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SERMONS ON PASTOR’S PAGE—WWW.WOR.ORG
Copyright © 2007 Trumpet Ministries, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
It seems that the understanding of God’s Kingdom, and also of the manner in which we are being fashioned by the Lord, is becoming increasingly clear. Perhaps these brief thoughts drawn from my sermons will be of help to the saints of the future.
Pressing Toward the Rest of God
Hypocrites Among the Believers
What Does the New Testament Teach Us Concerning Sinful Behavior?
Suffering as Part of the Rest of God
What It Means To Believe in Christ
The Heart of the Bride of the Lamb
Delighting Ourselves in the Lord
The Church Within the Churches
The Massive Evangelical Doctrinal Error
Preparing for the Day of Trouble
The Practices of the Nicolaitans
SERMONS ON PASTOR’S PAGE—WWW.WOR.ORG/PASTOR/PASTOR.HTM.
Introduction—Welcome to our site. You may notice some ideas that are new to you. Hopefully they will be helpful, or at least cause you to stop and think about what is being said.
We have come to the conclusion, after 60 years as a Christian, that some of our traditions need to be looked at again in the light of the Scripture. Our position is, if our tradition does not square with the Bible, then we need to change the tradition and not the Bible.
We certainly question the idea that our behavior does not affect our salvation, or that our salvation does not affect our behavior. Our salvation normally will be revealed in our behavior.
We question also the doctrine of the pre-tribulation "rapture."
The "prosperity" and "faith" messages do not fit the Scripture, as far as we are concerned.
We look for the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth, rather than eternal residence in Heaven. Have you ever tried to find in the Bible where we are supposed to spend eternity in Heaven?
We want to be with Jesus where He is—in the center of the Person and will of God, not stuck in an unscriptural mansion somewhere.
The Gospel of the Kingdom is beginning to be preached in all the world for a witness. After that, the end of the Church Age will be here.
Pressing Toward the Rest of God. A study of the text of the Book of Hebrews will reveal that those to whom the epistle was written were saved and had the baptism with the Holy Spirit. They had tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age. They were close to the original revelation and were acquainted with miracles. Given the richness of their spiritual experiences, one would expect the writer to be congratulating them on their salvation and encouraging them to be spreading the good news of the "free ride to Heaven," as we would put it today.
No such congratulations are to be found. Rather, the Book of Hebrews is a book of warning. A warning concerning what? A warning concerning their lack of diligence in pressing toward the rest of God, toward the place where God could find rest in them.
(1/1/2007 Given the fact that they were saved and had been baptized with the Spirit, we might find it strange that the writer was cautioning them that they might not be made a partaker of Christ. We would not talk like this today, in many instances. We would say, or assume, that once people had been "saved," as we use the term, they were to live the Christian life to the best of their ability, spread the Gospel, and wait to die and go to Heaven. Obviously, we are coming short of the Lord's expectations concerning us.
Precisely what is this "rest of God," concerning which the writer exhorts us in the fourth chapter? The rest of God is our land of promise. It is the goal for which salvation and the baptism with the Holy Spirit prepares us.
As was true of Canaan, our land of promise, our "rest," is filled with enemies. As we attempt to please God, doing His will and resisting sin, many forces come against us. We are advised by other Christians that "no one is perfect"; "as long as we are in the world we have to sin"; "we are saved by grace so it is not necessary to overcome our sinful urges." We have our fallen nature to contend with. We in America are living in a demon-filled culture. Not only are the activities of Satan protected by our Constitution, but the continually expanding media is diverting and oppressing our minds until there is little or no time for waiting on the Lord.
God expects each one of us, living in the current manure pile, to ask God's help in setting aside time each day to pray and read God's Word. If we do not, the year 2007 will witness our spiritual destruction.
The Israelites shouted for the battle for forty days, but no one went forth to challenge Goliath. It is like this today. The Christians gather together and encourage one another to serve the Lord. But the Goliath of sin remains unchallenged.
I am not referring to the sin found in the world, I am speaking of the lust, lying, pride, spite, foolishness, drunkenness, love of pleasure, unforgiveness, malice, seeking preeminence, selfishness, and other idols and compulsions common among God's people. Goliath has convinced us that Jesus Christ will not or cannot make it possible for us to get rid of our sins, the urges in our personality that prevent God from finding rest in us, and us from living in peace in the center of God's will.
But we need faith, don't we, that total victory is possible. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. What does the New Testament say about victory over sin? Perhaps if we find out, we will go to Christ and claim victory over each and every enemy that is preventing our entering the rest of God.
Let me say in advance that the seventh chapter of the Book of Romans is not telling us the Christian is compelled to sin. The seventh chapter of Romans was written by Paul to Jews to remind them that the Law of Moses does not give us victory over sin.
Also, the common teaching "we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye" is referring only to the change from mortality to immortality of our body. It has nothing to do with the change of our inner nature, except for the fact that until Christ is formed in our inner nature we are not qualified or competent to experience the change in our body from mortality to immortality.
But does the New Testament indeed teach us that victory over sin is possible as well as necessary if we are to inherit the Kingdom of God?
Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, (Romans 8:12,13)
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. (I John 3:8,9)
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, (Hebrews 10:26)
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; Idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions And envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. (I John 2:1)
When we sin we are to confess our sin and renounce it with all our might. When we do this, the Lord Jesus will forgive us and help us in the future so we do not practice the same behavior again.
There is no sin that Christ cannot deliver us from!
We have not been perfected as yet, but we are to be perfect each day. That is, we are not to be continuing in a known sin. We are to go to Christ for victory. If we are so bound we still keep on sinning, we are to get other Christians to help us pray through to victory.
We are not to be continuing to sin. There is total victory in Jesus.
The Muslims are lied to when their leaders tell them they can murder innocent people and then go to Paradise when they die. The Christians are lied to when their leaders tell them they can continue in their casual approach to the Gospel of the Kingdom, and any minute now they will be caught up to Heaven to live forever in Paradise.
Both groups of people are being lied to by their leaders. It is up to both groups to go to God and find out what He is saying, because it will be a frightful experience to die and face an angry God because we murdered the innocent; or, in the case of the Christians, ignored our salvation by not pressing through to complete rest in the perfect will of God.
Some will hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Others will hear, "Depart from Me. I never knew you because you did not walk with God in a righteous, merciful, humble manner.
Which will it be for me? Which will it be for you?
You can hear the morning sermon at morning.
You can hear the evening sermon at evening.
The Goal. We studied the third chapter of the Book of Hebrews this morning. It is clear from this chapter that after we have been saved and have spoken in tongues, which was true of these Hebrews Christians, we still have not attained to the goal that has been set before us. In fact, we will not be a partaker of Christ until we persevere to the end of our discipleship.
(1/14/2007) The third chapter of the Book of Hebrews presents the journey of Israel from Egypt toward Canaan as an allegory. It is a picture of the Christian experience of salvation.
The writer is telling us that God has set before us a "rest," as typified by Canaan. The Israelites, because of unbelief and disobedience, did not enter the rest of God. They did not become a "partaker of Christ," to speak in a figure.
The difficulties and hindrances experienced by the Israelites were thirst, a hostile environment in the wilderness through which they traveled on foot, wild animals, enemies, and other problems of every sort. These caused them to complain and rebel against the Lord.
Our difficulties, hindrances, and distractions are of a different kind. They are dissipation, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life, to use the Lord's words.
We have been exhorted, in the New Testament, to put our treasures in Heaven; to set our affection on things above. This means to become conscious of the spirit world and to take time to pray and read our Bible every day. But the American culture crushes the spiritual life out of us. It leaves little time for waiting on the Lord each day. Consequently we easily are deceived.
Unless we set aside at least an hour a day to wait on the Lord and meditate in the Scriptures, we are not going to stand spiritually during the coming days in America. If we do not have time because of our busy schedule, then we must ask Christ to make time for us, and to give us the desire and strength to pray. This absolutely is necessary, or we are going to fall spiritually before long.
God has set a "rest," a Canaan, before us. There are three major aspects of our Canaan, our inheritance. They are an eternal position in the heart of God such that we are living in untroubled rest in the center of His will; change into a personality identical to that of the Lord Jesus; and the nations and the farthest reaches of the earth for our possession. We have to labor to enter into this rest because so many distractions keep us from following Christ as closely as we must if we are to enter our land of promise.
America is a very difficult environment in which to press into the rest of God. We are barraged with every sort of material wealth and luxury, and these keep us from the wonderful experience of living in Christ.
At night I stressed what must become the viewpoint of every disciple of the Lord. It is that all we are experiencing in this present world is a teaching-testing curriculum to see how we will behave when we die and become eligible for the true riches that the Lord has prepared for those who love Him.
Adam and Eve were given Paradise on earth. Because of their lack of training, they were unable to keep their heavenly gift. It was withdrawn, and Adam and Eve were forced into the backbreaking work of farming. What a miserable existence, after having been living in Heaven on earth! But such always will result from disobedience.
God has sent His Son to make an atonement for the sins of people, enabling them to be reconciled to God. God tested His Son in the fires of life on earth until His obedience was proven beyond all doubt. Then God gave all authority and power in Heaven and on the earth to His Son. This marks the beginning of the Kingdom of God.
The next phase in the setting up of the Kingdom of God is the development of lesser kings and lords. Jesus Christ is King of these kings and Lord of these lords.
Each of these lesser rulers must be tested in the fires of earth, as was the highest of all Kings. This is what is taking place today. God is going through the earth, examining those who have been saved and filled with His Spirit, to see who is willing to press forward to the fullness of their inheritance.
It is impossible for worldwide peace to be established until the King, and the kings who rule under Him, return from Heaven and go throughout the earth, forcing out all that is of Satan. Satan himself will be bound by one angel and thrown into the bottomless pit.
Now the nations of the earth will come up to Jerusalem to be taught and governed by the lesser kings. They will be taught the Sermon on the Mount, and will cease altogether from killing each other. The earth will never see such peace until Christ returns.
This marvelous hope of the future can be made possible only as some of us are willing to follow Christ in total obedience to God. We will not be tested as severely as Christ was, because we are not strong enough for this. But we will be tested to the full extent of our ability to respond in obedience.
Fiery trials are ahead for those whom God has called to the thrones of the universe. We can overcome through all these testings, but we must place our treasures in Heaven. We must live with one foot in the present world and one foot in the spirit world. We must be citizens of both worlds if we are to survive.
Please keep in mind that Christ is faithful. He will not allow you to be tempted above the grace God has given you. He will make a way to escape in every case. It may seem that all is lost. Your future is grim, chaotic, and incapable of being understood.
Whatever you do, never, never, never quit. Press on through every pain and problem. God is there. He is preparing you to judge, rule, and bless multitudes of people in the future.
So we see that we should not attempt to insure our joy in the present world. If we do try to make our present life "heaven on earth," we will be deceived. Our purpose in being here is to be prepared for a better world. If we fasten on making ourselves comfortable and happy now, we will be pierced with unbearable remorse when we die and enter the spirit world. We will be able to see that our inheritance has been given to another. We will turn away and of our own will enter the darkness, because we will not be able to stand the sight of the victorious saints rejoicing in the Presence of the Lamb.
The Gospel of the Kingdom always has been a hope for the future. Today we in American are seeking to make it a means of obtaining what we desire now. Thus we have been burned and do not realize it. We are losing our eternal inheritance while we are clutching the weak, perishing pleasures of the present world.
Let each one of us begin to view our present life as preparation for a future that will be glorious beyond our most fantastic imaginations. Let us make sure that every treasure has been placed in Heaven. If we do, that is where our heart will be. Only then will we be free to dance among the stars with the Lord Jesus Christ.
You can hear the morning sermon at morning.
You can hear the evening sermon at evening.
Eternal Life. There may be no term more familiar to Christian people than that of eternal life. Yet it may be true that this expression is not as clearly understood as could be desired. Probably in the minds of most believers the thought is that somehow, somewhere, probably in Heaven, we will live in some form or another. We will be preserved, maybe in much the same condition as we are, for eternity. Honestly, I don't believe that many of us would want to remain in the same state as we are now, with the same kind of personality, forever. Do you?
(1/21/2007) Eternal life. What is it? Is it merely immortality? No doubt numerous grief-stricken people would not want to continue forever as they are now, although those who have lost loved ones might want to be reunited with their relatives or friends.
What does the Bible teach about eternal life? The Bible teaches that eternal life is a Person—the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Life. He Himself is the Resurrection.
The Tree of Life in the midst of the Garden of Eden no doubt was Jesus Christ. There is no other eternal life.
Thus eternal life is a "thing," we might say. It is not merely the continuance of our existence.
Mankind is dead, spiritually. Jesus Christ, who is Eternal Life, came down to live among the dead people of mankind. Then He was crucified to make an atonement for the sins of mankind. But more than this, He ascended to God, and God made it possible for us to eat the flesh of the Living One and to drink His blood.
This is how we receive and then grow in eternal life. We eat continually from the only Tree of Life.
Under what conditions are we authorized to partake continually from the Tree of Life?
We must overcome all the forms of death that are in us or come against us. Every time we are tempted to please our sinful nature, or Satan, or the pressures of people, or our own expectations concerning ourselves, and to do something we know is wrong, we must look to the Lord for the strength and wisdom to do what pleases God. When we do, we are able to choose to behave righteously.
"Walk by the Spirit," Paul says, "and you shall not carry out the desire of the flesh."
Every time we choose to overcome the death that surrounds us, by calling on the Lord for help, we are fed with the body and blood of Christ. Every time!
In this way we are married to the Lamb. In this way we grow in eternal life. I should say, eternal life grows in us.
It is this eternal life that will lift us to meet the slain Lamb in the air.
It is this eternal life that is our resurrection.
When we think of the term "resurrection," we associate it with being lifted from the earth. Being lifted from the earth is our ascension, not our resurrection. This misunderstanding is common among us.
In fact it is the eternal Life of Christ that has been formed in us that will lift us to meet the Lamb when He appears. However, this is ascension, not resurrection. Resurrection is the removal of death and the creating of the Life of God in us.
Do the angels have eternal life? No. The angels are animated by Divine energy, as are the stars and planet that inhabit space. Jesus Christ upholds all these by the word of His power.
Eternal life is another matter altogether. Eternal life is the very Life of God. Of course it continues forever, just as God continues forever.
Is it possible to be in Heaven and not have eternal life? Yes. As I said, the angels are in Heaven but do not have eternal life.
Angels do not have eternal life because they cannot be "born again." Only human beings, those creatures formed in God's image, have eternal life. The least human being is eligible to have eternal life, if he or she will come to the Tree of Life. But the most exalted of the angels cannot be born again; cannot have Christ, eternal Life, conceived in him (it).
People have inherited a name greater than that of God's messengers. That name is "son." We are children of God by receiving Christ, and we are sons of God when we are led by the Spirit of God.
What do we then do, if we are to inherit the fullness of eternal life? We must learn to live in the Spirit of God. Every moment of every day and night we are to involve the Lord Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do. In every decision we are to look to Christ for His will, His desire.
The Lord Jesus Christ lives by, from, out of, and because of the Father. Those who continually feed on the body and blood of Christ live by, from, out of, and because of Christ. Our animal nature is to be crucified that Christ may live in us.
Adam and Eve are real people, but they also compose a representation of the Lamb and His Bride. Adam was formed from the dust. Eve was formed from Adam. She was Adam in another form. She was intended to be Adam's glory.
The Lamb was formed from God. The Church is formed from the Lamb. The Church actually is the Lamb in another form. She is the glory of the Lamb.
Such perfection of unity was/is the eternal goal of the Apostle Paul. Paul counts all else as garbage in order that he may gain the full knowledge of Christ; the power of His resurrection; the fellowship of His sufferings.
Paul turned away from all else that he might attain to the resurrection, that is, that his whole personality might enter the resurrection of Christ.
We Christians hope to be raised from the dead when Christ appears. But there is something we must come to understand. The resurrection into the eternal Life of Christ must be attained to. It is there for us, but it must be attained to.
New wine cannot successfully be put in old bottles. There is no way in which a worldly, sinful, self-willed human personality can successfully be placed in a glorious body like that of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace will not accomplish this, nor will mercy, nor the "love of God," nor any other device self-willed believers would like to employ to insure that they can live as they please in the world and then be transformed into spiritual giants at the appearing of the Lord.
As I review what the Bible says about eternal life I am persuaded that most believers in America today do not have eternal life in them. Their theological position is accurate, they mentally accept correct doctrine, but their behavior reveals that eternal life, the Life of God, is not being formed in them.
If any person does not have the Spirit of Christ he does not belong to Christ. Just because we have made a profession of belief in Christ does not mean we have eternal life. Eternal life is a substance, not a theological position.
Let each one of us now lay hold on eternal life. In order to do so we will have to pray for strength and wisdom to wrench ourselves from the seemingly endless array of material fascinations that form the American culture. We must devote time each day to seeking the face of Christ that we may know His will.
It may be that many of us have a unique Divine calling for service resting upon us; but we are so embroiled in the American pursuit of money and pleasure that we cannot hear His voice. Consequently our talent will be remove from us and given to another who has been more faithful.
Our reward will be a loss of the Presence of God, an untransformed character; and the inheritance of people that would have been ours will be given to another. Our destiny will be darkness, being separated from the love, joy, and peace of Christ and His faithful saints.
Believe me—this is what the Scriptures teach!
You can hear the morning sermon at morning.
You can hear the evening sermon at evening.
The New Creation. We Christians need to think more clearly about the Divine redemption. The Divine redemption occurs in two major phases. The first phase is that of forgiveness. Our forgiveness was authorized by the blood atonement made on the cross of Calvary. The first phase authorizes us to enter the second phase. We need only believe and receive our forgiveness in order to participate in the first phase.
The second phase of redemption is that of personality transformation, that is, to be transformed into the image of God, the image of Christ. The second phase takes place over a period of time and requires our cooperation. It is not just a matter of believing and receiving.
(1/28/2007) It may be true that the Christian churches of our day are concerned principally with the first phase of the Divine redemption, that is, with our forgiveness. Forgiveness is preached regularly and vigorously on a worldwide basis.
However, God is concerned principally with the second phase. A forgiven creation is of little use to God until it has been freed from the compulsions of sins and filled with the Lord Jesus Christ. However, one could conclude from today's preaching and hymnology that there is no second phase—at least not a second phase that is clear-cut and capable of being applied in a practical manner. At least the second phase of transformation is not nearly as important as the first phase of forgiveness, we assume.
Let's do some clear thinking. What would a sociologist predict concerning Christian behavior if he knew Christians believe their redemption consists primarily of a perpetual forgiveness, with minimal attention being given to transformation of character? He would predict that the believers would behave in the same way as the unbelievers. He would, of course, be correct.
So it may be true in America that the rank and file of Christian people behave as do the unsaved. This means there is no testimony. This means the secular society, including our governmental leaders, have no example of moral character to follow. This precisely is true of America today. The Christian testimony is too weak to affect our populace. The manner in which the national elections are being pursued reveals cynicism and skullduggery at the highest level.
What does the New Testament say about redemption? It says if any man be in Christ he is a new creation, not a forgiven creation. Old things have passed away. All is new and of God. This definition of being in Christ hardly seems limited to forgiveness.
How, then, do we become a new creation? We become a new creation by being born again. What does this mean?
When we by faith receive Jesus Christ as our Lord, God plants a piece of Himself in us. This piece is made alive by the Holy Spirit. From then on we have two personalities. The first personality was descended from Adam. The second personality was descended from God.
The second personality is strong and familiar. The first personality is an embryo; then a fetus. If we deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow the Lord Jesus at all times, that which begins as a seed will come to term as a new creation in the image of the Parent (God) from whom it came.
Keeping this in mind, we see how necessary it is that we live in such a manner that the developing Life in us is brought to maturity. When Christ comes to maturity in us, then we are a mature son of God and a brother of the Lord Jesus. To this we have been destined.
The mystery of the Gospel is Christ in us. Throughout Church history to the present day, the emphasis in our preaching and hymns is Christ with us. He is our Lord who will return and be with us.
However, the mystery of the Gospel is not Christ with us. It is Christ in us. Obviously, these are two distinctly different matters.
The righteousness of God, as we have pointed out, comes to us in two phases. First in forgiveness. Then in personality transformation.
It is true also that the experience of Christ in us comes in two phases.
The first phase of Christ in us is the transformation of our personality that occurs as Christ is formed in us. The second phase of Christ in us is the coming of the Father and the Son to dwell in that which has been formed in us.
It is the Father's intention to make us His eternal Temple, His Throne, the essence of Heaven, we might say. But the Father will not dwell in our first personality. The Father will dwell only in Christ. Christ is the eternal Temple of God, the Throne of God, the Essence of Heaven. Isn't it so?
Therefore, in order for God to dwell in us, to make us His eternal Temple, His Throne, the essence of Heaven, Christ must be formed in us. God will dwell only in Christ. Christ must be formed in us so God can find rest in the new creation that has been formed in us. The new creation in actuality is neither us nor Christ, but a creation formed from the eternal blend of Christ and us. Thus it is Christ, but it is true also that we are included and our individuality, our uniqueness, is marvelously enhanced. The new creation is Christ to such an extent that God will dwell in it and give His Glory to it without giving His glory to another.
It is Ezekiel's wheel in the middle of the wheel: God is in Christ who is in us who are in Christ who is in God. This is the new Jerusalem. This is the headquarters of the Kingdom of God.
I think eternal relationships are being formed in our day. If such be the case, choose carefully the social environment in which you wish to live forever. There are some who have an insatiable thirst for God. There are some not as desirous of God, and so on down the line. Choose your group carefully. Make sure this is the society you enjoy. Perhaps we cannot change at a later time.
You can hear the morning sermon at morning.
You can hear the evening sermon at evening.
The Kingdom of God. It actually is amazing, given that Christianity has existed for two thousand years, and the Bible has been widely available for several hundred years, that no scholar (that I know of) has recognized that we have changed the Gospel of the Kingdom to the Gospel of going to Heaven when we die. Although from Matthew forward, the emphasis is on the Kingdom of God (or Kingdom of Heaven, as Matthew calls it). Yet we teach that to be saved means to go to another place, that is, to live forever in the part of the spirit world where God and Christ are.
(2/4/2007) Being eighty-one years of age, I am looking forward to being released from the constraints of the physical body and to be at home in the spirit world with the Lord. The spirit world is quite real to me, and my attention is turned there increasingly. Sometimes it seems it is given to me to see people after they pass away, but I do not cultivate this or attempt to communicate with them. However it is comforting to know that people really are alive and identifiable after they die, and we do not have to mourn as do the unbelievers.
I can see from the Bible, and what our traditions suggest, that we have created an imaginary "Heaven," a heaven in some ways reminiscent of the Garden of Eden. What we Christians picture concerning Heaven is not found in the Scriptures, only in our imagination. We do not know what we will experience after we die, except that those who have served Christ with their whole heart will go to be with Jesus.
In spite of what we may assume, the subject of the New Testament is not that of going to Heaven when we die. Neither John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, nor the Apostles of Christ preached about going to Heaven. They preached and taught about the Kingdom of God.
It is not true that Heaven and the Kingdom of God are basically the same thing. Go through your New Testament and substitute "Heaven" for "Kingdom of God." You soon will discover the difference between Heaven and the Kingdom of God.
You will notice also that the New Testament does not speak of going to the Kingdom of God. It refers to "inheriting" the Kingdom of God. Conversely, the New Testament never speaks of inheriting Heaven. Heaven and the Kingdom of God simply are two different things. Heaven is a place. The Kingdom of God is a realm of authority that operates wherever the believer is, whether he is in Heaven, on the earth, or someplace else.
If we envision our destiny as eternal residence in Heaven, then we must wait to die until we get there. But if we envision our destiny, our goal, to be inheriting the Kingdom of God, we commence entering the Kingdom right now. If we wait until we die we will find that we have missed God's plan for our life.
The most prominent feature of the Kingdom of God is the doing of God's will, especially in the earth. "Thy will be done in earth," we pray. Let me state at this point that there is nothing else as important to an individual as that of doing God's will perfectly.
If we do not do God's will diligently at all times, as it is made known to us, we can forget about being resurrected when the Lord returns. It is not going to happen. He is coming for those obedient soldiers who will help Him establish His kingdom, the doing of God's will, on the earth
As for the idea of an any-moment "rapture," this is unscriptural foolishness and should not be taught. If the present crop of American Christians were to be caught up to Heaven, it would be a disaster for the inhabitants of Heaven. The Lord Jesus had best remain a bachelor!
Now, what about inheriting the Kingdom? If we use the phrase "be given" in place of "inherit," it may be clearer in our mind.
The most important fact to understand about the Kingdom of God is that the Kingdom is Jesus Christ Himself. As He is formed in us we are given the Kingdom. This is why we must be born again to see and enter the Kingdom.
There are three primary phases of the Kingdom, we might say. All three are given to us as Christ increases in our personality until He dominates our old nature.
The first and most important phase of the Kingdom of God is the doing of God's will. It is written in the Psalms that Christ delights to do the Father's will. This fact was validated in Gethsemane, although it was not a delight at that time. Christ learned obedience by the things He suffered on the earth.
Because of the spirit of obedience that has been brought to perfection in Christ, when He is formed in us that same spirit of obedience is formed in us. This is how we are given, or inherit, the Kingdom of God.
The second phase of the Kingdom of God is eternal life. Jesus Christ Himself is Eternal Life and the Resurrection from the dead. As Christ is formed in us, eternal life and the resurrection from the dead are formed in us. This also is how we are given, or inherit, the Kingdom of God.
These two phases having been brought to maturity in us, we are ready for the third phase of inheriting the Kingdom of God. The third phase consist of all that God is making new in Christ: in other words, all that is described in the last two chapters of the Bible. The overcomer, he who presses through the world spirit, Satan, and his own fallen nature, will be given all that God is making new in Christ. This also is how we are given, or inherit, the Kingdom of God.
Is the Kingdom of God in Heaven or on the earth in the present hour? The Kingdom of God exists wherever there is an individual who is inheriting the desire and power to do God's will in every circumstance, and who is being filled with eternal life and the resurrection from the dead. The fullness of the inheritance will come from Heaven with the Lord and His obedient saints.
When I speak of living the victorious life, of overcoming sin, of doing God's will in every instance, people easily can become discouraged. There is no need whatever to be discouraged. When you receive Christ, the Divine Seed is implanted in your personality. Your task is to pray, read your Bible, gather with the saints, give, serve, and otherwise live a practical Christian life, looking always to Christ for wisdom and strength. It is God's task to bring Christ to maturity in your personality.
Christ was revealed in order that He might destroy the works of the devil. This He always is ready to do. Christ has enough power to destroy the work of Satan in your life and in my life. What is at issue is our willingness to believe that God will do this for us. Christ has all the power necessary to deliver you from worldliness, lust, and self-will.
We must through much tribulation enter the Kingdom of God. It is not a party. It requires all the integrity we can bring to the struggle. But victory always is assured, because through Christ we are more than conquerors.
Our supreme goal is to have fellowship with the Father and the Son. Such fellowship is possible for us only as we permit God to redeem us, that is, to deliver us from all that is found in the personality of Satan and to fill us with His Divine Nature.
Such transformation is possible for you. Don't come short of it. It is here now, waiting for you to believe and receive.
You can hear the morning sermon at morning.
You can hear the evening sermon at evening.
The Tabernacles Experience. There are three major feasts of the Lord: Passover, Pentecost (Weeks), and Tabernacles. They refer respectively to basic salvation, the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the coming of the Father and the Son to dwell in us.
The program of redemption is that of removing from us all that is of Satan's personality and filling us with all that is of God's Personality. The three feasts of the Lord portray the fact that salvation has a specific beginning, a specific process, and a specific conclusion. There is an alpha and an omega, a beginning and a conclusion. All of this is wrought by the Lord with our faith and obedience.
(2/11/2007) God is seeking a dwelling place, a resting place, an eternal temple. For this purpose He has created the Church, the Body of Christ. He calls out from the world people whom He has chosen to be His dwelling place. Then God brings them to Christ that they may become rooms in the great house of God.
The mystery of the Gospel is Christ in us. There are two phases to the dwelling of Christ in us. The first is the forming of Christ in us, which results in a new creation composed of the integration of Christ's Personality and our personality. Then the Father and the Son will come and dwell in that new creation that has been formed in us.
Many of us have been forgiven through the blood atonement and also have been filled with God's Spirit. Now we must look to Christ, for it is time to press forward to the concluding acts of the program of redemption.
At this point in time we are facing the coming of Christ to confront the enemy that dwells in our personality. As the Holy Spirit points out to us the several areas of darkness in us we are to confess them specifically, renounce them, turn away from them, and receive more of the Life of Christ in their place. This is in preparation for the Father and the Son to come and make Their eternal abode in us. We may be more acquainted with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit than we are with the Father. Now it is time for us to move forward until Christ makes the Father known to us in a greater way. Christ is the Way to the Father.
Heaven is the throne of God, as Isaiah proclaimed. The question is raised by Stephen as to what house we will build for God. The Apostle Paul gives the answer, in the second chapter of the Book of Ephesians: it is the Christian Church that is the eternal house of God, the place of God's rest.
It seems likely that at one time God had a temple in Heaven, in the spirit world. Apparently God wants to build a new temple for Himself. Each faithful disciple is a living stone in the new house of God, and the place of God's throne. In a manner of speaking, this makes the disciples "heaven," that is the place from which God governs.
The Lord Jesus told us that in God's house there are many rooms. God's House always is the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we are being fashioned as members of the Body of Christ, who Himself is the chief Cornerstone of the eternal Tabernacle of God
On the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the priests were pouring water from the Pool of Siloam on the Altar of Burnt Offering. Jesus, speaking prophetically, cried out that if we believe in Him we will become the source of living water, that is, the throne of God.
In that day the Spirit and the Bride will invite mankind to come and drink of the water of eternal life that will be issuing from the Bride, from the Church, from the new Jerusalem.
The blood of the cross gives us the authority to press into the fullness of the Kingdom of God, that is, into the Tabernacles experience. The Holy Spirit gives us the wisdom and power necessary if we are to enter the Tabernacles experience. Now it is up to us to follow Christ to the fullness of redemption.
The Lord gave two commands to our church this Sunday. First, we are to totally forgive everyone who has offended us. Second, we are to cease endeavoring and striving to accomplish our projects. We are to look to Him in every aspect of life and follow and obey Him as He accomplishes His projects.
As we were gathered together as an assembly Christ told us if we would do these two things He would do a mighty work among us. Perhaps the same will be true of your assembly.
You can hear the morning sermon at morning.
You can hear the evening sermon at evening.
Election. Today we studied some of the verses of John, Chapter Seventeen. There are many concepts covered in these verses. In the morning, election was emphasized. In the evening we pursued the idea that God is making us one with Himself through the Lord Jesus Christ.
(2/19/2007) The Bible is clear, from the calling out of Abraham through to the giving of eternal life to those whom God has chosen, that the plan of redemption and the construction of the Kingdom of God are sovereign works of God. Romans, Chapters Nine and Ten are occupied with this thought.
Since the rise of the philosophy of Humanism, man increasingly has become convinced that he is the center of the universe. Many do not believe there is a God. Some view God as having created the universe and now is remaining somewhat aloof from it.
The modern interpretation of Divine grace is a perversion of what Paul taught, as it attempts to show that God is ready to receive whoever desires to go to Heaven whether or not there is any moral change in the individual. This interpretation, being man-centered, is a product of Humanism.
One can say today's gospel can be summed up as, "How to get to Heaven without really trying." This viewpoint holds a deep appeal for Americans, since they are consumed with participation in the trinkets and toys of the world system and are not inclined to pursue the rigors of discipleship with the necessary application of time and effort.
When I was in Bible school it was pointed out that souls were sliding into Hell by the millions because so few were willing to go forth and "burn out for Christ" in some foreign country. God is sitting in Heaven, waiting to see how many will make their life's work that of saving souls from Hell.
Being a conscientious person, I could not bear to go from day to day with the thought that if I just applied myself more diligently, souls would be saved from Hell.
I began to question in my mind if God has a plan; if He knows what He is doing; if He is in control. It is obvious that a verse such as, "No person can come to me unless the Father draws him," has no place in what I was hearing.
So I said to myself and God, "If You will tell me what you want me to do, and give me the grace to do it, I will obey, no matter what it is or what the cost to me personally." I said that and I meant it. (I mean it to the present hour.) I don't ever want to hear again, "God is waiting to see who will go all the way with Him." I have put the ball in God's court; and it is up to Him to respond (if there is a God, and if He knows what He is doing and is in control.
This commitment (challenge; dare, as you like) was made in 1948. I was fresh out of the Marine Corps and in my early twenties. Now I am eighty-one.
For a long time little of unusual spiritual significance seemed to happen. I just kept doing whatever was set before me, meanwhile praying and reading the Bible on a daily basis.
At that time (1948), God began to unfold the Scriptures to me (and He still is). I could see that much of what I had been taught was not scriptural. God does have a plan. He knows exactly what He is doing with every individual as well as every sparrow. He is in control of His universe. The earth is the Lord's and all its resources, as well as all the people. I rest in this.
When I was fifty years of age, the Lord directed Audrey and me into the work of pastoring, which we do to the present hour. Also, I was directed to begin to write down what I felt the Lord was teaching me. Thus I find in the seventeenth chapter of the Book of John a precise confirmation of the idea that redemption is a sovereign act of God.
Am I claiming by this that there is nothing we are to do? Not at all! Redemption is a joint act of God and the individual, as is true also of ministry. God's intervention in our lives always is an opportunity. We can cooperate with the Spirit of God, or we can turn away from the Spirit of God and go our own way.
Christ did not learn obedience in the spirit world, He learned it during His lifetime in the world. We are put in the world to learn obedience to the Lord. Every Christian goes through a school of obedience, just as we put a dog through a school of obedience.
We cannot redeem ourselves by our own power. Only God can redeem us. But if we do not obey God in all matters, we remain unredeemed. It is as simple as that. It is the sword of Gideon as well as of the Lord.
John, Chapter Seventeen, is the real "Lord's prayer." In this prayer Jesus pointed out that God has given Him authority over all mankind. Some members of mankind belong to God in a special way. God gives them to Jesus. Jesus gives them eternal life.
The above is not "fair." The Kingdom of God is not fair. The Potter is not fair. The Potter always is righteous, but not fair. The Bible is about sin and righteousness, not about what is fair.
God exalts and uses whomever He will, whenever He will, however He will. He is God. He is the Creator. He has chosen to give of His authority to Jesus Christ. God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ (the Anointed Deliverer from God).
Mankind struts about like ants in a garbage dump, who are convinced that a rotten banana skin is the highest good in the universe. Man makes great pronouncements, much as ants wave their feelers, being totally confident that they are in control of their environment—until they get stepped on!
Some people belong to God in a special way. This is not fair. God brings these elect to Jesus Christ. This is not fair. Christ gives the chosen ones eternal life. This is not fair. God is not fair. The Kingdom of God is not fair. The plan of redemption is not fair.
Can a "vessel unto dishonor" choose to become a vessel unto honor? Absolutely! Christ never will refuse anyone who comes to Him in humility! Let no one say we are teaching inevitability!
Is there such a thing as predestination? Yes, there is. But it applies to the fact that God elects certain people from the foundation of the world to be members of the royal priesthood, the Body of Christ. But can we, having been predestinated, fail to follow through to our inheritance? Absolutely!
Can someone who is not of the elect choose to be of the elect? I do not believe this is possible. Election is election.
But when it comes to salvation from wrath, the Bible is clear and simple: "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved." No "ifs" or "buts" about it. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved from wrath.
If we will read the early verses of the seventeenth chapter of other Gospel of John we may notice that what we have just stated is in line with their teaching.
In the evening we stressed that almighty God is calling His elect into total integration with His Personality. God is in Christ who is in us who are in Christ who are in God. Thus we have one perfect, complete God, ready to minister eternal life and health to a needy world. When we choose to enter this total integration into God through Jesus Christ, the world will believe that God has sent Jesus Christ into the world, and loves the saints (holy ones—holy because they belong to God in special way) as He loves His own beloved Son.
You can hear the morning sermon at morning.
You can hear the evening sermon at evening.
Building and Fighting. In the morning, Pastor Stan Josephsen exhorted us concerning our need to be at peace with one another. Within Christian circles there is a considerable amount of malice, spite, unforgiveness. The Lord desires that we confess our sins one to another and pray one for another that we may be delivered from these bondages.
In the evening, Pastor Thompson followed up with the importance of lifting up the Lord at all times, taken from Psalms 34. Putting the two concepts together we find that while we are building the wall with one hand, we must always be ready to fight against the enemy who is endeavoring to keep us from building the House of God, which is Christ in us.
(2/25/2007) Satan is persistent in his work of accusing the brothers. Satan knows of the Scripture that assigns him to eternal torment in the Lake that burns with fire and sulfur. He is hoping to prevent this from taking place, and this is why he seeks to set Christians against one another. He wants to be able to show the Father that the Christians are doing the some works concerning which Satan is found guilty.
Satan will do anything in his power to prevent a Christian believer from walking victoriously in Christ. We join Satan in his work when we become angry with one another. Only the strongest of the believers are able to overcome the temptation to become angry and unforgiving toward another Christian.
Part of the path to victory is to recognize when we are becoming angry at another Christian and to take steps toward total reconciliation. Another part is to keep our attention fixed on Christ, always giving praise to Him and lifting Him up in our own sight and in the sight of others.
We always are to have the Lord's praise on our lips. Then the brothers and sisters who are being afflicted will hear us and rejoice in the Lord.
We are to be seeking the Lord. If you will notice, contemporary Christians are seeking formulas by which they hope to use God to solve their problems. This, that, or the other practice will help your marriage; result in wealth; heal your sickness; and solve every other problem. We are not to try to use Christ or Christian principles to solve our problems. We are to seek the Lord. If we do this, He will answer us, even though we may not understand how He or why He solved the problem.
The demonic oppression is so great in our nation that we may find ourselves surrounded with gloom and anxiety. Numerous Christians are afflicted with depression. But if we will seek the Lord Jesus, He shall deliver us from all our fears—all our fears!
When we look to Christ we are radiant. Our face reflects the eternal Divine life that is growing in us. The darker spiritually the world becomes, the brighter will shine those who are walking with Jesus.
"This poor man cried," the Psalm declares. Sometimes we Christians are accused of being arrogant. This accusation may be true. We will receive nothing if we come before God with a self-satisfied attitude. God sends the rich away empty!
When David called, the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. When you and I call on Christ, the Lord will hear us and save us out of all our troubles. "The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it."
"The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him." There are three Psalms that I believe will be of special help to us when the Divine judgment falls on America: the thirty-fourth, the thirty-seventh, and the ninety-first. These have been a blessing to me personally, a source of wisdom and strength.
The Lord's angel encamps around those who fear Him. Those who fear Him! I wonder how much fear of God there is in America today. The newer translations advise us to reverence God, but say little about fearing God. Why is this?
It is because we Americans are so proud we do not mind reverencing God, but we certainly are not going to fear Him! This may be one of the reason we are not delivered from our sins and troubles.
There is our subjective god, the god we think God is, and then there is the objective God. Our subjective god is a cheerful, loving old fellow who certainly would not permit us to suffer serious pain. This is the god of the puppy dog. But the objective God is the God not only of the puppy and the little child but also the Creator of the Siberian tiger and the Tasmanian devil.
Our subjective god is fine until we lose a member of our family; or we have a dreadful disease; or until we are wiped out financially; or are sued; or some other drastic event takes place in our life. Then we wonder, where is God? Our subjective god has disappeared, and in its place is the God of Heaven, the God of light and darkness, of thunder and calm.
Divine judgment is coming upon America, as we see many enemies rising up from various countries of the world. Why is this? It is because of abortion and other wicked practices. There is no solution to the troubles we are entering, except for the moral practices of America to change radically. Since this may not occur, we must place ourselves and our loved ones in the ark of safety.
"The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, AND DELIVERS THEM"!
Satan cannot get past the angel of the Lord no matter how hard he tries. So he seeks to lure us outside the camp of the angel of the Lord. Then we are fair game.
God is a God of love, also of wrath. Let us both love God and fear God. Then we will be poised spiritually and prepared to stand in the hour of judgment that is quickly approaching America.
You can hear the morning sermon at morning.
You can hear the evening sermon at evening.
The Day of Atonement. I spoke this morning about the Day of Atonement, the sixth feast of the Lord. In the evening I taught the significance of all seven feasts. If you are not familiar with these seven celebrations you might find both of these tapes informative.
It would not be possible for me to overemphasize the importance of the Day of Atonement (Day of Reconciliation) The preceding steps of redemption, the blood atonement, water baptism, the born-again experience, and the baptism with the Holy Spirit are preparation for what God intends for mankind. God's purpose for people is that they be in His moral image, and finally in His outer likeness. Salvation and the baptism with the Holy Spirit accomplish neither of these two purposes, as we may notice when we observe believers who are saved and baptized with the Spirit.
(3/4/2007) You may observe in what I have just written that I am assuming you understand that the seven feasts of Israel are typical of seven phases of redemption. I will proceed with this assumption, hoping that if you are not aware of the spiritual counterparts of the seven feasts you may take the time to read "The Feasts of the Lord," and similar texts found on the WOR Library of my writings.
In the beginning God declared that He was going to create man in God's image, after God's likeness. One might refer to "image" as God's Character and behavior, and "likeness" as being God's outward appearance.
In any case, it is clear that people today do not reflect God's Character and behavior. This is true even of numerous Christian people, who will cheat you in a business transaction if you are not careful.
Being saved and filled with the Spirit does not accomplish God's original declaration. There are people who are "saved" and "filled with the Spirit" who at times act like Satan himself. You know this is true if you have had much experience with Christian people.
We have converted the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to mean that if we will make a profession of belief in Jesus Christ we will go to Heaven when we die. But this does not accomplish God's purpose. Going to Heaven does not change our character. Passing from the physical world into the spiritual world does not change our character. Dying physically signifies only that the last enemy, death, has overcome us.
We say that if a sinner repents, God welcomes home the erring one. This idea is exemplified in the prodigal son. But the father did not go to the son in his wretched state and say, "If you will only believe you can continue with your liquor and girl friends but you still will be my son and will inherit my estate when I die."
It is true, rather, that the father waited for his son to become aware of his wretched state and return home. We understand from this that the son had gained humility and was ready to be a worthy son of his father.
If the prodigal son had brought his girl friends and liquor home, would the father have received him? Would the father have permitted his household to be ruined?
So it is today. We are preaching "accept Christ," but not repentance. We are not requiring of the seeker that he turn away from the world, revealing his repentance by dying to the world in the drama of water baptism. He enters the Kingdom of God upon emerging from the water, determined from this point forward to follow the way of righteousness.
This apostolic formula is not adhered to today. We give the seeker the impression that making a profession of belief in Christ is a ticket that will admit him to Paradise when he dies, and he can behave as he chooses because he has been "saved by grace."
Thus we have destroyed God's plan for man. We are preaching error today, and the testimony of the churches has been destroyed. The true Christian testimony is that of a transformed life, not of a statement that "Christians are not perfect, just forgiven, and are about to be caught up to Paradise in an unscriptural "rapture." How in the world can devout, intelligent people believe such a concept to be God's plan of redemption?
The Divine program of redemption does not move people from earth to Heaven, it moves people from the person and behavior of Satan to the Person and behavior of God. We need to understand this clearly if we are to grasp the true Gospel, and how poisonous is the destructive perversion that is preached and taught in our day.
God is building His Kingdom at this time, but it is not something we are doing. Our part is to keep on looking to Jesus and cooperating with the Holy Spirit.
As I see it, the twentieth century was the "Pentecostal Century." The Pentecostal blessing was spread far and wide throughout the world. Pentecost is the fourth of the feasts of the Lord.
The sixth feast is the Day of Atonement. We are entering this supremely phase of redemption in the present hour. We know this is taking place as the evil in our personality is uncovered a bit at a time, through varying circumstances, and we have an opportunity to confess that this part of us is not in the image of God. We then are to denounce it as such. Then we ask the Lord Jesus Christ to fill the vacancy with His Presence and Life.
If you are having such an experience, know that you are passing from Pentecost to the Day of Atonement (or Reconciliation to God). We have been reconciled legally to God through the blood of Calvary. Now it is time for us to be reconciled actually to God in our character and behavior.
During the celebration of the Day of Atonement (Leviticus, Chapter SIxteen), a goat was slain and its blood employed to cleanse the people and the Tabernacle furnishings. This signified the Divine forgiveness, the atonement.
A second goat was brought forward. Aaron confessed the sins of Israel over the second goat, and that goat was led out of the camp. This action signified God's plan to remove sin from His people.
In order for us to be redeemed fully, sin must be removed and Christ must be formed in us. These two actions are taking place in our day.
There is much religious work taking place taking place. I am not suggesting we should cease doing what has been set before us to do. Rather I am pointing our that during this time of religious activity we should spend time with Christ until He tells us what He actually is doing in our day.
Otherwise our hard labor will have been found to be busywork, having little or no eternal value.
God is kind, and He will lift the current deception wherever He finds an honest and good heart. But it is obvious to me that numerous Christian ministers of today are not even saved. When they die they are going to hear "Depart from Me," because of their behavior.
It seems to me that much of the Christian ministry of our time has their hands on the Ark of God as they seek to build the Kingdom of God by their own strength and wisdom. This is why they have died spiritually and cannot hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
You can hear the morning sermon at morning.
You can hear the evening sermon at evening.
Holiness. The burden of this Sunday clearly was on holiness. In time past, holiness has been an important topic. It was an important issue in the early Pentecostal churches. Then the believers got the idea that the old-fashioned holiness of dress and behavior was not required under "grace," so the entire concept was discarded. Today the doctrine of holiness is not expressed as commonly as one might wish.
(3/11/07) Holiness is a major topic of both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Probably most of us are familiar with the expression, "Without holiness no one will see the Lord." This is the same as, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
But what exactly is Bible holiness? We understand that Christ Himself is our holiness. This does not mean that because we profess belief in Christ we are as holy as He is, it means that the Holy Spirit continually applies Christ to us until the sin resident in our personality is cast out and Christ is formed in us. The extent to which this transformation is taken place can be gauged by our behavior.
Holiness is freedom from unclean spirits and the formation of Christ's Character in us. God is holy. He is without spiritual darkness of any kind whatever. We are to be created in God's image. This means we are to cooperate with the Holy Spirit of God until there is no spiritual darkness of any kind whatever in us, and we have become a new creation in Christ.
God requires of all human beings that they be righteous in behavior. This means they are to be kind, forgiving, truthful, faithful, merciful, honest, possessing integrity, and so forth. This is true of saved and unsaved people alike. There is to be no unrighteous behavior in the Kingdom of God, either in the governing priesthood or in the saved people of the nations.
Holiness, however, is a calling. The nation of Israel was a holy nation because God had called the people of Israel to Himself in a manner not true of the remainder of mankind. God required of Israel particular food, particular clothing, and a number of other unique cultural aspects. Also, God placed the Tabernacle of the Congregation in their midst. The presence of the Tabernacle and the priesthood were not given to the other people of the world.
The Nazirites were holier than the remainder of Israel. Thus we see that holiness, or closeness to God, exists in degrees. There is the holy, the more holy, the most holy.
We Christians, those whom God has chosen out of the world, are not to compare ourselves with unsaved people. They and we have to behave righteously, or we will suffer for our unrighteousness. But in addition, God's elect are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God that we may prove His will for our life.
In the present hour, God is calling out from among His elect those who will obey Him completely. We are to work with the Holy Spirit as He cleanses us from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. Filthiness of the flesh would include watching pornography, telling dirty jokes, body piercing, tattoos, drinking beer, wine, liquor, taking drugs, smoking cigarettes or a pipe or cigars, chewing tobacco, sexual perversions, homosexual behavior.
Filthiness of the spirit would include a lying spirit, a devious manipulate spirit, self-centeredness and self-love, a man-pleasing spirit. A complete list of inner spiritual darkness, attitudes which are not of God's image, may be found in my book "Perfecting Holiness," located in the Library on the WOR site.
The result of becoming holy is that we can have fellowship with God. We can serve in the various roles and tasks of the Kingdom of God. We can live righteously. It is the inner spiritual darkness in us that results in unrighteous behavior.
The forming of Christ in us provides the basis for righteous behavior. But in addition, if we are to be pleasing to God, we must be delivered from unclean spirits.
The work of the Holy Spirit delivers us from the spiritual darkness in us that causes us to be spiritually unclean. If we, through the Holy Spirit, put to death the sinful actions of our body, we will grow in eternal life. Eternal life always results from holiness of personality.
If we choose to be a slave of God we will grow in holiness. As we grow in holiness we grow in eternal life.
To love God with all our heart is to be holy. To love our neighbor as ourselves is to be righteous.
It is not enough that we behave righteously. If we have been called to be a saint (holy one), we must listen to the Holy Spirit. As the Spirit points out to us the unclean spirits that dwell in us and motivate us we must confess to God that a particular unclean spirit is in us. We then must vigorously denounce this spirit, calling it by name, such as self-pity, self-justifying, seeking preeminence, lust, pornography, alcohol, drugs. We must announce that it is fit only for Divine judgment and the Lake of Fire.
Then we are to renounce this spirit, declaring that we want no more to do with it for eternity.
After this we are to draw near to Christ that we may receive more of His Presence and resume our fellowship.
The above actions will remove the life and fire from these evil spirits so we always can overcome them, resisting Satan at every point.
"Be holy for I am holy." Our God is holy, without darkness of any kind. He has given to us His Holy Spirit that we might become holy as He is holy.
The current misdirecting of Divine grace is preventing spiritual growth in God's people. When they are convicted of sin in their behavior, instead of dealing with it and overcoming it, they say, "I am saved by grace so God cannot see my sin." This destructive notion is, as I have stated preventing spiritual growth in God's people. Spiritual growth is growth in being able to distinguish between good and evil, and strength to embrace what is good and drive from us what is evil.
If we are to proceed into God's Kingdom we must maintain a clear conscience. If there is any point at which we sense guilt, we then are to go to prayer to find out what the problem is. If we continue in known sin, we will lose our eternal life. Christ will not be offered again so that we can regain our standing with God. At one time we were walking blamelessly as far as we knew. Now we are continuing in sin. Our conscience is defiled. We are not walking in the Light. Therefore cannot have fellowship with God and the blood of His Son is not cleansing us from all unrighteousness.
If you as a Christian have become convicted of sin, deal with it as I have described above. Get rid of it. Take enough time out of the American frenzy of buying and selling and seek God until you regain right standing with Him.
I do not know how long it will be before serious judgment falls on our country. Right now we have a window of opportunity to go to the Mercy Seat and get the help we need so we can live in holy fellowship with God.
Let each one of us take full advantage of this opportunity so we can save ourselves and our loved ones.
You can hear the morning sermon at morning.
You can hear the evening sermon at evening.
Victory Over Sin. Many unscriptural traditions, and several theological errors, have entered Christian thinking over the past two thousand years. It may be true that the most destructive, the most morally weakening, of these traditions and errors is the idea that the Christian redemption does not include deliverance from the power of the sinful nature. It is understood clearly that through the atoning blood of the cross of Calvary our sins are forgiven totally. What is not understood as clearly is that the Christian redemption includes freedom from the sinful nature, from the bondages of sin that prevent our personality from being in the image of God.
Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:34-36)
(3/18/2007) Think carefully about the above passage:
Everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave of sin!
A slave has no permanent place in the family of the owner of the slave. Nowhere is this more true than in the family of God.
One who is a son is no longer a slave but a permanent member of the family.
When Christ sets us free we indeed are free. Free from what? Free from being a slave of sin!
I understand that there have been during the Christian Era various attempts to gain freedom from slavery to sin. Two with which I am acquainted are the Nazarene experience of sanctification; and taking the attitude of reckoning ourselves dead. However, the results of these worthy attempts do not seem to bring release from slavery to sin, although they may result in some partial relief.
Perhaps the greatest enemy of all is the lie that Satan has injected into Christian thinking. The lie is "as long as we are in the world we have to sin." Although there are Bible verses to the contrary, this lie prevails. It is widespread throughout Christendom.
We have given up. We have ceded victory to Satan. "Satan," you can have the earth and the nations of it. We Christians are going to flee to Heaven to live forever in a better world."
Thus the nations and the earth, which according to the Scripture are the inheritance of the Lord Jesus Christ, have been given to Satan to enjoy, while we make our eternal home in the domain of the angels and cherubim.
This is where we are today in Christian thinking. Victory over sin is not possible.
But does the Scripture promise there will come deliverance from the power of sin. Yes, it does, in the Book of Matthew:
As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. (Matthew 13:40,41)
Perhaps this work of deliverance has begun already. To begin with, there are New Testament passages that tell us if we have been born of God we will not continue to sin. Perhaps we could not perceive such passages previously, but they certainly are clear now:
No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. (I John 3:9)
This passage suggests that most people who attend Christian churches have not been born of God.
Another passages informs us that if we are obeying our sinful nature we do not have the Spirit of Christ, that is, eternal life, in us:
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. (Romans 8:9)
What wild, outlandish statements I am making this morning! (I made them last night in church also.) It reminds me of the time the scroll of the Law was found while they were cleaning out the Temple. King Josiah was astonished, because the accumulation of traditions and errors had caused people to forget what the Scripture stated clearly.
If the pastor of one of today's American mega-churches stood in front of his or congregation of ten thousand people, and declared, "No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God," what do you think would happen? If you are a pastor, try it and see.
Yet, the pastor would be doing nothing more than quoting Scripture.
In other words, we church members in America are way off the track, just as in the days of King Josiah of Israel.
As I pointed out, the relevant passages concerning deliverance from sin under the new covenant are becoming clear to us. Another factor causes us to wonder if perhaps the dispensation of deliverance declared in Matthew has begun already. The factor is, we now know how to proceed with release from slavery to a specific sin:
We confess the specific sin clearly, naming it, declaring it loudly enough that the unclean spirits can hear us. Unclean spirits realize that God has given Christians authority to judge sin, and so a clear pronouncement of the behavior is absolutely necessary.
Second, we denounce the sin as being evil. The reason believers do not gain release from besetting sins is that they are not fully persuaded that the behavior (profanity, for instance) really is a wicked, spiritually filthy practice.
Third, we renounce the sin, stating a vigorously as possible that we not longer want to be associated with this behavior for eternity. It is an eternal judgment.
Fourth, we then are to draw near to Jesus Christ that we may receive more of His Life in us.
Fifth, in the future when we are tempted to practice this behavior, we resist Satan.
Taking the four steps just mentioned will put the unclean spirit to death. It will remove the life and fire from it. Now we are able to resist it successfully.
The effectiveness of the five steps of deliverance depends on our living as a disciple, that is, denying our self-will, taking up the cross of our personal imprisonment, and following Christ at every moment of every day.
If we are not living as a disciple, then we should not be dabbling in the above work of eternal judgment, because Satan may use our attempts at spiritual warfare to deceive us and bring us into further slavery to sin.
Perhaps you are a Berean. You do not jump readily into every new idea that comes along. If this is the case, let me suggest the following:
Ask the Lord Jesus to point out one of your behaviors that is displeasing to Him.
Confess with your mouth this behavior, naming it clearly.
Denounce this behavior firmly as being totally wicked, filthy, and depraved.
Sternly renounce this particular behavior, declaring that you never, never, never again want anything whatever to do with it.
Then draw near to the Lord Jesus, asking Him to fill you with His Life.
The next time you are tempted to think, speak, or act in this manner, make every effort to resist it.
Well...!
Please be aware that Satan will attempt to take advantage of your new vulnerability and accuse you of numerous behaviors of the past, or practices that you are not now guilty of. When in doubt, ask the Lord to put His fire on the behavior, removing it if it is sinful, or giving you peace if it is nothing more than a satanic accusation.
The Lord be with you should you decide to launch into the above efforts, and give you the promised total victory over sin.
For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, (Romans 8:13)
You can hear the morning sermon at morning.
You can hear the evening sermon at evening.
Hypocrites Among the Believers. The Book of Jude ought occasionally be gone through in every Christian assembly in America, I believe. Jude warns us that in our assemblies there may be those who are not true Christians at all. They are hypocrites. A hypocrite is not a weak believer who is appalled by the sins that so easily beset him, but someone who pretends he is living the victorious Christian life while his or her heart is far from God.
We will know who the hypocrites are as soon as the Christians in America are being persecuted.
(3/25/2007) The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: "Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?" (Isaiah 33:14)
It is interesting that as soon as Jude begins his epistle he identifies the main characteristic of the hypocrites:
For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. (Jude 4)
The godless were written about "long ago," in the Book of Isaiah, for example, and also, apparently, in the Book of Enoch.
What is the primary action of the godless hypocrites? They "change the grace of our God into a license for immorality." They also deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord."
Changing the grace of God into a license for immorality, and denying the Lordship of Jesus Christ, are related. They both are often the case with believers in America.
At some point in the Christian Era, perhaps as far back as the days of the Apostle Paul, the teaching of Paul concerning "grace" was perceived as a new Divine approach to the sinful compulsions of man. Man no longer is required or expected to live righteously. In place of moral change in man, God has substituted "grace," meaning that how an individual behaves is not a part of his redemption. The one all-important action man must take to be saved and go to Heaven is to "accept Christ." Once he does this, Divine grace takes care of all sinful behavior on the part of him who accepts Christ.
This is what Jude meant by "changing the grace of God into a license for immorality." The extent of the moral havoc produced by this perversion of the Apostle Paul's teaching of "grace" may be quite beyond our ability to calculate.
But how is this perversion related to denying the Lordship of Jesus Christ?
We Americans are lovers of pleasure. We can find it in ourselves to accept the fact that Christ is willing to forgive our sins and overlook our sinful behavior by means of His shed blood on the cross. He is our Savior. He became poor that we might be wealthy. He suffered so we do not have to suffer. This sort of abomination is preached today as being the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
But the concept that we are to install Him as absolute Lord of every detail of our life, that we are to die to our self-will and personal ambition, is repugnant to us. One seldom hears "deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me." Rather we hear how Christ is going to make us rich and spare us all inconvenience and suffering.
Can you see how the perversion of grace and the rejection of the Lordship of Christ go hand in hand? How to be a Christian without really trying! All the riches of this world and Heaven too!
We Americans, and perhaps all of the Western nations, have been cruelly, grievously, deceived. We are not Christians at all, in numerous instances. Many of today's congregations would fire a pastor who preached that in order to please Christ they must die to their self-will and accept Him as the King and Lord of their lives. They would rather hear about how they are going to be caught up to Heaven to live in bliss while the Jews without the Holy Spirit suffer under the reign of Antichrist.
How will we ever be delivered from this deception? Will it require terrible destruction upon America and severe persecution if the hypocrites are to be driven from the Christian assemblings?
The "rapture" passage, in First Thessalonians, speaks of Christ bringing with Him the deceased saints. The current teaching is that the returning saints and all current believers will be "raptured" into Heaven in order to escape Antichrist and the great tribulation. This is unscriptural.
Jude tells us what the returning saints will do. After they have been resurrected and caught up to be with Christ in the air, they will bring Divine judgment upon the hypocrites in the churches.
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men (the hypocrites in the churches): "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones To judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him." (Jude 14,15)
How many believers of our day are following the way of Cain? They are jealous of those whom the Lord blesses. They will attempt to injure those who are patiently waiting for the Lord.
How many believers of our day are following the way of Balaam? They expect that their profession of Christ will make them wealthy. "Give the preacher a thousand dollars and God will give you ten thousand dollars?"
How many Christian entrepreneurs are acquiring money by means of their religion? How many will prophesy over someone if given enough money."
The American people by and large worship money. The worship of money has entered the Christian churches to a great extent.
How many believers of our day are following the way of Korah? American people, whether or not they are believers in Christ, tend to resent authority. They will pull their leaders down to their level if they are able.
We ought not to be following leaders who are immoral or covetous. But if we find a pastor who is not immoral, or seeking money, or attempting to take God's Glory to himself, and God seems to be with him, then we ought to be willing to follow his lead. He is responsible for the welfare of the flock, and may be called upon from time to time to rebuke them and urge them to cease their worldly ways and live a holy life.
Jude has a lot to say to us today. It is amazing who the congregations Jude was acquainted with are similar to those of today.
All true believers in Jesus Christ are looking for His appearing? But how many will be able to stand in the Presence of the Consuming Fire of Israel. You and I can, if we are pursuing iron righteousness, fiery holiness, and stern obedience to God.
You can hear the morning sermon at morning.
You can hear the evening sermon at evening.
The Three Testings. The Lord Jesus Christ was tested in three areas: in the area of bread, in the area of worldly pleasure, and in the area of personal ambition. Every son of God is tested in these three aspects of personality and behavior. Until we have overcome Satan in each of these three areas, we neither can be in the image of God nor can we be at rest in the center of His Person and will.
(4/1/2007) The first area of testing is the "bread" question. It has to do with our security and survival while living in the physical world. What shall we eat? With what shall we be clothed? How shall we be sheltered from the elements?
The Lord Jesus told us that God will provide our physical necessities and we are not to worry about them. We know God expects us to work and provide for our families and ourselves. But our most important responsibility is to find God's will and do it.
Man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds from God. God always is speaking to every individual. Our problem in America is we are so consumed with material necessities and comforts we are too busy to hear what God is saying to us.
We must learn to listen to Jesus at all times. I personally make a practice of asking the Lord about everything I do during the day. By so doing I am able to maintain the Presence of Christ throughout the day.
Jesus is interested in all that we do, our work, our eating and drinking, our buying and selling, our ministry—all that we do down to the smallest detail.
God always is speaking to you. If you will keep looking to Jesus in every decision you make, and keep obeying Him, you will be living by every Word that comes from God's mouth. This truly is the manner in which all of us are to live, and it is a way of love, joy, and peace.
The second testing we all experience is that of the kingdoms of the world. This is the realm of worldliness, including eating and drinking to excess, every kind of sensual pleasure, self-gratification, lying, usurping the place of another, stealing, seeking preeminence, treachery, lack of integrity and faithfulness. This sort of behavior is what we are witnessing in several instances in our own government.
The American people love pleasure and are accustomed to pleasure. This is why they are seeking to make the Gospel of the Kingdom a message of self-indulgence. My estimation is that if the pastors of America were turn from preaching how Jesus wants us to be happy in the present life, and held before their congregations the prospect of self-denial and the patient carrying of our cross after Jesus. there would be a large-scale exodus from the churches.
Christ does not present us with self-fulfillment but with the cross of self-denial. It is after we have accepted His will in every area of our life, and we have been stripped of many of our pleasures, that everything of true value is restored to us. To endure the period of stripping requires unwavering faith in the Character of God, His faithfulness; His desire to bring us finally to love, joy, and peace.
It may be true that it is the third area of testing that we are approaching today. I have said many times that the Charismatic people will be divided over this issue, because they desire to have the power of God but are not embracing patiently the cross of self-denial. The Glory of God without the cross.
Satan wants to be "like God," but he has no intention of doing God's will, which is that we worship and obey the Lord Jesus Christ.
Maybe this is why Christians pray for power. Why do they want power if it is not to act independently of God? Perhaps a better prayer is that God will give us a spirit of obedience to God.
I have come to the conclusion that pleasing God is a simple matter. All God requires of us is that we fear Him and keep His commandments. His commandments are not grievous. Whenever He gives us a personal direction He accompanies it with all the grace, wisdom, and strength we need to fulfill His will perfectly.
The most important aspect of the Kingdom of God is the doing of God's will perfectly. Whoever is not willing to do God's will perfectly is a rebel against God, whether or not he or she is a Christian by profession.
Christ was "imprisoned," shall we say, on the roof of the Temple of Herod. What a useless place to be for someone who has a desire to minister God's Life to people.
Why didn't the Son of God jump off? Because Christ does not act apart from the will of the Father. He does not put God to the test, as the people did at Massa, to see if God keeps His Word.
After we have been forgiven through the blood of the cross, and have been filled with the Holy Spirit, we are faced with the work of redemption. The work of redemption is the reconciling of our fallen nature with God's utterly holy, righteous Nature.
The program of reconciliation is rigorous. Each day the Spirit of God challenges us concerning some part of our fallen nature. Each day we choose whether to follow our own desires or else let Christ have His way in our life. There may come a point in our life when we face a severe crisis, like God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. But most of the time it is the daily dying and the daily living.
Over a period of time we are tested in the three areas of our personal desires. We must ask Christ to help us, for it is impossible to be formed in the image of God or rest in the center of His Person and will unless we look to Him for all security and survival; all pleasure; and all fruitfulness and dominion.
Personal ambition, even though expressed in Christian ministry, or wherever else, is of the spirit of Antichrist. It has no place in the Kingdom of God.
You can hear the morning sermon at morning.
You can hear the evening sermon at evening.
The Dead "in Christ." There are two major doctrines of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God that are not emphasized sufficiently at this time, from my point of view. One is the resurrection of the physical body of the believer. The other is the personal Lordship of Christ over the individual believer. Easter Sunday morning I spoke on the resurrection of the physical body of the believer.
(4/8/2007) The doctrine of the resurrection of Christ and of all other people is central to the Gospel of the Kingdom.
There are two main resurrections with which we are faced. The first takes place at the beginning of the thousand-year period (which I term the "Kingdom Age"). The second resurrection will occur at the end of the Kingdom Age.
It is commonly understood, I believe, that the first resurrection is for all who are "saved." The second resurrection is for everyone else—the lost of mankind.
It is my point of view that the common understanding will not stand up under a careful consideration of what is written in the New Testament.
I would suggest, rather, that the first resurrection, the resurrection that will occur when the Lord returns to earth, is for God's governing saints. The second resurrection, that which will occur at the end of the thousand-year period, is for everyone else. It is the general resurrecti