we need them.This is a surface trust or a trust built upon our ability to physically see, hear,

taste, smell or touch and thus give ourselves enough information about the per-son or thing so that we may build a foundation on which to make a judgment to

trust or not.

This kind of faith is limited, in that it can be tricked or mislead into believ-ing something that is not true. Yet this is where faith begins, and as long as we

are constantly moving along (learning daily from God about His character)then we have no fear of being tricked or mislead and we soon pass beyond this

stage of learning.

In this first stage of learning we often make promises and commitments

based upon these surface values. These many times fall short of their intendedmark and cause us pain and grief. Yet here is where we learn to commit our-selves to God. It may take promise after promise and commitment aftercommitment to finally get it right, but God is gracious and loving and under-

stands our weaknesses, and He says:

“...My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made per-

fect in weakness…” II Cor. 12:9

If we can allow it, God’s power is perfected in us, to cause perfection inus, that His power may be made known to those around us, that everyone may

become a witness for Him. This is why Paul could write,

“...I will all the more gladly boast of my weakness, that the

power of Christ may rest upon me.” I Cor. 12:9



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Paul is not saying that everywhere he goes he tells everyone that he isweak, but when he learned to stop using his OWN strength and started allow-

ing God to work through him he found out at his strongest times he was noth-ing but a weakling compared to Christ. He saw that if he continued to allowChrist to work through him that he became spiritually strong and a terror to

those who were misusing God’s Word.

This is a wonderful lesson for us to help us learn to trust God so that wemay become strong in our weakness. This is the point of passing beyond thephysical limits of our strength and walking into the spiritual realm where

God’s power flows through all those who put their trust in Him.

“ for we walk by faith, not by sight” II Cor. 5: 7

FAITH-spiritual acceptance of truth

or heavenly realities not certified byhumanistic reasoning.

One must finally pass beyond the physical realities of this life to be able totake part of the FAITH OF GOD in full measure. We cannot stay in the baby

stage of learning.

“Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and

go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repen-

tance from dead works and of faith toward God.” Heb. 6:1

The sad part in all of this is that many teachings about faith and how tounderstand God fall far short of spiritual maturity. This maturity does not occurbecause we may feel good about what we believe or that we are biased or opin-ionated about what we may believe. It is far more than that. Maturity in the

Word of God is where Freedom and Love drive the individual and where bi-ases and opinions no longer keep God’s children from learning those deeper

things and keep them from becoming divine partakers of His character andstanding clean before their Lord.



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To Come By Faith

Faith exists because God exists. Let’s say that again, FAITH EXISTS

BECAUSE GOD EXISTS. This being the case, we must then acknowledge thefact that in order to understand what Faith is and to be able to assimilate it in a

fully useful manner, we must then be associated with the author or owner of it.

This association between God and man is no mere thing; for God has saidthat He wants our relationship with Him to be as a husband and wife, wheretwo individuals become one. And this can only take place where God exists,HEAVEN! And as the Way was made clear to Israel, we can see what has been

required of those who seek to be with their Lord and Savior.

“So let us come boldly to the very throne of God and stay

there to receive His mercy and to find grace to help us in our times of need.” Heb. 4:16

Yet when the rubber meets the road, when all is said and done, many fearGod too much to even think of coming into His presence and have been taughtto imagine a relationship with Him through a mediator to represent them be-fore His throne. Yet many of these same people say they have the faith of God

and walk with their Lord. Faith in what? A god that they fear?

“...and you shall love the Lord your God with your whole

heart, with your whole soul, with your whole mind, and with

your whole strength.” Mark 12:30

Faith in God or Faith from God works in the realm of love not fear.

“ And we to whom Christ has given eternal life don’t need to

worry about whether we have been circumcised or not, ...for all we need is faith working through love.” Gal. 5:6

Just as Israel had to learn that it was not circumcision (outward appear-ances) that caused them to have a relationship with their God but instead to

have love in their hearts that can only come from God, we to must understand

that fear is left to the immature.

Coming boldly before the throne of grace (God) is to say that one nowunderstands and has trust in God that He has done all He has promised, and

that He will give whatever the petitioner asks in His name.

“For everyone who asks, receives. Anyone who seeks, finds.

If only you will knock, the door will open.“ Mal 7:7

And does the Lord God lie?



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“...and the Everlasting of Israel does not lie or repent; for He

is not a man to change His mind“ I Sam. 15:29

So many have sought the Faith of God. They have begged and pleaded forit, they have studied more to find it and yet it continues to elude them as thoughit were just out of reach. Some may say they have it and yet hate their brother or

sister. Some say they have it but have no time for a relationship with God. Manysay they have it AND YET ARE AFRAID TO COME BOLDLY BEFORE HIS

THRONE.

As it has been said, faith exists because God exists. Once this is realizedthen we can understand that to have the Faith of God is to partake of who and

what He is!

“Then I saw heaven opened and a white horse standing there;

and the One sitting on the horse was named “Faithful and True” Rev. 19:11

Faith is what God is, it is one of His many names which is why He is calledFaithful. This is not just a word to express something about God, but is one of the many names of God. It is who He is. And by Faith (through His name) we

stand clean before His throne and:

“ He made no distinction between them and us, for He

cleansed their lives through faith, just as He did ours.” Acts

15:9

Many have made faith as a separate act of God instead of it being Him.They have misunderstood His Word and have consigned the understanding tohuman reasoning that does not know God and therefore feels it needs to inter-pret His Word in order to make sense of it. But if God lives in us (as many say

He does in them) then there is no more Faith that one can get (if He who is

Faithful lives in them) for it is in them already. What we must see is that ‘Wecome by Faith, into the Faith, that we may gain the Faith of God.’



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The Opening Door Of Faith

Let’s look at the process of the Faith of Christ. Some believe that this is

where man steps forward and lets God know of his intent and then Christ stepsin and does His part. Yet this is to say that man has the ability to come into thepresence of God without His help. Yet even Christ did not make the boast of

doing anything outside of heaven’s power.

“ I can of Myself do nothing. John 5:30

Many have said and still say that everything that is, is because of God.God is the creator and there is no other. This statement is true but is only the

beginning of the story. The rest is that even our ability to think and move and

choose is because God gives us the strength to make a decision for right orwrong.

0 Lord, you have examined my heart and know everythingabout me. You know when I sit or stand When far away you

know my every thought. You chart the path ahead of me, and

tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment, you know

where I am. You know what I am going to say before I even

say it. You both precede and follow me, and place your hand of blessing on my head. Ps. 139:1-5

We are God’s creation. He is the rightful owner and has paid the ultimateprice for us and bought us back from the one who would love to keep us in

slavery to him, so that we could be called sons of God.

You were bought for a price-purchased with a preciousness

and paid for, made His very own. I Cor. 6:l9

Even the desire to do right

comes from God.

It is a command of God to come into His Faith. There is nothing we can doof ourselves that He does not supply the ability or strength to be able to do it.God therefore must initiate a thought process in our minds that if acted uponby us will provide for us the information that we need to make a choice for or

against Him. Satan works by the same rules, he must first initiate a thought, forhe can do nothing against our wills. But God supplies an escape route for even

the temptation to sin that Satan may bring our way.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling and to pre-

sent you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceed-

ing joy. Jude 24



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No temptation has overtaken you but that which is common

to man: but God is faithful; He will not allow you to be

tempted beyond your endurance; but will make a way for you

to escape your temptation, so that you may be able to bear it.

I Cor. 10:13

This is one of Satan’s real headaches. God has provided for His childrenan escape hatch to use against even the power of temptation. Thus, there is no

excuse for falling. He then allows us the freedom of choice to decide to takeeither road. Yet, within that decision is the reality that God gives the power to

make either choice.

For in Him we live and move and have our being... Acts

17:28

He has set before us a decision to make. If we choose Him then He will

give to us what we ask in His name.

If you then, who have sinned and come short of my glory,

know how to give good things to your children, then howmuch more will your Father in heaven give good things to

them that ask Him? Matt. 7:11

The greatest gift anyone can receive is SALVATION! Without salvationthere is no hope, for salvation means-SAVED. This act of being saved is torealize that heaven is now your eternal home and Faith is the foundation onwhich you stand. But most after being saved, continue to seek the Faith of Godas if it were some elusive dream that might find its answer in some later time.

Yet God has promised to give whatever we ask in His name.

Just ask, and it will be given to you; look for it, and you will

find what you are looking for; knock on My door, and I willopen it that you may receive entrance: And every one that

ask, receives; and every one that looks, finds; and to the one

who knocks, it will be opened to them. Matt. 7:7,8

This is not a problem of time (somewhere in the future we will receive it)

it is a problem of understanding that it can be ours if we will but ask for it now.

Many seem to have acquired along the way a picture of God that has Him

creating humans and then making them seek the things they will need to makethem grow. Even a farmer knows if he plants he will have to do everything he

can to assure a good crop. Which means the farmer will have to give exactlywhat is needed for each plant to be the best it can be. Our heavenly Father is

more giving than any farmer or anyone could ever be, and yet we treat Him as

though He has forgotten what we need to be able to become strong healthy sons

and daughters.



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And it is he who will supply all your needs from his riches in

glory because of what Christ Jesus has done for us. Phil 4:19

‘The cross is the greatest gift that man can ever receive.’ This phrase is

repeated over and over again all over the world, yet somehow Christ seems to

have forgotten to give us the whole gift, or did He?

I say, whatever you will bind up and give to Me on this earth,

I will keep it bound: and whatever you will cause to be loosed

on this earth, I will keep it that way. And I say to you, that if

any two, who believe on Me will come together and ask, it

will be done for them because of My Father in heaven. For

where any of My people are, who have come in My name, I

am there. Mat 18:18-20

ASK AND HE WILL GIVE IT

Christ has said that we have not, because we ask not. Yet we see here that

believing must accompany the request. And we are in need of seeing a God who

is continually giving, not one who is playing hide and seek with us.

And He said to me, I am the Aleph and Tau (Alpha and

Omega), the beginning of all things, and the ending. I will

freely give living water from My fountain to anyone who isthirsty. Rev. 21:6

God does not promise us that we will have lots of money and worldly

goods, but that if we will learn of Him and walk and talk with Him as a friend

that we will soon see that what He has to give is that which He is; He is Faith-

ful, He is Merciful, He is Just, He is Grace. He is the Counselor, He is Light, He

is Life and so much more. These are the only things He can give. For as the

saying goes, ‘you cannot give that which you do not have.’ God did not createmoney, cars, houses, planes or trains. These things were never a part of His

Kingdom. He has never been interested in how wealthy we can become in

worldly goods. These things are mans inventions and what man desires. But

when we come to know God, worldly things begin to grow strangely dim in the

light of His Glory and Grace. Thus, as so often occurs, we have not because we

seek for a wrong reason.

You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong mo-

tives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4:3

Our requests show to ourselves and to the world just what kind of a rela-

tionship we have with our heavenly Father and our knowledge of what God has

promised to give to those who ask in His name.



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To the overcomer, I will give nourishment from My tree of

Life, which is in the paradise I have prepared for you. Rev.

2:7

To the overcomer, I will feed them of heavenly food, and give

them a new name, that is only theirs, and it will be in stone,

never to be removed, and that Stone is My righteousness. Rev.2:17

God has given us a great Gift. But as the old saying goes ‘you’ve got the

cart before the horse,’ for it has been taught that we have the ability to receive

Salvation (which is already ours through the gift of Christ) without the recep-

tion of Faith. Which is to say Faith in Christ is not needed to receive Salvation,

Faith comes later. But that is to deny that Christ is in our life or comes into our

life when we receive Salvation. In other words faith and salvation are treated as

separate issues or things.

The word FAITH means to have trust in something, but that trust is not

built on blindness, for we do not receive God’s grace by accepting Him on blind

faith.

Then being right in God’s eyes by faith, let us have peace

with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; Through Him we

have been brought by faith into this grace wherein we stand,

and are proud in the hope of the glory (grace) of God Rom.5:1,2

Knowing this, we do not base what we believe on untested ground.

Prove (test) ALL THINGS; hold tightly to that which is good.

I Thes. 5:21

Faith, though it is both a promise and a gift is not accepted on blind trust.God expects us to try ALL THINGS, to test them, even to test Him to see if He

is someone we can trust. Once tested we then have a foundation on which to

receive Him into our lives.



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The Essence Of Faith

I f Faith were a substance that we could touch, smell, hear or see, then it

would be a much easier thing to explain (at least by worldly/fleshly under-standing.) But Faith stands outside the normal realm of the way so many judgeor experience life. Therefore they come up with many differing views andways of expressing themselves in trying to explain this thing called Faith. And

because of this there are many differing theological views today on the subject.

For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is

revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith-

disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith.

As it is written, The man who through faith is just and up-

right shall live and shall live by faith. Rom. 1:17

This appears to be a hard thing to understand, but if we will look at it

again we will see what God is trying to tell us. Another way to say what hasbeen spoken in this part of scripture is: ‘God is the author of our Faith, the sus-tainer of our Faith, the maintainer of our Faith and even the container of our

Faith that arouses us to more Faith that we may become One in Him.’

One of the points that must be seen here is what is meant by Faith? Just

what is it referring to and to whom might it be referring? The Scriptures sayabout Faith that it is everything, and that it encompasses everything.

Now Faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title-deed)

of the things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not

see and the conviction of their reality-faith perceiving as real

fact what is not revealed to the senses. Heb. 11:1

The nation of Israel lived by hope of a coming Savior that would wash

away their sins and take them to the promised land .

Awaiting and looking for the [fulfillment, the realization of

our] blessed hope

, even the glorious appearing of our great

God and Savior Christ Jesus, the Messiah, the Anointed One.

Tit 2:13

As Israel before us, our hope is God, our hope is in God, our hope has

been set in the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no more of a blessed hope thanthe Lord Jesus Christ.

Then if Faith is that which we hope by (live in Christ by) then Faith is

what our hope is. It is having Faith (God in us) and having hope (God in us.)

Paul, An apostle of Christ Jesus by appointment and com-



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mand of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus, the Messiah,

our Hope. I Tim. 1:1

God has said that He is the Alpha and Omega (All that is, and All that everwill be.) In this statement God has made it known that WHAT EXISTS IS

BECAUSE OF HIM. When this is understood in its full context then it is no

longer a question as to why He loves His creation so very much. What we seeis not an accident. God in His infinite knowledge knew what we needed and

He knew what man would do with what He gave him. He therefore gave uswhat He knew we needed to come to a place where we would love Him, notbecause He had to ask us but because He has given Himself to us in every pos-

sible way.

Often times a picture is portrayed that God is playing hide and seek withus. We read; the one who seeks will find and the one who knocks will have the

door opened to them, but is Christ hiding? No! He is already in us and is givingus what we need or we would cease to exist. But what He is trying to say is,only those who seek Him will find the knowledge that will set them free and

that knowledge is Christ.

“...and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make

you free… If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall

be free indeed.” John 8:32&36

But the freedom He gives goes beyond walls and bars and is a growthprocess in learning Truth. It is going forward into Truth where many have

never been before.

Freedom is God and God is Truth. Christ is our Hope and our Faith. Allthings begin in Him and end in Him. This does not make Him the creator of sinbut a creator is responsible for his creation. This means that He is responsible

for what His creation has done and the cross was the price He was willing to

pay.

In all of this is the very essence of Faith, the knowledge that God has al-ready given us what we need. It is we who keep looking for what has alreadybeen given to us as though it is something God has hidden and we need to findit. Yet like a farmer who was willing to sell all he had to buy a plot of land thathe found out had a buried treasure in it, we too need to continually seek theWord of God like looking for a treasure. But that can only be done by havingenough knowledge to read the map and to have Faith (God) to believe that the

map is authentic. As God has said:

Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone

out into the world. I John 4:1

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse (love God with allyour heart, soul, mind and body) that there may be food in



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My house (man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERYWORD OF GOD) and test Me now in this” says the Lord of

hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and

pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Mal. 3:10

As a person who becomes deathly ill knows there is no greater gift one can

receive than the gift of life. And as a child of God knows there is no greatergift to receive than eternal life. God wants to give to all eternal life but many

will not receive it or desire it enough to dig into the Word of God to see withspiritual eyesight the deeper things of God. And as without constant nourish-ment the body becomes sick, so without food from heaven the soul starves andbecomes weak and the fight of Faith becomes harder to win against sin and

Satan until finally the war is finally lost.

Give us this day, our daily bread.

The mind continually needs nourishment from God’s table. It must con-stantly receive more from God or it will falter and fail. What God has given

(spiritual nourishment) continually needs more nourishment (Truth, the dailyBread from heaven) to help it grow into a mature state. So the choice is setbefore us, to work for that bread that perishes, or to work for that Bread that

gives eternal life.

Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures toeternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God

the Father has placed his seal of approval." John 6:27

Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died.

But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a

man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came

down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live

forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the lifeof the world." John 6:49-51



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The Law of Faith

T he law of Faith is much like a algebraic equation. It is an if-then type of

statement. If you have God living in your life + you are growing in Christ =then you have the Faith of God and are constantly receiving more and more of the character of Christ in you. Another way of saying it is; TO LIVE BYFAITH IS TO HAVE CHRIST LIVING IN YOU AND TO HAVE CHRIST

LIVING IN YOU IS TO LIVE IN HOPE.

Not in your own strength for it is God Who is all the while

effectually at work in you-energizing and creating in you the

power and desire-both to will and to work for His good

pleasure and satisfaction and delight. Phil. 2:13

Faith takes us into an experience with Christ that separates us from tradi-tional views which have only seen through the eyes of flesh what Christ has

said to us and have not continued with the Truth gaining new insights and new

revelations into the Word of God.

Let’s go on and get past the elementary stage in the teach-

ings and doctrine of Christ, the Messiah, advancing steadily

toward the completeness and perfection that belongs to spiri-tual maturity. Let us not again be laying the foundation of

repentance and abandonment of dead works and of FAITH

to God, with teachings about purifying, the laying on of

hands, the resurrection from the dead, and eternal judgment

and punishment. These are all matters of which you should

have been fully aware long, long ago. Heb. 6:1,2

Most never go beyond their leaders and have never traveled any fartherthan those who have framed much of the thinking of today; and when that pathis taken then there is no room for any new truth to be unearthed in the mine of God and brought to the surface for view. But we want to see what God has forus and to dig a little deeper in His Word. We want to go further and furtherinto the maturity of the Spiritual walk with Christ and reveal the heavenly

character to a world that no longer believes.

This Spiritual view of Faith takes us into the very throne room of God. Itputs us in the position of walking and talking with Christ as one friend to an-

other. This is the place where God has asked His people to come so they maypartake of the heavenly manna and drink from the fountain of life. And theknowledge of God will set the soul free from the prison houses that mankind

has built.

That knowledge of God keeps us from being destroyed by Satan’s decep-tions. But the lack of that same knowledge allows one person to rule over theother and to destroy the desire of the soul which allows Satan to become their



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master.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you,

have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you... Hosea 4:6

The command to seek knowledge is not a license to seek from those who

have rejected God and want nothing to do with what He stands for but is acommand to seek Truth from the Author of Truth. The dark ages should be awakeup call to all of us. The church of that day had such a strangle hold on

those who were ignorant of God's Word that for over a thousand years andmore it was able to kill and destroy anyone or anything and all in the name of

God!

As the saying goes; ‘Those who do not learn from the mistakes of the

past, are bound to repeat them in the future’ are words that so many of us for-

get so easily. Will it be said of us that we were not willing to hear or to see andto learn from our past?

I know your works and what you are doing; you are neither

cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you

out of My mouth! For you say, I am rich, I have prospered

and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing” and do not

realize and understand that you are wretched, pitiable, poor,

blind and naked Rev. 3:15-1 7

The Law of Faith is a principal that if relied upon keeps one from fallinginto the trap of tradition where the belief is that if its not broken then don't fixit. The Law of Faith will lead us to continue to search (try God) and to dig formore Truth. We are all broken vessels in need of repair and the Word of God is

the ultimate healing agent.

‘Oh Lord, help us to see beyond the surface those things that Youwould have us learn. Take us and mold our minds to be able to under-stand those deeper things in your Word. Lord, may we learn from thepast and continue to go further in the future. Take away those thingsthat keep us from seeing and give to us medicine to heal our sight thatour vision may become clear. Thank you Lord we praise your name.’



NOTES

The Spiritual Journey Into Eternity - By Terrance Hill

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