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If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. (I Corinthians 15:19) |
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A shift has occurred in Gospel preaching. This is noticeable in the titles of the new books coming out. I hope people are still buying With Christ in the School of Prayer and My Utmost for His Highest. The newer titles have to do with how you can use the Holy Spirit to get you anything you want. Many of the new books are romantic novels, some have to do with metaphysics, and some are science fiction. It appears that these were written to earn money, not because the author has a burning passion to tell what he or she has seen with God. The prophets are into the profits. Maybe I'm wrong in this. |
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I think the change from God-centeredness to man-centeredness is significant. Perhaps we have been more heavily infiltrated with humanistic thinking than we realize. |
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The Gospel message from Matthew to Revelation is not focused on how we are to prosper in this world. Rather it is a call to repentance because of the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth at some point in the future. The Gospel of the Kingdom is a hope for the future. The person who wants to make it with Christ has to put his hopes beyond the grave. Otherwise he or she is going to cave when the going gets rough. |
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If the Western "Christian" nations were not so affluent it probably would be easier to preach the Kingdom. But Jesus told us that the rich have a hard time entering the Kingdom. So it is proving. |
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Here comes the Apostle Paul into town. "Come closer, folk, and let me tell you the good news. Christ has come to heal your marriage, to enable you to find fulfillment, to heal your body, to make you rich, to deliver you from any and every problem. |
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"Everyone is invited to the big rally tonight. Hear Peter's wife sing 'Christ |
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Became Poor So You Might Be Rich.' There's no charge for attendance. An usher will be at the door to collect your freewill offering. Keep it green, folks, your coins aren't sanctified. Ha ha." |
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Go into your Christian bookstore. See if you can find a current title that refers to the Glory of God other than using God's Glory to help us out in some way. |
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It appears we have a few years of prosperity in America. Then the axe is going to fall unless we Christians get serious with God. |
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Let us make the most of this time. Let us seek God fervently. Certainly God wants to help us with our daily problems. But there is a bigger scene. |
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Imagine the early Christians in the arena, in the catacombs. Think about the multitudes of believers who have been tortured and slain and still are being tortured and slain in the twentieth century. |
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A few months ago I warned the congregation about getting involved in the professional football and baseball games. Some pundit in the newspaper compared the American fascination with professional sports with the early Indian practice of throwing virgins off a cliff as a sacrifice to the gods. If the secular writers can recognize this idolatry what in the world is wrong with the Christian churches? |
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I'll tell you I was a speckled bird after touching that great idol. In fact I was served for lunch that very Sunday afternoon. |
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But not by most of the congregation. The majority are getting the message: "Be not conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of your mind." |
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Watching twenty-two millionaires playing with a leather bag full of air is not my understanding of redeeming the time. It's okay for the kids. Even so it is time for the children to begin to see themselves as soldiers in the army of Christ. |
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Great things are afoot in the Kingdom. Let's get our mind off the vanishing concerns of the present distress and become serious with God. Why wait until we are in deep trouble before we turn to the Lord? |
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Have you read A Christian's Guide to Professional Football by Luke Warm? |
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He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. (Revelation 2:11) |
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He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death. |
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In terms of our scriptural understanding this is a peculiar statement. We know the second death is eternal confinement in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. We know it is the everlasting home of the fearful, the unbelieving, the abominable, the murderers, the whoremongers, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars. |
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We would expect the verse to say, "He who overcomes will not be thrown into the Lake of Fire" or "will not suffer the penalty of the second death." |
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A variation on this theme is as follows: |
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Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6) |
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On such the second death has no power. |
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But notice: |
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And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14,15) |
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Was cast into the lake of fire. |
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Compare: |
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Will not be hurt by the second death. |
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The second death has no power. |
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Was cast into the Lake of Fire. |
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The first two phrases are peculiar. We would expect them to say, "will not be cast into the Lake of Fire." The phrasings suggest that whether or not the victorious saints were thrown into the Lake of Fire it couldn't hurt them ("will not be hurt by the second death"; "the second death has no power or authority over them"). |
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We have already stated that the Lake of Fire is the everlasting home of the fearful, the unbelieving, the abominable, the murderers, the whoremongers, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars. |
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Let us suggest that all of us, Christians or not, are under the authority of the Lake of Fire as long as we are fearful, unbelieving, abominable, murderous, immoral, a practicer of sorcery, idolatrous, or a liar. God has spoken. Those who do such things will be hurled into the Lake of Fire. The Scripture cannot be changed. |
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But didn't Jesus come to change all this so whoever believes in Him can never be in danger of the Lake of Fire? |
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Not quite! Jesus did not come to change the unalterable Word of the Father! |
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Jesus came to forgive us and give us a fresh start. Then He through the Holy |
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Spirit goes to work to deliver us from fear and timidity, from unbelief, from practicing abominations, from the spirit of murder and hatred, from lust, from sorcery, from covetousness, from lying and treachery. |
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Salvation is deliverance from all that belongs in the Lake of Fire. You have to overcome these things before the second death can't harm you. |
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The Lake of Fire, the second death, always and forever retains authority over fear, unbelief, hatred, lust, and lying. The Word cannot be changed. |
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But when you are delivered from these abominable behaviors, the Lake of Fire cannot hurt you. It no longer possesses authority over you. |
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Now the phrases fit without having to force them like a wrong piece of a jigsaw puzzle. |
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So salvation is not only forgiveness but primarily deliverance from that which the Lake of Fire controls. |
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The question always arises: "What if I don't get the victory over all of these, will I be cast into the Lake of Fire?" The question usually (but not always) comes from someone who wishes to live the contemporary lukewarm "Christian" life without having to fear Divine judgment. |
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I cannot tell you what Christ will decide concerning any believer in the Day of Judgment. But I can tell you this. The Bible standard is far, far above what is being preached today. If you waste your talent it will be given to another and your home will be outer darkness. If you do not gain the victory you will not walk in the white robes of the priesthood with Jesus Christ and you stand in danger of having your name blotted from the Book of Life. |
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Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. (Hebrews 10:38) |
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The expression "the just shall live by faith" is found once in the Old Testament and three times in the New. The verse above is the third and last time the expression is used in the New Testament. |
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Chapter Eleven of Hebrews is one long definition of "the just shall live by faith." |
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The key to understanding the just shall live by faith is the expression (above) "draw back." "But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." |
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The expression the just shall live by faith is used today to mean if we hold the correct profession concerning Jesus Christ we will go to Heaven when we die. However the just shall live by faith is not speaking of a theological position but of the way the righteous live. The righteous press forward every day into the rest of God. The unrighteous do not press forward every day into the rest of God. Simple as that! |
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When the Apostle Paul originally compared faith and works he was referring to the works of the Law of Moses. To this day Christian preachers and teachers assume Paul was comparing faith and righteous behavior. Such a comparison would be inconsistent with Paul's other writings because Paul always stressed righteous behavior as an integral part of salvation. |
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When the Protestant Reformers compared faith and works they were referring to the works of the Catholic Church such as indulgences and various penances. I do not know enough about the Protestant Reformation to know how far the Reformers went in claiming we are saved apart from righteous behavior. |
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In any case, things are in a mess today. When people say, the just shall live by faith they mean an individual is saved by believing Christ died to make an atonement for his or her sins, and godly behavior, while it is nice, is not really of the essence of salvation. |
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This error accounts in large part for the miserable condition of the churches of our day. |
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The just shall live by faith is speaking of how we live. Either we are pressing forward in faith, striving to enter the place where every part of our personality is subject to the Holy Spirit, or else we are drawing back and flowing with the powerful currents of the world. |
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The Book of Hebrews was written to experienced believers who had a fervent start in the Lord but now were relaxing and paying too much attention to the things of the world. They were neglecting their salvation. This is why the writer said God would have no pleasure in those who draw back. |
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We enter the Kingdom of God through much tribulation. The way to eternal life is narrow and compressed. The righteous are saved with difficulty. |
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The tares of sin and ungodliness are coming to maturity today. So is the wheat of righteousness. Christ is being formed in those who are seeking God. |
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God is looking for those who are willing to live by faith in Him until every aspect of their personality is flowing with the Life of the Godhead. |
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We are not to draw back. We are to press forward into the rest of God until we are abiding always in God's perfect will. |
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To draw back is to die spiritually. Push on! Push on! |
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How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; (Hebrews 2:3) |
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The Jewish believers to whom the Book of Hebrews was written were neglecting their salvation. Were they saved? Of course. Had they known the blessing of the Holy Spirit? Yes. |
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They had seen the power of God. They had been persecuted cruelly and had accepted joyfully the confiscation of their property. |
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These Jews had made an excellent start. They had suffered some. But as the years passed and the Lord did not return they began to live the ordinary life of the world, not pressing forward fervently into the rest of God. |
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The Book of Hebrews contains many solemn warnings to these Christian people warnings we must take to heart today. |
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They were saved and filled with the Spirit. What were they neglecting? They were neglecting to press into their inheritance in the Lord. |
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Hebrews 2:3 often is preached to the unsaved, telling them that if they ignore God's plan of salvation they will not escape Hell. |
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However, references to the Jewish believers throughout the epistle reveal clearly that the writer was speaking to Christian people who had started on the way and now were growing cold. |
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They were "holy brothers" but they were warned they would not inherit Christ if they did not press forward to the rest of God. |
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What a warning this is to us today who are preaching "Jesus did it all" and once we "make a decision for Christ" there is nothing we are to do except to encourage others to "make a decision for Christ." |
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If current preaching is true the Book of Hebrews is incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial as far as the Christian salvation is concerned. |
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Your present writer believes that the evangelical teaching and preaching of today is in error. We are preaching "another gospel." We have created some kind of religion based on a magical use of the name of Jesus. Instead of a discipleship in which the disciple faithfully follows the Master each day, laying aside all that hinders the clear view of Jesus, we have an unscriptural "dispensation of grace" that brings unchanged people to Paradise. |
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I really would be worried if I did not know that God will never change. The gospel of today will soon vanish under the pressures that soon are to come on the world. |
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You are saved. You have been baptized in water. You have been filled with the Spirit. Now what? |
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Now you must press into the rest of God. The rest of God is that place in the center of God's will and Personality where the truly righteous live. |
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Many enemies, including the world, your fleshly lusts, your self-will, and Satan himself will seek every moment of every day to prevent you from keeping your eyes on Jesus and living in His rest. This is why you have to labor to enter the rest, a paradoxical commandment. |
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To enter the rest of God requires your total commitment every hour of every day. All of your thinking, speaking, and acting must be found in Jesus. You will not attain this rest in a moment but you shall attain it if you mean business with God. |
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Let other believers fool around as they will. But you go forward. They will die in the wilderness of doubt and indecision. They will inherit lashes, not Christ. |
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Don't let that be true of you. Forget the past and move on with God. There is more Divine glory available today than ever before in history. You can have it if this is what you desire above all else. |
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The Lord invites us to abide in Him. This is the voice of love. Each day we choose to go our own way or else to seek the Presence of Him who loves us and whom we love. |
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God has given the gifts of the Spirit to today's churches to an extent that probably is greater than any time of past history. But to possess such power and knowledge presents a problem. Should we use the things of God to attempt to release and bless the prisoners of the earth, or should we return to the Lord and seek His will in every instance? |
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To decide whether to use the gifts or to seek the Lord is no mere academic issue. It is the major problem facing the Spirit-filled people of today. To attempt to go forth to release and bless mankind is the wrong choice. |
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We hear the ministry of today saying, "we must go out and minister to a lost and dying world." One would look in vain for such a sentiment in the Scriptures. This is the voice of humanism, not of the Spirit of God. |
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The saints are not called to relieve the suffering of a lost and dying world. The saints are anointed with the Holy Spirit that they may bear witness of God and His salvation to a lost and dying world. There is a vast difference between relieving the suffering of people and bearing witness to people. The one is focused on the needs of people. The other is focused on the needs of God. The first seeks to lift the judgment that has come because of sin. The other rebukes the sin so people may learn to obey the commandments of God. |
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We are to continually seek union with the Father through the Son. When we do this the Spirit of God will guide us in the use of our gifts and ministries. Our allegiance is to God, not to people! |
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The ministries and gifts of the Spirit are not given for us to use as we will even in the assisting of other people. They are abilities set in the Body of Christ for the building up of the saints to the full stature of Christ. All of our abilities are to be used only as the Lord directs. In order to find the Lord's will we must present our body a living sacrifice. |
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The Holy Spirit has come, as Eliezer of old, loaded with gifts from the Father. However, the Spirit has not come to give but to take. The gifts are only for the purpose of gaining a bride. |
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The believers who do not understand will marvel at the gifts and rejoice. The true Bride will perceive the intention of the Spirit and turn and go with Him to meet the Bridegroom. |
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The desire to use the gifts to release and bless the world will result in the False Prophet. The False Prophet will assist the Antichrist world government as people are brought into what appears to benefit mankind but actually is in rebellion against God. Numerous Christians will accept this false Holy Spirit and false Christ because they do not pray, because they have no love for the truth, because they are not willing to take up their cross and follow the Lord. Don't you be one of them.(from Entering the Land of Promise) |
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For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; (II Timothy 4:3) |
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The preaching of today has deteriorated to the point the believers think the purpose of the Christian Gospel is to help them live a happy, self-fulfilled life in the present world. The concept of being a stranger and pilgrim on the earth has not been preached to them. |
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Go into any evangelical church in America and listen to what is being preached. Do you hear the pastor or teacher warning the people they must present their body a living sacrifice if they are to do the will of God? Do you hear the demands of discipleship? Do you hear that the believers are not to entangle themselves with the things of the present life but are to endure hardness as good soldiers of Christ? |
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The odds are against your hearing such preaching. |
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You will hear over and over that the believers will fly away at any moment so they cannot be harmed by Antichrist or the great tribulation. You will hear that God does not see the behavior of the believer but only the righteousness of Christ. You will hear that the believer has no need to fear the Judgment Seat of Christ because even if he has not served the Lord he will be saved as by fire. (Do the preachers and people have any idea of what it means to be "saved as by fire?" By fire?) |
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There may be some statements made about being crucified with Christ, or serving the Lord but everyone understands the pastor is not practicing such a world-rejecting gospel and does not really expect them to do so. |
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Rather, the pastor in his unfaithfulness wishes to make friends with the people. He is advising them to change what they think they owe the Lord so the demands are not as great. |
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Perhaps after he dies the members of his congregation will receive him into the caves of darkness where they are dwelling. |
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To be circumcised in heart is to be separate from the world and holy to the Lord. We are to totally reject the claims of the world. We are to cleave to the Lord and all His holy ways. We belong to the Lord and to the Lord alone! We are not of this world. We have been called out of this world that we may belong to Christ. We are to be holy as He is holy. |
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The enticements of the world continually, unrelentingly, claw at the believer. "Look here! Look there! Isn't this wonderful! Isn't that wonderful! Just think how marvelous life would be for you if you would take advantage of the opportunities the world is offering you." |
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Wasn't this what Satan offered Eve? Think about the result of her acceptance! |
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The follower of the Lord must wrench himself away from this siren call and follow the Lord with a holy heart. If he does not reject the malice and wickedness of the world spirit and set himself apart as holy to the Lord, it is absolutely impossible for him or her to destroy the enemy and enter the land of promise that is the inheritance of God's warriors. (from Entering the Land of Promise) |
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But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, (Hebrews 12:22) |
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When we think of Heaven, two thoughts come to mind. One is the place in the spirit realm we term "Heaven." The other concept is that of the glory, love, joy, and peace in which God, Jesus, the angels, and the deceased saints dwell in the present hour. |
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The heavenly Jerusalem fulfills both of these ideas concerning Heaven. The heavenly Jerusalem is a place in the spirit realm in which we shall experience glory, love, joy, peace, God, Jesus, the holy angels, and the saints. |
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One could go to the spirit realm and not find glory, love, joy, God, Jesus, or anything or anyone else we associate with Heaven. |
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Satan and his angels are in the spirit realm. Sin came into being in the spirit realm. |
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It is not enough to die and pass into the spirit realm. Our objective is to enter through the gates into the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem in Heaven is all we mean by the word "Heaven." There is no other paradise of God. |
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One day, Heaven, Jerusalem, is coming to the earth. |
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It is interesting that whenever the Prophets described the blessings that are to come with the new earth they limited themselves to Jerusalem. |
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The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord. (Isaiah 65:25) |
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"In all my holy mountain." |
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The Glory of the Lord shall fill the earth in the ages to come. But what we think of as Heaven will be found in Zion, in Jerusalem, in the holy mountain of the Lord. |
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It is not just the spirit realm that is our mother, it is Jerusalem the Jerusalem that today is in the spirit realm. |
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Whenever the Lord speaks of the glory to come He always speaks in terms of Jerusalem, of Zion; never of anything or anywhere else. |
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Every person who is abiding in Christ already has come to the Jerusalem that is in Heaven. Our physical body is dead because of the sin that dwells in it. But our born-again spiritual nature is drawing its life from the heavenly Jerusalem. |
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We already have come to Zion, to God's holy mountain, if we have become part of Christ. We have come to the city of God and to the numerous angels who perform God's will. |
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We now are part of the general assembly, of the whole family of God of all ages. |
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God judges all who come to Mount Zion. If we have been a believer for any period of time we are experiencing the Divine judgment as the sins of our personality are pointed out by the Holy Spirit. |
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The spirits of people who dwell in the heavenly Jerusalem are righteous. But it is not enough that they are righteous, they must be made perfect. God leaves the bodies of His saints dead in sin on the earth while He concentrates on the perfecting of their spiritual nature. The spiritual nature receives its Divine nourishment and guidance from its position in Christ at the right hand of the Father. |
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This is why God is dealing with you continually and severely. Stay with it. Your reward will be great in the Kingdom of God. (from Entering Through the Gates) |
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