To Believe or Not to Believe, You Be the Judge.

To Believe or Not to Believe, You Be the Judge.

1 Cor 11:29-31 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, If he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged.

Contents The Introduction The Standard Page by Page Synopsis

Chapters 1. The Indictment by the Crown 2. Opening Statement of Defense 3. Opening Statement by the Crown

Proceedings for Discovery 4. The Supreme Context 5. Wisdom or Folly 6. An Impartial God 7. Practical and Relevant 8. Jesus Set Aside His Power to Show Us the Way 9. How Does God Relate? 10. Our Great Physician 11. One Curse or Two? 12. Just Believe 13. The Purpose of Law Under Grace 14. How and Why Should We Become Like Little Children? 15. As We Look Into God’s Word, We See an Image of What We Are 16. Saul and David, Two Chosen Men of God 17. Hardening of the Heart

18. Same Actions Give Way to Same Results 19. The Reality of Not Following the Blue Prints 20. There is No Standing Still With God 21. Who is Holy? 22. The Fruit Tree 23. The Smoking Gun 24. True Worshipers 25. Rebuilding of Your Temple 26. Sanctification 27. Share in His Suffering 28. Obsessed or Zeal 29. Take a Bath 30. The Crown’s Witness 31. Closing Statements by the Crown 32. Closing Statements by the Defense 33. Sentencing by the Judge The Cup Is Full and We Are Out Of Time The Covenant Which Can Not Be Broken Summary of the Message

Introduction to the Book It has been eight years now of wrestling in the desert with the Holy Spirit; where hunger and thirst has transformed me into a state where God’s words have come alive to reveal Truth. I am not a writer, nor a scholar, but out of a necessity to remember, I felt compelled to capture this knowledge on paper. I give to you many words arranged in such a way by the Spirit of the Living God to remove the veil and illuminate the practical steps in the Holy Scriptures that you may be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breath, the length, the height and the depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. The entire Holy Scriptures are revealing to us the need to repent, what it looks like and how it functions. There is only one definition of this word repentance even though the scriptures refer to the act in many ways. Should one not recognize that the complete Bible is written to unlock and blossom the depth of this meaning, you will have a book of fragmented truths. Should you have a limited or misleading understanding of repentance; it will result in taking you further and further from the Truth. Therefore, when God brings other words together to describe different aspects of the manifestation, it becomes abstract concepts, which result in no concrete directives. However, the complete understanding of this definition allows the Bible to come alive and flow from Genesis to Revelation. In other words, you have consistency of thought to form the pictures that reveal the whole truth. You may not like my theory or interpretation in this book; however, you will find that it has an evenness and steadiness throughout the chapters, and to my way of thinking, that in itself serves as a testimony to the correct analysis. Malachi 3:16-18 Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name. “And they will be Mine,” says the Lord of host, “On the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.” So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and the ones who do not serve Him. Malachi is revealing to us that God is going to send His messengers just before judgment day to expose the apostate church. They will write a book (5612 evidence indictment) of remembrance because we have forgotten the exhortation which was

addressed to us as sons. This book will urge and implore, as it appeals and encourages us with reason; calling us to repentance, as we remember the Sabbaths, the new moons and His appointed feasts, so we can distinguish between the pure and the profane, between the one who serves God and the ones who do not. (Lam 2:6) This book is like a refiners’ fire and like fullers’ soap so don’t expect to get your ears tickled here. Jer 13:25 “Because you have forgotten Me and trusted in falsehood.” 2 Tim 1:13 Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Rev 3:3 Remember therefore what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. This book takes the mystery out of the word of God to reveal a consuming theology of fire which is simple, practical and relevant for every moment, thought and action in every day living, to give you the abundant life. Contained in these pages, about love, is a concept which has never entered your reality or even your thought life, but yet it is the weightier provisions of the law. (Matt 23:23) If you cannot believe that it could be ‘this book’ that the Lord is paying attention to, then you had better be looking for another book because there is definitely going to be a book that will be hard to swallow, much less stomach, as it measures the temple. Daniel 12:1 “…And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book (5612) will be rescued (4422). The word 4422 means; to slip away, leap forth, causative to release or rescue. Causation means the act or fact of causing, the relationship of cause and effect. In other words, you must take the initiative which causes you to slip away. First what we need to note is that the Book of Remembrance that was written by those who fear the Lord in Malachi 3:16-18 is the same book which Daniel makes reference to in Daniel 12:1-3. Those whose names are found written in this book will be rescued to everlasting life. When the Holy Spirit is finished revealing, that is, causing the practical application of truth in the word of God to be perceived, then this book will bare the title “THE LAMB’S BOOK OF LIFE”. Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. We have had the books of the Bible before us for hundreds of years, but what we have not had is another book that clearly reveals the mysteries which were concealed within the pages of the books of the Bible. This final book will clearly make known the cause and origin of that which separates us from God. This book is the book of life of the

Lamb; Revelation 13:8. Should the evidence in this indictment prove that you have not judged the body rightly, then your name will not be found in this book and you will be headed for the judge and the wrath of God. (Matt 5:25) Should you choose not to heed the warning and take action to repent then this indictment will judge you guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord and you will find yourself an enemy of the cross of Christ. (1 Cor 11:27-32) God is not going to rapture anyone or send judgment to the world until He reveals ‘the treasure’ or ‘the pearl of great price’ which has been hidden in His word which exposes the apostasy of His people. Daniel 12:4 “But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book (5612) until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.”

Take in this knowledge, which many have gathered, and see if you can hear the voice of the Lord by understanding the practical reasoning of these words that I believe Daniel was instructed to conceal. God, who’s essence is love, is not going to blindside His creation at a time when the human race think they are doing righteousness until He sends His messengers to expose wickedness and deliver His warning through His indictment. John 10:3-5 “…and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. And a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Come and discover a stairway of knowledge and understanding that will transport you into the very throne room of God. Find the way which doesn’t seem right to a man, but its end is the way of life. Pro 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. God must and will intervene at the time of the end to prepare His own possession. Malachi 3:17 "And they will be Mine," says the Lord of hosts, "on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him." If you would like to know why God is going to put many through this time of unbelievable chastening and the only way you will endure to the end, keep reading.

The Standard For those who have eyes to see and ears to hear; Know that this is the “standard” which was prophesied by Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The question which demands critical thinking is: If the Bible contains all that we require to obtain an abundant life and answers all questions, why would there be this imperative to raise a standard? The Bible can only become our standard when we can understand its directives from which we are to operate from. The Bible can only become our standard if we can solve the mysteries which unlock the power needed to comply. Yes, the Bible is our standard, but at our daily working level of its knowledge we have proven it to be irrelevant. Isa 18:3-6 All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth, as soon as a standard is raised on the mountains you will see it, and as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will hear it. For thus the Lord has told me, “I will look from My dwelling place quietly, like dazzling heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” For before the harvest, as soon as the bud blossoms and the flower becomes a ripening grape, then he will cut away the spreading branches. They will be left together for the mountain birds of prey, and for the beasts of the earth. The birds of prey will spend the summer feeding on them, and all the beasts of the earth will spend harvest time on them. Jeremiah 4:6-9 “Lift up a standard toward Zion! Seek refuge; do not stand still, for I am bringing evil from the north, and great destruction. A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations has set out. He has gone out from his place to make your land a waste. Your cities will be ruins without inhabitant. For this, put on sackcloth, lament and wail. For the fierce anger of the Lord has not turned back from us. And it shall come about in that day,” declares the Lord. “The heart of the king and the heart of the princes will fail, the priest will be appalled and the prophet will be astounded.” Ezekiel 7:1-11 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me saying, “And you, son of man,” thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel, “An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land. Now the end is upon you, and I shall send my anger against you. I shall judge you according to your ways, and I shall bring all your abominations upon you. For My eye will have no pity on you, nor shall I spare you, but I shall bring your ways upon you, and your abominations will be

among you, then you will know that I am the Lord God. A disaster, unique disaster, behold it is coming! An end is coming; the end has come! It has awakened against you, behold, it has come! Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The time has come; the day is near – tumult rather than joyful shouting on the mountains. And My eye will show no pity nor will I spare. I will repay you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst, then you will know that I, the Lord, do the smiting. Behold the day! Behold, it is coming! Your doom has gone forth, the rod has budded, and arrogance has blossomed. Violence has grown into a rod of wickedness. None of them shall remain, none of their multitude, none of their wealth, nor anything eminent among them.” Isaiah 31:8-9 “And the Assyrian will fall by a sword not of man, and a sword not of man will devour him. So he will not escape the sword, and his young men will become forced laborers. And his rock will pass away because of panic, and his princes will be terrified at the standard,” declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem. A few wicked hands have created the abomination of desolation that will deliver anyone who does not meet ‘the standard’ into the ‘Day of Jacobs Trouble’. Without seeing the true standard we have manufactured the substandard. The substandard has become the standard and rocked all the virgins to sleep by way of the apostate church. 2 Tim 1:13 Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 2 Thes 2:3 Let no one in anyway deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first… We need to turn from our apostasy or prepare to reap the world wind of His judgments.

But you ask, “Where is our apostasy?”

To Believe or Not to Believe, You Be the Judge. Page by Page Synopsis The Introduction Introduction to the purpose of the book

The Standard Imperative to raise the standard A disaster, unique, behold it is coming The day has come - arrogance has blossomed

Chapters 1. Indictment by the Crown The story of the problem The Lord indicts his people Shut the Temple doors We are sacrificing son and daughters By their deeds they prostituted themselves The sickly you have not strengthened The diseased you have not healed We have not obeyed or responded to correction The harvest is past, the summer has ended and we are not saved

2. Opening Statements of Defense We are in the New Testament I rest on Sunday I don’t have any power to overcome The spiritual has nothing to do with the physical

3. Opening Statements of the Crown Jesus is the architect and engineer of all things Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you have no life in yourself The Lord is for the body Sorcery as a way of dealing with illness God’s Temple and God’s Spirit lives in you Follow the example of Christ Jesus never changes Jesus heals every disease and sickness Excuses invented by ignorant people on God’s behalf Lord’s plans to prosper us/give us a future

Proceedings of Discovery 4. The Supreme Context The supreme context Being consumed is all encompassing Food is for the stomach will be done away with Books of the Bible must be relevant to each other Every word that comes from the mouth of God

5. Wisdom or Folly Search for it as for hidden treasure Nothing concealed that will not be brought out into the open A wise man will store up knowledge and understanding Harlotry and wine take away understanding Examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith Proof is in the pudding I Daniel mourned for three weeks The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning The righteous will shine forth like the sun The lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely

6. An Impartial God No favoritism, even if you were a signet ring on my right hand Those who keep from profaning the Sabbaths The foreigner or the eunuch, all are welcome Justice the measuring line and righteousness the level Assessing personal relationship Never adulterates His laws to accommodate disobedience

7. Practical and Relevant The meaning of the words Naaman’s practical problem Be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry Testing for unfaithfulness Physical test for a spiritual problem? Cleared of guilt and will be able to have children The bride has made herself ready through the marriage covenant Divorce, except for marital unfaithfulness Jesus is our jealous husband I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery The demands from a holy Husband I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you

8. Jesus set aside His power to show us the Way Satan’s M.O. The flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life Because you have kept the words of my perseverance I have access to all the power that Jesus had

9. How does God Relate? Understand the best through forming pictures Positioned to understand the secrets of the kingdom of heaven Actions of ignorance produces a spirit of stupor

Use biblical biographies not current individual cases to see God’ character Allow God’s word to paint the true picture of what you are

10. Our Great Physician Like a top specialist sending you home with no instructions Physicians recommending sorceries Spent all she had on doctors yet instead of getting better she grew worse The clear act of a hypocrite The mind, renewed or depraved No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”

11.One Curse, or Two? Action of Adam; the ground is cursed Disease cannot come by way of Adam’s actions Worship God removes sickness and disease God’s feasts or a victim of your own feasts? Stubbornness of heart, Baals, as their fathers have taught them You have dealt treacherously with the wife of your youth Correcting many years of treachery Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me Offering: means to cause to grow up See if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven This is your spiritual act of worship The physical is completely joined with the spiritual The second curse is one of choice Cursed is the man who does not obey the terms of this covenant I took my staff Favor and cut it to pieces, to break my covenant

12. Just Believe Definition of the word believing Centurion displayed great faith Two blind men give us a picture through action that define believing O unbelieving and perverse generation Pray and fasting to elevate believing Unbelief comes from a polluted mind which is only configured to receive more of the same Slaves of their own appetites Righteousness through faith to all who believe Little faith is susceptible to becoming a calloused heart If you were blind you would have no sin; but since you see, your sin remains Muster seed to grow to be become a large garden plant What Dying to yourself looks like He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride, Milk and honey are under your tongue Developing an intimate love relationship with Jesus Jesus does not entrust Himself to them, for he knew all men Signs of a believer

13. The purpose of Law under Grace Do not think that I have come to abolish the law but to fulfill Whatever has been written in earlier time was for are instruction Law breaker and follower to be in heaven together One in Hades pleads to return to warn brothers Greatest man born, of a women, to set the course in following You have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth The whole nation of you are under a curse

Their god is their stomachs and their glory is in their shame Concerning the prophets that make my people err, and cry peace Christ to cleanse your conscience from dead works The secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given to you but not to them Obey all His law that will be our righteousness Die to the Law to receive His strength by being join to another Obey the terms and conditions of His covenant and Christ will make up the short fall Moses held his hands up Christ powerful right hand to strengthen us Godly attributes to come naturally Grace is the free gift to be used when we compete according to the rules Strengthened by foods leads to strange teachings Grace teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions His anointing teaches you about all things Sincere pastor/minister that are trying to get the priesthood too Sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth Do not practice sin and keep short accounts

14. How and Why should we become like little Children? Unless you change and become like little children you will never enter Knowledge puff up/Love builds up - Does not know as he ought to know Train up a child in the way he should go But be transformed by the renewing of your mind Pollutants rewire the mind away from God Obedience to the truth purifies your soul resulting in being born again Different ways one can be born One gate to the abundant life Instantaneously healed or wash and be clean? Destroyed for lack of knowledge Hidden these things from the wise and learned

15. As we look into God’s Word we see an image Of what we are God’s word reflects back to us what we look and function like Women susceptible because they are the weaker vessel God will remove food and the stomach Fleshly theology to confront Satan’s technique God will punish sin where ever it is; the land or the animals The soil has two natures and so do we

16. Saul and David, two Chosen Men of God I will tell you everything that is in your heart God is looking for leaders over His inheritance A riddle on how Saul was changed into a different person Samuel’s warning to Saul Saul’s heart revealed by not waiting for Samuel The battle won or lost in the mind Saul spares the best of the flesh Rebellion is like the sin of divination and arrogance like the evil of idolatry Evil spirit came on Saul What robbed Saul and continued to take him? Gilgal; Indeed, I came to hate them there David is anointed and then was attack by the closest family member Suffering brings about and teaches obedience The Amalekites take David’s camp Who are these Amalekites and what do they represent for us Baptizes and following under the cloud, yet God was not pleased Moses held up his hands

The flesh set its desire against the Spirit – is death Gained access by faith into the Grace in which we now stand The Lord at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation The undisputable truth of who the Amalekites are Hold on to what you have so one will take your crown David becomes king and God establishes his throne forever David struck down Uriah and pays a heavy price for a new wife The circumstances which gave David the mind of Christ David becomes deathly sick and he friends and family gloat God restores David and he expresses his riddle on the harp If the eye is clear the whole body is clear In the desert they gave into their cravings Prostitution – unchecked or unbridled cravings

17. Hardening of the Heart Ignorance darkens the understanding and gives way to futility of thinking A hardened heart is just a mind which a not tender towards the things of God Miracles give you the ability to believe? The heart to be strengthened by grace not by foods Put a knife to your throat Pharaoh delicacies and food to set an ambush Hearts can become weighted down with dissipation God’s definition of an adulteress Parents who taught dissipation and played the harlot to the next generation Stop paying the harlot and she stops being the harlot

18. Same Actions give way to the same Results And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out Parents to be accountable to indoctrinate their children in the truth We show no regard for His science/truth so we form idols Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy The Lord has caused to be forgotten the appointed feast and Sabbath in Zion Food and drink to come before revelry When it come time to punish, I will punish Our fleshly golden calf to bring relief His hand is still upraised but to no avail Twice the sons of hell as you are

19. The Reality of not Following the Blue prints If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him There must of necessity be the death of the one who made the covenant To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies The way an eternal being can and will be destroyed Using our bodies as a barometer Remnant of Israel returns to rebuild the temple but discovered unfaithfulness The Remnant makes a covenant before God to fix the problem Ezra shows the way of death to establish and invoke his covenant Sending away my wife and children or being expelled from the assembly Transition to purity If a Righteous man turns, God’s word becomes a stumbling block The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ For God did not spare the natural branches neither will he spare you Then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful No one can lay any foundation than the one already laid The proper foundation will produce fruit with integrity Why does God’s vineyard, of choice vines, to yield only bad fruit?

Because of My house, which remains a ruins, which each of you is busy with his own house Can not see even after all the miraculous signs For you this whole vision is nothing more than words sealed in a scroll They honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me Three day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices Healing the body makes you holy and righteous Consecration does not rub off to someone else You placed defiled food on my altar, by saying the Lords table is contemptible Indeed all who are intent on doing evil will be cut off, secret sins Though who have escaped to rely only on the Lord He your teacher will no longer hide Himself from you And the yoke will be broken because of fatness The Passover is always two days away

20. There is no Standing Still with God He gave them over to a depraved mind to do what ought not to be done All have turned aside, they have become corrupt We followed our parents, and became a willing sacrifice to their idols A seal of the righteousness of faith Pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness and sin is lawlessness And has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified I led you through the desert, ate no bread, drank no wine, so you might know Me God gave them a spirit of stupor No one pleads his case with integrity Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here He has entered into judgment with all flesh If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him Young man rejoice but remember your Creator before the evil days come

21. Who is Holy? For all the congregation are holy, every one of them The show down with the men that treated the Lord with contempt They shall not come near to Me to serve as a priest to me What further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek For power is perfected in weakness Another priest according to the power of an indestructible life The way of the wicked is like deep darkness they do not know what makes them stumble Even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart You hate my instructions and cast my words behind you Alas, you who are longing for the day of the Lord Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crop, but Be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry USA PRIMER - terms of absolute supply of body-building nutrients that the soil controls the pattern of life So that your ox and your donkey may rest the slaves, the aliens as well to be refreshed The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath Repent therefore and return in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord If anyone will not work neither let him eat – sleep is sweet A literal hunger and a literal thirsting for righteousness I must trust the word of God and move out by faith Knowledge about your organisms can derail Satan’s deceptive lies Perfecting holiness out of reverence for God Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem To the pure all things are pure, but they claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him If a man cleanses himself from these things And I will make you like my signet ring Waging war against the law of my mind Operating in the realm of unconditional love

You must observe my Sabbaths Offer your bodies as living sacrifices – this is your spiritual act of worship If you follow my decrees, carry out my regulations and keep all my commands and obey them The fear of sickness and disease to motivate us to righteousness Propagating this lie to your children is sacrificing them to your idols

22. The Fruit Tree Instructions on reclaiming the land Evil comes upon them who consumed the first of the harvest You are a land that is not cleaned There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst They have not taught the difference between the holy and the profane Ones who have not been defiled with women, as first fruits to God Celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness Finish paying all your tithe of your increase in the third year For three years I have coming to look for fruit on this fig tree Produce fruit in keeping with repentance Nineveh, the actions that saved them, repentance Other stories, the flood, the Queen of the South, Solomon’s stair way to God Blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cup and dish A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, the difference is in the soil The lamp wholly illuminates if there are no dark parts in it, the eye is clear Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be thrown into the fire Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling that you may Grace to teach us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions Impossible to keep oneself from being polluted by the world The stoning of the man that was gathering wood on the Sabbath Jesus declared all foods clean All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean Fasting is mourning, bridegroom taken then they will fast Disciples lacking power to drive out a demon Cults to take advantage of parts of His knowledge You believe at last! Jesus answered Believer, to arrival at a higher state of conciseness through regeneration Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord But he who is weak eats vegetables only Hulda Clark – Frequencies to kill viruses But they are evil for the man who eats and gives an offence The fragrance of Christ bride, a rock garden locked They will soar on wings like eagles The Lord will bless His people with PEACE Heal the sick, raise the dead

23. The Smoking Gun Lips causing the problem - adulteress eats Food turns sour in stomach – becomes venom And I live among a people of unclean lips Living organisms Fatness is arrogance/evil of idolatry against God Dissipation – Surfeiting – Playing the harlot Fatness controls the thought process Judging my life by the body Faith is moral conviction Sin and sickness are synonymous The Lord is for the body but will do away with the stomach Digestion: fermentation or Hydrochloric acid Leaky gut syndrome Parasites may rule the world Chronic indigestion is practicing Sin

24. True Worshipers Fig tree – hungry for worship Spirit will reveal to you these acts of sin you are committing in ignorance Cleanse your conscience from the dead works serve the living God Without discipline, of which all have become partakers; illegitimate children A picture of Cleansing His temple – Zeal for His house Scourges every son, How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction Not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts A shrine, Baal/food polluted by idols Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ, Their god is their stomach The stomach with its raisin cakes Abstain from food polluted by idols The prodigal son – senses For power is perfected in weakness And sent away the rich empty-handed Sabbath-rest to replenish themselves The acid test for worshipping at a shrine Righteousness like the wave of the sea Follow in regeneration – through the idea of oscillatory repetition Paul buffets his body – rations at the proper time King Solomon’s temple – integrity or invaders Communion explained The Lord’s supper is an examination of our blood and flesh Three testimonies from you, Spirit, blood and water. Then brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord The curse from our actions, putting branch to their nose The curse that you choose will destroy your house People in Jerusalem to burn Branches have been broken off Remnant chosen by grace Conspiracy/broken covenant Jesus monopolized with His temple Division in Family Craving other foods Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you. Circumcision of the heart Branches have been broken off I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh Honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me Hidden knowledge/ foolish things to shame the wise, to nullify the things that are Homesteaded by the Mitochondria – shared, rented, occupied “The lives of the cell” by Lewis Thomas In a fundamental sense, the most important living things on earth I am intimately involved, and obliged to do a great deal of essential work for my mitochondria Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die Balance of microscopic creatures to give you the ability to believe Riddles/secrets Many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see A way that seems right but leads to death - Calloused/hardened heart Process your encounters with God through meditation Implementing truth today will insure being lead deeper tomorrow

25. Rebuilding of your Temple Dilemma of the Gospel Memorandum to rebuild Showbread continually, burnt offerings, Sabbaths and on new moons, appointed feasts forever Where the energy will come from to rebuild Money collected in the census, from personal vows, brought voluntarily to the temple Why repairing of the temple did not start People give generously to see progress

They rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design and reinforced it Power is not automatic Make known to them the design of the temple

26. Sanctification Our bodies have no choice Nursing mothers/ sacrificing offspring ; A picture of lawlessness You derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life Know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM. AFTER THOSE DAYS

The covenant is asking for a display of good faith God’s feasts - we are the sacrifice Elite priesthood to give ration at the proper time Party on? Or time to feast? A deluding influence so that they might believe what is false The months of God’s Love feasts Consecration is the act of cleaning out the body Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge Work out your salvation with fear and trembling Soiled clothes – He who overcomes Washing and cleaning your clothes Painful time of giving birth I have made you an assayer and tester among My people Surrender and allow God to take you to His vocation First clean the inside of the cup and dish Charity through scourging Pollutants and parasites – Cure for all Diseases How did we get off course? Their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day The laws to hold things together and to teach us The law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ I will uphold you with my righteous right hand You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone Sorcery to circumvent the curses Deeds of the flesh are evident: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery …

The summer is ended and we are not saved

27. Share in His Suffering Israel paid one year for every day Christ identified with His chosen people We must paid one year for every day Christ was in the earth We must identify with Christ Without discipline, of which we all have become partakers/ scourges every son All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful Sell their birth right for a single meal Suffer in the flesh Hermeneutic Paul’s thorn Compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding Jesus wore His thorns as His crown All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted In Christ’s name” is in Christ’s character The Siege of Jerusalem - Days needed to put an end to sin Daniel’s seventy weeks – to put an end to sin and to anoint a most holy place – your body Developing spiritual muscle Fasting or mourning Sorrow is better than laughter/ wise in the house of mourning Signs of a believer God is accessing my life by examining my blood No godly witness for comparison

Maneuvering to obligate God’s word to bless Grace teaches us to say no

28. Obsessed or Zeal John in contrast to Jesus John’s actions corresponds to Elijah Mount Carmel/450 prophets of Baal Living in the reality of the word John was living the way Anna never left the temple Three Elijahs The disobedient to the attitude of righteous Meaning of lawlessness as it relates to blood Paul’s conversion Paul with the Ephesian Elders Joseph’s story Food is calling out to seduce us Prison is His kindness? All stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness Love ones to become a consolation? Joseph and Mary searching three days Jonah, the only sign Daniel would not defile himself Babylon’s king falls and returns The king’s reason returned to him? Our table, a snare? Filthy vomit? A dog returns The Righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite The stomach for food; but God will do away with both of them

29. Take a Bath Powerless people, committing adultery and living a lie Poisoned water and food I did not send these prophets Zeal without knowledge Jesus has come to burn with fire the tares In the last days you will clearly understand it Look for the two witnesses Families divided over the gospel message Why do you not analyze this present time? And the judge turns you over to the constable Forgiveness 859, Freedom, Remission Peter’s foot washing Judas gifted but falls ? Enlighten but falls/ swept clean but returns Ought to be teachers/ solid food/ just weaned Someone to teach you the elementary principles Order on order, line on line, a little here a little there Nature of Thought/ he who doubts is condemned No faith, maybe logistic? Frequencies The body to attract what it is calling for Thought to form our reality/law of attraction Oxford Companion to The Bible, Science and the Bible/ Augustine/ Galileo Einstein God’s call to reason together Have their senses trained to discern good and evil Big faith or little faith / milk or meat? Discipline trains but sorrowful time Eat what is set before you Practice sin? Then you practice lawlessness!

Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat The book Prescription for Nutritional Healing / fasting Lack of physical integrity/no fruit apart from Christ Deny yourself – humble (afflict) yourself Body needs the energy to repair itself Spirit free rein in our life or stall out Six “P”s to reaching the world for Christ

30. The Crown’s Witness There is a hole in our theology Follow the order Suffering that brings changes Obedience Direction Crises of belief My Mission Hidden Treasures Digestion or Congestion? The Colon It’s Function Colon Complications Steal Health and Vigor Colon Ailments Death begins in the Colon Addressing the Pharisees

31. Closing Statements by the Crown Blind and deaf servants / Rebels from birth How can I let myself be defamed In the time of my favor/to say to the captives, ‘Come out’ Be free! Hear these words of mine and put them into practice A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household A call to repentance The ax is already at the root of the tree Work out your salvation with fear and trembling Ten bridesmaids The talents The Spirit will teach you all things Terms and conditions of the covenant Selling your house without termites Certificate of divorce No sacrifice for sin is left

32. Closing Statements by the Defense Thankful to the Crown Good deeds to make up the different Gross misrepresentation of the truth

33. Sentencing by the Judge Obedience to the commandments to receive the blessing of the covenant Disobedience reaps the cures

The Cup Is Full and we are Out of Time If a wicked man restores a pledge The righteous will not be caught daydreaming on the day of judgment The thief comes to break in Babylon burns The Lord cannot return until the temple is rebuilt Boiling Pot Clear directions from the actions of the men of Nineveh We must overcome/endure to the end

The Covenant which Can not be Broken Restore the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and alone with them your own captivity Nevertheless, I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth You will not be cleansed from your filthiness again until I have spent My wrath on you God’s faithfulness in our faithlessness

Chapter 1

The Indictment by the Crown There was a King that chose one of his servants to be an ambassador of a certain area in his kingdom. The assignment was one that came with great honor and prestige. The manor was breath taking, everything was manicured and spotless. The layout was impeccable and built to function perfectly for the execution of the office. The King issued many slaves to his ambassador with the expectation that much tribute would flow back to him. Not long after taking office his ambassador started spending more and more of the tribute on himself by way of extravagant parties. In hopes of maintaining his feasts and also meet the King’s expectations, he started abusing his slaves, cutting back on their food, working them longer hours and never giving them a day to be refreshed. Each time the captain of the slaves would send messengers to warn the ambassador of their pending problems, they would return home inebriated, and bring wine for all. This continued for many years and seemed to be working quite well. The slaves rarely complained because they were extremely loyal and would give their lives to complete a task. However, the ambassador was unaware that the numbers of his slaves were dwindling, do to being over worked and the fact that the remaining slaves were maintaining the quota. One night a band of rebels secretly slipped in and attacked the compound. The captain of the slaves sounded the alarm, which signaled to muster, but given his men’s condition, few heard and even fewer responded. In the morning the captain set up lines of defense and tried desperately to contain the rebels. The captain advised the ambassador of the gravity of the situation in hopes of suspending quota. The ambassador, ignorant of battle tactics and consumed with self indulgences continued the quota although he did have a ‘case of scotch’ sent to the captain. After a short period of time the ambassador begins seeing there is very little tribute flowing back to the King. Gravely concerned, he travels to the front lines of battle were he discovers the grim facts that he is going to be over run, loose his territory and his very life. In a last minute desperate act, he sends word to the King to send out the Royal Armies. The people surrounding the territory who were watching the conflict erupted in laughter and made sport at the King’s expense. Their assessment of this King was one of weakness, and incompetence, certainly nothing to fear. The King sends word back to his servant, “Did I not warn you in my ambassador manual

of this very problem and how to overcome it? Believe and apply my instructions, don’t lean on your own understanding and I will grant you the victory. Take back my Holy Temple and stop holding me in contempt! Stop defrauding me and pay me my full tribute in worship that I have created you to return so that I can resume to pour out on you the full extent of my love and blessing!” Micah 6:2-3 “Listen, you mountains, to the indictment of the Lord, and you enduring fountains of the earth,” because the Lord has a case against His people; even with Israel He will dispute. “My people, what have I done to you, and how have I wearied you? Answer Me.” Malachi 1:6 “A son honors his father and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” say the Lord Almighty. “It is you, O priest, who show contempt for my name.” “But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for my name?’ “You place defiled food on my altar. “But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’ “By saying that the Lord’s Table is contemptible. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty. “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light* useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept NO offering from your hands. My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you profane it by saying of the Lord’s Table, ‘It is contemptible.’ And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and you sniff at it contemptuously,” says the Lord Almighty. “When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the Lord. “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great King,” says the Lord Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.”

Psalm 106:34 They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord had commanded

them, but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs. They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood. They defiled themselves by what they did; by their deeds they prostituted themselves. Psalm 105:6 “We have sinned even as our fathers did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.” Micah 7:2-4 The godly person has perished from the land, and there is no upright person among men. All of them lie in wait for bloodshed; each of them hunts the other with a net. Concerning evil, both hands do it well. The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe, and a great man speaks the desire of his soul. So they weave it together. The best of them is like a briar; the most upright like a thorn hedge. The day when you pass a watchman, your punishment will come; then their confusion will occur. Malachi 2:7 “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction - because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty.” Eze 34:1-10 Then the word of the Lord came to me saying: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds: ‘Thus says the Lord God: Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with wool; you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. Though who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.” And they were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered. “My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill and My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth; and there was no one to search or seek for them, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord.” “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “Surely because My flock has become a prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock; therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I shall demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I shall deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.”

Make no mistake; the Lord God has indicted all, everyone who claims to be His disciple! For the disciples are commanded to feed His sheep. The flock has become prey for every kind of disease and sickness, they are broken and scattered. You call yourselves shepherds as you feed off the well-to-do sheep, but never give the flock the knowledge they need to be healthy. How can the blind help the blind? Jer 7:23 ...but gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. From the time your forefathers left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. But they did not listen to me, or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their forefathers. When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer. Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips. Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lament on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath. Jer 8:19 Listen to the cry of my people from a land far away: “Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King no longer there?” “Why have they provoked me to anger with their worthless foreign idols?”

“The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.” Jer 9:12 What man is wise enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?

Chapter 2

Opening Statement of Defense This indictment was for the people in the Old Testament when they were called on to offer sacrifices for their sins. Christ is our sacrifice and we are not called on any more to offer a sacrifice and if we were, my sacrifice would not be diseased, injured or crippled but pure and holy. We do not live under the Law, for Christ set us free from the Law and has given us grace. I don’t believe there are any secrets in God’s word. God would not keep any information hidden from his Saints. If he wanted us to conduct ourselves a certain way he would make it clear in his word. If the secrets are hidden, I am to busy trying to make a living. I don’t have the time to worry about finding some deep secret. The treasure map is too complicated and I have all the gold and silver I need. I have never held God in contempt. I work six days and rest on Sunday. I give a tenth of all I make to the Church. I give freely of my time to people in need. I open my home to strangers. God is always on my mind and I pray to him daily. Matt 13:17 Many Prophets and righteous men long to know what has been given to you. In other words, very few Prophets or righteous men will know the secrets even though in their young lives their actions placed them to receive the benefits. If God did not reveal the secrets to them why would I think that he is now going to reveal them to you or me? If Christ is the way, how am I suppose to follow in his steps? He had the power, and it’s clear I don’t. He was God and I am just human. God had his favorites down through the ages, the Jews, and I am not one of them. The Bible is not practical or relevant to me, but out dated and obsolete. I leave it to the Bible scholars, that is, the wise and learned to interpret God’s Word. I don’t have the ability. Yes, I believe everything God tells me, but it doesn’t change my life, and nothing good ever happens to me. Sickness and disease come from the curse of Adam, and therefore we must live

with it. It is straight from God’s hand, and therefore, it is nothing to be ashamed of. After all, Paul had a thorn in his flesh, and asked three times for it to be removed. The whole assembly is holy, that is all the people that have accepted Jesus as their savior and that includes me. I prayed the pray of salvation. I have repented and followed Christ through the waters of baptism, and I trust Him to take me directly to heaven. I don’t have a need or a desire to understand anything else; I just want to live my life. Keeping oneself from being polluted by the world is talking about something spiritual, and has nothing to do with how I conduct myself in the area of food, or anything else I physically consume.

Chapter 3

Opening Statement by the Crown Jesus is gone so what do we have left? His Word and His Spirit. So what is this Word and where is this Spirit? John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The Bible tells us that this Word was always with God and was in fact God. This Word was a person that was always with God. This Person made everything that was made including me and you. Only in Him can we find life because He is the architect and engineer of the energy that lights man. Without His energy we would have no life. In this living Person, shines forth knowledge, but like an electrical bulb that is receiving the smallest amount of energy, we lack light to see where He wants us to go. Psalm 36:9 For with you is the fountain for life; in your light we see light. This Person is the fountain for life; he wanted us to see so we can drink of that which gives us life. Anything that takes the life from us, is taking us farther away from His fountain, or the energy that sustains life. This Person was not making his dwelling place on earth but was with the Father in heaven. Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. This Word is living and active, a series of speech sounds, serving to communicate meaning, to accomplish God’s purposes right from heaven. John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. This Person, the Word, became human and lived on earth among people. This Word of God, this living Person, has now manifested himself into the form of what He created, a human being. This Word of God was called Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the Word of God sent to articulate meaning through the use of words and actions. Do not believe for one moment that His words are flowery or His directions pleasant for they will drive a spike right through your heart! Jesus starts to reveal Himself through His words to His disciples: framing the intimacy of the relationship which must take place for one to follow Him.

John 6:53 Jesus therefore said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. The people who were following Jesus and considered themselves to be His disciples could not discern the words from His mouth. Today nothing has changed; we cannot discern the words from His mouth. John 6:60 Many therefore of this disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement who can listen to it?” Yes, nothing has changed and by our actions all of us are saying the exact same thing. John 6:66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore. These were Christian people like you and me. Jesus asked them to do something so that they may receive eternal life and many of His disciples, all except the twelve could not stomach even the thought of what He was telling them they needed to do. I summit to you that you too will not be able to stomach the directions to follow after you can discern the words from His mouth either. The only good thing is that you will not be under any delusions or comforted by any false securities; but if you will, you can have the knowledge to become hot rather than remain lukewarm. Rev 3:15-16 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm - and neither hot nor cold - I will spit you out of My mouth.” Christ came for the purpose of what? John 10:10 ...I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I can only have a life if I have a body in which to experience life through. Therefore, if I want life to the full I must have a body that has the potential to deliver what Christ came to give. 1 Cor 6:13 …Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body. Can we as God’s creation, being made in His image, be so twisted in our thinking, as to believe that a good God, who wants us to have life to the full, incorporated sickness and disease as a way for expressing His abundant life? And if you think it was, why wasn’t Jesus’ life full of sickness and disease, since he came to show us the way? Sickness and disease are robbing us of enjoying life to the full, but more importantly it robs God to the same degree of worship. By accepting sickness and disease as a natural part of life, we make God’s Word out to be a sham and our lives are a living testimony against everything Jesus’ life stood for and demonstrated. We all know that actions speak

louder than words and our actions are testifying before God, and the world that which is false.

We have adopted sorcery as a way of dealing with illness, to compensate for our lack of understanding/discernment of the word of God. 1 Cor 3:16 Don’t you know that you yourself are God’s Temple and God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s Temple, God will destroy him; for God’s Temple is sacred, and you are that temple. Disease wants to destroy the body. Anything that works to destroy God’s Holy Temple is evil. Any person that takes part in this destruction God says he will destroy. Psalm 38:3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; my bones have no soundness because of my sin. Psalm 38:5 My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. Psalm 38:7 My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart. Our sin is removing the soundness of that which produces our life blood. His wrath comes as a mechanical certainty in response to our disobedience to His meaning. Micah 2:7 “Is it being said, O house of Jacob: ‘Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient? Are these His doings?’ Do not My words do good to the one walking uprightly?” 1 Cor 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. Our bodies are no longer our own, our bodies, are no longer our own, I say again, our bodies are no longer our own! Has that penetrated, because Christ purchased them at the cost of his body and blood? As the new owner, with His impeccable credentials, He is asking us to take action that shows honor to His newly acquired Holy Temple. A good God who is going to make our bodies his Holy Temple is not going to proclaim in his word we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” and then make statements that are diametrically apposed. Jesus did not pay the ultimate price for our bodies to watch them become incapacitated and die by sickness and disease. 1 Cor 6:13 …Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body. Psalm 41:3 The Lord will sustain him on his sick bed and restore him from his bed of illness.

Therefore, if Christ came for the body His glory is in the restoring the body from immorality; it is the receiving and applying His grace that sustains the body until knowledge of His grace takes us on to victory. Matt 12:25 Jesus said “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.” Sickness and disease are evil, you cannot allow evil to live in God’s Holy Temple and expect that Holy Temple to stand. If it is only able to stand for a while, it certainly cannot be considered Holy but only a Temple. Holiness reflects the glory to the one who supplied the grace to accomplish the victory. John 14:6 “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus came to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins and to show us how to implement the truth into our lives. Jesus said “take heart for I have overcome.” If Jesus came to show me the way, and I see no illness in His way, then my only rational conclusion is that there should be no illness in my way. But this would mean that I would have to humble myself and bend my stiff neck to consider that I have been living outside God’s will. 1 Peter 2:21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He accomplished this by living out his life in complete harmony with the word of God. His life reflected the word of God, because he was the word of God. God caused men of God to record this revelation of God, that we might have a record of the exact steps. The results of the abundant life comes from following Jesus, or from following the written word of God because they are both the same. Would it not seem logical that if we’re not getting the results the Bible speaks of, which is victory over the flesh and the power to do the right thing, that were not following the steps? Is it possible that some thing or some one is leading us astray? Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Jesus is no longer here on earth to follow but we have the complete word, which show His complete steps. Jesus came to demonstrate the positive power of the word when it is carefully and completely followed. But make no mistake; you will experience the words governing you from the positive or the negative. It makes no difference if it is two thousand years or two million years that have passed, just as it makes no difference whether it is Jesus you are following, or the Word of God you are following, each will bring to the same healing place. Jesus is the embodiment of the Word of God, they are one in the same.

And what did Jesus clearly demonstrate over and over to us, if it wasn’t that he had the power to heal the physical body. If Jesus and the Word are exactly the same, then you must conclude, whatever Jesus did, the Word can also do. Just because you want to act as if this is not true, it will not change the fact that it is true, the only difference is that you will live your life without his benefits to the degree of your disobedience. Matt 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee.... and healing every disease and sickness among the people. Matt 4:24 ...and the people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering sever pain, the demon possessed those having seizures and the paralyzed and he healed them. Matt 10:1 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. Luke 6:19 ...and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all. Jesus healed and so did his disciples every sickness and disease from everyone who demonstrated that they believed by taking the action to come to him. Deu 7:11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today. If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers. Deu 7:15 The Lord will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but will inflict them on all who hate you. Everyone that came to Jesus was completely healed by their actions of faith. Jesus never took someone aside and told them it was not Gods will for them to be healed or conveyed to them that they needed to suffer for another, say, 15 years, then he would kill them with their disease and in this way he will in fact heal them. In other words, our spiritual leaders would have us to believe that it is Jesus’ will for us to suffer through this life on earth and only after we arrive in heaven can we expect to be healed. These are only excuses invented by ignorant people who think that they are doing God a service by protecting what they see as a threat on the integrity of His Word, because they don’t know the science of how to implement the truth. Job 13:7-9 Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf? Will you speak deceitfully for him? Will you show him partiality? Will you argue the case for God? Would it turn out well if he examined you? But it is really to cover up their lack of insight and inability to understand the power of

His Word and the goodness of God. In accepting sickness and disease as a reality in their life they define the size of their God, a God that has limits. Whose definition of blessing and goodness is measured in the length of time you can suffer. Who lacks the power here on earth to maintain a Temple worthy of his Holiness. God will not disappoint, he will give you exactly what you sow, and if you want to take your cues from the masses you will receive what they receive. The wonderful fact is that God wants all to be healed physically as well as spiritually right now, on earth.

He will turn no one away who believes, that is to say, who takes actions which carefully implements the instructions of the Word of God. Mark 16:17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: ...and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all. If deadly poison is not going to hurt me, how much less bacteria and viruses. The truth is that if we are sick at all, God’s word is telling us we have not yet arrived at the level he set for us to obtain so we can testify for him, that we are believers. God demands we banish sickness and disease from our way of life because it is not in keeping with whom we are. We are accepting a theology that has made room for sickness and disease which clearly goes against the word of God and the very ministry of Jesus. Jer 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me, and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and bring you back from captivity.” If we want the Lord’s plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us a future and not just hope, then, we need to understand we are in bondage with a need to be brought back from captivity. If any of you are under the allusion that disease some how doesn’t harm you, a few hours in a hospital that treats degenerate diseases should clear this up and leave no doubt. The church is in fact holding God’s Word in contempt by its theology. All who follow this theology are in fact not only holding the Word, which is Christ in contempt, the Father and the Spirit, but propagating the same. Jer 5:31 The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. Jer 8:8 ... when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? You cannot hold God in contempt very long without being overwhelmed with the consequences. If you need convincing that disease is not the direct outcome of treating

God with contempt, please read Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. One of the most beautiful and astounding things about implementing the steps into your life needed to reclaim your temple, is that it positions you on the path where God can bless, and all the fruits of the Spirit start to flow from you naturally. You are out of control, but the Spirit is now in control. This book is to show you what God has shown me, that you might also position yourself to believe, because if you can believe, all things are possible.

Chapter 4

Proceedings for Discovery The Supreme Context John 2:16-17 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it was written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” John 2:21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. Heb 3:6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. This house that Jesus was speaking of here was the Temple of God that was being transformed into his own body. The Pharisees where in God’s physical building of stone and wood and naturally they stayed on this plain of reasoning because their minds did not understand the symbolism used in the Old Testament. They could not conceive of being in the midst of a paradigm shift where the stone and wood became flesh and blood. When we accepted Christ as our savior he adopts us, and we become an extension of his body or temple and house. 1 Cor 6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? May it never be! Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a harlot is one body with her? For He says, “The two will become one flesh.” But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with him. Jesus was consumed with zeal for his house and his house is now my physical body because it houses His Spirit. John 2:17 His disciples remember that it is written: “Zeal for this house will consume me.” To be consumed is an all-encompassing term, there is nothing left over, which meanings there is nothing left out. Since Jesus is the Word and the Word is Jesus, what Jesus is consumed with also means the Word of God is consumed with. These few words in this verse just placed the whole living Word of God under the supreme context. The whole Bible now needs to be viewed in this new light to understand and grasp the gravity of the personal and practical love of God for your body, his temple. 1 Cor 6:13 “Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food” - but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.

The relationship that food has to the stomach is the exact relationship the stomach has for food. There is no value in food without the stomach and there is no reason for the stomach without food. Since the Lord is for our bodies then our bodies need to be for the Lord, for there is no value in the body without the Lord. Jesus came for our physical bodies. That is, he was the exact representation of the living Word of God walking in physical form. Therefore, the entire Word of God has only one purpose and that is to show the way for the physical body to enter into the abundant life. If our bodies do not reflect back to the Lord the same relationship that He has with them, then the stomach is the organ by which food has brought on immorality. Food and the stomach are placed as the fulcrum in God’s design to elevate love or immorality. Isaiah 7:15 “He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. The books of the Bible are not relevant to each other or to us when we view them in their individual intellectual context. This book of God’s writings only becomes alive as it becomes coherent. If the Bible never become coherent for us we will never see how food through the stomach can and will join our bodies with the harlot. 1 Cor 6:18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own; for you have been bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body. This is not through your body but in the body! When you glorify God in your body the natural and automatic outcome will also be through your body. The Word became flesh to show us the only way the flesh could glorify God, which make us responsible to follow in the same way. Matt 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” Yes, food is for the stomach and the stomach for food but remember what God said. Man cannot be sustained on the actions of feeding the stomach alone. There is some other action needed to keep the physical body in a right relationship to God which the entire book of God is relating to and is written for. This makes this Holy Bible completely relevant and practical to anyone who has a physical body which has been turned over to Christ. Yes, it is most certainly true that your existence is not about you, in the sense that you are controlling your body, but about yielding the management of your body to the Spirit of Christ in you. If you cannot discover the theme which knits these instruction books together you will be blind in your understanding of the demands that are placed on you, and the knowledge to see whom the responsibility falls, not to mention the strength to complete.

Chapter 5

Wisdom or Folly Remember: 2 Samuel 22:31 “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.” And 2 Peter 1:21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, But men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Pro 2:1 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commandments within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. God is telling us that all wisdom is contained in his Holy Bible and that we are to believe it, even though it is above our understanding. He directs us to saturate our minds with his commands and then take action by turning to them, allowing them to set and control the parameters of our actions in living. Once in this state of surrender, now apply your heart to understanding, call out for insight, cry aloud for understanding and keep persevering in this directive. God’s word cannot lie, and He says you will find what you are looking for, you will not be disappointed or denied. The key is perseverance in obedience! Luke 8:17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Pro 3:13 Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life are in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. Wisdom is the ability to act contrary to the desires of the flesh. Wisdom is the ability to implement knowledge even though your understanding is limited. Wisdom is to find the strength needed to live a disciplined life. Wisdom will return to you only what God offers, which is nothing less than his best! God’s best is His Highest standard for your body and therefore your life. Do not be dismayed when your progress seems slow and you

find yourself compromising to cope. Tomorrow is always a new day, so view the past as a building block to the future. The primary blessing that God’s wisdom wants to impart to you is long life, through pleasant ways and paths of peace. How wonderful it is that she has two hands, and her left hand supports her right hand with riches and honor which enables her to smoothly accomplish her mission in you. The right hand is a walking testimony, a billboard to the goodness of God that supplies us with the time. The left hand gives us the capacity to impact the people around us through good deeds. Ignorance or disobedience are the ways we can be robed of our ability to believe, which is why it will be so important to gain knowledge and understanding, and obey even when we don’t know why. “A wise man will store up knowledge and seek to gain understanding.” Pro 12:1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. If you seek knowledge from the Lord you better be prepared to first incorporate discipline. And if you think you have gained great understanding and knowledge, then your life will also display the same level of discipline. Knowledge and understanding can be measured by your disciplines. Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. The question is: Why are we rejecting knowledge and not taking hold of understanding? What is keeping us from recognizing knowledge when it is being presented? Why will our brains not allow us to comprehend, discern or gain understanding? Hosea 4:10 And they will eat, but not have enough; they will play the harlot but not increase, because they have stopped giving heed to the Lord. Harlotry, wine and new wine take away the understanding. My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them; for a spirit of harlotry has led them astray, and they have played the harlot, departing from their God. Does eating and drinking have something to do with playing the harlot? Is understanding removed by harlotry? Jer 3:9 “And it came about because of the lightness of her harlotry, (2184) that she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.” Harlotry’s meaning (2184) is adultery, infidelity, idolatry, but it is from 2181 which is the primary root that states [highly fed and therefore wanton] rarely of involuntary ravishment. Wanton means; undisciplined, sexually loose, deliberately malicious,

recklessly ignoring justice. 1 Thes 5:21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. Evil: Morally bad or wrong; wicked; resulting from conduct regarded as immoral. Anything that causes harm, pain, disaster, etc. Manifests itself through actions of wickedness. 2 Cor 13:5 Examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith; test yourself. Do you not know that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test? This is a command pointing out it is going to take an examination to distinguish the authentic from counterfeit. Jesus is not going to ask us to examine ourselves for something that is an intangible or a concept, for how can one test for something you cannot see. The first step is to recognize that faith is tangible, that is, it must be physically seen. The only thing that we control that is physical is our bodies; in other words, how my body functions will determine the degree I pass or fail. Given the fact that we only have two parts and the spirit is not physical, it will be the body that must be held up to the light of God’s Word, to see if it can perform the physical acts required. This practical test is black or white, on or off, pass or fail, for God will not allow there to be any doubt. My Dad sometimes used a term “the proof is in the pudding, son”. In other words, follow what you believe is right, for the time you believe it takes to receive what faith promises, and at the end of this time, it will be very clear, if you missed the mark. Daniel 10:2-12 At this time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; (verse 12) Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. God is telling us if you set your mind to gain understanding, you must accompany your search with actions of mourning. Daniel’s actions of humbling himself before the Lord were actions of fasting and pray. This takes discipline! Let’s remember one very important detail surrounding Daniel’s revelation. It came only after he set himself apart for God for the duration of three years. Through this life, God recorded for us exactly what it takes to perfect holiness, to sanctify yourself. God used him after the period of sanctification was over, and he wants to use you, but only after your period of sanctification is over. Daniel was mourning to see God because that’s what mourning gives. God showed himself to Daniel in the third year, but never used him until the fourth year, the year he entered the King’s personal service. (Dan 1:19) Daniel followed the steps, obeyed God’s commands and reaped God’s rewards, because he wanted to see clearly God’s mission for his life. Daniel 1:16-17 So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables. And as for these four

youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams. You cannot see clearly God’s mission for your life until you consecrate yourself, and then our King will call you into His personal service. (Rev 3:12) Remember: Ecc 7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. If someone were to back into your car and damage the body, we would take it to a place to be repaired, the body shop. We know our spiritual problem is a problem of the heart; therefore, we need repairs done to the heart. God is telling us where to go to accomplish the work he requires. But what does the house of mourning look like? We know what happened to the five virgins who stayed in the house of pleasure. (They had to return for more oil.) After our period of sanctification is over, Christ our Lord, the King of Kings, will call you into his service. Throughout the third year, Christ will give you your commission as he reveals himself to you. But in the fourth year, you have become worthy to receive power to accomplish your mission. Zech 4:7 (God speaking) “What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground.” You have all the resources of God at your disposal, and He bares all the responsibility to eliminate any and all things that would block your path. Even after the wise virgins leave and should we find ourselves returning for more oil, he is still going to remove the stumbling blocks. Matt 13:41 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks and all those who commit lawlessness…” (On the Day of Judgment) God honored Daniel after a 21 day period of mourning by showing him the things that were going to take place in the end times. None of us would want to be living through this time, but if we are, we must keep on following Him; He will do a work in our lives. Matt 13:43 Then the RIGHTEOUS will SHINE FORTH LIKE THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has an ear, let him hear. (After the Day of Judgment) Wisdom will be proven right. The question is: Do you want to use your life in an attempt to prove it wrong? Or should you give God the benefit of the doubt and position yourself to prove it right? Then, when it turns out to be correct, you end up receiving what wisdom promises; long life, honor and riches and all her ways are peaceful and

pleasant. The cost to prove wisdom right or wrong is 36 months of denying your flesh. James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt,... Today we are all thanking God for our leaders who we believe have asked God for wisdom. We see them studying and giving in service as a means to displaying and proving this wisdom. But where is their long life free of sickness and disease, where are the riches that come with true honor? Jer 8:7-9 Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord. “How can you say, “We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord,” When actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have?”

Chapter 6

An Impartial God “God had his favorites down through the ages and I am not one of them.” Col 3:25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism. Even Moses, because he disobeyed and struck the rock twice in the desert, was disallowed to enter into the Promised Land. God is not faithful to a person; he is faithful to his Word. He is no respecter of a person, he shows no favoritism. But as you learn and follow God’s instructions, then he is obligated and bound by his own Word to bless you in whatever areas you have obeyed. Thus, it only appears that he has shown favoritism to people like David, Daniel, Abraham, Joseph and Moses, etc. We all will have different missions, but if we position ourselves to line up with the Word of God, we can expect the same kind of miraculous power being displayed in our lives. However, even after you arrive, should you choose to operate recklessly, there is no coasting on your past record. Jer 22:24 “As I live,” declares the Lord, “even though, Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, yet I would pull you off. I shall give you over into the hand of those who are seeking your life, yes, into the hand of those whom you dread, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans...” Romans 2:6 God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” (verse 9) There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, and then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. God will give to each person, by allowing his laws to function, as he designed them, according to the type of fruit each person bares. That is, if my fruit is morally bad or wrong, if my conduct results in doing anything that causes harm, pain or brings on disaster, God will consider my actions to be evil. Our just God, give us only what is just for us to receive, if our actions obey God’s word and his word cannot lie, our actions will demand we receive the blessings and promises afforded by his word, regardless of whom we are. Isaiah 56:1-7 Thus says the Lord, “Preserve justice, and do righteousness, for My salvation is about to come and My righteousness to be revealed. How blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who takes hold of it; who keeps from profaning the Sabbath, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.” Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate

me from His people. Neither let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” For thus says the Lord, “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My covenant, to them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off. (3772 - Means to cut off; by implication to destroy or consume; specifically to covenant) “Also the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the Sabbaths, and holds fast My covenant; even those I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the people.” The Jew and the Gentile, the foreigner and the eunuchs all become one in Christ if they choose to measure up. There are two building instruments which will be placed over you to determine the only categories of distinction that will ultimately be recognized. These two simple instruments which reveal if your structure is straight and true are pointed out in Isaiah and throughout scripture. Isaiah 28:17 “And I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the level; then hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and water shall overflow the secret place. And your covenant with death shall be cancelled, and your pact with Sheol shall not stand. When the overwhelming scourge passes through, then you become its trampling place.” Isaiah 66:17 “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens, following one in the center, who eats swine’s flesh, detestable things, and mice, shall come to an end altogether,” declares the Lord. If the only people who make it into heaven are the people who preserve justice and do righteousness, by reframing from profaning the Sabbaths, and keep his hand from doing any evil; that are to receive a memorial on the wall of the house of the Lord and a better name which will be an everlasting name, then who are these sons and daughters and where did they come from? Who did not preserve justice and did not do righteousness? Who profaned the Sabbaths and allowed their hands to work evil which caused them to receive a name of lesser status? These sons and daughters have come from the center, following later and have received a name which still has the potential to be cut off, and will be based on their choice of who to follow. These people have come out of prison after paying what they owe and that is why Satan will be released again for a very short time. Matt 5:26 “Truly I say to you, you shall not come out of there, until you have paid up the last cent.” The man who was relying on the fact that he had casted out many demons, to be his ticket to heaven, received this reply, “Away from me, I never knew you”. This man

had blessed other people by being in a right relationship with the Lord, but lacked the understanding of how he got there. Therefore, he did not know the signs that were taking him out of this relationship. If there ever was going to be a time where God could justify showing favoritism, this would most certainly be the time. This man enjoyed his success in casting out demons, but when the time came for heaven or hell, he did not meet the requirements of God, and was also shown no favoritism. Clearly, these external good deeds were in God’s criteria; therefore, one must conclude that this man missed some prerequisites along the way. A personal relationship with Christ is to obey God’s Word, and in doing so one of the first benefits will be to meet the requirements to position yourself for heaven. In positioning yourself for heaven you can expect God’s blessings, that might look like he is showing you favoritism, but it is for all the people who will do all the actions that line up with his Word. The man casting out demons was using his passed results to assess his current personal relationship with Christ. Likewise, we too could be making the same kind of mistake as this man did who was casting out demons. This man thought he was going to heaven, for what his passed actions had accomplished. To experience the power in Christ’s name at sometime in our lives, without knowledge, is to set ourselves up sometime in the future for our flesh to deceive our minds into thinking, “Once there, always there.” Pro 28:21 To show partiality is not good - yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread. Man will do wrong by showing favoritism when his flesh wants something, but because God is good he never adulterates his laws to accommodate disobedience. To make exceptions to His laws on the one side would be to erode our faith on the other.

Chapter 7

Practical and Relevant Is the Bible practical and relevant? Let’s start with the meaning of the words, practical means: 1. Of or from practice or action (practical knowledge) 2. Usable, functional, useful and sensible (practical proposals) designed for use, utilitarian 3. Concerned with application to useful ends rather than theory, speculation etc. 4. Given to actual practice (a practical farmer) 5. Of concerned with or realistic and sensible about everyday activities, work etc.

The word relevant means: bearing upon or relating to the matter in hand; pertinent; to the point. If the Bible is not practical and relevant for me and you today; what good is it? 2 Kings 5:1-19 The story of Naaman and his practical problem, where God showed himself to be relevant in dealing with practical matters. Naaman was not a Jew. He was a great commander of the army of the King of Aram. He had leprosy, a feared and disgraceful disease. Through his wife’s young Jewish house maid, he heard there was a man of God in Israel who can cure leprosy, so his king sent money to the King of Israel and asked that he might be cured. 2 Kings 5:7 As soon as the King of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!” But Elisha said to the King of Israel, “Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” When Naaman arrived at the house of Elisha he was expecting that Elisha ‘would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.’ But Elisha did not go and see him at all, but rather sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” Elisha knew by sending out his servant, Naaman would be angry and quite likely miss acting on these practical instructions, and if it had not been for clear thinking of Naaman’s servants, his pride would have robbed him. Practicality cannot be shown any simpler or clearer than this, all he had to do was believe, which was to act on the instructions given by a servant from the man of God. Did Naaman have doubts all the way to the Jordan River? Sure he did, but he persevered and followed through. God not

only has shown himself to be pragmatic by giving Naaman practical directions that he could follow, but by the very fact that these directions cured his practical problem makes God’s directives extremely relevant. If this account of this story was ended right here, it would be more than enough to prove the point that the God of the Bible is completely pragmatic and relevant in all his communications. But, if there is any doubt, this next statement in our story is going to completely annihilate it. Naaman obeyed and was cleansed of his disease and in his gratitude he traveled back to Elisha’s house to offer him his gifts that the king had sent. But Elisha refused to accept anything in return for what God had done for Naaman. “If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord. This seemed like a strange request by Naaman. Here we have Naaman wanting to give a million dollar gift to Elisha, but upon his refusal, Naaman asks if he could have something else. When two dignitaries come together and one will not accept the others gift after he had given one, is to ask the other to show humility. Naaman showed he was humbled not only by keeping his gift, but by asking for something else. Elisha informed Naaman on how the Lord’s law governing diseases were just practical and relevant. Naamans’ request for earth is evidence that demonstrate that he understood the direct correlation between the earth and disease. Naaman could see the practical steps to take which were completely relevant to overcome his disease problem, so why can’t we? This story also gives us great insight into the King of Israel and the church at large. If the Church would have understood that sickness and disease was a problem of disobedience, you can be sure the king would have also known. But the evidence by the writings are clear. He tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life?” He thought that one would need to be God to do what was being asked of him. Today, like back then, the church and men of God act like this Holy Word of God has no relevance to our practical needs. Testing of Unfaithfulness Here we have a practical test for a possible unfaithful wife by a jealous husband. Numbers 5:11 ‘If a man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him by sleeping with another man, and this is hidden from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act), - or if he is jealous and suspects her even though she is not impure.’ This seems to be one of those situations that cannot be resolved, only lived with. But God knows how destructive feelings of jealous can be in one’s life, so the need there is

great to disperse these feelings and allow this relationship to continue in truth. As we look at God’s solution, we see it as something other than being practical, because we do not understand the engineering of science in the body; we are ignorant. Numbers 5:17 Then he shall take some holy water in a clay jar and put some dust from the tabernacle floor into the water. Numbers 5:24 He shall have the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and this water will enter her and cause bitter suffering. Numbers 5:19 … “If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become impure while married to your husband, may this bitter water that brings a curse not harm you.” If, in fact we knew she had committed this offence, our question to her would be, “Why did you do such a thing and spoil your marriage?” It is this “why” that God reveals to us and it cannot be hidden from those who will accept God’s mechanics that illuminate the profound but simple workings of the human body. As we examine the text closely, we now see that there are two areas of potential problems the priest is addressing. These two areas of going astray both are actions and both are related. The action of sleeping with another man, other than your husband, cannot be determined, and there is no way to reveal it. But the actions of becoming impure that the Bible speaks of here are physical, and therefore, God instructs the priest to use a simple physical test in determining guilt. This test must ring true, for this conviction means her death. The two areas being addressed here are really one, and this possible adultery would just be one of many manifestations that could come from impurity. God does not become side tracked on the symptoms, nor will he test for them, for all evil comes from evil stored up inside. The Christian believers are going and have gone astray by taking into their bodies’ physical impurities. This is why Paul exhorts us in 2 Corinthians 7:1, and we need to comprehend the destructive magnitude of watering down the actions in his directive. 2 Cor 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. It is only in the actions of cleansing ourselves that we show and prove that we fear God. Romans 12:1-2 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

God does not give a physical test for a spiritual problem unless the spiritual problem arises directly from the physical. God knows that if the cause is not addressed, it is just a matter of time, and opportunity before all the symptoms show themselves. You can be as faithful and true in keeping yourself from actions that would display your symptoms, and yet this test would still condemn you to death, if you were impure. No, it was her actions of becoming impure, which had taken place in her body long before she went astray, that enslaved her. It is the cause of ‘why’ she went astray, and it started long before it manifested itself through this action of adultery or adultery in her heart. Mark 16:17 And these signs will accompany those who believe... and they will drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all. If this woman is a true believer, she will have positioned herself by following God’s directives, which would have made her pure and would have kept her pure. A body, pure or otherwise, will always manifest itself in truth, thereby openly revealing the state of your existence. All those who are born again are operating in, and are governed by, the higher law of love, which redefines their reality to state where all things are pure. 2 Samuel 22:27 ...to the pure he shows himself pure but to the crooked he shows himself shrewd. Numbers 5:28 If, however, the woman has not defiled herself and is free from impurity, she will be cleared of guilt and will be able to have children. If you want to be born again, that means you must have the ability to have a new child and being free from impurity is a prerequisite. It is keeping one self free from impurities that renders the body unviolated and brings great blessing from the Lord. God is showing us the practical and demonstrating the relevant to his people, Israel, during their desert journey. But you say, “I have not just come out of Egypt and I see no practical application or relevance to me in the twenty-first century.” For God’s Word to be meaningful it must be relevant and practical to me today, tomorrow, and forever, and I don’t see where this has any relevance. Without this ‘renewing of our minds’, this metamorphic change in our brain, we read the word of God and either miss it all together, or we have no idea what to do with it. We know that the Old Testament was written for our instruction and is a foreshadow of something to come, that is, it is going to address a relevant problem in a practical manor that we are facing today. Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and encouragement of the Scripture we

might have hope. Rev 19:7 ... For the wedding of the Lamb has come and the bride has made herself ready. This Lamb of God is Jesus and he is getting married to his bride, which are his Saints. These Saints are the wife of Jesus, and if we have asked Jesus to come into our heart we have entered into a marriage covenant with him. But now what does this new marriage covenant look like? In Matthew, Chapter 5, Jesus teaches us exactly what his covenant requires, but for this particular question of adultery, we will focus on: Matt 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her is his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” Jesus is telling us it would be better to remove that part of our flesh that is causing us to commit adultery, than to have him throw our whole body into hell. We need to cut away the part of the flesh that is causing the eye to sin. Well, at least with the old covenant I could judge myself, but this new covenant is talking about a fine line in my mind. And is this just some trivial matter that has no real bearing on anything? But you say, “I am married to Christ and he hates divorce, and therefore, my relationship is safe.” Jesus makes it very clear in Matt 5:31 when he says: “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorce his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery” that this is a matter of grave importance. This word of God is telling me that if I look on a woman because she is beautifully formed, and then my mind crosses over the line into lusting, that Jesus can divorce me. In the Old Testament we see God divorcing Israel and Judah. Jer 3:8 “I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the Lord. Human nature will not change, which is why the bible illustrations are correct over 6,000 years and are relevant today. We are Judah, we have no fear or guilt because we do not see that we are defiling the land and committing adultery. We have returned to the

Lord by way of deception, to make-believe and pretend it is with all of our hearts. Heb 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Unless I have a test, how will I know if my mind went there, and even if I have a test that reveals my adultery, how will I stop my mind, in this day and age, from sinning against the Lord? And it’s not like I have a husband that could care less. Deu 4:24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. We now know that we are married to a jealous husband. Jesus, our jealous husband is perpetually giving us this test because he sees: Eze 16:30 “How weak-willed you are, declares the Sovereign Lord, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute! When you built your mounds at the head of every street and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were unlike a prostitute, because you scorned payment. You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband!” We are acting like brazen prostitutes who enjoy the sensation to the point where we even despise compensation. We build places to gratify our flesh on every street corner and in every public square. We are surrounded with restaurant, fast food outlets, donut shops and every conceivable dainty food / drink, but remember what God calls them, ‘lofty shrines’. So we stand there and hope that some how this bitter water will not affect us. Numbers 5:27 If she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then she is made to drink the water that brings a curse, it will go into her and bring bitter suffering; her abdomen will swell and her thigh waste away, and she will become accursed among her people. We are these weak-willed women, and Christ, our jealous husband is continually bringing us to be tested. We have drunk the bitter water that brings the curse, and this infallible test is revealing our unfaithfulness. That is to say, if a believer in Christ is making decisions that allows his temple to become sick, diseased, or is out of shape and over weight, then this water has brought you the curse. If you are mentally or physically depressed, distress and worry, then the curse has gone to work on you. Our small every day choices have impregnated us with evil, which brings on the curse. This curse is enveloping us, causing our bowels to enlarge and we conceive trouble in our minds, trouble that’s not there, and it finally gives birth to disillusionment, rendering us bitter, which quenches the Spirit.

We can no longer have the new child or the ability to reproduce the true disciple that would have come from purebred stock. That is, this transformation in our bodies to bring forth this new child of God, which is the goal of our relationship, never materializes. We are convinced by our leaders that transformation has, or is occurring. Psalm 106:39 ... by their deeds they prostituted themselves. And what does God say this evil will do to our relationship? Eze 16:38 I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood; I will bring upon you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger. It is understandable and appropriate for all to receive the punishment from the sentence of adultery and blood shed, and no one will disagree. The evidence will conclude our standing of whether we are prostituting ourselves, and will not come from what we think or understand, but from what we are receiving in our bodies. That is why God’s Word tells us what form this blood vengeance and jealous anger will take in our bodies in: 2 Chr 21:12 Then a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet saying, “Thus says the Lord God of your fathers David, ‘Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father and the ways of Asa King of Judah, but have walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot, and you have killed your brothers, your own family, who were better than you, behold, the Lord is going to strike your people, your sons, your wives, and all your possessions with great calamity; and you will suffer severe sickness, a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the sickness, day by day.’ ” Psalm 101:3-4 I will set before my eyes no vile things. The deeds of the faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me. Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil. We are condemned by these actions of adultery that originate in our mind, even though up until now, it has been hidden from your spouse. But Christ, our eternal spouse, sees our heart and knows our mind. 1 Thes 4:3 ... that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God. Jesus our holy and jealous Husband demands from his bride that we (2 Cor 7:1) “… purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”

Is this not why Paul said in 1Cor 9:27 … “but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” If this was straight head knowledge of spiritual truths there would be no need to involve the body much less to struggle against it. Paul kept his body in shock because that is what he was preaching to others. He was concerned because he knew that it was possible to preach the truth of repentance and also allow complacency in this area to disqualify you. If your definition of holiness is wrapped up in your knowledge of spiritual truths and excludes your buffeting of your body, then you are living the definition of the word that Jesus used to describe the Pharisees, Sadducees and the Scribes; hypocrites. Pro 14:18 The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. God is telling us that the uneducated or ignorant people will naturally perform actions that do not come from a thought process centered in reasoning. But the discerning will exercise sound judgment in practical matters, especially as it concerns one’s own interest, and thus receive honor through demonstrating knowledge, as they go on in victory. It would be presumptuous of God to speak of a person that could be crowned with knowledge because he exercised sound judgment in practical matters from his Word, if his Word was communicating in matters that were not practical. (NASB) Pro 1:23 “Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.” (NASB) Romans 15:4 For whatever has been written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. Be careful, by way of years of neglect, not to subtly adopt, by default, “the mind” set that the Old Testament illustrations are not powerful, relevant, real life situations which clarify and give us a context in which to view our personal lives. John 14:26 “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things.” All things mean all things practical and otherwise that are relevant to us in our world now, for there is no practical reason to give us information that is not relevant. For God knows we will be doing well if we can grasp and deploy just the things that are relevant. All knowledge, if followed long enough will prove practical and relevant. God’s Word is 100% practical and relevant; it is only our lack of knowledge that would make it seem otherwise.

Chapter 8

Jesus Set Aside His Power to Show Us the Way. How am I supposed to follow in Christ’s steps? He had the power, I don’t. 1 Peter 2:21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. Whatever it takes to follow Christ, he must supply, otherwise what good is his example? Phi 2:5-8 Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! Jesus made himself nothing, living out his life in the attitude of a bond servant, in a body of a human being, with the same weakness and desires as us. Jesus tells us that he started his life out by being nothing, but he did not stay “nothing” for long, so where did something come from? Jesus started out his earthly life from the same starting point as us, which is why Christ said in John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Just as he could do nothing outside of the Father, we also can do nothing outside of Him. He has shown us the steps to follow that we could remain in Him. However, because these steps that would have kept us in Him were not understood by our parents, we will be using different steps that graft us back in again. Since we have come from the vine and have the exact same physical make up as the vine, we can return to derive nourishment. Jesus showed His obedience by following the Spirit out to the desert. Jesus had the Spirit to guide Him just as we have the Spirit to guide us. Jesus went to the desert to be tested and we must also be lead to a deserted place to be tested. When He passed the test he returned in power, likewise, we must also pass the test to receive power. Satan came and tried to destroy his effectiveness and he will do no less to us. Matt 4:3 “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” The first temptation by Satan was to appeal to the stomach, or the flesh, of Jesus. With Jesus, he was unsuccessful in appealing to all three areas of the human weakness, the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life [1 John 2:16]. Most of us cave in

to the stomach, never requiring Satan to go further. Jesus would not and did not accomplish his mission by using his own powers to snatch unsuspecting weak willed peoples. Although Jesus was the Son of God, he defeated Satan by using a weapon that everyone has at their disposal: the Word of God. There is no glory for Jesus in doing it any other way. Jesus said “I am the way; the truth and the life”....“take heart for I have overcome the world.” Jesus is telling his disciples press on men, and do not be dismayed, for I have overcome the best that my flesh, the world, and Satan could do to destroy me. We must have faith that the Word of God can and will do for us what it did for Jesus. The plan was and is to use the Word of God to resist the temptations. James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Jesus came not only to show us the way, but to tell us the way. If you submit yourself to God, in an attitude of grieving with actions of mourning and wailing, your relationship will develop, as it demonstrates humility. These actions will wash you and purify your hearts so that you will be singular in thought. You will see and understand things clearly, making resisting evil natural, and drawing near to God compelling and irresistible. John 3:29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. Jesus is not going to ask his bride to follow him if we do not have full access to the power that he used. Jesus came to show us the way, not to discourage us by asking the impossible. The glory of Jesus is that he lay down his powers and still overcame his fleshly desires. This is why we should become so excited when he said to his disciples “Take heart for I have overcome”. He was telling them that they can also overcome if they will follow the words of His perseverance. Rev 3:10 “Because you have kept the words of My perseverance, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth. Anyone that thinks Jesus used any power that we do not have access to, not only belittle what he accomplished, but gives the devil a large strong hold in their life, one that could very well keep them from believing. Rev 3:21 He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Remember, Jesus had to overcome and so do you. But be assured He has the way and He greatly desires to help you take that way.

If Jesus set aside his power where did he then receive the power, and at what point in his ministry? Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for 40 days he was tempted by the devil. Luke 4:14 - 15 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside, and everyone praised him. Jesus did not start his earthly ministry until after he was baptized, lead out by the Spirit into the desert, where he was purified and tested, and then he returned in the POWER of the Spirit. When we realize our need for Christ’s saving work in our life, we ask the Holy Spirit to come in and fill us full of Himself. You may be under the allusion that ‘full of the Spirit’ equates to complete power of the Spirit, not so. The only thing given at this point is the prompting to surrender and obey. God still affords you a free will and if you choose not to surrender, you choose not to obey. Disobedience at this point in the journey derails God’s best for you and leads only to disillusionment. The real power we all want to experience comes only through following all of his steps, even the steps we don’t want to experience. Jesus said in John 5:19 “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees the Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” Even Jesus was serving his impartial Father and Jesus’ power came from being able to see what the Father was doing and join in. The secret is to love God by expressing it through obedience, which continues to cultivate a deeper, more intimate love relationship, as truth is revealed, to the point where even you will be able to see where the Father is working. If Jesus did not have the ability to see where the Father was working, then he would be powerless. We too have been given access to all power through the Holy Spirit, after we have accepted Christ as our Savor and Lord. But it is only as we see and align ourselves with what the Father is doing that this power is displayed through us. There are two keys to having the power released through your life. The first is to understand that you cannot see, and then to position yourself to receive your sight. The second will come automatically, which is to believe and to act on what you see the Father doing. You can position yourself with the exact posture that Christ had even though your purpose and your mission will be tailored made for you. Stop using the excuse that Jesus was God for the reason that you cannot follow, or produce the quantity of fruit you were intended to yield.

Chapter 9

How Does God Relate? God designed us with the ability to think and understand in pictures. That is why his Bible communicates with visual pictures. God takes a command that we cannot see the benefits of following, and relates it to a picture we can understand. This word picture shows us the functionality, practicality as well as clarifying the directive in a form that is easiest to remember. In communicating this way, God avoids getting into the complicated sciences where by we would most certainly be lost. To provide the answer to ‘why’ for all his laws, commands, precepts and directives, the Bible tells us that the world could not contain the books that would be needed. Numbers 12:5 Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, he said, “Listen to my words: “When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord.” Something happened to Moses that positioned him to speak face to face and to see the form of the Lord. Yes, this was Moses’ mission in life, but he still must comply with the word of God. Nobody gets a free ride or cuts the corners, not Moses, not Jesus, and not you or me. Whatever happened to Moses, so he could see God face to face, also happened to Jesus, and must happen to anybody else that wants to see God face to face. We must learn what it means to be faithful in all his house. Matt 13:34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.” Luke 8:9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, “‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’ There must be identical actions between Moses, the great men of God, and the disciples that positioned them to be able to understand the secrets of the kingdom of God. We must recognize that we cannot place ourselves as one of His disciples; therefore, Jesus is speaking to us when He said to His disciples, “though seeing they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.” If we cannot see, if our minds cannot understand, if our ears cannot hear, we need to discover why and then execute the same actions that positioned the great men of God to know the things that are going to make the difference.

Romans 11:7-10 What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day.” We Christians are earnestly seeking what Israel sought, with no-less fervor, but unfortunately, with no greater resolve. We are convinced that we are the elect and we may in fact be, but that is not to say, that our hearts have not been hardened by our disobedience. Disobedience reaps the same consequences until the direction is reversed. Ignorance of the actions which produce disobedience does not exempt you from receiving this spirit of stupor. The saving grace for the elect is that God allows them to understand and believe the truth when it is presented, so that what they did for the Lord on earth is not destroyed. Daniel 2:18 …that they might request compassion from God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends might not be destroyed with the rest of the men of Babylon. Daniel 2:22 “It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.” God uses biographies of people in his Word to allow us to understand why he acts like he does, how he thinks and to reveal a principle in His holiness. These stories place us inside the minds of, not only the different characters who did good or evil, but God. These stories are giving to us the complete picture with all the pertinent facts. In this way, God leaves no room for speculation on either side, and we can come away with a true understanding of who He is, how He operates and what is to come. These true life stories in the Old Testament are presented in such a way that they become perfectly enacted scripts. These wonderful stories need to be transformed into parables at the time of Christ’s death, thereby, able to teach and instruct us on the intricate details surrounding the reclaiming and rebuilding of that which the Lord came for; our bodies. 1 Cor 6:13 … yet the body is for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body. Christ came to seek out worshippers to glorify God and you can only glorify God in your body when you know how to take the body through repentance or regeneration. 1 Cor 6:20 For you have been bought with a price, therefore, glorify God in your body. Understand that it must be in your body first before it can be through your body. Heb 10:5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and

offering thou hast not desired, but a body thou hast prepared for Me; …” The responsibility falls on you! God will except from your hands nothing done through your body, until you first prepare your body for Him. To use current individual cases that we know about or have heard about as some bases in forming or defending a principal or a character of God, is to give the devil a foot hold that he will use to manipulate God’s attributes to fit your own personal biases. Stay with God’s word and draw your principles from your comparisons of the characters inside the living word of God. Most of us come to God’s Word with preconceived ideas of who we are, and how we function. This idea distorts the true image being reflected back to us from the Word and gets us off the path into thinking that leads us into lawlessness. It is imperative that we only allow God’s Word to paint the true picture, of not only who we are, but how we function in His world. This comprehension of our exact image acts like a beacon to our understanding as it relates to how God is communicating. The Word of God was written to govern his creation (from the stand point of complete knowledge) of which man was given the responsibility to over see. Only the arrogant will presume they have the knowledge needed, relative to all knowledge, to understand. Pro 30:5 “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.” In other words, let go of what your eyes / the world tells you your reality is, and come live in the only true reality, which the living Word of God will reveal to you.

Chapter 10

Our Great Physician 2 Chr 15:17 Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. 2 Chr 16:12 In thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians. Our Great Physician is commanding us to banish anxiety from our heart and cast off the troubles of our body (Phi 4:6-8), but we will not believe that he has given detailed instruction on how this is to be accomplished. This would be like going to the top specialist in the world and have him diagnose you with a serious but easily treatable disease and then sending you home without giving you detailed instructions to follow. This would be inconceivable and would show a level of incompetence beyond measure. On the other hand, when he tells us and we make excuses or refuse to follow his directives, we must conclude that we enjoy the practice of the actions which bring about our illness. Sin is enjoyable for a time, therefore we would rather be sick than give up gratification of the senses. As we look around, we can see intricate details of life, and start to appreciate the complexity in this world. Christ formed every detail in life and substance, which makes His word completely competent and precise; therefore, we can rest assured that all details surrounding any problems are in His Word. Jesus has not only given us the method to overcome, but the only power possible by which this can be accomplished. Here again, we pay our Lord lip service, we call him our Great Physician, but we never let Him work on us, or follow his directives. Instead we quickly go to our doctor and allow someone who has very little knowledge on the working of the body to prescribe for us some drug that he thinks might help us. These drugs alter the symptoms, but never fix the cause, and even if you don’t believe it, your mind is worse off than before. Rev 9:21 … and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries (5331 – medication, a drug, spell giving potion, poison). We are under some backward allusion that Christ wants to share his glory with someone who wants to either, cut apart or pollute His Holy Temple. If you believe it is His temple, then believe that His word has the answer to repair it. Mark 5:25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.

Are we going to spend a good portion of our life suffering as we watch the life blood flow out of us, along with our money before we surrender and obey our Great Physician? This woman’s belief compelled her to come to Jesus with determination and perseverance as she struggled through the crowd, just to touch His robe. There is no easy believing? Are your actions going to spend all your money only to get worse? Why is it that it is only after your doctor tells you there is no more he can do for you that you turn to Christ? Our actions prove we do not think it worthwhile to retain and follow the instructions of God. In many cases we even know the science behind His directive, but chose not to believe. How much more will we be held accountable? To admit that Jesus is our Great Physician and then be sick or diseased is to act disgracefully and shows unbelief. It holds Jesus up to ridicule, and mockery. Our God is a God of peace and order, and the last place He will tolerate lawlessness is in His temple. That is why Jesus came to change sick bodies that are out of order, and have no peace. What a work of deception; to have us hold Christ up as our Great Physician, to speak of His order and peace before the world, and then by our actions, spit in his face. It’s no wonder Jesus said, (Matt 15:7) “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’” If it is true that God will give you over to a mind that is depraved, to wax worse and worse, if you do not follow His sciences, does it not make sense that if you comply with his sciences that the opposite would also be true? Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. When we were born, we had a new body with a new mind, providing our mothers were relatively pure. Our bodies and minds took time to develop and you may have not even known you had a mind until age five or later. Somewhere in this time period you crossed over from being innocent, to being held accountable for your actions. Why do we believe that if one of these small children were to die, God will take them to Heaven? How ever you reply to this question, purity must be apart of your answer. We know that these small children will believe anything, but the question which should demand an answer is “What gives them the capacity to believe everything?” Jesus said to us in Mark 9:23 “Everything is possible for him who believes” and Matt 18:3 “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children,

you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven.” As we live and mature in this world, we take on things that corrupt the tissues of our bodies. And remember the mind is made up of tissues, brain tissues. The word renewing is implying an ongoing action of cleaning up and clearing out, that, which keeps us from believing. Since the body feeds the mind, it is the body that must be the first to be purified or renewed. Renewing of the mind is a natural out flow of the purified body, just as the fruits of the Spirit are a natural out flow from a renewed mind; walking in the Spirit. The bible shows us, by Christ’s actions, and tells us (in Mark 2:17) that Christ being Lord, is also Lord of our physical bodies, which makes Him our Great Physician. Since the Bible cannot lie, this reality that Jesus is in fact our Great Physician is true, and anything that is true you need to believe. Since the word ‘believing’ is a verb, it is demanding action that would posture the respondent such, that he or she would be ably take full advantage of all the benefits deriving from any particular truth. Christ cannot ask us to believe His truth’s without providing adequate details on the actions required to situate ourselves to receive them. A good God is not going to tease us with a wonderful promise and then provide no instruction on how to receive it. If the promises are not evident in your life, then you need to find and apply God’s instructions, rather than to make excuses why some particular blessing cannot be realized. Isaiah 33:24 No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”; and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven. If I am battling sickness, then I am not in the holy city in Zion. Zion cannot represent heaven because of Isaiah 33:14 which says: The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: “Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?” If this Holy city in Zion is the only place where sins are forgiven, and it is not Heaven, sickness is either telling me that I need to start my pilgrimage in Zion, or that I have further to go before I reach the Holy City. Either way, sickness is God’s message to warn you that sin is going to rob you of your freedom. Isaiah 46:13 “I will grant salvation to Zion.” You will know when you arrive because, of Isaiah 33:17 “Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar.” If you are seeing the king in His beauty, you are of the privileged class who see by understanding the intricate details of who He is and how He loves. You look back down the mountain to understand the steps of faith through which you traveled to arrive at this place of great height. You look out, through His word from this great mountain top, to a panoramic view ahead.

But remember, it is only after you arrive at your destination on top on this Holy Mountain, that Romans 6:22-23 apply to you. But now you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the results is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Slaves obey their Lord, which in this case, leads to holiness and this holiness does away with sin, (1John 3:6) which results in us receiving eternal life from God. It is only in using the strength in God’s grace, which is given freely to us in His son Jesus, that holiness can be secured and our gift acquired. Some people will call putting God’s grace to work for us, ‘receiving salvation by works’. But let us remember; only the sheep hear His voice. Once you attempt to sustain the actions that God requires, you will no longer be under any illusions that this is of works. God’s desire is to give us eternal life through obedience, but in the vastness of His love, God also has a way through a time in captivity to restore the disobedient. Is it any wonder that Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness? (Matt 10:1)

Chapter 11

One Curse or Two The curse that we are all familiar with is the one in the Garden of Eden where Eve gave the forbidden fruit to Adam. Genesis 3:16-19 For the woman, greatly increase your pain in childbearing. Their desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you. Because of the actions of Adam, the ground is cursed, through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you and you will return to the ground since from it you were taken. We have a record of the consequences in the garden for disobeying God. The results for the women will be a greater degree of pain in childbearing. Adam’s action caused the ground to be cursed with thorns and thistles, making the growing of food a painful process. And after this life of painstaking toil, both of them will die and return to the ground. God does not say what you will die from, or how you will die. Your food from the ground will sustain life until your time is up. Even though the ground was cursed, it sustained his life for 930 years, Seth lived 912 years. Enosh lived 905 years. Kenan lived 910 years and Mahalalel 895 years. Look at the longevity of the human body when it is being sustained directly from the plants of the ground! After the flood, God added in Genesis 9:3 “Everything that moves will be food for you.” Abraham lived 175 years. Jacob lived 180 years. Joseph lived 110 years. Abraham and Moses enjoyed the same body as Adam yet their longevity was not shortened from disease. If it was not disease that shortened their lives was it the change in menu? Taking license here to interject death by disease is just following a clever deception by Satan. Our flesh is more than happy to adopt and endorse this lie, in an attempt to remove the stigma and embarrassment of destroying God’s Temple. Job 5:24 You will know that your tent is secure; you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing. You will know that your children will be many, and your descendants like the grass of the earth. You will come to the grave in full vigor, like sheaves gathered in season. “We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself.” Moses died at the age of 120 in full vigor and so should you, for God does not play favorites. God calls a people for himself out of Egypt.

Exodus 15:25-26 The Lord made a decree and law for them, and there he tested them. He said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the disease I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you.” The Lord is not only our Maker but our Great Physician and to be sick is a direct reflection on him, one way or another. If disease and sickness comes as a direct result of the first “curse” and these people are still under this curse, than how can God use the fear of disease as a prime motivator for his people to do what is right? That is, pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees. By being under this “curse” these people would have had first hand experience about these diseases, if in fact that disease came directly from this curse. God is telling them that they only knew of these diseases by what they saw the Egyptians going through, because he was the God that was healing them. God was using them in this way to be witnesses to the Egyptians. Today, just as in old, the Lord demands and expects that his believers conduct themselves in a manner, through his laws, that reflects His abilities as our Great Physician so as to testify to the world around us. Deu 28:10 Then all the people of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. If sickness and disease were even just a small part in the first curse, it would blur the clear distinction that God is demanding between his people and the one who hate them. The people who hated them would see no clear distinction, and therefore, see no benefit between the children of Israel’s God or any other gods. To see the distinction clearly is for all to see God clearly. To fear God’s people is to fear God. To fear God is the beginning of wisdom. Exodus 23:25-26 Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span. God suggests a clear trade off here, if we will worship him he will take away sickness and disease. The last statement here confirms that we can enjoy a full life span if we will submit to giving God exactly what he demands in worship, regardless of anything. So what is the problem? Malachi 2:1-4 “And now, this commandment is for you, O priests. If you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name,” says the Lord of host, “then I will send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart. Behold, I am going to rebuke

your off-springs, and I will spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your feast (2282); and you will be taken away with it. Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that My covenant may continue with Levi,” says the Lord of hosts. Feast (2282) from 2287; a festival, or a victim therefore; (solemn) feast (day), sacrifice, solemnity. 2287 – A primary root; prop. to move in a circle, ie. specially to march in a sacred procession, to observe a festival; by implication to be giddy: - celebrate, dance; reel to and fro. Please do not be foolish enough to mix this definition of the word “feast” with when God’s calls you for His word “feast”, because in His love feasts you will not be a victim. This seems very clear. God is demanding something from us, but for some reason we are not comprehending what He is communicating. God is expecting us to worship Him by giving honor to His name, not by what we feel gives Him honor, but by what His word says gives him honor. God foreknew that we, being the offspring’s, were going to continue the direction of our forefathers, so He tells us through Malachi, way back then, that we are already cursed. Jer 9:14 “… but have walked after the stubbornness of their hearts and after the Baals, as their father taught them.” What we have learned from history, is that human nature continues to revert back to its self, and therefore, nothing is learned. God Almighty is rebuking us by spreading our own fecal waste, which is derived directly from our feasting, upon our faces. And then says, by these actions, “we can be sure of His covenant” even though we are reaping the negative side of it. Malachi 2:13 “And this is another thing you do: You cover the alter of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with groaning because he no longer regards the offerings or accepts it with favor from your hand.” The word “offerings” (H8641) used here is exactly what we would expect it to mean, a gift, tribute, offering, present, all things that would come from our hands. No matter how many sincere tears and painful groaning with much weeping, we employ, He does not want our offerings, nor will He consider them anything until we comply with what He demands. God is telling us that He will not want our money, our time, our praise, or anything else. Malachi 1:10 “Oh, that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you.” This is consistence with the message in 1 Samuel 15:22-23 And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice

of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you from being king.” King Saul was sincere in his intention to sacrifice to the Lord that which He commanded to be destroyed. I am sure this made no sense to King Saul also, but are we wise enough to learn a lesson at his expense? Malachi 2:14 Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. “But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And what did that one do while he was seeking a godly offspring, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth.” Well, this is great because I was never married in my youth, and some of you have never been married. The facts are that most of us were never married in our youth, if were married at all, so does that mean God must be talking to someone other than you and me? And, for all of us who would consider that we were married in our youth, who do not regard our actions towards our wife as betrayal of trust, faith, or allegiance; disloyalty or treason, we must be exempt, again? Certainly our wives may be disappointed at times with us, but how many would use the word “treacherously” in charactering the relationship? God did not write this portion of His word to address some very small segment of his chosen people, and the way this is written He is including most all of us. God clarifies what this word “wife” is not referring to, when He tells us “not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit.” For He uses the phase “who has a remnant of the Spirit” as the crucial factor in determining if a person is dealing treacherously with his wife. But the crucial factor must be if you are married and under covenant to a human being of the opposite sex. Otherwise, you would have no one to deal treacherously with. The fact is He is telling us we can be dealing treacherously even though we may not even be married to a person of the opposite sex. Now, to understand what God is implying when He uses the word “wife” we need to dig deep into the Hebrew word. In the Third edition of the Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary the word “wife” (H802) in 1d reads; Each, Every. A related word in H802 by BDB/ Strong’s number is from H376 or H582. In H376, the corresponding 1d) says; Servant. Each and every one of us has a servant, his “wife”, which is his body by a covenant. If we keep this covenant, we will experience how wonderfully made we are, but if we deal treacherously, we break this covenant, and then we will know what it is like to suffer fearfully via our engineering. Malachi 2:16 “For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and him who

covers his garment with wrong,” says the Lord of hosts. So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously. God hates our action if we divorce our own bodies by impregnating what He fashioned to house our spirit with wrong. Wrong, H2555 cruelty, damage, false, injustice, X oppressor, unrighteous, violence, wrong. For those who can see this, the question is: What is God going to do to correct my many years of treachery? Take heart, He has a way. Malachi 3:3 “And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the son of Levi and refine them like gold and silver; so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness.” Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years. It is after, and only after, you humble yourself and allow His furnace to burn away the dross in your body, will He again be pleased to accept offerings from your hand. God is literally going to remove the refuse backed up in your colon and is causing premature aging to your face, and in fact, all throughout your whole body. That is why there is drought in the first half the tribulation and even less water in the second half. This time period has always been projected as a time for the wicked to receive their punishment, and it is true, but the main objective is to work like a smelter, refining the elect. 2 Tim 2:20-21 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. There is a process of burning away those things in our bodies that dishonor God, so we can be sanctified and useful to the Master. Malachi 3:7-8 “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of host. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me! “But you say, ‘How have we robbed Thee?’ “In tithes and offerings.” Some of us are trying to justify our actions in order to side step God’s category here, by hiding behind our pray, in which we asked Jesus into our hearts, to claim you can use this provision of “a remnant of the Spirit”. But the question remains, “What did you do while you were seeking your godly offspring?” If you are dealing treacherously with your wife you cannot expect to be transformed into a godly offspring. No transformation, no sanctification, not useful to the Master by way of robbing him from that, which you say you gave him. By our action of dealing treacherously with that which we gave Him, we rob Him, and then bring to His altar that which reflects our treachery.

Malachi 1:13 “You also say, ‘My, how tiresome it is!’ And you disdainfully sniff at it,” says the Lord of hosts, “and you bring what has taken by robbery, and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?” says the Lord. We return to God by arresting our actions that rob Him of His rightful tithes and offerings. God just finished telling us twelve verses earlier that he does not want our money or anything from our hands, therefore, to think that He is now asking us to return to Him by giving money, is beyond a rational man’s thinking. The word “tithes” in this context in the Hebrew means “a tenth part”, and that is precisely what they were giving. They believed they were close to God by way of their gift of money and were completely confounded and frustrated when God tells them they are robbing Him. Matt 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” Nothing has changed from the Old Testament to the New Testament or from that time to the present. We are all happy to give our tithes, but there is a weightier provision in regards to this tithe that influence how the tithe is received. If God says they were robbing Him of His tithes, and yet they were giving these same tithes, we see clearly He was not accepting them. This fact would suggest that this word “offering”, used in conjunction with the word “tithe” which they were also robbing God of, has direct bearing on whether anything can be received that is given to God. Our offering must reflect justice, mercy and faithfulness. So what is this word “offering”? The word offering in this context, is the Hebrew word H8641; a gift, heave offering, oblation. But it is from the word # H7311 - To rise, to be raised, to raise or rear children, cause to grow up. It is our indebtedness, for His favor, which should cause us to be raised up into His likeness, in order that we may reflect His nature of justice, mercy, and faithfulness, but we rob Him by refusing to grow up. What justice is there in withholding your workers wage, or working them hard and feeding little? What mercy is there in possessing the power to spare life yet having no consideration for life? How can we claim faithfulness when we only apply it to the abstract? This growing up is not about shoe size, or beards, or what you can afford, but denying ourselves and cutting away that which physically and practically keeps us from this metamorphous, which is going on inside our bodies. This time of repentance bring forth a holy offspring who is only now capable of

understanding and applying knowledge as he brings justice, gives mercy and is faithful in all His house. It is this withholding from the flesh that which our prosperity has afforded it, which the world tells you is your right, in order to facilitate this growing up. Malachi 3:9 You are under a curse - the whole nation of you because you are robbing me. We are all under this curse, not because Adam and Eve ate from the tree, but from a direct result from robbing God of what is His. Malachi 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” Some of you like to think that God has thrown open the flood gates of heaven, when you compare yourself with the beggar on the street. Do you really think you have anything that could be compared with the flood that these gates are holding back? Did you ever want to put God to the test? God is provoking us to test him. He wants us to change our actions so he can bring us out from under His curse and bury us in His blessings. So what does God want and how does he want it? John 4:24 God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. God gives us the practical actions in our quest to meet His requirements that will provide Him with what He demands from us in worship. We are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing, for this is your spiritual act of worship. Our whole spiritual act of worship, or the way we are instructed to worship, is going to evolve around getting our physical body to a state that He calls holy, that makes him pleased. God likes his sacrifices without spot or blemish, without sickness or disease, not lame or blind, he wants us holy and living. 2 Peter 3:14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless. If you want to please God, with you as his sacrifice, then you need to recognize that your actions to position yourself as an acceptable sacrifice are in fact how God wants to be worshiped spiritually. This completely joins these two areas in holy matrimony. You cannot have one without the other! Without a holy body, the Lord will not accept anything from you that you would consider worship.

Malachi 3:18 So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him. Deu 30:19-20 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land. This is the second curse, but we do not have to choose it. When we chose the Lord we chose life and blessings, not death and curses. In Deu 32:46-47 “all the words of this law” are said to be their life. The law, the Lord, and life are all bound together. “Life” in this context refers to all that makes life rich, full and productive - as God created it to be. Disease and sickness would not be used in describing a rich life. Disease and sickness shortens ones life. No matter how one copes with disease, your productivity is greatly reduced. God would not give me a choice and ask me to choose life knowing that the curse of Adam was going to rob me. He promised to give me that which would make my life rich, full and productive. To be at the mercy of this first curse would resolve me personally of any responsibility and the shame that come as a result of my temple being destroyed. 1 Cor 3:17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple. Is there a group of words from God which could make His intentions any plainer for those who would destroy the body? Wake up and live otherwise, what you have done in the body will be destroyed! Jer 11:3 Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed is the man who does not obey the terms of this covenant - the terms I commanded your forefathers when I brought you out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.’ I said ‘Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people and I will be your God. Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’ - the land you possess today. To avoid the disgrace and shame from our evil actions which have positioned our Holy dwelling place of God, which is my body, to receive what the Bible clearly shows is a result of disobedience, is to conveniently blame someone else. This second curse cannot be defined or simplified any clearer. If you do not obey the terms of the covenant that you entered into with God, you will fall under the curses of that covenant.

Zech 11:10 I took my staff Favor and cut it to pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all peoples. In the garden, we have a clear illustration of refusing to take responsibility for actions taken. Adam told God, it was the women that he had given him, which caused him to disobey, and Eve used the serpent. Their excuses for disobeying did not alter the actions that came as a result of their disobedience. Adam tried to use flawed logic in his attempt to dodge the issue, which lead him to blame God. The facts were, he was not deceived, he knew he was going to die, should he accept the fruit from the forbidden tree, but his flesh convinced him that it would be better to die in the future, than to deny his flesh of this sweet union today with this exotic woman. To use the curse of the land as a defense to cover my shame and resolve me of my responsibility I have to His Holy Temple, is to use flawed logic from the flesh, in an attempt to deceive my mind into thinking its God’s inability to design a proper Temple. Sickness and disease only comes by way of the second curse, which is a choice to disobey the commands of God. Just like in Adam’s case, we allow our flesh to use our lust to control our actions. Jer 11:7 From the time I brought your forefathers up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, “Obey me.” But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil heart. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but they did not keep.’ ” Be it in the days of the old covenant, or now, in the days of the new covenant, nothing has changed in regards to our obedience. We do not listen or pay attention. Instead, we follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts. Joel 2:12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart. And with fasting and weeping and mourning; And rend your heart and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. It is time we take responsibility for our own curses and remove ourselves from the delusion of this conspiracy that Adam was to blame.

Chapter 12

Just Believe Yes, I believe everything God tells me but it doesn’t change my life and nothing good ever happens to me. Believing; is the ability to act, through Christ’s intangible reality, to receive God’s best, and achieve what God demands, that he might be glorified in you. It is something you must do, it is an action on your part ammoniating from what you choose to be your reality, not something that God does for you. It is focusing your thoughts on what you want your reality to be, by perceiving in your minds eye, that what the Bible tells you is possible. It is letting go of that which the world tells you is your reality and stepping into, and putting on, the reality of Christ by obedience to the truth. It is allowing your actions to build from that what you have already envisioned you have obtained, by keeping your focus on the uplifted hands of Christ and never trying to observe this phenomena of the so called impossible. Your actions will be speaking directly to clarify for you, exactly what you believe, regardless of what you may have said. Matt 8:13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour. Jesus was going to travel back home with this centurion to heal his servant. But the centurion delighted Jesus by understanding how the chain of command operates, and in doing so showed great faith. He recognized Jesus was Lord over all and his actions demonstrated that he knew how the power of authority can be used. This centurion honored Jesus by publically placing in Him his great faith, and further exalted Him by humility expressing his unworthiness in having Jesus under his roof. He knew it was not necessary for the one in authority to travel, but rather to simply give the order through a word. It would not have mattered if his servant was one mile away or on the other side of the world. The result of the healing was based solely on the centurion’s ability to believe that Jesus had the authority, and then to go and ask to have this authority released. What’s even more astounding is that his actions changed the welfare of someone else who may not have had the ability to believe. When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” It was through this centurion’s ability to believe in the will of God, that his servant many miles away was transported from his old state into a new state of reality. Matt 9:27 ...two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of

David!” When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. These two men were persistent and would not give up, to the point of following Jesus right inside the building. Try following somebody for any length of time through a city and into a building with your eyes closed. They would have had to endure pain and embarrassment as they followed. The men called out for mercy and knew Jesus was the Son of David. These two men demonstrated by their actions in whom they believed. The question Jesus asked them was academic, and for the readers clarification only, as was the answer. The question gives insight and meaning to the word believing which is; know the authority, have the right heart attitude, call on him and be persistent through pain and embarrassment. Believing is a verb, not a noun! John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” Believing is the action of obeying. No obedience, no believing, no life that becomes eternal with you! The answer shows that faith is increased by that which is received from your actions of believing. Purity is a direct result from your relentless actions of believing. Purity is the tangible component and the limiting factor of your faith. Believing will cost you everything, but in do time, renders’ everything. Matt 16:25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. When you submit to the actions that believing demands, you will feel that you have lost your life, but if you stay the course you will indeed discover that you actually found the life that you were designed for. Your whole life now reflects worship that will be accepted. Matt 17:16 “I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.” “O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus had already confirmed to his disciples that he was the Christ, the son of the living God, so why did they not believe that he had given them the authority to drive out this demon? Jesus rebukes their generation for their unbelief and then tells them why, by

calling them perverse. This generation is deviating from what is considered right; they were persisting in error, stubbornly contrary and obstinately disobedient. Jesus is saying the same thing to us today. Jesus asks the question, “How long shall I stay with you?” and “How long shall I put up with you?” Jesus is telling his disciples that there is a length of time needed to grow, and when this length of time with them is finished, he will move on in his resolve to complete his objective. Eph 4:15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. The question is, have we set aside the time needed so we will in all things, not just something, grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ? And what form does this maturing take, where the outcome is love? Matt 17:19-21 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here too there’ and it would move. Nothing will be impossible for you. This kind can only come out by pray and fasting.” Jesus leaves no doubt in his disciples’ minds at what level their faith is at, do to their perversions stemming from unbelief. So, He gives them and us another picture of the process which must take place to move from little faith, through great faith, to perfect faith. Anybody that accepts Christ and believes on him to save them has, at the very least, faith as small as a mustard seed. This would be considered little faith, and we can see that little faith was not enough to get the job done here. The picture is telling us something deeper. Housed within this mustard seed is perfect resolve and it will stay there for eternity, unless this seed falls into the ground and dies. But when it dies, this determination is released; it will split rock to get to the surface and continue to grow until it houses the birds of the air. In the same way your potential for perfect faith will stay untapped until you learn how to surrender to death, yet remain alive. Jesus disciples were themselves in the process of learning this principle which takes perseverance, through a set amount of time on a specific course. In this dialog, Jesus pinpointed the problem, gives us the picture of what is needed to take place in our body, and then follows up with the steps required to overcome the issue. He is saying that pray and fasting takes a person of little faith and causes them to grow to perfect faith, the faith required to do the job. Pray and fasting purifies the body as it rewires the mind. These disciples had been healing and casting out demons, and they considered themselves to be men of faith. Jesus is telling us that faith is limited by purity, and purity is limited by unbelief.

Unbelief comes from a polluted mind, which is only configured to receive more of the same. The law-of-attraction. Purification comes with a cost of suffering, by the effects of a chemical withdrawal, in order to break our self-conceived ideas on how we see reality. A mind that has not been re-wired has no ability to be enlightened by divine teaching, because it is already programmed to arrange any new knowledge within its own preestablished formula, as to preserve its addictions, and therefore, cannot discern the between the holy and the profane. Romans 16:18 For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. These men come across so convincing because they have no idea they are completely controlled by their addictions to their own appetites. Our so called wise and learned men come across completely sincere because they have no idea their judgment has been impaired. Their rational is logical and is received with applause because they are appealing to an audience who baths in the same pool of impediments. 2 Cor 10:12 For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding. Pro 16:25 There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. John 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” Only a relatively short period of time is needed in practicing sin before the brain sets up receivers to accommodate this new chemical addiction that reinforces the appetite. Like a drug addict on the street you are trapped and enslaved to serve your habit. Romans 6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your moral body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. This command to act falls squarely on your shoulders and as such makes you solely responsible. A member is not just your arm or leg, for your limbs can do nothing except that your other members are functioning at peace and are in harmony. That is why in the Epistle of James he said: James 1:27 This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained (784)

by the world. (784 - unblemished both physically and morally, without spot, unspotted.) To keep oneself, is to be accountable for your choices and except consequences of your actions. Again, it collaborates to support what Paul is communicating in Romans as to obligation directly related to physical purity of your blood and body. 1 Cor 9:26-27 Therefore I run in such a way as not without aim; I box in such a way as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. Paul keeps his appetites in check lest he becomes addicted to his own areas of weakness. The worst thing you can do is to over feed a gold fish, for you kill it with kindness. Hosea 13:6-9 As they had their pastures, they became satisfied, And being satisfied, their hearts became proud; Therefore they forgot Me. So I will be like a lion to them; Like a leopard I will lay in wait by the wayside. Don’t be fooled into thinking that once you ask Christ to be your savior that you can let your body chart the course. If you are not fighting it all the way to the grave, then you’re going down stream with all the other trash. Romans 6:16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? Romans 3:22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is a qualifier to this righteousness; yes it comes through Jesus Christ, but only to all who will believe. Believing is in general the conviction of the mind to act on information the brain reckons to be true at any cost to self, even if it cannot see where it will lead. Romans 4:3 What does the Scriptures say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Abraham must have been pure, for how else could he have believed, and seen the one who would come after him to remove his sin. John 8:56 (Jesus said) Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad. God is limited by our faith. Jesus could only do a couple of miracles in some cities because of unbelief. In the same way, unbelief limits what Jesus wants to do in our

lives. To whatever degree unbelief holds us captive, is the same degree that limits the strength of Christ being released through his grace, in your life. If salvation was independent of us, belief or unbelief would be irrelevant to having Christ do a transforming work in your life. Habakkuk 2:4 See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright but the righteous will live by faith - indeed, wine betrays him; he is arrogant and never at rest. Whatever blocks our ability to believe is God’s enemy, because when he is given freedom to bless us, our faith is strengthened, increasing our ability to receive more, is that not why it is written: Matt 13:11-12 Jesus replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. (Verse 15) For their heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.” Jesus is telling us why these people do not have faith (for their heart has become calloused). A calloused heart is a heart that is harder than it should be. A calloused heart is on its way to a hard heart. The longer a person is in the stage of little faith, the more susceptible the heart is to becoming calloused. The problem is the same today, as it was back then, we have signed and entered into a covenant with Jesus and we think that these are the secrets. We think that this is as big as God gets, “what more could he do, what more does he need to do?” Convinced of our superior knowledge and given the fact that we really had to humble ourselves to sign this contract, we now close our eyes. We are blind, falling into, ditch after ditch, but as we look around we see everybody in the ditch with us. Some how we rationalize the truth of God’s word away, because there is no one who is not in the same ditch. Mass psychology takes over, through pride, to produce the counterfeit, in an attempt to keep the embarrassment of acting blind from being exposed. But each time I feel pain, I run my hand over my head to discover yet another goose egg. We are being knocked silly because we refuse to admit we are blind. John 9:41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains. If one could not see the difference between good and evil then one would be blind. However, human beings know the difference yet their actions are the same as if they didn’t.

Romans 11:7 What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, Eyes so that they could not see And ears so they could not hear, To this very day.” God knew the future and he could see that men’s hearts were not going to change, that’s why he wrote, “To this very day”. For all of you who are not the elect and cannot see what God is revealing, you will remain doing the actions that prove what you believe. That there is nothing more for you to obtain here on earth, but you will trust that you will receive the rest in heaven. You will be content to stay at this level, ever hearing but never understanding, ever seeing but never perceiving. But God’s curses in his laws will be demonstrating his love, by way of pain and suffering, in an attempt to jar you from your complacence. With God’s laws it is impossible to stay stagnant. You may convince yourself that you are not sliding backwards, but you cannot measure your degree of unbelief. You will never know the benefits that could have been yours if you had one more degree of belief that placed you on the best path. That ever greater degree of belief will allow you to see clearer, hear cleaner, and understand with your heart, so you can turn and implement the truth. The proof that I understand and see His revealed truth is the out come of the actions applied, which is to see the body healed. If this behavior has the ability to heal the body, it also has the ability to keep the body from sickness and disease. Mark 4:30 Again Jesus said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.” We are this mustard seed that God wants to plant in his garden. The problem is that our attitude is obstinately disobedient because we do not want to fall into the ground and die to ourselves. Without dying, our faith cannot start to grow, and with little faith, we will have little impact for God’s glory on earth. If we will submit to the Spirit’s leading, we will be planted, that is, die to ourselves, and once planted, our faith will grow and be made complete by the actions of surrendering. Our faith will then provide a place of resting as we refresh all those around us.

James 2:14-17 What good is it, my brother, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes or daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. You will not produce the right actions until you die to yourself, for it is through this process that right motives come together with right attitudes. John 6:28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” If this is the work God requires and it is straight from Jesus then why does James 1:27 say, Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. We know that the Word of God has no contradictions, so how do these two statements come together? Is Jesus telling us that believing is a work, an action that looks like this, and I had better not come to him and tell him “I believe” if I don’t have these actions? Is it possible the degree in which I have these actions will be the same level in which I can believe? We know that Christ has all the answers, so shortages of answers are not the problem. The problem was and is the answers are not going to do anybody any good if nobody believes! I believe Jesus is declaring to us what dying to ones self looks like. If you don’t think that discontinuing that which you eat to gratify the flesh is dying to yourself, you have not approached it with fervor. Or, try replacing all food for many days and just consume the Word of God. Remember, sin is enjoyable for a time and the flesh is looking for a way, so you can believe it is right. God did not want to destroy any of his people that Moses was leading through the desert, but was compelled when those who rejected his diet and laws revolted. Jude 1:5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. (Verse 8) In the very same way, these dreamers polluted their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. It is in the polluting of our own bodies that embolden a behavior in us which causes us to reject authority and slander angels, which are really just actions of unbelief. Why can we not see that consuming products that pollute our bodies destroys our

minds ability to think good thoughts? For all things that come into our lives whether good or bad, have its origins in our thoughts. Evil stored in us produces negative thoughts, which we sow by word and deed. What ever we sow we will reap, later than and greater than, to place us on either, a tighter and tighter spiral down or a tighter and tighter spiral up, depending on our seed. Isaiah prophesied exactly what Jesus was eating when He came of age to make His choice between good and evil. Isaiah 7:15 “He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.” Refusing evil is directly linked to eating, otherwise Isaiah would have provided a list of actions of things that would have needed to be changed in Jesus’ young life. Pro 14:25 The Righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, But the stomach of the wicked is in want. Isaiah is not just making a statement, but God is giving us the clue in regards to avoiding evil. Choosing God’s best is choosing to learn what is best for the body in every area. It is no coincidence that in the Great Tribulation, when God is purifying His people that we find the same menu that Jesus had when He came to choose. Isaiah 7:21 Now it will come about in that day that a man may keep alive a heifer and a pair of sheep; and it will happen that because of the abundance of milk produced he will eat curds, for everyone that is left within the land will eat curds and honey. Why you ask; Because Christ is preparing His bride and in the Song of Songs He describes her. (NASB) Song 4:9-11 You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride; You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes, with a single strand of your necklace. How beautiful is your love my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than all kinds of spices! Your lips, my bride, drip honey; Honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. The oils in and of your skin are not foul smelling, neither is your breath, because the body has an on going supply of beneficial microorganisms. Pr14:27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death.

Is pride going to rob you from your health that is in Christ Jesus? 2 Kings 5:10 But Elisha did not go and see him at all but rather sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” Elisha knew by sending out his servant to speak for him, Naaman would be angry and quite likely miss acting on these simple instructions and if it had not been for clear thinking of Naamans’ servants, his pride would have robbed him. Elisha sent instructions for Naaman to have a complete bath, this wasn’t just washing of the feet. Sure, Naaman had doubts all the way to the Jordan River and probably each time he went under, but all he had to do was believe, which is to persevere through the instructions given by a servant from the man of God. Are you going to be angry with the man of God and miss acting on simple instructions that he gives you? You are not going to have ten or twenty servants to help you overcome your pride. More than likely, you will have ten to twenty people against you. Are you going to go under the water three or four times and then go home, never securing the blessing that perseverance would have given you? Naaman’s life was changed forever because he preformed the steps a believing person would perform, regardless of any doubts he had in his mind. Likewise, so will you if you will act the way a believing person would act. Clearly, the first thing that you need to do is develop an intimate love relationship with Jesus. To love God is to obey God and power will not be given to people who say they love God just because they never understand how their actions have disobeyed. 1 John 4:17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment: because as He is, so also are we in this world. Remember, it is only after love is perfected in us that as Jesus is, so also are we, in this earthly world. “Be ye Holy, as I am Holy”. Yes, it is a tall order, but it is most certainly possible. This Day of Judgment is upon us, and to stand on this day you will have had to perfect holiness which is being in the character of Christ. If all things are possible, to those who believe, then the people who believe will display the power, which makes believing paramount. And if believing is obtained only by an action that we are responsible for, then this makes the action paramount. And is a Majestic God going to give his power to someone that just says he loves or says he believes? No, this ability to believe will only come alive through the development of an intimate love relationship with Jesus. This process will be one that when finished will be consummated by the power of the Spirit, with the Spirit in control of the Saint. This process will develop a character that can preserver in truth, even when every sensor in your body is screaming at you to

rebel. This process must be taken on through a trust, because you cannot understand or see the relevance to the actions. Perseverance in faith accomplishes and prepares the soil to receive the full knowledge of the workings of His laws, because it demonstrates through suffering your commitment to the Light. For God to release his power to a Saint that will not be seasoned would be like turning a bull lose in a china shop or having a loose canon in your lines, and it’s just not going to happen. John 2:23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast, many believed in His name, beholding His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because he did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man for He Himself knew what was in man. These many people were convicted at the time of the Passover Feast by witnessing Jesus’ signs and as a result, confessed Jesus as Lord. However, there was no movement towards these people on Jesus’ part to have faith in any of them because he did not need anyone to tell Him that their flesh had stored up evil. Jesus is not going to entrust Himself to you at this stage, which means you are not going to know him, but more important is that He is not going to know you. There is something inside of us blocking our ability to be trustworthy, thereby setting up a situation where knowledge cannot be transferred. Romans 10:9 …that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. It is the heart that must engage in an action to bring it to a state of purity that one can be described as “believing from the heart”? Jesus is saying to you that this Living Word of His will not come alive to you and be entrusted to you until you believe from the heart. God’s word does not leave us to wonder whether or not we have positioned ourselves to receive his best but gives us some signs. Mark 16:17 “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

Chapter 13

The Purpose of the Law Under Grace We are not under the law any more we have grace. Matt 5:17 Jesus said “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappears, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches other to do the same will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commandments will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. The Law was the first five books of the Jewish Scriptures and the Prophets included not only the Latter Prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Major Prophets) and the twelve Minor Prophets, but also the Prophets Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings. Jesus fulfilled the law, by way of revealing to us its full significance. He underscored its deep fundamental principles and total commitment to it. He pointed out that they were not given so we could recognize them by some insignificant outward gesture that would give the look of submission, but rather a deep unwavering commitment to understand and follow the hidden principles. (NASB) Romans 15:4 For whatever has been written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. Jesus fulfilled the law because He was the Savior which the law said would come. His earthly walk demonstrated the principles which the Old Testament instructions where to reveal. Some how, for some reason, we have allowed this word “law” to give us an image of hopelessness and out of hopeless despair we have projected our Savior into this place of saving us from that which was to bless. The Old Testament principles were leading us to Christ’s New Testament freedoms. This is not about following ridge instructions but learning how to follow the principles. The New Testament freedoms come from the knowledge on how the body works. Without the knowledge you have no freedom when adapting and applying the principles. Without the freedom to accommodate you have no capacity to show Christ’s love in you. (NASB) Romans 3:27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Anytime we don’t know why we are following a particular principle we must choose to come by faith; so whether we accomplish by knowledge or by faith, we will be justified. The law of works comes from a mind that is not renewed, and as such, displays a character of self-sufficiency in its accomplishing. The law of faith is allowed to work in a mind which is surrendering long before it knows why and is on its way to be enlightened. Such minds project a character of dependence, which accomplishes acts of physical obedience that displays faith in whom is loved. One mind starts to perceive the mind of God as he reads from the word of God; the other is given over to an attitude of his mind that perceives the truth on a level which accommodates the flesh. Any document written to form a law can only use words, and unless you can perceive the true spirit in which it was written, it can be misinterpreted and digress into something it was never intended to be. Grace is just love in action, giving us the proper perspective which will enable us to correctly interpret His word, along with the motivating power to follow. Jesus is making it very clear in Matthew 5:17 and Matt 18:32, that at some point both the one who breaks the commands and the one who practice these commands will be in heaven together. So we see that these directives are not the ultimate deciding factor for heaven, nevertheless, plays a significant roll in when you get there and your position in glory. The bottom line is that Christ paid the penalty and bore the weight of everyone’s sin. Therefore, Christ will ransom everyone from their sin, but just because He rescued you does not mean that you can be in the presence of the Father without a transformation. Matt 18:32 “Then summoning him, his Lord said to him, You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you entreated me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, even as I had mercy on you?” And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the tortures until he should repay all that was owed him. “So shall My heavenly Father also do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.” Romans 5:18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. Luke 12:59 “I say to you, you shall not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent.” Romans 5:18 is referring to the actions of Adam and Eve which resulted in condemnation to all men, but it was Christ’s act that resulted in justification of life to all men. We had no choice with Adam, and thank God we have no choice with Christ!

We see this justification for all men in Matt 5:17 but in Matt 18:32 it revokes what was granted earlier because of a wrong attitude to his fellow slave. This attitude would have come from a heart that was not circumcised. This injustice resulted in temporary removal from heaven until this wicked slave was forced to repay the time that he should have given to complete circumcision, plus any penalties. Do not think for one minute that Jesus was putting forth a parable which could only speak to a small percentage of the people at that time. It is only by the Holy Spirit through the word of God, that you can come to know and understand that each of us is possessing slaves. Well, if you did not know you had them, how could you possibly know how to set up an environment which would show them mercy? If no mercy is shown to your slaves then you will be taking plan B, which is the long and painful way to heaven. If there is only one level of righteousness which places you in heaven, then all would enter on the same plane; there would be no greater or least in heaven, for all would be equal in Christ. We are not all equal in Christ because some paid every last cent before Christ transported them. Matt 5:19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” This is how Jesus can say you will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; if you have the opportunity to pay and you pay your very last cent, there is only one place to go, heaven, and that still makes Romans 5:18 include you as well. These laws of instruction are good and holy, but they did not provide the intangible reality of God we needed to rise to the level it demanded, the level of love. This scripture also reveals these commands are not obsolete, as some would have us believe, and will remain until this instruction accomplishes the full purpose for which it was given. This purpose of these laws and commands was to reveal truth and give us insight into the details, as they guide us in our living, towards God’s greatest blessings. This next section in Luke is Jesus’ words recorded to clarify the relationship of the Old Testament to His New Testament. Luke 16:23 “And in Hades (86) he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom.” Luke 16:27-29 “And he said, ‘Then I beg you, Father, that you send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers - that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment!’ “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ “But he said, ‘No father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’

“But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’ ” Why would Jesus direct them back to Moses and the Prophets when He is the way? The answer will come to you later as you absorb this book. But make no mistake the knowledge and instructions to avoid Hades will come from Moses and the Prophets. 1 John 2:3 And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying His commandments. If some says, “I belong to God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments that person is a liar and does not live in the truth. The blind who travel by the flesh are quick to tell you that we are not under the law any longer; implying there is no value because it is through faith that you are saved. Romans 3:31 Do we nullify the law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the law. The fact that God is going to use these commands as a measuring stick in his kingdom should speak volumes to the significance he is placing on them, and the importance that we had better be placing as well. The question becomes, “Do you want to be called least in the kingdom of heaven or greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Do you want your debt paid in full for you so you can be covered by all the provisions in Christ’s sacrifice; awaking you to everlasting life?” 1 Peter 2:24 …and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. Or will you take the “wait and see” default attitude, which requires time spent in a place of torment, where you have taken over the responsibility of a certain provision in His sacrifice? Pro 20:30 Stripes that wound scour away evil, and strokes reach the innermost parts. Psalms 89:30-34 “If his sons forsake My Law, and do not walk in My judgments, If they violate My statutes, and do not keep My commandments, Then I will visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. But I will not take My loving kindness from him, Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness. My covenant I will not violate, Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips. Paul exhorts us to work at our salvation with fear and trembling (Phi 2:12) but we are blind to what to fear and see no reason to tremble. If we will not take our bodies through regeneration then we can not be healed by Jesus’ stripes and his torturous beating at

the hands of evil men. Please watch “The Passion of the Christ” and understand how great the sacrifice was for you. Jesus is going to deliver to the Father worshippers to go to heaven through His loving kindness and faithfulness, regardless of anyone’s condition of faith because He made a covenant to Himself which can not be broken. However, there are consequences to your choices which will not be altered because of the utterances of His lips. The consequences, this side of heaven, are verbalized in Daniel 12:2; everlasting life or everlasting contempt. This is what Daniel could not understand and be assured of the outcome of these events (Daniel 12:8). Jesus called John the Baptist, the greatest man born of a woman. Do you think that this man will be called great in the kingdom of heaven, or do you think he was teaching something that was to be superseded and therefore irrelevant? There are very few things God’s Word reveals to us through the life of John, but these things that are, need to have placed on them, great significance because Jesus disclosed to us that his ranking was the greatest. John’s actions of living in the desert, wearing clothes of a camel hair, eating wild honey and locusts, directing his disciples to fast, should be communicating to us, not only what believing looks like, but the importance of maintaining such a posture. Some of you are wondering if resting one in seven is fasting. Resting your body was commanded, but mourning to see Christ is strictly voluntary. Digesting food comes second, only after the workings of your muscles in the consumption of your energy. It is true that the action for one appears to be the same action for the other. However, resting one in seven is only giving the body what it needs to be refreshed, and therefore maintained. Fasting on the other hand, comes from a deep overwhelming desire to see and know the Truth. However, it is not a coincident that actions of mourning rejuvenate all parts of the body. And to the degree the mind is renewed is to the degree the Truth comes into focus. Matt 21:32 For John came to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this you did not repent and believe him. Imitate men of great faith and you will become a man of great faith. Pro 13:20 “He who walks with wise men will be wise.” Romans 2:20 ...an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth – you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who say people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob the temple? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written:

“God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” God’s Word in the Old Testament is telling us that we who study God’s Word so we can be instructors of the foolish, and teachers of infants, are doing the same things they did, even though we have in the law, the embodiment of knowledge and truth. Paul is pointing out very clearly that our actions, as God sees them, are identical to theirs, we are committing adultery, and we rob our Temple to gratify our idols, and break the very laws we are preaching to others not to break. Malachi 3:8-10 “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed Thee?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse - the whole nation of you - because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” We see that we are under “a” curse, not “the” curse, not from what Adam did, but because of our actions. Did you ever want to put God to the test? God is inviting us to test him. He wants us to change our actions so he can bring us out from under His curse and throw open the floodgates of heaven. They stole things in the Old Testament to sustain themselves just as we are stealing what God requires of us in the New Testament, and then believing this is the way to sustain ourselves. We preach boldly against adultery yet we are blinded to the fact that we are married to Christ and still use our body for pleasure outside of our covenant. We abhor idols but we bow down to our stomach which robs God’s temple, and deprives Him of His worship. Phi 3:19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomachs and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. The Bible is a book of real people and their history. If we will not learn the “why” a negative outcome happened in the lives of the people in our biblical history book and make the appropriate adjustments then we are destined to reap the same consequences. Just because we have narrowed the investigation down to a thought coming from the mind, should that deter us from going inside the mind to understand how thoughts come about? The apostle Paul is telling us why we cannot see how we are doing the same things they did in the Old Testament. Fulfilling the desires of the stomach places our minds on earthly things. The treatment of the stomach holds the key to transporting and keeping the mind on heavenly things, which produce godly thoughts. Something needs to change in our minds so we can use Old Testament stories as parables, capture the

analogy, and so discern the practical deployment of the physical, which automatically executes the perfect spiritual posture. Pro 28:4 Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them. Pro 28:7 He who keeps the law is a discerning son, but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father. The fact is, over eating goes directly against our ability to discern good from evil. It is God who has established and will enforce all his rules of conduct, for he has created the science. The ones with a keen perception, who act by showing good judgment, by aligning himself with these laws, will be directly contrasted by the group who cater to their flesh through their overworking of their stomachs. Even if you eat a small amount of food but lack the capacity to break it down, the same principles working against a glutton are working against you. That is why God continually held back the rain from His people. Amos 4:6-7 “But I gave you also cleanness of teeth in all your cities and lack of bread in all your places, Yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord. “And furthermore, I withheld the rain from you while there were still three months until harvest.” Can you not understand that it is the lack of food which gives you the eyes to see the Lord for who He is? The Lord is going to do this withholding of the rain again to help His bride in the first three and a half years of the Great Tribulation. (KJV) Micah 3:5-6 Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him. Therefore night shall be unto you that ye shall not have a vision; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. You leaders of the peoples who suffer from indigestion and who are declaring peace to your flock, who rise to make war against the discerning ones that are walking circumspectly, your vision in the day will be as if it were in the night. (NASB) Romans 16:18 For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ, but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. Pro 28:9 If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law even his prayers are detestable. Can you hear what God is saying? But you say, “Christ came and set us free from the law.” You cannot be set free from truth, however, truth does not have the capacity to

keep the conscience in a right relationship with God unless it is followed. Heb 9:8-9 The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both the gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience. However, the Holy Spirit is informing us that we possess an outer tabernacle which must be brought down in order to disclose the way into the holy place. Until the fleshly tabernacle is removed, you will always be trying to clear your conscience by what you give. Heb 9:14 How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Most of us today have little to no use for the Old Testament, but without instructions, our actions of neglect in this area, whether out of ignorance or not, gives praise to the wicked and renders even our prayers detestable. Is it any wonder we are having trouble seeing answers to our prayers? God is turning a deaf ear. The disciples asked Jesus why he spoke to the people in parables and he said: Matt 13:11 “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have even what he has will be taken from him.” You had better recognize that there are secrets, and if you don’t find them even what you think you have is going to be taken away from you. Jesus is not hiding the fact that He can and will save you through his grace. The question becomes, if the secret is not that Jesus is here to save me, then what great thing could the secrets be hiding that is going to rob me of that which I have? The only thing left is how I receive and deploy this intangible reality called grace, for I must move through God’s favor. If I can find and understand the knowledge of the secrets that transports me directly into the holy place, then I will be given more. But, if I am deceived, what a shock to find out that what I believed positioned me to miss the kingdom of heaven straight up. Now, even what I had, the security of ignorance through God’s grace, is going to be taken from me. These secrets are hidden in, and revealed in, the riddles, parables, typologies and dark sayings of the word of God. Matt 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.” You know when you have found the treasure because it will have cost you everything;

your family, your friends, your social life, your appetite, your weight and all other manor of gratifying your flesh. Consider these five scripture verses and let them test your discernment; can you fit them all together to unlock their secret? If you can, then you are on your way to unlocking all God’s secrets. If not, keep reading and maybe God will grant you the understanding to see. 1 Cor 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of this world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. What are the foolish, weak, lowly, despised things that He could be talking about? Matt 9:13 “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Compassion to who? Rev 3:2 Wake up! Strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. Strengthen something that remains? Matt 23:26 “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.” Cleanse the inside of what? Matt 11:25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father for this was your good pleasure.” Am I only going to know if I am a little child? In the New Testament, it tells us that the stomach feeds our flesh, putting our minds on earthly things and what we think is going to be our glory, will in fact, turn out to be our shame. It is hard to visualize what is happening because we relate and comprehend better through pictures and events, and therefore, it is difficult to implement holy concepts and principals. Nevertheless, if I want my mind on spiritual things or have the mind of Christ, I had better be meticulous in my consideration of any aspect of my makeup that draws me away. The Old Testament is a historical physical event containing all the attributes of daily life, in which people’s lives were used to depict in a tangible way, that which cannot be

seen, which is taking place in the confines of our individual lives today. In other words, the past is crucial to our future, but because of man’s defiant nature, he will never learn from history, therefore, The Old Testament will always remain relevant. What do we know about the law? Deu 6:25 And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness. This Law was given for the purpose of doing the complete job, that is, giving us all the knowledge and truth on how to conduct ourselves so that we could stand before a Holy God. Romans 2:20 ...because you have in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and truth. The word God used to represent this complete job that was needed, was the word “righteousness”, which means a “right standing” before our Holy God. In Romans 7:12 we find Paul giving us the components of this “right standing” “So, then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.” We now see that there are three areas of distinction in this word “righteousness”. The Law and the commandments were given to instruct us in holiness, righteousness and goodness because they are the embodiments of Christ. Something stopped the commandments from producing this “right standing” we needed, and that was sin which separated us from God and his power. Romans 7:9-12 Once, I was alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seized the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. Ignorance is bliss until you are given the knowledge of right and wrong. The commandments showed that the actions coming from my body were wrong. I was deceived in my thinking by sin that I could change my actions so as not to break the commandments. I focused all my energy on the actions, and not on where the actions were emanating from, and thereby missed seeing the true purpose for the commandments. Romans 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God. In order to die to the Law, we must die to our self, that is, remove the flesh which houses evil in our body by the provisions given to us through the body of Christ.

This perseverance in removing the flesh brings about the new birth, which free us from the Law because we are born or slowly changed into the character or body of Christ through denying our flesh that which seems right. It is taking our polluted blood and body to the level of purity that Christ blood and body functioned at. In this way, we are joined to Him in character, who was raised from the dead. It is only coming through this transition that we might bear fruit for God. It is in the actions of crucifying the flesh which simultaneously transforms the believer into the character of Christ where all the attributes are just natural outcomes of this nature. It is totally absurd to think that we can take the head knowledge of all Christ’s attributes, balance them for each and every stressful situation that we find ourselves needing to communicate in, and deliver this mental and physical attitude through the physics of a body which has not been regenerated to reflect the physics of His body. There is no pressure to be on guard with our character or thoughts after regeneration because we have a new physical nature which automatically renders the correct response, providing we are on guard for our physical body purity. 1 John 3:3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Romans 7:6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. Following the Law circumcises the flesh; releasing us from the Law because the Law was for the flesh. And the newness of the spirit is bound by love. Heb 7:18 The former regulations is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope was introduced, by which we draw near to God. The regulations were set aside, but not the truths in the Laws or principles in the precepts. It is in our believing that love draws us near to God to have something perfected, that we can be called worthy. Christ came and wrote a new covenant in His blood. God is perfectly holy and therefore the regulations are rigid and unforgiving. This standard of God was unattainable and therefore useless; it could not perfect in us the requirements of holiness. Christ’s new covenant is open to all, but like any contract it has terms and conditions to be adhered to. These terms and conditions are from and based upon the regulations, however, they are structured in such a way that Christ

will make up the short fall. This is plan “A”. However, Christ died for all mankind and at His discretion will perfect, at some point in time, righteousness for everyone. These people will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven because their inactions did not take them away from the default. Isaiah 64:4 For from days of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear, Neither has the eye seen a God besides Thee, Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for him. Thou dost meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness. The doing of righteousness is getting the body pure and keeping the body pure. Romans 5:6 You see, at the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 4:25 He (Christ) was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. All will be justified at some point in time for God’s glory, but now is the time given for the cream to rise to the top to share in that glory. Romans 3:23 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. This new righteousness from God requires two things, that you have complete trust and confidence in Jesus, and to position one’s self to take advantage of what He is offering to fulfill what is demanded. If you don’t act to take hold of these two things, then you are not receiving Christ’s grace to overcome what the Law could not supply, and therefore you are not rising to the top. 1 John 2:29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. It is in the reaching out by faith to take hold of these things that you seize the gift of God’s grace, the very thing that secures your resolve. If salvation with honor was a straight gift from God, there would be no need for grace to be our teacher, or to supply the strength to overcome, because there would be nothing to overcome. For if the gift, in and of itself, is the reward, nothing more needs to be added, but if the gift is grace and the reward is salvation with honor, then something is needed to be done with grace to achieve our reward. God speaks of this grace in the New Testament but He gives us a picture illustration in the Old Testament. Moses was a typology of Christ just as the Amalek was a typology of our flesh. (NASB) Exodus 17:11 So it came about when Moses held his hands up, that Israel

prevailed, and when he let his hands down, Amalek prevailed. It is we who are in the valley doing battle with our flesh, not Moses doing the fighting. No, Moses was on top of the hill holding up his hands towards heaven giving strength by his grace to all who kept their eyes on him. It is by Christ’s grace that we will prevail over our flesh if we will receive the grace by looking up. Heb 12:3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart. Romans 8:3 For what the Law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live by the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Jesus, God’s son, not only became our sin offering but lifted up His powerful righteous right hand and thereby, fulfilling the promise he made to Abraham and showering us with his grace. Phi 3:9 ...not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I must have faith in what Jesus did for me personally, and if I do it will cause me to take actions, that move me to line up with his Laws. We must follow by faith, or through faith, because we have no idea of the science taking place in our bodies which is transforming us. Faith is reflected in the purity of the body, not some reassuring thought that we convince ourselves that we command. Isaiah 26:10 Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and regard not the majesty of the Lord. O Lord, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them. (John 2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Thy House will consume Me.”) It is through grace that we learn righteousness, and through Christ’s up lifted hands we gain access to the strength to obey. This fire is reserved for God’s enemies and was never intended for you, so let the Spirit open your eyes to see the hands lifted high for you, and apply His strength to overcome your weakness. Pro 11:4-5 But the righteousness (6666 - rightness, rectitude) (1) strict honesty;

uprightness of character (2) correctness of judgment or method - from primary root 6663 – (to be causation - the act of causing, causality, make right.) delivers from death. The righteousness of the blameless (8549 - entire integrity, truth: - without blemish, complete, full, perfect, sincerely sound, without spot, undefiled upright, whole. - From primary root 8552 - to complete, accomplished, to be cleaned, consume, have done, come to the full, be (make) perfect, be wasted, whole.) will smooth his way, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness. (7564 - a primary root: to be (causative, do or declare) wrong: by implied to disturb, violate: condemn, make trouble, vex, be (commit, deal. depart, do wicked (-ly. ness).) (NASB) Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. Grace is a free expression of God’s love, there is nothing we could have given to deserve such a gift that when appropriated is going to give us the strength to achieve what God demands. To recognize your need for a savior and accept His offer only introduces us to grace by one small step of faith. You need to live your whole life continually seizing what Christ provides, in order to purify the body and soul from everything that contaminates. Christ provides the grace by way of His passion to motivate and inspire you to perceiver in strengthening that which can not be strengthened by food. Heb 13:9 Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace not by foods, through which those who were thus occupied were not benefited. To be strengthened by foods is to open yourself up to be carried away by varied and strange teachings, and to receive the strength which does not benefit. You must exercise faith to believe you need to endure a period of time without food to strengthen that which will give you the ability to recognize the Truth, that your faith will increase to a point where you want to jump for joy with hope of receiving the glory of God. Reaching such a state of existence propels you forward that you may experience the goodness and holiness and righteousness that He wanted you to have. Then, and only then, are you worthy of receiving His power and all the freedom that comes with it, not by your strength derived from food, but by Christ’s. He does it all, but you must be a willing participant who competes according to the rules. 2 Tim 2:5 And also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.

Heb 7:25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Heb 8:1 ...We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in Heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. Jesus, sitting at the right hand of the Father is making intercession for the times we fall into sin, working as our high priest, as His Spirit is working inside our very bodies. The writer to the Hebrews was talking about people who draw near to God, that is, are on this road to purity. They have stopped practicing sin, but are still in need for the times they stumble. However, this is not to say, that those who are still practicing sin are not under His grace, it is just that grace transports them to captivity and the righteous to receive salvation with honor. There are some who are in the category of saved completely, salvation with honor, then there are also some who are in another category of saved, but in varying degrees of less than completely, or salvation without honor. “Should I come to you with a whip or in love” The Old Testament educated us and through this knowledge was working like a whip to drive us to righteousness, but Jesus came to us with love as his motivating power. There is no power within us, even having the knowledge of what is required, to bring us to this place of righteousness. Jesus said in John 15:5 ...“apart from me you can do nothing” Because of one mans sin, (Adam) we have all been condemned and bear in us the consequences, which is death. Thank God He has ordained a new covenant through Jesus Christ, the Covenant of Love which draws us, rather than attempts to whip us, to holiness, righteousness and goodness. Where the Law brought hopelessness, Christ brought hope, through death, by bearing our sins on his cross, sin that was separating us from God and his power. Complete salvation with honor is now obtainable for all men by grace through faith. Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live selfcontrolled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. It is the grace that brings complete salvation, Not gives complete salvation. This grace, Christ’s love, is not just going to cover our sin through the time needed to teach us, but once taught, is ours to keep. In order to be taught something you must be teachable, that is, you must humble yourself before your teacher. If you go into class with a prideful, arrogant attitude because your flesh has deceived you again, you will miss the very point that makes the difference and fail the class. The teacher must have a text that would contain knowledge and truth on the subject matter. In this situation, the text is the teacher and the teacher is the text which embodies knowledge and truth,

which is housed in the complete Word of God. Knowledge, working with understanding, illuminates and magnifies the limitless boundaries of His sacrificial love, which pierces the hard heart. Head knowledge, which goes to the heart, suffuses to consume us. We now have this grace producing the desire to submit to God’s will; all that is left is to execute the actions that releases His strength in compensation for our weak wills. Once consumed, it gives us the strength to start actions which will crucify the flesh. As the flesh is torn away, the blessings of grace further acts to motivate us to say “No” to the temptation and appeal of ungodliness and worldly passions. The actions cause an embracing of the text that teaches us how to live on earth, that is, lives that are selfcontrolled, upright and godly. A pupil who is provided all that is needed for learning, yet refuses to be taught, is by his actions insulting his teacher. 1 John 2:27 ...And you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in him. I thought that it was in the pastor’s job description to teach me about all things related to the word of God. Numbers 16:9 “Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the congregation and minister (8334) to them?” “...but now you are trying to get the priesthood (3550) too.” Minister (8334) in the Hebrew, a prim root, to minister, serve: - assist, attendant, became a personal servant, waiter, wait on, to attend as a menial or worshipper. Priesthood (3550) from 3547; a prim root, means to mediate in religious services; to officiate as a priest; to do and be the office of the priest, minister in the priesthood. We see that these people were chosen to minster in the tabernacle, that is, speak the word of God and conduct the service. It was never theirs to interpret. It is the anointing by the Holy Spirit to everyone who has positioned themselves to receive this anointing, that will understand and communicate what God is personally asking from all of us. That is why we read, in the New Testament churches that people in the congregation, as the anointing came upon them, stood up and spoke as from the Lord. It was not for our Levites/pastors/teachers to interpret the word of God from their fleshly point of view. No, this instruction was the elite privilege of the priests of God who have circumcised their fleshly hearts. The question is, “How do we position ourselves so the anointing will come upon us?” It is a blessing from the Lord if we can recognize when someone has been anointed by the Spirit, then when you hear the knowledge it is your responsibility to abide in that truth.

John 10:10 ... I have come that they may have life to the full. When Jesus came and died, he brought grace to all who will, by faith, humbly except it and put it to use, so that nothing will separate us from this love that is going to place us directly in Heaven. And, if keeping yours eyes on heaven is all you need to motivate yourself, great, but for those of us who are also looking for what wisdom wants to give us here on earth, Jesus can and will, provide. The reality of the way this covenant is structured makes it an all or nothing deal. Pro 3:16 Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed. Make no mistake it is you who must lay hold of her, which is why the Bible clearly tells us; “faith without works is dead”. This will happen if you will humble yourself before God’s love, so that He may provide for you the strength necessary to complete the work, through His science in your Temple, when he teaches you through knowledge and truth on how to lay hold. Understand what Jesus looks like and put Him on, so that He may make clear to you where you are standing and where you need to move in this area of grace, relative to truth. (NASB) Heb 10:26-29 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there is no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severe punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? Are there any of us, so called born-again believers, who think that we have not received the knowledge of the truth? Well, we will concede we may not know every little detail, but God’s plan of salvation, no question. We feel quite secure in our salvation, and that security has produced complacency, or an easy belief which requires no further investigation. Some of us may not know that all “wrong doing” is sin. Col 3:25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality. Each time our consciences bring to our mind that we are doing wrong and we willfully override the correct response by justifying or applying grace, we demonstrate that we are willfully overriding the knowledge. Receiving the knowledge consumes you because grace had completed its work by

teaching you to say NO to ungodliness. If you are in this state, the act of willfully choosing to do wrong could transport you to the place where there remains no longer a sacrifice for sin (grace). If so, you will die without mercy, by trampling under foot the Son of God, and are regarding as unclean the blood of the covenant by which you were sanctified. Grace is covering us all the way until sanctification is completed, and obedience to grace places our covenant of grace in good standings. (NASB) 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sin, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. After sanctification we enter into the law of love where all things are possible, if we will confess, His grace continues to cover us. It is only in the receiving of the truth, does the truth consume you, and His blessing overwhelms you to the point where there is no mistaking your position. (NASB) Heb 9:28 …so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. There is no reference to sin at the time of the second coming, when He materializes the reward for a right standing by His covenant, because we have chosen to yield to grace, by receiving instructions on how, and the strength to put on our white gown. 1 John 3:4-6 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. And you know that he appeared in order to take away sins; and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. The key word here is “practice”. If you are not practicing sin, you are confessing and grace is removing it. And anyone practicing lawlessness soon becomes sick.

Chapter 14

How and Why Should We Become Like Little Children Matt 18:1-4 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus puts the onus squarely on his disciples to change and become like little children. It is imperative that we transform something in our person that would allow us to act in the same manner as a little child, which is humble, and trusting. A little child will follow you without questioning your direction because he is unpretentious, trusting not ostentatious. As our knowledge increases, it should only serve to reveal the little we know and understand. It has been said that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing because it can deceive you into unconsciously transferring your dependence from something outside of yourself, to self. We tend to specialize in an area of interest and use the worlds’ measure to determine when we have arrived. 1 Cor 8:1 Knowledge puffs up but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God. We need to be careful, for we can be sure, using that which is the world standard, will only serve to inflate our egos, as it stops us just before we can arrive at its’ center of love. Love increases with purity, and purity can always go higher to reveal more. If the time comes when we think we know something, we had better understand that we do not know as we ought to know. In other words, when God starts to reveal His knowledge to you, remember, it is going to take your mind the full three years to know, you know, what you ought to know. Tell a little child that there is a fictitious person, who comes down the chimney, even though you don’t have a chimney, and they will not question it. They will believe you, because they trust you. If you have always told them the truth and they stop believing you, something has robbed them of the ability to trust you. Once children become older, they act on the patterns that they see, and if they are bent away from God, someone has started them down the subtle path which polluted their bodies and minds. That is why God said in Pro 22:6 “Train a child in the way he

should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” We as his parents think we have been trained in the way we should go, and therefore, the standard that we have instilled in our children will serve to guard them when they are old. God’s word is not partially true, which is to say, if any of our children are going astray it is telling us that we either are not projecting the way, or we don’t know the way. If our “way” is true, there will be no movement away from humility as we or our children mature. The only thing that should happen, through knowledge and time, is that our children will transfer their complete trust from us to Christ. The regrettable reality is we see no danger as our children move away from a humble, trusting child, to self centered, independent person. To humbly trust God, is to worship God. Pro 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. To conduct yourself in this manner is to reflect humbleness of heart, for to lean on your own understanding is to have returned to you only what the world reaps. Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. We are educated by the world’s wisdom through teachers who steer us on how to arrive at what to think, be it in the universities or Christian Colleges; we become products of what the Bible calls the conspiracy. Jesus leaves no doubt on what part of your person needs to be transformed, so you can avoid being caught up in the world’s understanding of the truth. Something has changed in our minds; something has tipped the balance, which has taken us away from the ability to humbly trust God. Whatever it is, it has the potential to block us from entering heaven straight up, which means we are robbing God of worship and are completely out of fellowship. A little child’s body is pure, that is why manufactures produce mild soaps and pure foods because their bodies will show a rejecting, by becoming sick. We would never think of feeding our baby a combination of different foods when we are introducing them to food. Yet somehow we think that it is the baby’s lack of development which makes them throw up or become colicky. We slowly, over time, bring their tolerance levels up to the point that they manage to cope with being poisoned. Our little baby’s bodies wrench as their temples struggle to adapt to the rituals of our idolatry. Hence, through ignorance, we sacrifice our babies to our idol; which in the end returns to us the consequences of stumbling on one of these little ones. Who thinks that these poisons are going to stop at the borders of your mind, or theirs? These poisons not only rewire the mind away from God but rob the minerals from our

organs and bones in an attempt to neutralize the poisons. They open up Christ’s body to lawlessness. Psalms 38:3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of Thine indignation; There is no health in my bones because of my sin. We cannot understand, nor will we except, that the body needs a special environment to replenish its’ organisms so that it can maintain its’ integrity. Without adhering to high moral principles our immune system breaks down over time, adding to an ever increasing poisonous load to the blood stream and also gives an ever decreasing metabolism. The child is placed on our disastrous ever tightening spiral downward. There are going to be many wonderful transformations taking place in our bodies that gives us the ability to change and become like a little child, but one of the sweetest is a mind which starts to see God, not to mention a body functioning without lawlessness. We have a need to be born again into a little child, but if this does not come from confessing and accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, then where and how are we? (NIV) 1 Peter 1:22 Now that you have purified yourself by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brother, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. It is by you obeying the truth which automatically results in you becoming pure. It is in you doing the purifying of your body, that gives you the ability to love deeply, that accomplishes this procedure which allows you to be “born again”. (NASB) 1 Peter 1:22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified (48) your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again (313) not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God. Purified (48) from 53; to make clean, figuratively sanctify, morally: - purify (self). 53; from the same as 40; properly clean, figuratively innocent, modest, perfect: - chaste, clean, pure. 40; sacred (physically pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially consecrated): - (most) holy (one thing), saint. Have been born again (313) from 303 and 1080; to begat or by extension bear (again) 303; a primary root, apiece, by, each, every (man), in, through. In compounds (as a prefix) it often means (by implication) repetition, intensity, reversal, etc. 1080. to procreate (probably of the father, but by extension by the mother); figuratively to regenerate: - bear, beget, be born, bring forth, conceive, be delivered of, gender, make spring. When you were conceived from perishable seed, you did not come forth the next day, but developed over a period of time and then you were born. Just as when the imperishable seed in you conceived by the Father, you being the mother must do the work and carry it to term, for it cannot be born instantly or the next day, for it takes time

to develop in the reverse, which is to say, to go from impurity to purity. It takes time to become physically pure, morally blameless, or ceremonially consecrated whereby one is figuratively innocent before a holy God. There is only one act of spiritual worship needed and that is to offer your body as a living, holy sacrifice through the actions of being “born again” as a child of God. John 3:3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” John 3:7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” We must trust, as we follow the truth that our bodies are becoming pure because we will not be able to understand how this has come about. King Nebuchadnezzar in one of his dreams, that Daniel interprets, in Daniel Chapter 4, gives us insight not only to the environment needed, but how the body will look as it is stripped of the old and it puts on the new. King Nebuchadnezzar has a vision of a great tree that was stripped of its physical beauty, down to the stump. We too must be stripped physical down to our stump in order for God’s Laws of nature to rebuild us back into His glory with His nature. Do you think that Christ was not taken down to His stump after 40 days of testing in the wilderness? You can see this also in King David’s life where he describes his body, in this process of transformation, as a wine skin in the smoke. Psalms 119:83 or in Psalms 102:4-6 My bones cling to my flesh, He resembles a pelican of the wilderness. (New Living Translation) Psalms 119:93 I will never forget your commands for you have used them to restore my joy and health. I am yours save me! For I have applied myself to obey your commandments. 1 John 2:3 And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying His commandments. If some says, “I belong to God, but doesn’t obey God’s commandments that person is a liar and does not live in the truth. 1 John 2:6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did. Psalms 119:73 You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands. We operate as though we engineered our bodies, and therefore, we think we can follow what seems logical, but following God’s instructions will take us beyond the barriers of our logic into His holiness. His commandments ask us to go counter to our logic because our logic is based in the physical flesh and our flesh is in control.

Jesus commands us to follow Him, but He also tells us to count the cost, because it will cost you everything. You cannot have one without giving up the other. We can be born of God on our own initiative or by default fall into God’s environment which will produce your purity. Either way, Christ will deliver you to the Father for the purpose of worship, however, one comes with a long dreadful penalty. 1 John 3:9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. It is telling us we cannot practice sin and claim to be born of God. John 1:12-13 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. You receive Christ by purifying yourself or obeying the truth and upon completion then you are given the right to become children of God. This “receiving” is not opening your mouth and confessing Christ as your savior, even though it starts there. This “receiving” can only come by way of a new birth which will be not of blood or flesh or someones will. Here, John is telling us the different ways we can be born, and it is very important we understand the distinctive ways each manifest themselves, so as not to allow Satan to deceive us. If we receive Christ by believing in His name, He gives us the right to become children of God, but should you not choose to exercise the right, you by default, have accepted your birth from a will other than God’s. Your human birth was by blood and out of your control. And being born of the will of man is not taking control of how you think or what you think, but passively allowing others to drag you into either their reality, or convince you of the reality they want for you. However, being born of the will of the flesh is the most dangerous because the flesh has the ability by giving you everything, except the abundant life, as an attempt to convince you are an angle of light. Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Genesis 3:6 … and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, … The ones that understand how God’s Laws work, but refuse to be born of the Spirit of God, are the ones who have jumped the fence into the sheep fold and appear to be feeding on the same food as the sheep. They are receiving on earth, some of the same benefits as the sheep, but they are blind to see that all their good works are not remaining in their account. There is only one gate through which access gives you the right to abundant life and that gate requires a death. The flesh must be crucified to

be born of the will of God. Satan can give you the knowledge to circumvent your covenant and still provide you what appears to be the abundance of life because he is the father of lies and the master of deception. After Elisha’s messenger instructed Naaman on his simple and practical procedure to cure his leprosy, Naaman did not want to believe it. He wanted some great and miraculous healing that would come instantaneously, and that is exactly what we expect today. We sacrifice obedience for the world’s promise of instantaneous, no matter the consequences to the body. 2 Kings 5:13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” So he went down and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. In this account of Naaman, God is clearly telling us how to become like a little child. It’s not some great feat like going back in time, it is just humbling yourself to obey and be washed by the living water. It was only the love of Naamans’ servants that kept him from making a grave mistake and passing up the blessings of obedience. It was only because there was no way out, that Naaman, in desperation, traveled to the Jordan River in Israel, which show the level of despair we all too often must fall to, before we can exhibit even the smallest amount of belief, but after obeying, his flesh became clean and there was no trouble believing. I believe it was the transformation of his flesh which gave him the ability to implement other actions of belief. This is why Naaman said to Elisha “...your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord.” Naaman was transformed when he was given the ability to believe by acting on the knowledge passed by Elisha. Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. This is an important statement. We are not destroyed in the sense that we exist no more, but refer to a shorter life span with nothing to show, even for the time we had on earth. We are going to be destroyed not because of sin, but for lack of knowledge, as it relates to the covering of sin by Christ’s blood covenant. In other words, we don’t know and therefore, are not working against that which brings on sin. In other words, we are practicing lawlessness, and are not even aware of it. You cannot practice lawlessness and have Christ’s blood covenant reconcile you to His priesthood. Luke 10:21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and have revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

Wait a minute: It is at the Father’s good pleasure that certain things were hidden which would clarify the steps necessary to see how to be that which we need to become, “little children”. We are the wise and the learned, and the sooner we accept who we are the sooner we are going realize the “things” we must see cannot be seen. The facts are you will never see the hidden things of God until you humble yourself with actions that show you understand, but I need the actions before the understanding comes. Maybe this is where faith comes into play. Psalms 25:14 The Lord confides in those who fear him; He makes his covenant known to them. No obedience, no fear. No fear, no knowledge of His covenant! Mark 4:22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out in the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. No obedience, no fear. No fear, no understanding of God’s word. You may think you can study hard and intense to find the truth of what is meant to be disclosed, and even believe you see that which you don’t, all to fulfill the Father’s good pleasure. There is no finding what God’s word says cannot be found by going through the gates of disobedience, be it in ignorance, or otherwise. Obadiah 1:8 “Will I not on that day,” declares the Lord, “Destroy wise men from Edom and understanding from the mountain of Esau?”

Chapter 15

As We Look Into God’s Word, We See an Image of What We Are We need to understand the material from which we are made and how it will govern us. Genesis 2:7 “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being.” God literally took clay and shaped us into His image, and then breathed into us a divine energy that gave us life. Just because we have life, we should not think that this privilege in some way negates or overrides the fact that we will be functioning through our fleshly bodies exactly in the same way as the soil was designed to operate. This is only the reality of being made of clay. We disobeyed Him in the garden, and because of it He said we will die. Each of us can see clearly that all are complying to His Word in this area. To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, You must not eat of it, Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of this all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you and you will eat the plants of the field.” Are women more susceptible to the subtle seducing pleasures of food? Solomon was lead astray by his wives, but it never states how. The Bible tells us that the woman is a weaker vessel, and I do not believe Christ is only talking about physical strength. Don’t misunderstand me, women are the most beautiful creatures ever made and we are commanded to love them, not that this should be a problem. However, when we marry, we become one flesh, one body, and I must know my body to properly protect my body. This curse on the ground was given by God for the punishment when Adam listened to another part of his body. A little walk in the country or growing a garden should convince you the curse is alive and well. The curse gives us thistles which only through our painful backbreaking toil, can we keep them from overtaking our food. The curse was a blessing to Adam once he had the knowledge because not only did it give them a job but directed them on what was best to eat. That’s why in Genesis 3:19 it said “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” Yes, their disobedience or sin, produced the knowledge of good and evil which ultimately would return them to the ground. If God had told them that they would die if they jumped off a cliff, then the action is just a natural outcome of going against the laws

of nature. Christ came for the body and is not going to curse His workmanship or hinder it in any way. God provided the best way for mankind to continue on after Adam made the choice that everyone of us would have made. Remember what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar when he was out in the field eating grass? Daniel 4:36 “At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were resorted to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty and surpassing greatness was added to me. We must acknowledge that it was through this act of consuming, that which was pleasant to eat, which changed how both Adam and Eve perceived their reality. They ate something and it changed how they formed their thoughts. It was through this natural human way of thinking which would take them away from the truth of God. It was no coincident that the first sin of mankind came by satisfying the desire of the flesh (the stomach) through the mouth, making this food our first offering to our greatest idol. Has anything really changed? I summit to you that it has not. God told them not to eat it but Eve thought it looked good to eat and ate it for the sake of pleasure. Therefore, it should not surprise anybody that God would tell us in His word how He plans, in the future, to remedy the problem. 1 Cor 6:13 “Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food” - but God will do away with both of them. Satan’s deception in the Garden of Eden worked perfectly and his M. O. has not changed. Satan’s plan is working perfectly and nothing is broke, but for us, it is time we wised up and stop using a fleshly theology to confront his technique. (NIV) Lev 18:25 Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. Or NASB ‘For the land has become defiled’ therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants. This shows that the land was not defiled by the curse, but by what the inhabitants did to it which caused it to become sick and vomit. Adam disobeyed God, which brought down the curse directly on the land, yet it was not this action that in any way contaminated the soil. If the soil was not defiled by the curse, then what actions caused this defilement? It was the action of disobeying God’s command to allow the land to rest one in seven. Lev 18:25 Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin. If God is going to punish the land for its sin, then the land has the ability not only to have a pure and righteous nature, but a defiled and sinful nature. What does the word nature mean in this context? Nature - 1) the quality or qualities that make something what it is; essence 2) inborn character, disposition or tendencies 3) kind; sort 4) the basic biological functions, instincts, drives, etc. 5) normal or acceptable behavior 6) the sum total of all things in the physical universe 7) the power, force, etc. that seem to regulate this.

Something in the soil has changed its biological function and now what regulates a normal and acceptable behavior, has been given over to a power that changes the nature to one of sin. God will punish the sinful nature. But you say the soil had no choice. No, it was a slave to the one who was put in charge of it. But how does this soil return to a nature of holiness? 2 Chr 36:20 He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, ... 2 Chr 36:21 The land enjoyed its Sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah. The people that were forcing the soil had been removed, and the soil did nothing for the same number of years that it missed its Sabbaths. It took a time of intense rest for the soil to return to a pure nature, from one of a defiled nature. Just like the soil had no choice, but bore the misuse of its inhabitants, our bodies have no choice, and are the slaves to bare our indiscretions. Also, we need a time of intense prolonged rest so we can return to a pure nature, for it is our nature that regulates our thoughts. We can have a power and a force which is lacking, resulting in lawlessness, or a superfluous life force which produces a character like Christ’s. The life force or power generated for our bodies is the soul responsibility of the “mitochondria”. If their numbers are dwindling, so is your righteousness. You must be in the character of Christ when you pray, otherwise this scripture is regarding you Isaiah 29:13 Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for me consists of tradition learned by rote.” Gal 5:24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Well, we all want to belong to Christ, but have we changed our nature? Like the soil we have two natures, and since we are taken from the soil, whatever has caused the soil to move away from its pure nature, will be exactly the essence of our sinful nature. We now have a picture, an understanding of what needs to be crucified and how we are going to proceed. Unbalanced land is sick soil, that has lost its ability to break down organic matter into usable nutrients, and produces food which had lost its integrity, though it looks the same. Anyone who consumes food grown on this type of soil eats food that cannot sustain the requirements of the body, even though they feel full, therefore God, in Leviticus, directs us. Lev 19:23 “ ‘And when you enter the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to

you; it shall not be eaten. But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. Whether you are in charge of the soil or your own body, disobedience to God’s directives will tear down that which sustains life. The owner gives his human body no choice but to return to him, the consequences of his actions which sabotage his digestion and / or removes his ability to utilize that which he could digest. This phenomenon which materializes, by going against God’s natural laws, cannot sufficiently sustain the requirements of the body, therefore, all parts of the body start to break down including the mind. It was not following God’s instructions, in regards to the Sabbaths, which ultimately lead to the wicked and detestable actions of its inhabitants. Not resting and consuming produce that have been sacrificed to your idol or anybody’s idol, results in pollution, and / or a lack of integrity, which works to lower your capacity to resist temptation, or lowers your proficiency to say no to ungodliness, which culminates to neutralize the teaching aspect of grace by the quenching of the Spirit. Heb 10:29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

Chapter 16

Saul and David, Two Chosen Men of God God did not want his chosen people to have a king over them, but in Israel’s plenty, they prostituted themselves and lost their ability to see God or to trust Him. So God gave them what they asked for, a King. God revealed to Samuel the man He was to anoint King over Israel. This king will be the man that will come to you to inquire the where about of some lost animals. Saul asked Samuel the directions to the prophet’s house not realizing he was talking to the very man he was seeking. After their meeting, Samuel had Saul dine with him, and stay the night. 1 Samuel 9:19 “...In the morning I will let you go and will tell you everything that is in your heart. As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desires of Israel turned, if not to you and all your father’s family?” This is a statement that seems out of place given the fact of what was told him the next day after he was anointed. I believe God was telling us that He determined many years prior, that Saul and all his fathers’ family would feed Israel on the bread of life. This time period of three days was already past, which equates to three years of sanctification. Samuel connected the sentence with the “lost donkeys” to the sentence of “all the desires of Israel” by using an “and” because they are interrelated, you cannot have one without the other. God is not going to choose a man and his family to lead and carry his chosen people who are not sanctified, for he would not be qualified. It would appear on the surface that all Samuel did was to give Saul three events that were going to take place later in the day, and would finish up by having the Holy Spirit come on him in power. The first event was to meet two men near Rachel’s tomb and they will tell him that the donkeys have been found and that your father is now worried about him, and asking what should I do about my son. Samuel had already told him yesterday that the donkeys had been found, so how and why would this be in Saul’s heart? In the last half of the first sign, we find out what is in the father’s heart, not Saul’s heart. The same observations can be made for the second and third signs as well, so how can Samuel say that this is in Saul’s heart? The Bible is demanding that we go deeper if we ever expect to reconcile what Samuel said, to what was in Saul’s heart. And if this is to be relevant to you and me today, then

Samuel must be speaking about us. We know God never changes, his motif operandi is always the same, and we expect the Spirit to manifest in us, this same power. Therefore, we who have been given the faith to believe that these three signs that were given, were fundamental principals clothed in the practical events in Saul’s life, and are the same three signs that encapsulate the desires of our hearts. Samuel foretold of them not only to Saul but to you and me. Psalms 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. As Samuel was sending Saul off, he had Saul’s servant go on ahead so he could give Saul a message from God. This message that God gave Saul through Samuel, was to be received in private, for it was personal. God has this same personal message for you and it will only be received all by yourself in the privacy of your mind, through His word. This message is timeless, practical and therefore relevant not only to Saul, but to every son of God that he has given the sight to see, the understanding to perceive, and the discipline to follow. God is looking for leaders over his inheritance. 1 Samuel 10:1 ... “Has not the Lord anointed you leader over his inheritance?” Israel’s king would be a farmer from the smallest tribe of Israel, of the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin. God picks men and women who are the least in themselves for it brings together the ingredients to return the most glory to Himself. If Jesus has given you the mind to see, the heart to follow, and the will to obey, then he is anointing you to be a leader over his inheritance. The servant has gone on ahead, it is just Samuel and Saul (God and you) and God starts to tell you all that is in your heart. 1 Samuel 10:2 When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, “What shall I do about my son?” ’ Here God is speaking to us in dark sayings or a riddle, not face to face. I believe God is telling us that after two years you will come alive to me, even though it is going to seem like you are on the outskirts of what you considered main stream of your belief. Some time after the two years, God will start revealing to you your mission, to carry the bread of life to his people. All God’s attempts to jar his people out of their complacency, within the confines of his Word, has just served to harden their hearts, so he is turning his attention to the one who will obey Him and to work out a plan for their mission. 1 Samuel 10:3 “Then you will go from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another, a skin of

wine. They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them.” You will continue on your journey until God is speaking to you face to face and not in riddles (Num 12:8) or anything else. I believe that God is directing us to abstain from eating meat or drink anything that is fermented for three years on our way up to meet him. Isaiah 22:12-14 Therefore in that day the Lord God of host, called you to weeping, to wailing, to shaving the head, and to wearing sackcloth. Instead, there is gaiety and gladness, killing of cattle and sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we may die.” But the Lord of host revealed Himself to me, “Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you until you die,” says the Lord God of host. That leaves you eating only two loaves of bread over three years. That means that one third of your food throughout these three years must come from feeding on the Bread of Life. I believe that after two years of this self imposed siege, your mind will be at a point in rejuvenation, which will allow you to start seeing him face to face. Isaiah 30:20 Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. And your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. 1 Samuel 10:15 After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, tambourines, flutes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you. After that, which is to say, after the two years of meeting with God, he will put a new song in your heart, for you will understand the goodness of God. He will start showing you the place where you are to carry out His mission, located somewhere in the body where the enemy has an outpost. After completion of your third year, you go in faith, you will join the procession of prophets who have prophesied before you, that have orchestrated sweet music to the Lord. At the end of your third year, the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in POWER and you will prophesy, because the purity of your flesh and blood has changed the physics of your body to that of a holy person. Once you have gone through the process, God is with you whatever your hands find to do. After three years, you will be a holy man of God, producing fruit that pleases Him.

So what are the desires of the heart of every child of God but to: Come alive to God through purification, speak to him face to face to receive your mission and to move out in the power of the Spirit, to take victory after victory. But you say it did not take Saul three years before he received power. 1 Samuel 10:9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. This was a physical event that happened in time but it is also a picture of what was in Saul’s heart. God foreknew, and I believe God ordained that the life style of Saul at this time, was one that had his temple pure and was ready to receive. This is also a picture of what must be in everyone’s heart that has given their life to Christ and is longing to move in the power of the Spirit of God. For Saul all these signs were literally fulfilled in his body by the power of God in that 24 hour period, but the riddle of Saul’s life was given to the reader to solve, understand and to follow, so that we can be changed into a different person regardless of the time. There is no doubt that Saul at this point in his life was in the center of God’s will, having been changed by the receiving of the power of the Holy Spirit and given the directive to do whatever your hand finds to do because “God is with you”. We too can, and will be, in the center of God’s will, if we are intentional about endorsing the truth in this riddle. The question becomes: How could someone like Saul experience this close intimate fellowship with the Creator, yet still be fooled into taking actions that would remove him from this relationship? We need to understand, for it is in the understanding that we can grasp the gravid (grave danger) in compromising the little acts of obedience, which leads us out of the will of God and onto big acts of disobedience. Samuel gives the warning: 1 Samuel 12:14 “If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God - good! But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers. It would seem clear enough, but Saul needed to study his forefather’s history, and then he would have discovered that they in fact, only thought they were careful to keep all God’s commandments and laws. The puzzling problem that Saul needed so desperately answered was: Why did their fathers think they were obeying when in fact they were not? For him to continue on and accept this kingship without understanding what placed him there, is to continue in ignorance and just hope not to fall out of God’s will. 1 Samuel 12:25 Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be

swept away. Samuel was telling them that they were doing evil right now and if you do not turn you will be swept away. All the fathers down through the ages were thinking they were following what God demanded. These thoughts that were deceiving them were originating in their minds, therefore, it must have everything to do with the mind. It must be, if the mind is not functioning properly, it leads us to act on thoughts that go against God and we will not even know that we are. And so the puzzle continues today, if I do the same things that my fathers did, I will end up in their same position before God? If the Lord is going to hold us accountable for our thoughts, then our thoughts have the ability to reveal whether we are in the pretense of Jesus or rather in the character of Christ. So what thoughts would speak boldly against the character of Christ? Did Christ say, I want what I see the others in authority having, or I will not drink this cup the Father has prepared for me, for who else has been asked to bare such a load? Christ’s character would never allow thoughts of comparison to root in His mind or allow Satan, through someone else, to plant thoughts of comparison. Saul was jealous of David because thoughts of comparison were able to take root in his mind. Thoughts of comparison were signaling Saul that he had moved out of the character of Christ and away from God. Thoughts of comparison are not the only thoughts which can tip you off that you are not in Jesus’ name, but they are, most certainly, one of the most seductive types of thoughts which can take root even in the most unfertile state of mind. Let us look into Saul’s account and see if this theory holds any water. Only the prophet Samuel was to make the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord and Saul knew it. 1 Samuel 13:9 ...And Saul offered up the burn offerings. Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him. “What have you done?” asked Samuel. Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash, I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.” “You have acted foolishly,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.” He knew the clear directives God had laid down for these offerings and when the time of testing came, his mind went into the mode of rationalizing and computed actions that he knew went against God. To lose his men was a disgrace and was shaming him as their leader. The flesh cannot stand to be humbled, and if the flesh is in control, it will always produce action from pride. Pro 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

Saul was leaning on his own understanding. Pride comes before a fall and Samuel was not long in his arrival or his announcement to Saul. Saul continues to show what is in his heart as he places his army under an oath saying: “Cursed be any man who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” This was a serious matter which immediately required God’s participation and put his army in a needless disadvantage on the battlefield. Saul’s son Jonathan, not knowing, eats some honey and through his bravery, God brings about a great deliverance for Israel. This attitude of pride lost him the kingdom and would have taken his very son, Jonathan, if not for the men. This attitude of arrogance does not come from God so where did it originate and how did it come to be in control? After Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men, in an area of about half an acre, something changed in the minds of the Philistines. 1 Samuel 14:15 Then panic struck the whole army - those in the camp and fields, and those in the outpost and raiding parties - and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God. This same phenomenon which was working against Saul was working for him in the army of the Philistines. What was going on in the mind of Saul was going on in the minds of the Philistines. One man’s act of faith started a land slide of doubt. The battle was won in the mind, and with regards to the Philistines, was lost in the mind. The same reality holds true today, the question is: “Do you want to have truth working for you or against you?” Romans 11:7-8 What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; just as it is written, “GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY.” What is this “spirit of stupor” and how does it practically come upon you? The dictionary’s definition of “stupor” is: 1. a state in which the mind and senses are so dulled, as by a drug that one can barely think, act, feel, etc. 2. Mental or moral dullness. God does not wave his hand and suddenly this evil spirit comes upon you. No, it is in your choosing to disobey His laws that govern, which creates in you a posture where by even witnessing Truth in action does not register, and reading the word of God does not register. The reality of this truth has not dissipated over time and neither has our understanding come to the level required to over come. Samuel directs Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites and not to spare any living thing or anything that belongs to them. 1 Samuel 15:9 But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs - everything that was good.

Here we see a further degenerating of Saul’s condition, not only did he directly disobey God but he went to Carmel to set up a monument in his own honor. If you are not faithful in the little things, you will not be ready when it comes time to be faithful in the big things. Therefore, if you take care of the little things, the big things will take care of themselves. This meeting where God confronted Saul through Samuel took place at Gilgal. (Sam 15:12) When Samuel questions Saul on his actions, we see him using the same deception on Samuel that caused him to disobey. Samuel is not fooled by Saul’s attempts to justify his actions and quickly sets him straight in this reply 1 Samuel 15:22 But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” If you are going to reject a direct command from God on a specific issue that the result can and will be plainly seen, how much more over the standing commandments that the consequence cannot readily be seen. This comes sharply into focus in Sam 14:33 when it was someone other than Saul that recognized the men were sinning against the Lord by eating meat that has blood in it. Any time you persist in rejecting the clear word of the Lord, you can expect him to remove the power of his Spirit and give you over to a spirit of evil. 1 Samuel 16:14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. 1 Samuel 16:23 Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him. This spirit was inside him and it was hurting him by affecting his mind, which caused a departure from what is right and true. Samuel had already anointed David as king, but David was still out attending his father’s sheep when Saul sent for him to play the harp to sooth his evil spirit. Jesse, David’s father sends back with Saul’s attendance, a gift for honoring his son, as Saul asked for David to play music for him. The gift that is recorded here is no coincidence, and like every word God writes, it has something to communicate. 1 Samuel 16:20 So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul. As we compare the picture of how the power of the Spirit arrived on Saul, to the picture God gives us as he ushers in David, Saul’s replacement, we are given insight as to why this man failed. It is important to gain this knowledge, so we can avoid these same actions that destroyed Saul’s fellowship with God. Saul’s subjects were giving gifts that

they knew the king would enjoy, the very things the Lord removed to consecrate him. We know that the Spirit of the Lord left him, but it was the actions on Saul’s part which brought about this evil spirit. It is not a matter of one or the other, but being careful to keep the proper balance. I believe that God’s word is showing us that it is the actions on our part, which will either inhibit and / or drive away the power of the Spirit, or invite and sustain the power of the Spirit in our lives. How fast you can flop back and forth only God knows, because you are unique, but it is either one or the other. Saul was catering to his flesh, and was consuming meat and wines as entertainment, which ultimately robbed him of the privilege of delivering the Bread of Life to Israel; he became pregnant with evil, conceived trouble and gave birth to disillusionment. Isaiah 22:12-13 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth. But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating meat and drinking wine! “Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die!” When the fear of the Lord is subdued, the flesh will always revel. After David slew Goliath he became the object of Saul’s wrath which shows the fatalness of Saul’s thinking. 1 Samuel 18:10 The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice. Don’t become confused when you read that this evil spirit was from the Lord for His word tells us in: Romans 1:28 Since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind; to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. Saul sinks further into depravity, as hunting David for years was not enough, he turned to the witch of Endor to call up Samuel, that he might inquire about the pending battle that made him afraid and filled his heart with terror. 1 Samuel 28:16 Samuel said to Saul, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has turned away from you and become your enemy? ... The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors - to David. Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the

Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today. The Lord will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Saul’s actions of disobedience not only turn the Lord away, but made Him his enemy. Saul went from a nobody to the center of God’s will, to become God’s enemy all through his own actions, because he was ignorant of what God demands of us all. Here was a branch from God’s chosen people who was broken off and ran out of time to understand how he could be grafted back in again. When Samuel came and delivered God’s rebuke to Saul, He was also addressing all of Israel. What took place through this disobedience was a monumental moment in history, not only for Saul and his men, but speaks directly to anyone who will not follow God’s instructions and put to death all that the Amalekites represent. Hosea 9:15-16 All their evil is at Gilgal; indeed, I came to hate them there! Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house! I will love them no more; all their princes are rebels. Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, they will bear no fruit. Even though they bear children, I will slay the precious ones of their womb. The book of Hosea is a book on the future times and God is directing these writings to the people in the future. Each of us will have or has had our own spot called Gilgal, the question is: Will God, or did God come to hate us there. Gilgal was a place in time where most of God’s people crossed over to follow wickedness and as a result cast-thedye for all generations to come. Each generation through ignorance will teach and instruct their children in the ways of wickedness. The princesses will not know that their deeds will and are going against the very laws of health and vitality, and as a result their offspring will be instructed in the way of death. David in contrast, was a man after God’s own heart. 1 Samuel 16:12 ...Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power. David becomes Saul’s musician and friend. Eliab, David’s oldest brother, attacks his character when he inquires about Goliath saying “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” I find it quite interesting that the word to describe where David was pasturing the flock was “desert”, the same place where God taught obedience and purified the flock of Israel and where Jesus went to learn obedience through suffering. It was not that Jesus was ever disobedient, but I believe that God, his Father, was

preparing him to obey to an extent he had never before experienced, to accomplish his mission. Heb 5:8 Although He was a son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him... Perseverance in and through suffering brings about and teaches obedience to perfect holiness. It was after He was made perfect in the desert that he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him. I thought it was for all those who believe in His name, had eternal life. Now this scripture is telling me it is exclusive for the ones who obey and that Jesus only becomes the source of eternal life. This scripture is giving us the definition of believing, and if you come to Him by obedience you can access the source of eternal salvation with life and honor. I believe David’s choice to suffer in the desert also taught him obedience and positioned him to receive God’s best. Also, you can be sure when you are in the will of God, Satan will find somebody close to you who he can use to attack your character, and accuse you in the area where you are most devoted and reveals the area where he is lacking. God empowers David to kill Goliath and rewards his faithfulness with success in whatever Saul gives him to do, to the point where Saul gave him a high rank in the army. However, this same jealousy which turned his brothers against him on the battle field, is now going to work on King Saul. When Saul hears the women of the towns singing and dancing saying, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands” he became indigent. The next day Saul tries to kill David with a spear, as the spirit of jealous takes control. Because of the attempts on his life, David leaves and spends the next ten years on the run, finally settling down with his men in Gath, in the land of the Philistines. David gains the confidence of the King of Gath by lying to his son, Achish, about where, and who he was raiding, but on his way up to fight against Israel, the Generals of Gath refused his services. We find David arrives back at Ziklag, where all their families had been attacked and carried off by the Amalekites, the very peoples that God asked Saul to completely destroy, one of the two reasons given why Saul lost the kingdom. David, after weeping aloud until he had no more strength, turns to the Lord where he finds strength, and immediately inquires of the Lord on what to do. “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” He answered, “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.” David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled. Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. Here we see David doing his best to completely destroy the Amalekites but four hundred manage to escape. Does it not seem strange that the four hundred men rode off with no plunder? Who are these Amalekites that keep slipping away and what do they represent for us, that God wants them completely destroyed, that cost Saul his kingship, and who is

continually warring against Israel? To understand what went wrong in Saul’s life and to be on guard in our own life we need to know who these people are. These peoples first come on the scene in the latter part of Exodus 17. Why the latter? Because God is showing us that we need to relate to them in the same way we are to relate to the first part of 17. In the first part of 17, we find the people of Israel traveling in the desert and becoming thirsty to the point of violence. God instructs Moses to take his staff and (verse 6) “...Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” A rock has got to be the last place you would expect water to flow from, but is this not in keeping with God’s character? If your level of faith only allows you to perceive the physical happenings of God supplying water to His people in a dry land, then that will be the only level that God can meet your needs on. We need not stop at this level, nor did God expect us to, for through Paul in: 1 Cor 10:1-5 We read: For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. That rock was a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, and all who fall on this rock will receive salvation from death or have eternal life. That water is a picture of what he freely gives forth, grace to live the abundant life, and to drink of this water is to receive all the promises His word speaks of. Once I ask Christ to come into my life and take away my sin, I have fallen on that rock and have entered into a covenant to salvage my life work. This covenant is to secure my salvation with eternal life, as the drinking of this water meets the conditions of His covenant. The abundant life encompasses all the blessing of God, and becomes a by-product of the action. Therefore, I had better learn what it means to drink the water, if I don’t want my body to be one of them who were scattered all over the desert. My hope is we can all see very clearly that the rock and the water were and are, telling us so much more than a first read may have revealed, and now we have become aware that our abundant life is not secured. If in this first half of this Chapter 17, God tells me what is not secure. Would it not make sense that He would focus the last part of this chapter on what I am up against, that could rob me of my security? Likewise, the second half of this chapter is also going to

reveal to us so much more than just “a people” that the Israelites are battling with. These Amalekites are trying to kill them, to stop them from entering the promise land. We find in verse 11: As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up, one on one side and one on the other, so that his hands remained steady till sunset. God is telling us that there is nothing we are going to do to win the battle, unless we can see God’s man who will have his hands held high towards heaven. Moses is a fore shadow of Jesus Christ, and just as something had to hold up Moses’ hands, so the same was for Christ. John 12:32 Jesus said “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” Psalms 37:23 If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. Jesus went to the cross where they lifted him up on a hill, with his hands nailed upwards to heaven. Psalms 118:16 The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things! Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you with my righteous right hand. There is only one thing which is blocking our path to the promised land and we are in fight to the death. There’s no negotiating a peace treaty, if we fail to kill the flesh, Make no mistake, the flesh will kill us. As we’re in the valley warring against our flesh, we are instructed not to fear, or be dismayed. We have God’s assurance that he will strengthen us, because he has lifted his Son high on a hill, with his righteous right hand extended towards heaven, personally on my behalf. My responsibility is to look up and receive his strength by faith. (NIV) 1 Chr 29:12 ...In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. (NASB) 1 Chr 29:12 “Both riches and honor come from Thee, and Thou dost rule over all, and in Thy hand is power and might; and it lies in Thy hand to make great, and to strengthen everyone.”

His uplifted hands give me the ability to receive the victory over that which wars against me and keeps me from the abundant life and the promised land. The Bible tells me that it is my flesh that keeps warring against my spirit. Gal 5:17 For the flesh set its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. The Amalekites are a picture which represents our flesh, something that is always vulnerable to Satan’s temptations that are at the least trying to block me from God’s best, and at the greatest, trying to kill me. Romans 8:6-8 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile towards God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. It is through the defeating of the flesh that peace is established in us and with God. Christ made available His unmerited favor to everyone who will accept it by faith, because without gaining access to His grace, the victory over your flesh is impossible. Utilizing this faith is in the moving out, because His hands were held high for me (grace), to give me the will to believe in His strength to seize my flesh by the neck and run it through with the word of God. We now have accomplished that which must be achieved by faith to enjoy peace with God. With the flesh subdued, grace can go on to teach you to say no to ungodliness, as it continues to supply the strength. So Joshua overcame the Amalekites army with the sword. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my banner. He said, “For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord. The Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.” God is going to be at war with the flesh until the flesh is done away with. These Amalekites will only be put to death as the Spirit leads us to exercise the Word of God, through the strength we receive as we keep our eyes fixed on the uplifted hands of Jesus. This method of defeating them must be recorded and passed on because the Lord will be at war against them from generation to generation, until the day God completely

blots out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. We needed to take a little side track off to further prove and grasp how these Amalekites operate, so we can be certain of what is needed to appropriate the knowledge to overcome. The revealed truth coming from the lives of Saul and David is invaluable in our understanding of what we’re up against. In other words, we know where we want to end up, that is in victory over them, but what are the practical steps in accomplishing such a thing? David has returned just two days prior from defeating the Amalekites, when a man brings him news that Saul and Jonathan have been killed on Mount Gilboa. David questioned the man about his report. 2 Samuel 1:5 ...“How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and riders almost upon him. When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and said, ‘Who are you?’ “ ‘An Amalekite,’ I answered. “Then he said to me, ‘Stand over me and kill me! I am in the throes of death, but I am still alive.’ “So I stood over him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my Lord.” Saul was most certainly fighting the Lords’ enemies, but the problem was, he was doing it outside of the blessings of God, and that force is in the power of the flesh. We know the details surrounding Saul’s death in: 1 Samuel 31:4 He asked his armor-bearer to run him through but his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. Both accounts of Saul’s death must be true, for if one of these two men were giving false testimony, God would have informed us, because he does not leave it up to the reader to decide who is lying and who is telling the truth. But it appears there is a clear contradiction in the word of God, for how can Saul die at his own hands yet have this Amalekite run him through. The Bible scholars consider this second report a lie, and should you follow them you will maintain the statuesque and go nowhere. Saul was still alive, even though his flesh had him in the throes of death long before this battle, and now God in this picture is pulling back the curtains and showing us the behind scenes of how and why he died. Both these accounts on Saul’s death are true. These Amalekites represent a picture of what is going on inside of each of us, this warring between our flesh and our spirit. God is confirming what He has shown us earlier, compromise with the flesh pollutes God’s Holy Temple and a polluted temple will digress to the point where one day it will destroy you, robbing you of your crown. You may ask “Why do I want to persevere against my

flesh just to keep my crown?” Rev 3:11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. If you overcome, you will be worthy to continually be in God’s presences as someone who is holding up God’s temple. Overcoming of what? Overcoming the flesh, to be in a state of health, to survive the test / cleansing of the Great Tribulation period; that is, you were able to live through it to finish and make ready to be received. After David mourned and wept and fasted for Saul, and the armies of the Lord, he was quick to recognize who this man was and would not be swayed by his gift or his smooth talk. 2 Samuel 1:15 Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died. For David has said to him, “Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’ ” Everyone who considers themselves to be the Lord’s anointed or not, needs to understand the flesh is working to kill you. Therefore, without believing, that is taking action that employs the truth, the flesh will be successful; it is just a matter of time. When time has worked with the flesh to position you in the throes of death, Satan will be there to claim the victory over God’s temple. The Spirit of God working through your spirit would have given you many more years of fulfilling life that would have accomplished your Godly mission. David becomes King 2 Samuel 5:4 David was 30 years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. David did what was right and just, for all of Israel and God gave him rest from all his enemies. God knew David’s heart, that is to say, his heart was pliable, and his spirit was humble and submissive. God sovereignty always places the right man in the right place at the right time, when He chooses to make a new covenant. 2 Samuel 7:15 “But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.” Saul had this same opportunity, if only he would have been obedient in the small directives because these small things robbed him of the ability to be faithful in the bigger things. Saul’s actions sowed what he did not want to reap. This new promise made to David only, guarantees that David will have a blood offspring on the throne, and does

not exempt him or them from suffering the consequences of their actions. 2 Samuel 7:14 “I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Remember, and keep in mind, that God uses men to inflict punishment on His sons to whom He loves, which is exactly what is going to happen on the Day of Judgment. We know that God does not show favoritism, so there must be some actions on David’s part that has allowed him to conduct his affairs in such away that God can refer to him “As the apple of my eye” or “A man after my own heart”. In Genesis, when God was directing us on what is best, regarding a wife, he states “the two shall become one flesh” not the many shall become one flesh. But we see that in: 2 Samuel 5:13 After He left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him. He went directly against God’s command and one of his wives, Bathsheba was a married woman. He saw her bathing from the top of the palace, where he gave into his flesh and committed adultery. When Nathan brought this to David’s attention in: 2 Samuel 12:7 “...I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hands of Saul. I gave you your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been to little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. Here is this word “Why” again. God is directing us to answer the question of, “Why did he do this evil?” If God brings up the question, then you know the question is important to answer and He is going to give us the answer somewhere because the answer is at the heart of the matter. Even though David was quick to tell Nathan that he had sinned against the Lord, it did not resolve him of the sentence handed down by God, which was that, ...the sword will never depart from your house and ... you did it in secret, but I will do this in broad daylight ... Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.” David had faith, that is, he believed that God was going to take away his sin and we can see the Lord did, but the actions had severe repercussions to his son and his kingdom. Anytime our action brings disgrace to our Lord and cause people to act in the same contemptible manner that we have, you can expect for God to withhold his blessings.

We, like David, don’t keep busy in the evening with the things of God, so in this time we look for ways to satisfy the desires of the flesh. For most of us it is eating and watching TV and both could be acts of adultery. Now that we are not going to die for our sins, we have allowed our flesh to reinterpret God’s word; in an attempt to hide our disgrace, as to deceive us into thinking what is happening to us is still the abundant life. Therefore, the onlookers to our lives are showing the same utter contempt, because we have rationalized a way, what was design to be the clear results from our actions. We have in effect, erased our witness for the ones who would follow us. Therefore, you can imagine the terrible state David would have been in if there was no one like Nathan to jar him out of his delusive justification. But where is our “Nathan”, which will speak God’s word so we can get off this merry-goround? Your whole life could go by and you may think you are experiencing the blessing of the Lord, but in fact you are not. Each time David sent his army out to do battle he knew why, and if Nathan had not brought it to his attention, his flesh would have had deceived him into thinking that this was normal. This same fighting will never leave our house and the people in our influence will be emboldened to take our shame to greater levels. The Lord struck the child and he became ill. (Verse 16) David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent nights lying on the ground. David humbled himself through the seventh day until the child died. We need to follow these actions David displayed in petitioning God, so our children might live. The Psalms gives us great insight not only into to the heart and actions of David, but into the mind of God. God wrote through David and others 150 Psalms that give us insight and understanding to know His mind and His will. If this was not His mind or will, these writings would not have been preserved and placed in His Holy Word. Acts 10:34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” The question becomes: If God does not show favoritism, but is only faithful to His word, then what action of obedience positioned David to receive the mind of God? And if I know and repeat these same actions, it should place me in the same position that is, having the mind of God. I believe the action that sets David apart and is consistent with scripture is found in Psalms 109:24 which reads: “My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt. I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads. Psalms 119:83 Though I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget thy statutes. Psalms 69:8-10 I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own mother’s sons;

for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me. When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn; The manifestation of this reality, that David had this consuming passion for the house of God, was expressed externally through having the mind of God and also that Christ was giving us a picture of what took place in David’s weeping and fasting. In John 2:17 Jesus’ disciples equated the clearing of the temple by Jesus, to David’s exact words “Zeal for your house will consume me.” This not only confirms that David had the mind of God but that Christ was giving us a picture of what took place in David’s body so he could have this mind of God. Jesus wants to clear everyone’s temple because he wants everyone to have the mind of God, for to see Him as He is, is to worship Him as He wants. The question becomes what happened in David’s life that brought him to the point where he had the mind of God? In Psalms, Chapter 35, Verse 13-14, we see the actions of David when the people around him were sick. Psalms 35:13-14 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer kept returning to my bosom. I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother. This clothing of sackcloth took the form and became the action of denying himself food, which humbled his soul before God. This sackcloth produced prays for these people around him that were not very close to him, which were dying, but to no avail. The people around him that witnessed his actions saw no results, and therefore, became indignant rather than convicted. In the people’s eyes, David’s actions only served to enflame them because his actions seemed to only testify against their perceived righteousness. David’s actions were heaping burning coals on their heads, not only by his actions, but by his confident position that God will deliver. David now becomes sick. Psalms 35:15-16 But at my stumbling they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together; the smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me, they slandered me without ceasing. Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed at me with their teeth. These people who David had been witnessing to about sickness have now become Satan’s tools, to slander him now that he has become sick. Psalms 35:21 And they opened their mouths wide against me; they said, “Aha! Aha! Our eyes have seen it.”

David’s sickness is described in Psalms 38:3-10 There is no soundness in my flesh because of Thine indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities are gone over my head; as heavy burden they weigh too much for me. My wounds grow foul and fester. Because of my folly, I am bent over and greatly bowed down; I go mourning all day long. For my loins are filled with burning; and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am benumbed and badly crushed; I groan because of the agitation of my heart. Lord, all my desire is before Thee; and my sighing is not hidden from Thee. My heart throbs, my strength fails me; and the light of my eyes, even that has gone from me. Keep in mind that lawlessness had been building for some time in David’s life and most certainly was responsible for his actions regarding Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba. But David does not stray from his conviction or God’s promises, even though the evident in his actions of the past would run contrary. David express in Psalms, Chapter 41:1-3 his continuing faith and belief in the laws of God. Psalms 41:1-3 How blessed is he who considers the helpless; the Lord will deliver him in a day of trouble. The Lord will protect him, and keep him alive, and he shall be called blessed upon the earth; and do not give him over to the desires of his enemies. The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed; in his illness, Thou dost restore him to health. This truth from David’s mouth even makes his close friends taunt him by asking him, “Where is his God?” Psalms 41:7-10 All who hate me whisper together against me; against me they devise my hurt, saying, “A wicked thing is poured out upon him, that when he lies down, he will not rise up again. Even my close friends, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. But Thou, O Lord, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them. David shows us his course of action in Chapter 42:3, even though his friends taunt him by asking him where his God is. Psalms 42:3-4 My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God. With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. David is remembering the past where he lead his people to the house of God for thanksgiving and pray, and to study the word and glean the truth from the scriptures. This truth that he believed would heal them and set them free. The puzzling question was: “Why were they not experiencing the transformation that the word of God promises?”

If David had of known the answer to this riddle, he would have a better chance of not stumbling and becoming sick, but he was human and lacked the power of Love to overcome his flesh. David was weak like most people are, and now finds himself in the same position as all the other people he had fasted and prayed for, that had died. It was now time for his faith to be tested, to find out for himself what he believed, and because of what he preached to others, and his deep commitment to God’s word, he would stay the course and if need be, will die, trying to lead the way. The fact that all were abandoning him and slandering his devotion to the word, only served to remove everything, except the love of God to draw close to. Psalms 38:11-22 My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague; and my kinsmen stand afar off. Those who seek my life lay snares for me; and who seek to injure me have threatened destruction, and they devise treachery all day long. But I like a deaf man do not hear; and in whose mouths are no arguments. For I hope in Thee, O Lord; Thou wilt answer, O Lord my God. For I said, “May they not rejoice over me, who, when my foot slips, would magnify themselves against me.” For I am ready to fall, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I confess my iniquity; I am full of anxiety because of my sin. But my enemies are vigorous and strong; and many are those who hate me wrongfully. And those who repay evil for good. They oppose me, because I follow what is good. Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, do not be far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation! This time for speaking is over, now is David’s time for action and he will take no prisoners with his flesh. Psalms 102:4-11 My heart has been smitten like grass and has withered away, indeed, I forget to eat my bread. Because of the loudness of my groaning My bones cling to my flesh. I resemble a pelican of the wilderness; I have become like an owl of the waste places. I lie awake, I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop. My enemies have reproached me all day long; those who deride me have used my name as a curse. For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping, because of Thine indignation and Thy wrath; for Thou hast lifted me up and cast me away. My days are like a lengthened shadow; and I wither away like grass. God restores David and He put to music this riddle on the harp, the very same riddle that was spoken about in: Numbers 12:8 “Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household; With him I speak mouth to mouth, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds the form of the Lord. … Psalms 49:3-4 My mouth will speak wisdom; and the meditation of my heart will be understanding. I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle on the

harp. But what is this riddle David puts forth, a conundrum to be unraveled? The riddle is to understand that we are missing a pivotal piece in the puzzle and to point us to clues to solving the mystery of God as it relates to righteousness and holiness. Psalms 69:22-25 May the table set before them become a snare; may it become retribution and a trap. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever. Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger overtake them. May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents. There is only one thing that can be on this table that would darken their eyes and stiffen their bones so their backs are bent forever, and that would be an abundance of food and drink, holy or defiled, followed by many irresistible deserts. Luke 11:34 “The lamp of your body is your eye; when the eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness.” Remember, David, when writing these Psalms, had the mind of Christ. Therefore, anybody who went against God’s laws, whether they sat at his table or the table of his enemies, would subject themselves to the slowly tightening noose of the snare and receive this retribution. Psalms 103:2-5 Praise the Lord O my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord is not only going to forgive all my sin but heal all my diseases and continue until my youth is renewed like the eagles. If God does not heal all your diseases, neither are you redeemed from the pit, nor crowned, or satisfied to the point your youth is renewed like an eagle. This is not my words, these are God’s words! Psalms 106:13-14 David points out what happened to the children of Israel after they crossed the Red Sea. But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel. In the desert they gave into their cravings; in the waste land they put God to the test. If we give into our cravings, we will put God to the test and this is what he is saying to us: They defiled themselves by what they did; by their deeds they prostituted themselves. This act that God calls prostitution is not a sexual act in the sense of intercourse between male and female, but rather succumbing to and allowing the cravings for food to go unchecked or unbridled.

Chapter 17

Hardening of the Heart Eph 4:17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. When we conduct our physical lives with little to no difference than that of the Gentiles around us, we too become subject to futility of thinking. Thinking comes out of the mind. Futility means, fruitlessness, uselessness and ineffectiveness of our thinking. It is easier after years of thinking to look back and assess whether your life has fallen victim to futility of thinking. Hardening of the heart darkens the understanding, but of greater significance is the fact it separates them and us from the life of God. Don’t be persuaded to think that only nonChristians can suffer from the effects of hardening of the heart. In the early stages of Jesus’ disciples, this law was at work in them. You will see the effects that this law had on His disciples, so don’t be under any allusions. It will, if given the opportunity, go to work in you. Mark 6:48 Jesus saw his disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the forth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake they thought he was a ghost. “If you do not process your encounters, you may not see the next encounter.” quote from Dr. Henry Blackaby. Mark 6:51 They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. Jesus just finished the feeding of the five thousand and he understood that He needed to go immediately to the Father in prayer to process what just happened. The disciples on the other hand got caught up in life’s problems and did not know to take the time to ask the Father what this feeding meant to them. The same thing that blocked them from knowing to ask the Father, the significance of this miracle, is the same thing that would keep them from understanding the answer. Even if they would have asked, they could not comprehend the answer until the mind changed in their futility of their thinking. Only after this mind change came, did they understand and could see the meaning of the loaves and fishes relative to God’s mission for them. Without recognizing your need to process your encounters through a mind that is not obstructed, your inescapable result is a harder heart. Miracles are displaying God’s

goodness to us, but likewise they are communicating something personal that God wants to tell us, which can only be revealed to us through the Holy Spirit. A hardened heart is just a mind that is not tender towards the things of God. Matt 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” People of little faith are susceptible to hardening of the heart and very few in this category will overcome. The longer people live in this realm of little faith, the harder and harder it will become to ever move beyond their reality. Little children will never have a problem with hardening of the heart, just like they will never have a problem with believing. Little children have no boundaries on their reality, and this is one of the attributes God wants for each of us. Faith is a confidence which proceeds from a body to the degree that body is pure. When Moses went to Egypt to bring out Israel, Pharaoh stood in his way. After many miracles the only thing that happened is the king’s heart was hardened. How and why did his heart become hardened? If miracles give you the ability to believe, this man should have been at the peak of his capacity to believe. And even after his only son was taken along with the first born in the land, by his own words, did he still choose not to understand who he was up against and humble himself, and repent? His heart was so hard it blinded him from reality and the ability to think rationally. Anybody that would order his armies to go after God’s people after such a display of power must be considered out of his mind. What caused the most powerful man in the world to act in a manor that clearly shows he is out of his mind? Heb 13:9 Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace not by foods, through which those who were thus occupied were not benefited. And the real question for us today is: Is there any way that my actions could some how line up with Pharaohs’, and thereby cause me to believe as he did? Is God warning me to avoid conducting myself in the same manner as Pharaoh, when he cautions us about when we sit and dine with a ruler? Pro 23:1-3 When you sit down to dine with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you; And put a knife to your throat, If you are a man of great appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, For that food is deceptive. To deceive means to ensnare, to make a person believe what is not true; mislead. Pineapples used to be reserved for Kings, but now this fruit is so plentiful it has become common for all, likewise all the thousands of other exotic fruits and plants from around

the world. The banquets and smorgasbords of today would put any of the early king’s tables to shame on taste or variety, and who could resist and not be seduced by all the wonderful looking foods and dainty delicacies. Pr18:7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin, And his lips are the snare of his soul. It is usually only after the heat of the orgy is over that a small reality of what was done to your body becomes evident. The heaviness in the stomach, the bloating and foul gas but next week we line up to repeat the debauchery. Do you think our actions could be compared to a dog that keeps returning to his vomit? The poisonous cocktails that we cook up as a result of our uncontrolled lusting is showing no respect for Christ’s body or displaying His wonderful works in our engineering. These chemicals can hold you under their powers to do what you ought not to do. God knew that controlling our desire for these tastes would take a most provocative picture to have any hope of alerting us to the pending dangers. Obadiah 1:7-8 Your bread will set an ambush for you. (There is no understanding in him.) “Will I not on that day,” declares the Lord, “Destroy wise men from Edom and understanding from the mountain of Esau?” (NASB) Luke 21:34 (Jesus speaking) “Be on your guard, that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.” “But keep on the alert at all times, praying in order to have the strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” There are several realities of living, which have the potential to impede the function of the inner man, to a point where he is not cognition of the signs of the times, and therefore, makes no provisions to avoid the reality. Drunkenness or excess of wine, are obvious threats and the worries of life produce only stress, but the one which we have all seemed to disregard completely is this word “dissipation”. Dissipation has the number 2897 for the reference in the Greek Dictionary, which states; properly a headache (as a seizure of pain) from drunkenness, ie. (by implication) a debauch (by analogy a glut): - surfeiting. Surfeiting means; an indulging in too much food, drink, etc… In the dictionary the definition of dissipation is; to indulge in pleasure to the point of harming oneself. In his word dissipation, Jesus is warning us to be on guard and not allow ourselves to indulge in the pleasures of over eating because it will blind us and rob us of everything that is good. This is not what we think is overeating, but what God’s word tells us is eating that causes evil. A poor man, of little means, will not have the money to indulge his desire to eat. He rations his food as to sustain his life not to use it as pleasure. The probability of being seduced by variety or abundance is greater to though who have the exposable recourses. Don’t let the great taste and all the wonderful combinations of all these

foods seduce you. Your appetite is always going to lust for more, but don’t think when you give in you are getting something good, for these actions propagate evil that will rob God of worship as it hardens your heart. Pro 30:20 This is the way of an adulteress: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’ It is interesting that God’s word here says nothing about sexual intercourse outside of marriage in describing His adulteress. The question is: Do we have the eyes to see the correlation God is making and the foresight to redeploy this epiphany in the reading of His word? Hosea 2:5 For their mother has played the harlot; She who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, “I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.” Most, if not all of us, have been raised by parents who have played the harlot and now we are raising our children to go after that which we have been conditioned to desire. Is this why the sins of the father are visited to the fourth and fifth generation? Jer 9:14 …walked after the stubbornness of their hearts and the Baals, as their father taught them. Hosea 2:11 “I will also put and end to all her gaiety, her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbath, and all her festal assemblies. And I will destroy her vines and fig trees, of which she said, ‘These are my wages which my lovers have given me.’ ” Why would God want to put an end to all our joviality, our banquets, Thanksgivings, our Sunday dinners, Christmas’ and New Years celebrations? God is going to take away our food and drink to put an end to our shameful surfeiting. Change the circumstances in the situation where she would normally resort to harlotry and there becomes nothing to seduce her. In other words, remove all her festal assembles by placing her in the house of mourning and remove the object that is the reason for her gaiety, namely food, and time may bring her to understanding that she was playing the harlot. Stop paying the harlot, and she stops being the harlot.

Chapter 18

Same Actions Give Way to Same Results Lev 18:28 And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out. God is telling them and us that if you treat the land in the same fashion as the nations before you, you can expect the same results. Just three verses later in: Lev 19:1-3 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am Holy.’ “ ‘Each of you must respect his mother and father and you must observe my Sabbaths.’ ” God is commanding us to be holy. If we want to be Holy, we must respect the people that are going to teach us these vital principals and instruct us. We must conform to God’s way regarding His Sabbaths, and the fact that we will not be able to understand the science is irrelevant. There is a reason that God placed this directive in the order he did, for everything has an order, because God is a God of order. This order not only places the responsibility directly on you as the offspring, but charges and holds the parents accountable to know and indoctrinate their children in the truth. For everyone to do their part, is to start the process of sanctification in the next generation that will lead to perfecting holiness. Lev 19:30 “ ‘Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.’ ” God is telling us by the keeping of his sciences, we will in fact be showing respect for his dwelling place, which now is our body. If we show no regard for His science, we cannot expect to demonstrate the degree of worship he demands from His sanctuary. His sanctuary in the Old Testament is a foreshadow of our body, which completely reveals the significance of what we possess, after His ascension. Are the children of Israel a picture of how we are acting today? We would never make a golden calf and bow down to it like they did. We can see that this breaks the first and second commandments. Exodus 20:1 And God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other Gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol... So what is an idol? Its basic meaning is “spirit” or “demon”. It is not something which God makes, but something which forms out of our actions of disobedience. It can be

anything that moves us farther away from God. In Saul’s case he was tormented by an evil spirit of jealousy. The demon manifested itself through him by producing actions which displayed jealousy. The key word here is “through him”, an idol can only function via a body, be it Saul’s or yours. A body which has ceased to operate from the knowledge of God, not only becomes the idol, but produces the actions that worship the idol. If you’re not operating out of the Spirit, then by default your flesh is your idol, and you’re out of control. Phi 3:18-19 For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. God said “remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” and “Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath and made it holy.” The Sabbath day come around once a week and can be any day that will allow you to do the actions that would keep it holy. These actions of complete rest are for a direct blessing to the little things that enable your body to function. Jer 17:21 Thus says the Lord, Take heed for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the Sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. The working of the muscles takes away from the blessing. The bringing of anything into your body takes away the blessings that should have been yours. Jer 17:22 And you shall not bring a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers. God is telling us that He does not even want us to dump the waste. This is God’s best and the closer we align ourselves to His command the greater degree we will take on His blessings. When you are the recipient of God’s blessings in your body they cause you to bless all the people around you. Can we believe that these blessings are there to be had? These are practical physical instructions not some spiritual state in the mind, and are perceived as a slam on the people around you. It was hard for them to sit still and it is hard for us to sit still. Deu 9:13 And the Lord said to me (Moses), “I have seen this people,” and they are a stiff necked people indeed! Let me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. The children of Israel did not remember the Sabbath day or keep it holy, even though the Lord blessed it and made it holy. We, like the children of Israel, have the choice to obey and be made holy, because the same blessing that was available to them is same blessings that will transform you to holiness. We to are a stiff necked people, nothing has changed, and if the Lord Jesus was not sitting at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us, we would in fact be destroyed. However, the day-of-judgment will separate the sheep from the goats as it operates within the parameters of grace to distinguish between those chosen for honor and those for dishonor.

Daniel 12:1-3 …And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book will be rescued. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. “And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” To be found “written in this book” (book-5612 a missive, deed, certificate, and indictment) is to have implemented in your life the knowledge of the mysteries of God. These actions are the get out of jail free card. This book is the Lamb’s Book of Life and your name will be in it when you possess an indestructible life. Lam 2:5-6 The Lord has become like an enemy; He has swallowed up Israel. He has swallowed up all its places He has destroyed its strongholds. And multiplied in the daughter of Judah Mourning and moaning. And He has violently treated His tabernacle like a garden booth; He has destroyed His appointed meeting place. The Lord has caused to be forgotten The appointed feast and Sabbath in Zion; And He has despised king and priest In the indignation of His anger.

Exodus 32:4 He (Aaron) took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry. God said to Moses, “They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’ “Let me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven.” Moses’ actions step in between what God was going to do and pleaded for the life of the nation of Israel, which is laid out in Deu 9:18 Then once again I fell prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sins you have committed, doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

Moses’ action changed the outcome and stopped God from destroying them, but there will be repercussions from their sin. Exodus 32:34 “...However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.” And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made. Well, we have given our lives to Jesus and asked Him to forgive us for our sins, and for this He has lead us out of Egypt, from the bondage of the world. For most of us, this is where we will stay, living out our days in trouble, because even though we know and have asked Jesus to be our Lord, we do not perceive how His instructions will lead us to the actions that would make Him our Master. Jesus wants the best for us, so He has given us His Word to be a light unto our path and a lamp for our feet. The words of this light communicate that it will be the best to rest one day in seven. So we rest one day in seven, using our definition of what we think resting is, but in point of fact, by missing the true definition, our actions have fashioned our golden calf. Each week we have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it, our actions are saying “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.” Of course we would never think it, just like the child of Israel knew that this calf did not and could not bring them out of Egypt. We know and sense there is something wrong, so in an attempt to alleviate the guilt we hold festivals to the Lord, a time of reflecting on our sacrifices and offerings. But Samuel’s words were never so relevant: “To obey is better than sacrifice.” We quote God’s laws to one another to project ourselves as holy. But the guilt remains, so we hold feasts and feed the one thing that gives us relief from our spirit, our fleshly golden calf. Isaiah’s prophecy is just as relevant today as it was in his day, when he said or in Jesus’ day when he quoted him Isaiah 9:12 Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west have devoured Israel with open mouth. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised. But the people have not returned to him who struck them, nor have they sought the Lord Almighty. So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a signal day; the elders and prominent men are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail. Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray. Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men, nor will he pity the fatherless and widows, for everyone is ungodly and wicked, every mouth speaks vileness. The most deadly of all false prophets are the ones who present partial truth in such a way, that it vaccinates you from catching the abundant life, the very thing that they

assure you the vaccine will bring on. Matt 23:15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.” However, Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father, asking Him to overlook these stiff necked people, and only because of His sacrifice we are not destroyed or blotted out. The Father’s reply, “Your blood has covered them, however, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their disobedience through my Word which is written, ‘What you sow you will reap’." Is there anybody who can stand before God and tell Him that our sickness and diseases are from seed we did not sow? But this sickness is still a discipline of love for the purpose of restoring fellowship. (NASB) 1 Tim 1:6-7 For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. Jesus will always stand in the gap for you, With his unconditional love, Right up until your death or judgment day, And then it is perfect justice.

Chapter 19

The Reality of Not Following the Blue Prints. 1 Cor 3:16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple. There is no mistaking the fact that everyone’s sin was placed on Christ at the cross, and everyone has been purchased by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. However, for those of us that desire the priesthood, He has written a new covenant where the parameters are in His blood, or life. The contract has been witnessed and sealed with your name on it, by the Holy Spirit. You are now the property of the Almighty God and He has made his dwelling place with you, inside your body, which he calls his Holy Temple. Jesus did not ask you to cleanse your body before he embraced you and took on your sins; he accepted you and your temple in whatever the state of disrepair. But don’t ever think that just because Christ purchased a broken down Temple, he has plans to make do. Christ only has plans to rebuild and regenerate. Jer 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” We find ourselves standing in His way, not comprehending the wonderful works He has scheduled. Heb 9:16-17 For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives. The word covenant here is, (1242), which reveals the implications of a contract. The one who is desirous of bringing us back to Himself, or reconciling us to God through a contract with us, paid the price that is demanded when a covenant is established. However, a covenant or contract has two sides, and based on the cost needed to procure the desired results, the purchaser would ask the seller for something that He considered equal value. This covenant offered only becomes valid when we, “the sellers” step into the covenant surrendering to the purchaser, that which he requires of us to match, His sacrifice. Christ died for us; we must die to ourselves in the allotted time given by His grace, to consummate the covenant. Being now dead, we must put on His body, keeping it alive with His blood and go on to do His work. (NASB) Psalms 25:8-10 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs

sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice and he teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are loving kindness and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. Without allowing Jesus to place us on His miraculous rebuilding program, by the strength of his uplifted hands, we are buying into Satan’s lie, and following Satan leads us to destruction and disgrace. Thank goodness for the strength in God’s grace, but remember, grace is a teacher to give us the knowledge so we will know where to apply His strength. We know that if we exercise grace to the fullest, we are exempt from the second death, so what does God mean when he says “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him”? Who you are, is what you have accomplished in your life. If someone had the ability to go back over everything you ever did and evaluate it, they would be in a position to judge your life. If this person had the capabilities of knowing every motive for every action to your work, he could render a true assessment. God has a purifying fire which is going to test each and everything we ever did. God chooses to be practical and wants to reason with us, because this way it is possible for us to understand. Everything that you have ever done has come by way of your body. If you had no body, nothing could have been done. If your blood and flesh is in the nature of Christ’s blood and flesh, then your body is pure, then all things coming from the body is also coming from a pure motive. Therefore, the fire needs only to test one thing, to test all things in your life; your body. When it’s your turn to go through the fire and nothing remains, not only your works are gone, but your very life has been destroyed. There are no fruits from your life to lay at the feet of Jesus or to enjoy for eternity, for there is no enjoyment in your eternity until you pay every last cent. Luke 12:59 “I say to you, you shall not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent.” If you destroy God’s temple, which is your body, in the first death, God will destroy all aspects of your work on earth in the second death. God is giving us insight to whether we are exercising grace, using our bodies as a barometer. In the book of Ezra, Chapter 10, we find the remnant of Israel who have come back to rebuild the house of God, and have discovered they have been disobedient. Ezra 9:2 “They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.”

The very people in leadership that we place our trust in, to sound the alarm, are leading the way to destruction. These foreign women have polluted God’s holy race which represents our polluted Holy Temple. Ezra 9:9 Though we are slaves, our God has not deserted us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem. The King of Kings has not deserted us, but freed us from the sin that works through our flesh to destroy his temple. His wonderful Holy Spirit is living in us to give us a wall of protection. These Holy Scriptures are showing us a picture of what is going on inside our own bodies. Ezra 10:2 … “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel. Now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and children, in accordance with the counsel of my Lord and those who fear the commandments of our God.” The wall is up, we have the kindness of the King, and now it is time to enter into a covenant, that is, to commit through actions that are intentional, to stop taking in, and expel that which pollutes, and to banish that which is feeding off us. God is not asking some small thing here, it is going to feel like I am sending away my wife and children. If you had the courage to send your wife and children away forever, it would leave you in a state of deep depression, you would commence to mourn, a state where you would not eat or drink and most likely could not go on until you died to your very self. Heb 9:16-17 For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives. Those of you who are the remnant of Israel, who have entered into a covenant, can see their impurity, and know there must of necessity be, the death of the one who made it! This covenant that you made with Christ has nothing to do with Christ’s blood covenant that He made with you, even though they share the same requirements for validation. Christ validated His covenant by His death; likewise, we must validate our covenant. However, to remain in this world and still meet the requirements to validate our covenant is beyond our capacity to envision. The only reasonable solution that would seem logical is to remove the flesh to a point where it could still function, yet be weak enough not to obstruct a further filling of the body by the Holy Spirit. It is not a coincidence that the actions required to bring about

purity of the body, simultaneously bring about a greater degree of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Remember, and consider the five foolish virgins who turn out to be short of oil for their lamps. The oil, being the Holy Spirit. That is why we see Ezra, who is representing Christ, was there bearing our burdens and showing us the only way through. Ezra 10:6 Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to a room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he was there, he ate no food or drank no water, because he continued to mourn over the unfaithfulness of the exiles. Likewise, we also need a prolonged time of mourning over our unfaithfulness in this area of physical purity. So we see Ezra’s actions to put the priests, the Levites, and all of Israel, under an oath, and they all accepted and took the oath. Ezra 10:7 A proclamation was then issued through out Judah and Jerusalem for all the exiles to assemble in Jerusalem. Anyone who failed to appear within three days would forfeit all his property, on accordance with the decision of the officials and elders, and would himself be expelled from the assembly of exiles. Some of us may say, “I love my wife and children too much and could not bear to purify myself of them.” For most all of us, because of our geography, it is going to take us three full years of journeying to arrive at this holy place. Psalms 84:5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. Psalms 84:7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. But for all of us who know we have married foreign women, we will use this time to expel them from our lives, before we appear. For all those who are ignorant of their status, they can come and be judged along with those who are afraid. After judgment is rendered, the weak and the ignorant will be placed in an authoritative environment to help them make their transition to purity. If they will not, or can not, make the transition, they will forfeit all their property and be expelled from the assembly. The word forfeit in the Hebrew means “to ban from profane use and to devote to the Lord,” either by destruction, or by giving to the Lord’s treasury, either way, without making this journey, it makes no difference to you, which way you lose it. Also, you will be removed from the assembly of the remnant. However, there is a redeeming quality to this directive, but only for the ones who make this journey, and this would be to make secure all former works of righteousness for eternity.

What this means is, all your faithful good works which you have produced over your years of service to God, that would have been taken from you, will remain yours for eternity, after the completion of your purification journey. The word of the Lord misses no opportunity to confirm its time line for purity. Ezra 10:13 ...Besides, this matter cannot be taken care of in a day or two, because we have sinned greatly in this thing. We know from Ezra 10:16 and 17 that their investigation and indictments were completed in three months. We also know God is going to send His two witnesses who will bring a message, which will act as God’s plumb-line to indict those who were ignorant of their offences. We also know that there is a time period before judgment, and one after, for those who will make this pilgrimage to purity. The first time period is a call to assemble for judgment, and the second, is the time necessary to complete judgment. The first time period was to give time for those who could see their unfaithfulness and to rectify their waywardness before judgment. The second period of time was needed to assess who can stay, and who must be excluded from the assembly. Today, it will be no different, if you can see your unfaithfulness and repent before judgment day, great. However, those who are foolish, judgment will reveal and confirm their distance from the standard. 1 Cor 11:31-32 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world. Eze 3:20 “Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sins. The righteous things he did will not be remembered and I will hold you accountable for his blood.” I believe, the righteous man / women that Ezekiel is talking about here, are people that their sins have been covered by way of a covenant, that they have entered into through purity, not sinlessness. We know that Jesus, through God’s contract, has given his life a ransom for our sinful life, but there is a choice to receive this GRACE that wants to work to transform you back to what you were, so that you can keep your side of the contract. But you cannot understand the word of God without allowing his grace to overcome that which is in your life, which blocks you from obeying. Therefore, the word of God becomes our stumbling block because we miss the practical way that grace would change our minds and by extension, our actions. Yes, it is possible to live a holy life, but this only comes through understanding that Jesus can, and will, supply everything you will need to obey the Word of God. We think that when we finally see the light of our need for a Savior, we have all the light

needed, and we are past the only stumbling block. But Christ is not a stumbling block to the holy man because he has made his pilgrimage to Zion, and seen God face to face. Ezekiel is warning his readers that when a righteous man turns and does evil, he is no longer in a right standing with God. These actions of evil will form his stumbling block that allows him to think that grace is covering him in his contract, when in fact; it was grace that was, and is, to enable him to fulfill his contract. That is why God wants us to have a continuing healthy fear of him. Ecc 7:2 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. If your heart is in the house of pleasure you will not be with the wise, for their hearts are in the house of mourning. Remember, it was only the wise virgins, who had enough oil to go into the wedding feast. Eze 18:20 ...The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him. “But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surly live; he will not die. None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live.” “But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die.” But you say, this is Old Testament, and Christ did away with any responsibility that might have been placed on these people before grace came into reality. You now believe it is Christ’s righteousness that is going to stand for you at judgment. 2 Cor 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Would it be unnecessary for me to appear before the judgment seat of Christ, if it was Christ’s righteousness which was being probed? No, it is my righteousness or lawlessness which will be investigated. (NASB) Romans 10:2-3 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.

At this point, it is not a matter of weighing in good with the bad, and if the good out weighs the bad, then I am ok. The facts are, that if you are practicing lawlessness then it has removed any righteousness that could have been in there, leaving you exposed only to the wrath. No, Romans 11:19-23 makes it quite clear. Romans 11:19-23 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches neither will He spare you. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. God’s severity is received by the ones who displayed unbelief, but where was His kindness to overcome their unbelief? And if unbelief is a state of mind, there is no way to be sure or to gauge whether or not I am continuing in His kindness, because my emotions and doubts keep me on the edge of uncertainty. Thank goodness that believing and faith are words of action, and if I know and deploy these behaviors by recognizing and receiving His strength to overcome, I will indeed know that I am continuing in His kindness. This kindness places you on a certain road, a peculiar walk, to say the least, one that is not going to be confused with the worlds. A walk where you experience and know all things are possible. To illuminate and define these actions of evil that wants to move us out of God’s kindness, we need to know at what point in our lives we are going to be most vulnerable. Deu 6:10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you - a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. The Lord is warning us that it is in this time of plenty, that our consuming of food has the potential to cause us to forget him, and all that he has done. This consuming of food, to the point of satisfaction, is dangerous to our intimate relationship with God. To eat to the point of becoming satisfied is to place your digestive system at its maximum load, removing any operating room for an indiscretion. There is an interval of time between when the stomach is full and when the brain senses it. The flesh always desires to eat until it is satisfied, and to pull away before that point is to go against your own human nature. Pro 16:23 The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, And adds persuasiveness to his lips. Paul points out how evil goes to control the body in Romans 7:14-25; “For that which I am doing I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I

am doing the very thing I hate.” He knows better, but catches his body doing evil. Who has the strength within themselves to exercise self control and discipline, on a daily basis, over such a strong enemy? You can see why a very poor man would have less need in this area of self control. Hosea 13:6 As they had their pastures, they became satisfied and being satisfied, their hearts became proud; therefore they forgot Me. We know that we will die, the only question is: “Are there unacceptable manners of death for a child of God?” If there are unacceptable manners of death that I should be aware of, and my ignorance of God’s word cannot be used as a shield, then I must conclude that the consequences of my sin will shorten my earthly life by a manner that is inadmissible to God. This premature exists through contemptible means, not only do I destroy the memory of my righteous acts, but revoke the deed or contract Christ has on me, on the grounds of noncompliance, and I will suffer the loss. But my blood will be on the hands of the ones who God placed as shepherds over His flocks. I will let you decide who has the greater responsibility. But how can my blood be on their hands if I am in heaven with them? You can only have dead peoples blood on your hands. There is no reprieve for me, because I was foolish enough to follow a sincere pastor who had also missed the way. No, I am still looking out from a place that I don’t want to be in, even though he is in a worse scenario. 1 Cor 3:10-15 ...But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test the quality of each mans work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. Note: The reward is not salvation, for they both end up saved. One loses something in the fire through time, as his works and accomplishments are destroyed. God’s word is warning us to be careful when we start to build. I have had the responsibility of building six buildings in my life time and each time I start, I realize that what I do below the ground will never be seen. Nevertheless, the footings and the pony walls weigh heavy on my mind because I know that all the weight of this building is depending on these substructures. When finished, the building can look wonderful, but if the integrity of the substructure is lacking in any way, this building will not stand the test of time. To alleviate this concern of the substructure, I always take more time and spend more monies to over build them, than would the average person. If I was going to build a structure that was going to take

my entire life to complete, all my monies and all my strength, I would devote myself to study for several years before turning one shovel full of dirt. One of the wonderful things about God’s blue prints, His Word, is that His plans are perfect and no over building is necessary, however, if at any time during building the measurements seem to be out, the wisest thing to do is stop building and recheck to see where you went wrong. It would seem very clear that Jesus Christ is our footing on solid rock, and this must make the Spirit, (the pony wall), for God’s Word tell us that (John 15:5) “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, apart from me you can do nothing.” For me to understand and position my building over His foundation, I must first understand what fruit Jesus is talking about because this is the evidence that I am in him, and he is in me. Here is the point that is most crucial. If I do not study to know and apply the exact and the proper analogy to this sentence, then I could have built on a foundation that is other than Christ’s. The implications of building your life’s work on something other than Christ are so horrific, not to dedicate the time needed to sort through any and all possible discrepancies. Not only will you reap what you sow, but you can sow good seed in unholy soil and never reap holy fruit. If I placed before you two apples, one that was grown in defiled soil and one that was produced from soil which had its’ integrate reclaimed, you could not tell the difference unless you knew the history of the soil, because they would look the same, but one is sweet. Satan is the master of deception, and loves to produce in us, the counterfeit. The only sacrifices that God accepts will be holy, and holy fruit is sweet fruit. If my fruit is sweet, then it is holy, and I know Christ is in me, and I am confident that my building is squarely on the Rock. Isaiah 5:1-4 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes but it yield only bad fruit. “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes why did it yield only bad?” The remarkable thing about this vineyard is that you would expect that it would only yield good fruit, not bad. But the depressing and preposterous affair is that the entire vineyard produced only bad fruit. These vines could see they were producing fruit, but in the absences of the authentic, could not distinguish their error. All fruit looked and tasted the same, consequently, no vine would suspect that he was not producing the genuine. Human nature has not changed, Satan’s tactics have not changed, and neither has God’s vineyard. Only when you place your life against the backdrop of God’s word, will you be able to know if your fruit is holy. Haggai 2:3 ‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison?’

Haggai 1:4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” Keep in mind that this word is a foreshadow of what is to come. That is, Christ will be dwelling in our bodies, His Temple, which we will neglect and mine, in order to build our temple to our flesh. As we’re busy building our fleshly temples, God is asking us to stop and evaluate. Haggai 1:5 Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it. Go up to the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands.” For you who think that you have God’s house in the condition which will honor Him by reflecting his glory, keep right on building, but for those who are tired of working hard, only to see their efforts return half, it is time to understand how to build God’s house on His foundation. We know that the Lord is a good God and all his actions are for our best, but how under heaven can He tie their actions of neglect for the temple to imposing a drought that removes their food and water, and then asks us to believe it’s for our best. It seems beyond us to understand, unless we project it onto the backdrop of the new covenant. God, in his love, is intervening to correct the problems we cannot see, with solutions we cannot understand. Instead of welcoming the help, we grumble and complain, just as they did when they first went into the desert. They missed the promised land the first time around because they did not understand, and so are we. But let us not miss it completely. Deu 29:2 Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them: Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land. With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those miraculous signs and great wonders. But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear. During the forty years I lead you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. You ate no bread and drank no wine or fermented drink. I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.

Jesus is saying today what Moses was saying back then, when he explained to the children of Israel what actually happened. 2 Cor 3:14 For their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts. They believed they had the ability to process what their eyes saw and their ears heard, because they thought they had a mind that could reason. Moses was telling them, even though they were there, and they saw with their own eyes, and heard with their own ears, they never had the mind to understand. Isaiah 29:11 For you this whole vision is nothing more than words sealed in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say to them “Read this, please,” he will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.” Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” he will answer, “I don’t know how to read.” If they had understood who was leading them, they would not have rebelled on their first trek to Canaan, and would have been ready to go straight in. God was telling them that, because you did not understand and submit the first time around, the second will be longer and harder, but no one will deteriorate. That is to say, no one will fail to complete my requirements of sanctification, even though you may not comprehend how you arrived, you will understand and know that He who leads you, is the Lord your God. The same reason way back in Isaiah’s day, that the people could not read the information in the word of God, is the exact same reason we cannot. Why can we not read and perceive what God is asking from us? In the very next verse in Chapter 29 we are given the answer. Isaiah 29:13 Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote, …” We read God’s word and think we understand what He is asking from us and because we believe we are complying with His wishes, we speak in sincerity as if we have. But that which needs to change, remains the same, and until the heart changes, we cannot comprehend, that, which tells us how to change. (NASB) Isaiah 8:16-17 “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait for the Lord who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob; I even look eagerly for Him. We all read this verse and immediately project ourselves into the roll of Jesus’ disciples, without obeying and allowing the word of God to physically take us through a scourging of our temples. Without a physical cleaning inside our temples, where we cannot

comprehend the results of the action, this transition to one of Jesus’ disciples is not ours to claim. Therefore, there is no way to circumvent this conundrum without moving by the Spirit’s wooing, in other words, action through faith. 1 Thes 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. What would be the significance of God recording for us that the children of Israel’s clothes and sandals did not wear out? They only had one set of clothes, and this clothing represents, that, which we have only one of, our body. God sanctified them entirely, as He stands ready to sanctify us, at the place in time which is before Christ’s return. We cannot use the spirit or the soul as a gage in our measurement of sanctification, but we can determine if our bodies are failing. If our bodies are malfunctioning, we know that sanctification has not been completed, and by extension, neither our soul nor body is being preserved completely. These people’s lives were giving us a living illustration, where now, we have the privilege of seeing what was trying to be taught from a bigger point of view. The people could clearly see that it was God, who was sustaining them, even though they did not understand that it was, because of what they did not eat, or drink, that gave them the mind to know, or eyes to see, or ears to hear. This was only to be a three day journey into the desert to worship their God. Exodus 5:3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, ...” The three days is three years, because even if you marched straight day and night, you could not make this journey in three days. The Lord knew the time that was needed in this journey to transform the minds of Israel. God was going to use His laws, over this time of three years of traveling, to bring them to the borders of Caanan. It will take us three years on the Lord’s program to complete His requirements for sanctification, which is the sacrifice He demands. This sacrifice positions us to return to Him what He is seeking; true worshipers, and true worshipers know how to believe. Pro 3:5-8 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body, and refreshment to your bones. This is not; turn away from evil so you can be “spiritual” or “holy”, but rather, turn away from evil, so I can heal your body, My Temple. So My Temple will be Spiritual and Holy, that the Father may receive glory and honor. For those of you who are deceived, and keep right on building on a foundation other

than Christ, because you have become convinced in your own minds, by the results of your good works that your temple is holy, God has this to say to you: Haggai 2:11 ...‘Ask the priest what the law says: If a person carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, oil or other food, does it become consecrated?’ The priests answered, “No” Then Haggai said, “If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?” “Yes,” the priest replied, “it becomes defiled." Then Haggai said “ ‘So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,’ declares the Lord. ‘Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled.’ ” “ ‘Now give careful thought to this from this day on - consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple.’ ” God only accepts good works from a temple that is holy. Holiness is not something that can be passed on, like one who is defiled could make bread, stew, wine, oil or other food defiled by contacting it. You don’t become pure because you know someone who is pure or become holy because you live in a land that is holy. Finding out how God wants us to rebuild His Holy Temple, is first and paramount, if we want to offer sacrifices that are holy offerings, that are not defiled. Malachi 1:7 “You place defiled food on my altar.” “But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you’ “By saying the Lords table is contemptible.” Haggai 2:17 ‘I struck all the works of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not turn to me,’ declares the Lord. The truth is that they did not know how they were placing defiled food on his altar, and so it is today. We will not believe that our actions today are saying, “The Lords table is contemptible.” Just like they could not believe what their actions were saying. So the Lord is asking the question through Isaiah back then as He is today. Isaiah 10:3 “Now what will you do in the day of punishment, and in the devastation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your wealth?” Isaiah goes on in Chapter 10, to give us a picture of what this day of punishment and devastation will evolve like. Isaiah 10:16 Therefore the Lord of host, will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors; and under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame. And the light (216) of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One (6918) a flame, and it will burn and devour his thorns and briars in a single day. And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body; and it will be as

when a sick man wastes away. And the rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number that a child could write them down. The first question is: “Why will God’s warriors be harvesting such punishing devastation directly from His hand?” To harvest something, you need to understand that you first had to sow it. We are sowing seeds of God’s wrath and are not recognizing what we are sowing. The Psalmist is making reference to our wicked condition in Chapter 90:8 Thou hast placed our iniquities before Thee, our secret sins in the light of Thy presence. I need to identify this secret sin before I can turn and repent of it. Isaiah is telling us that this destruction is to come among God’s own warriors, the men and women that are out there naming the name of Jesus, the so called “Christians”, the very people that are expecting His salvation and His sanctuary. Isaiah is likening this wasting disease to a consuming fire to attack His “stout warriors”. This must be a clue to who will be vulnerable, so what can “stout” be describing in a person? In the dictionary there are several definitions given to the word “stout”, but there is one that matches with my Bible reference of Isaiah 17:4 which is: “And the fatness of his flesh will become lean”. God is referring to these stout people, these people of excess weight, as thorns and briars to be burned up in a single day. These are the thorns that Paul asked God to remove from his flesh; they can be the very sincerest of people within the Christian community. Isaiah 29:20 For the ruthless shall come to an end, and the scorner will be finished, indeed all who are intent on doing evil will be cut off. (3772 means cut off specifically from his covenant) Who cause a person to be indicted by a word, and ensnare him who adjudicates at the gate, and defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments. Secondly: Who is this flame in Isaiah 12:16, who is bringing this fire, how does it start and what gets burned? The light of Israel is #216 illumination or luminary (in every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc.) primary root; #215 to cause, to make luminous; glorious, kindle, set on fire. This light of Israel is Jesus who came to illuminate the way, He is going to kindle something and cause to set on fire through His Holy One. #6918 sacred (ceremonially or morally); (as noun) God (by eminence), an angel, a saint, a sanctuary: - holy (One), saint. From #6942 the primary root; to be (causatively, make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonially or morally): - appoint, bid, consecrate, dedicate, hallow, (be, keep) holy, purify, sanctify (-ied one, self), X wholly. Jesus Christ is going to kindle a fire through His lightning strike and His sanctified One who is holy. His saint will be the flame in His fire. This burning will destroy the glory of His forest and of His fruit garden which is just a metaphor for the so called “followers of Christ”. Isaiah is not just speaking of the body, but also the soul of such a great number of Christians, that he informs us that a child could take the tally. Thirdly: Who will remain, what have they learned and why is their yoke lifted?

Isaiah 10:20 Now it will come about in that day that the remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. This is the remnant that returned to rebuild the sanctuary so it could be purified and holy. These people will never again put confidence in the world because it was the world who deceived them, through their sorceries, which almost took them to Sheol. Isaiah 30:20-21 Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. And your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. The Lord, our teacher, by the Holy Spirit, was hiding himself from us because of what we did not have, or rather, what we had was too much. We did not have bread of privation and water of oppression. “Privation” means: 1) The loss or absence of some quality or condition. 2) lack of the ordinary necessities of life. “Oppression” means: 1) an oppressing or being oppressed 2) a thing that oppresses. (“Oppress” means - to weigh heavy on the mind, spirit, or senses of or to keep down by the cruel or unjust use of power.) We cannot bring ourselves to deny what we sense, or should I say, what our senses have been trained to accept, as right and proper. Regardless of the reason, not until we eat this bread of privation and water of oppression, we will be able to see or hear the words of our teacher. We will not know the way to walk or how to stay on this highway to God’s holy mountain. This is exactly what the Lord did when He brought Israel out of Egypt, into the desert, to worship him and to know Him. He needed to give them the bread of privation and the water of oppression so they would or could know Him. Isaiah 10:27 So it will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be broken because of fatness. (8081 means – grease, wax fat or gross) We are commanded to “Bare one anothers burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ”. (Gal 6:2) Some of us understood, so we tried to encourage our family members and our friends to use the strength in the uplifted hands of Christ, to overcome their contamination, but now they are no more, all gone because impurity has worked as the catalyst to their destruction. If we will turn from our ways and position ourselves to receive his best, that is, take action that transforms and rebuilds our temples to God’s specifications, by the power in his uplifted hands, then the Lord says in Haggai 2:19 ... “ ‘From this day on I will bless you.’ ”

Remember, wait on the Lord and keep persevering, it took Haggai two years to complete the foundation when he was rebuilding the temple, and I believe it’s going to take another year for the Holy Spirit to reveal His truth and our mission. Matt 26:1 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away - and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” Our Passover is always two days away from the point we mark in time, when we hand ourselves over to have our flesh crucified, just as it was for Jesus, when he handed his flesh over to be crucified. In two days, Jesus would die to himself, and it will take two years for us to die to ourselves, but sometime after that we will be visited by God.

Chapter 20

There is No Standing Still With God Rev 3:15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I will spit you out of my mouth. Romans 1:28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. When God gives you over to a depraved mind, He is telling us that we were not born in this condition. He allows the mind to become morally bad or corrupt depending on what we choose. What knowledge did they not retain which would have affected them in such a devastating manner, as to render them to a depraved mind? What caused them to stop trusting and obeying? For someone to stop means, someone had to be, at one time, complying. If one did not know that one was complying, they also would not know one had stopped. Remember, the depraved mind came upon them before every kind of wickedness. If they did not know and it came upon them, why would it not also be in the process of coming upon us? If something is changing you slow enough, you will not see the problem and even if you go to God’s word to examine yourself, your depraved mind will block out the light because you are under a deluding influence (2 Thes 2:10-12). This direction we have chosen, places us on a path that even the light that we had becomes dimmer and dimmer, until even that which we had, will be taken from us. Matt 13:12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have in abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. Psalms 14:2-3 The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. God is telling us that we don’t know how to seek him, because we do not understand. In our ignorance, we turn aside, which means we were once there but did not continue because we did not recognize we were once there. So, when in our lifetime could we have been there and not known that we were, that is in this state where God wanted to

keep us? Any lights go on? We didn’t know that is where God wanted us to stay, or how we got to that state in the first place. We followed our parents, and became a willing sacrifice to their idols. Their ignorance of the truth of the laws of life reproduced in us what their parents reproduced in them. Jer 9:13-14 And the Lord said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice nor walked according to it, but have walked after the stubbornness of their heart and after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.” Our little bodies have grown up with these idols and have been sacrificed to many gods, which served only to blind us from the Truth, as it strengthened our flesh. By the time we could think for ourselves our little bodies were so polluted, accustomed and addicted to evil, that we were able to do wrong, but think it right. Like father like son, like mother like daughter. Who can see that this cycle must be broken, and even if he can see, will he have the strength to persevere? The righteousness that was a credited to us by God at birth, gave way to wickedness because something that was done to us which corrupted our bodies. Corrupt means containing alterations, foreign admixtures. Foreign means - not organically belonging, as substances found in organisms where they do not naturally occur. Admixtures means - a thing or ingredient added in mixing. Our parents sincerely love us and would not deliberately allow us to eat anything which would hurt us. However, if this corruption came from either, the mixing of two or more incompatible foods in the stomach, or overloading the stomach, who could know of the outcome of incorrect mixing of digesting juices? (NASB) Romans 4:9-11 Is this blessing on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” How then was it credited? While he was circumcised or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them. In our young state it was not like we were sinless, with no need for a covenant, but rather, we were in a right standing with our covenant. A covenant which is respected, and adhered to, out of ignorance, is a contract that will be valid until the age of accountability. It will generate the blessings under this covenant, because your undeveloped mind has no concept of right and wrong. On the other hand, a covenant that is not honored, out of ignorance or not, will not return any benefits under the covenant. In other words, just because your parents raised you it does not negate your obligation to live at the standard laid out in the contract.

A baby that is born with pure blood, which is not corrupt, is a living being who knows not God, but is returning to God, all that is required to validate his side of the covenant. However, a steady prolonged ingesting of foods that have created and spun off foreign admixtures will produce corruption in the body and blood leading to a depraved mind. Today, not only do we eat more than what is sound but our food is polluted and almost void of nutrients. And just look at all the dangerous food combinations which are being assessed on taste. Psalms 7:14 He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment. (NASB) Behold, he travails with wickedness, and he conceives mischief, and brings forth falsehood. Which will say in a dictionary sense: A body that is marked by abundant production of anything which causes harm, pain, or disaster, will think and imagine in the mind, troubles, which when given the required amount of time brings forth offspring to take away the idealism of, and makes disappointed and bitter etc. Bitterness grieves the Holy Spirit because wickedness results from ongoing evil. This evil which is being produced in our body is causing lawlessness. 1 John 3:4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. A body which has been commandeered by a microscopic invader is operating under lawlessness. A body which becomes sick on a regular basis, is practicing sin. 1 John 3:6 No one who is born of God practices sin; because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. That is not to say you will never sin, but the key word here is “practice”. Sin in one, born of God, becomes less and less, until it is not common place. Lev 26:35 All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not have during the Sabbaths you lived in it. “ ‘As for those of you who are left, I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall even though no one is pursuing them. They will stumble over one another as though fleeing from the sword, even though no one is pursuing them.’ ” Lev 26:39 Those of you who are left will waste away in the land of their enemies because of their sin; also because of their fathers’ sins they will waste away. God is talking about his people who disobeyed his command to let the land lay fallow one in seven. The Israelites did not understand the vital connection between the soil

and their state of mind. As a result of their father’s disobedience, and their continuing to follow what their fathers did in this manner, they produced in themselves a mind that is fearful and conceives trouble. A mind that conceives trouble comes from a body that is pregnant with evil which will grow to give birth to disillusionment. Disillusionment becomes bitterness, which produces a life that does what ought not to be done, grieving the Holy Spirit as they insult the Spirit of grace. Heb 10:29 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? Eph 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, every form of malice. There is only one way to get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, every form of malice, and that is to submit to Jesus’ program to purify your temple. It is impossible to remove these actions from your person until Jesus cleans up the area from which they originate; your bowels. Without a thorough temple cleaning, all you have to work with is a double mind; unstable in all its ways. Maybe that is why the church at large, in my opinion, focuses on being saved and keeping your eye on heaven, because everything in between is disappointing and bitterness. It is only by our twisted definition of believing, that the devil has deceived us into thinking that the un-appropriated grace of God is going to keep us out of captivity. Jer 14:10 This is what the Lord says about this people: “They greatly love to wander; they do not restrain their feet. So the Lord does not accept them; He will now remember their wickedness and punish them for their sins.” But you say “Christ died for my sins” and rightly so, however there is a qualifier, that is, to all that do not wander off. By wandering off, you have broken your covenant and not met Christ’s terms and conditions in His covenant, which He wrote in his blood. When your covenant is not validated, in the time you received on earth, then it annuls the marriage covenant which you had with Christ. Christ still died for you, but by rejecting His covenant, your sin is exposed and there is nothing to block your wickedness from the Father’s memory or His wrath. However, Christ will not be denied just delayed because of this time of wrath. On earth, grace is always calling you back, most often through suffering, and stands ready to be engaged right up until your last breath. Deu 29:3 With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those miraculous signs

and great wonders. But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear. During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God. Like in the days of coming out of Egypt, even if God were to show us miraculous signs and great wonders, we, like them, would still not believe to the point of doing any more than what they did, which is to come out from the world. God put them in an environment where he could control what they ate and drank and because of this, their bodies did not wear out, but gave them all the days that were allotted to them. This structured period of time gave them the ability to know that the Lord was their God, and to believe to the point of total surrender even though they did not understand how they were transformed. This same bewilderment is happening today, because we greatly seek transformation in an environment which we will not allow God to control. When Jesus becomes our Lord, we relinquish to Him the responsibility to move us into an environment where he can control our circumstances. Placed in His environment, under His conditions, gives us clothing which does not wear out, and the ability to receive the knowledge of the Truth. If we will not submit, Romans 11:8 gives us the outcome. Romans 11:8 ... just as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes to see not and ears to hear not, down to this very day.” We don’t need to understand to obey, if we trust God. There is a saying that sums up the proper response “It is not yours to wonder why, but to do or die.” It is in this attitude over time that God will show you why. The pitiful truth is that we would rather argue and rationalize from a stand point of ignorance, than to bend the knee. Therefore, God will again place His elect in an environment which will produce the holy outcome which He demands. And if we are fast learners, we will be taken out in the first half of His Great Tribulation, if not, no one of His remnant will miss this standard upon its conclusion. Isaiah 59:4 No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments and speak lies; they conceive trouble and gave birth to evil. 1 Tim 1:6-7 For some men straying from these things, have turn aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.

If the shoe fits, put it on, but don’t get bent out of shape. James 1:15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. This is talking about cutting our earthly life short, do to our actions of sabotage on our holy temples, because we are allowing sin the time needed to mature. Jer 11:15 “What is my beloved doing in my temple as she works out her evil schemes with many? ... Satan prompts us by enticing our flesh to move to form an idol and sin is born. Should we continue to feed and nurture this off spring to maturity, it will rob us of wisdom and remove us from God’s presence. James is talking about followers of Jesus that are removed from the Lamb’s book of life. We want something, so we take it inside of us and sin starts to grow. We do not stop it from growing because we do not know it’s alive and growing inside of us. There is no watchman inside us to alert us to our subtle digression and we are also ignorant of recognizing before hand the potential threats. We see our thighs become heavy or our stomach start to grow, but we never consider that, which is inside. Our desire must have accepted something that deceives us, which cannot be seen, but only understood through Gods word. Let’s follow Ezekiel through the wall of the Temple. Eze 8:7 Then he brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole in the wall. He said to me, “Son of man, now dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and saw a doorway there. And he said to me, “Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here.” So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and detestable animals and all idols of the house of Israel. All these crawling things and detestable animals that we are to make a distinction between are laid out in Leviticus, Chapter 11. It is easy to stay on this path and allow this sin the time needed to grow to maturity when we are oblivious to it. Given the nature of the attack, it would seem logical that we would be blind sighted by this birth of death. It seems like a lot of these diseases come right out of the blue. How many times have you heard someone say in response to a death, “He was never sick a day in his life.” Jer 6:26 O daughter of my people put on sackcloth and roll in ashes; mourn as for an only son, a lamentation most bitter. For suddenly the destroyer will come upon us. Would God hold us responsible for this sneak attack by Satan whereby His temple is

destroyed? God’s word leaves us no excuse before our maker. Jer 25:31 ‘A clamor has come to the end of the earth, because the Lord has a controversy with the nations. He is entering into judgment with all flesh; as for the wicked, he has given them to the sword,’ ” declares the Lord. This is the flesh of animals as well as humans which means judgment day on earth. 2 Cor 3:16 ...If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. Yes, God will hold us accountable whether we make little or no application of the knowledge given to us through the truth of his Holy Word. It would be unthinkable for a Holy God who operates with perfect justice, to condemn his creation without making available to them exactly what was expected. God also must provide the ability and means to understand and comprehend the details of his directives. We all know that the Holy Bible gives us everything we will need to live a life of holiness and righteousness before God, but if we cannot decipher the map, we stall out after conversion. There is only one way to righteousness and there is only one way to holiness, there are no short cuts, and you cannot do an end run. One step builds on the step before and the step that you are on has been illumined only by mastering the step before. If you have missed a step, where will the light come from to decipher the map? And if I am foolish enough to move on, where will it take me but on my own mission, doing my will, in my power, and all the time trying to convince myself that this is God’s mission through the Spirit’s power. Matt 15:14 Jesus said “If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” Jer 10:21 The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Lord; so they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered. Unfortunately, you must do the critical thinking and not rely on others to do it for you! For to hold some Pastor out in front of you is not going to cut it! (NASB) Ecc 11:9 Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. So, remove vexation from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting. (NASB) Ecc 12:1-4 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight

in them” - before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and mighty men stoop, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim; and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of grinding mill is low, and will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will sing softy. When your body is young, you think you are invincible, going after whatever you imagine is going to satisfy your heart. You become intoxicated by the vitality of youth and go on to indulge the desires of our flesh which takes us to a place where we may never sober up. Remember, one day you will give an account before a Holy God. Think about it, when we were young the evil days have not come as yet, because we were pure in body, we had no anxiety. We must return to this state! There is only one action on our part that will enable us to banish anxiety from our hearts and cast off troubles from our bodies, and that is to keep our eyes focused on the uplifted hands of our Lord Jesus Christ as we go through the steps of repentance. In other words, if you don’t draw very close to, and maintain a living intimate love relationship through your understanding of how Christ is showing you the way, you will never have the strength to gain the victory in the battle over your flesh. Without securing in place, the full armor of God, which is the only provisions through which we can repel Satan’s fiery darts, we will not stand in the Day of Judgment. Isaiah 26:11 O Lord, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see your zeal for your people and be put to shame; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them. Make no mistake this fire will consume you!

Chapter 21

Who is Holy? Numbers 16:2-3 ...and rose up before Moses. Together with some of the son of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation chosen in the assembly, men of renown. And they assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourself above the assembly of the Lord?” Numbers 16:4 When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. Then he said to Korah and his followers: “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come near him. ... The man the Lord chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!” Numbers 16:19 When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the Lord appeared to the entire assembly. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.” Numbers 16:22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, “O God, God of the spirits of all mankind, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?” Numbers 16:26 Moses warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.” Numbers 16:28 Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: If these men die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord brings about something new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.” Numbers 16:31 As soon as he had finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah’s men and all their possessions. Numbers 16:35 And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense. Who were these men that opposed Moses, that treated the Lord with contempt, and is it possible that my life runs parallel with theirs? We understand and know that all of the

Israelites are a picture of all who have accepted Christ as savior, and have turned from their own ways to follow God. When Moses led them from Egypt, he was leading them from their worldly ways. When the Egyptian army had them pinned against the Red Sea, all of Israel was being prepared for baptism. The whole nation was baptized as they went through the sea leaving behind their old worldly ways and starting on a new way of living and worshipping God. These 250 men were Levites, leaders in the community, respected men which God had chosen to keep charge of the house, of all its’ service, and of all that shall be done in it. These men grew tired of following Moses and in their minds, they had a better way. They could see no outward signs that Moses was any different than them, so why should he continue to represent them as their intermediary and leader? Just like the two apples I mentioned earlier. They’re very actions of continuing in this relationship with Moses, belittled them, and to obey was to humbly recognize their unholiness and therefore, concede their unworthiness for God to speak directly through them. Eze 44:12 “Because they ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn against them,” declares the Lord God, “that they shall bear the punishment for their iniquity. And they shall not come near to Me to serve as a priest to Me, nor come near to any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they shall bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the house, of all its service, and of all that shall be done in it.” O YOU THINK YOU’RE A PRIEST BECAUSE YOU MINISTER IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD? Heb 13:10 We have an altar, from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. It is belittling and embarrassing to be a man placed over the congregation, a respected minister to do the work of the Lord, yet to understand that God will only speak through His elite priesthood. Most, if not all, God’s ministers today would rather stand with Korah to challenge God’s holy prophet, than to recognize there is a higher requirement for the priesthood. Eze 48:11 “It shall be for the priest who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept My charge, who did not go astray when the sons of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray. This elite group, who God will recognize as priests to minister before Him, has

completed sanctification; that did not deviate from His directives, but kept His charge through perseverance. For it is only after sanctification is completed, that one goes from a lowly minister to the likeness of Melchizedek because it is only after the mind is renewed, that one can discern truth. Melchizedek was King of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who by the translation of his name and title was king of righteousness and of peace. Heb 6:19 This hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. We too are to follow our forerunner as Jesus followed His forerunner by being in the physical order or character of a state of existence, not on the basis of law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life. Heb 7:11 Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of the law also. Heb 7:15 And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become such not on the basis of the law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life. Christ has so engineered our temples so we too can respond from weakness into power, by following His instructions, to the point that we become not only the possessor of an indestructible life, but move into His priesthood. An indestructible life is characterized by a body that has been reinforced to overcome its rival. That is, the body that houses our earthly life can overcome that which seeks to destroy it. A destroyed body is a body that is decomposing and returning to the basic elements of the earth. The organisms called pathogens has but this one job, and it completes its mission though disease. You will find that pathogens are always present in our bodies but never respond until they are provided with the right carnal environment. It is in “Jesus name” we are to pray, this is not something that is to be verbalized at the end of a pray. This is God’s directive describing the state of Jesus’ life and to always be aware that our own ability to receive, when we pray, is based upon our likeness to Christ’s character in His state of an indestructible life. If we are in the likeness of Jesus Christ, we will never provide the internal environment which is needed by these pathogens to do their job. If you are getting sick you are not in the faith, neither are you in Jesus’ name. 2 Cor 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weakness, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

The indestructible life is comprised of different factors hidden in the word of God. It requires the finding and then the observance of each of God’s directives, just like it would if you were in charge of the maintenance on a complex piece of sensitive equipment. If you did not know the science behind the directives in the maintenance manual, you would proceed by faith. It is hard to understand that strength comes through weakness and weakness comes by not eating. Heb 11:33 …who by faith, (verse 34) …from weakness were made strong. Top Levites leaders believed that spiritual mindedness was God’s criteria for holiness and were blinded to see that it was physical purity through weakness. They did not possess the knowledge to be able to correctly evaluate their purity, and therefore could not even start the pilgrimage to the holy mountain of God. After weeks, and maybe even months of gathering to convince themselves that they were in fact holy enough to challenge Moses, they became insolvent. By acting on their thoughts, they demonstrated their contempt for the Lord. Pro 18:3 When wickedness comes, so does contempt, and with shame comes disgrace. After Moses set up the trial where God would show who is holy, he appealed to these Levites by saying to them Numbers 16:9 “Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the congregation and minister to them?” “...But now you are trying to get the priesthood too.” Then Moses tried to talk with two other prominent rebellious Levite men, but they would not even meet with him, choosing only to send a message of disillusionment because of the seemingly inability of God to deliver on his promises. God was going to destroy the whole assemble, which shows the whole assemble was not holy. You can see that God has very little consideration for his people that resist holiness, or to project themselves as holy when they’re not holy. These Levites had no understanding of God’s criteria that he would use to evaluate their holiness, for if they had, it would have been an easy matter to assess. The same situation is happening today, we are ignorant of the measuring line which God uses in evaluating holiness. Pro 4:19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. Here we are today, baptized, thinking we are born again, even set apart working for the Lord in his tabernacle, and in our minds believing our holiness is far above the carnal

Christian. We continue to assure ourselves that we are living out the promises of God in an attempt to keep ourselves from becoming disillusioned. But a quick survey of the scriptures reveals we’re not in the Promised Land and the reality can be seen on the Christian faces. Where is joy, where is the peace, where is the power? We may be set apart for God and even working full time in his service, but the sad reality is that our holiness is still at the same level as the carnal Christian, and therefore, the only thing sustaining us is the hope of grace. Jer 9:25 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh - Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the desert in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.” We, on the other hand, have no excuse for our ignorance. God’s Word is specific and complete, yet we’re “ever hearing and never understanding, we’re ever seeing and never perceiving.” Heb 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one can see the Lord. If you are concerned with seeing the Lord and receiving all his blessing, which includes his power, you had better make sure you understand exactly what the Lord expects from his word “holiness”. To avoid embarrassment, the Christian community is forever reassuring themselves of their holiness, in the mist of a landslide of evidence that would speak to the contrary. The outcome of our actions in our lives, serves as proof we give no weight to God’s instructions, and scoff at his words. Psalms 50:16 But to the wicked, God says: “What right have you to recite my laws? You hate my instructions and cast my words behind you. When you see a thief, you join with him; you throw in your lot with adulterers. You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit.” We think of the wicked as people who are either atheist or criminals, but the last thing that would be on their minds or come from their mouths would be words that express the laws of God. No, the only people that are reciting God’s laws are the people who are trying to assure themselves that they are following the way of Christ. The psalmist is telling us we have no right to recite God’s laws because in ignorance we cannot see that our actions are no better than the thief or the adulterers. We swallow evil, which express itself through words to deceive others into thinking we know what we are talking about.

Eph 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. If their words do not produce results, then they are empty. They express their confidence to you of their security and look forward to the day of the Lord not realizing what this day will bring for them. Amos 5:18 Alas, you who are longing for the day of the Lord, for what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you? It will be darkness and not light; as when a man flees from a lion, and a bear meets him, or goes home, leans his hand against the wall, and a snake bites him. Will not the day of the Lord be darkness instead of light, even gloom with no brightness in it? “I hate, I reject your festivals, nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer up to me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not even look at them; and I will not accept them; and I will not even look at the peace offering of your fatlings. Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an everflowing stream.” “Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel?” Remember, God lead them out from Egypt into the desert to worship Him, and that is exactly what they did before some of them rebelled. And the only thing that they thought they were doing out there was starving to death. God was attempting to purify His children so they could return to Him true worship and receive all His blessings. Only when you admit there is a problem can you get on with finding the solution. 1 Cor 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. It was in the desert that the sons of Israel worshiped with the only thing that they had; their bodies, nothing else. Since we were purchased with the priceless blood of Jesus by entering into his contract, everything and anything that has to do with my body, his temple, are of the utmost concern to the one who paid the ransom. Sickness and disease of my body brings only shame and disgrace to the One who created this house. The question becomes, where in God’s Word does God tell me what actions would bring about the environment for the body’s regeneration into the physical nature of His Son? Exodus 23:10 “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let your land lie unplowed and unused. ...Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

This is the first Sabbath and when observed and obeyed it will keep you from defiling the land; causing the land to sin. After working for six years, the land becomes impoverished and lacking. It needs time to replenish the soil organisms. These living organisms are found in all soils and all plants. The plant feeds, only after, the soil organisms have eaten and have broken down the nutrients into a usable form. Furthermore, in the Sabbath year, God designed and placed seeds of different herbs in sufficient numbers that will germinate, which are high in the particular nutrients that the soil is lacking. Thus, when the herb is allowed to mature and then is turned under, it rebuilds the soil’s integrity. It is very important to remember the plants always eat second behind these small creatures, not first. (An Acre USA, primary) In 2 Kings 5:12 we have the details on Naamans’ healing of leprosy and the direct correlation between the soil and the state of the body. After Naaman obeyed Elisha’s command to wash himself seven times in the Jordan River, his flesh return to that of a small child. God demands that each one of us be washed, so our flesh can return to that of a small child. Upon receiving such a gift from Elisha, Naaman journeyed back with his gift of a new man. We the readers of this passage now jump to the conclusion that this was a straight miracle with no explanation, and to look for a reason would some how bring God down to our level. It was clear that Elisha answered all of Naamans’ questions, which not only gave the logic on why he was healed, but proof that there was only one true God. Understand that if Elisha had represented the outcome as a straight miracle, instead of a law, Naaman would have not made his request that he: 2 Kings 5:17 “…be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry.” Elisha must have explained that it was in obeying the Sabbath which gave life to the soil, which was washed into the river, which made the river muddy, which was absorbed through the skin, which can turn his flesh to that of a small child, which gave Naaman the ability to take great actions in believing. If Naaman had misunderstood exactly what Elisha was communicating, he could have returned home with the intentions of setting up a shrine, with the two donkey loads of earth, and thus a cult could have been created. A cult takes a piece of the truth which gives a particular benefit and worships the object or actions that render the benefit, diverting glory away from God. But Naaman comprehended what was being communicated perfectly, that this earth which was purified by God’s science was only one of God’s natural wonders reflecting His goodness, which had removed his leprosy. God is only faithful to His word, not to an individual person. He only becomes faithful to you when you become faithful to His word. Naaman received the miracle and God

received all the glory for his healing. 2 Kings 5:17 “...for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord.” Naaman from now on would only worship the one true God nevertheless; he was not going to neglect the truth of which he had become educated about. Truth is experiencing the reality of a set of laws, and just because you are ignorant to their proprieties, that is, in no way means that their realities are not going to hit you in the face, be it in the positive or negative. If a law’s outcome is not seen to be more or less instantaneous, we conclude there is no law at work, nevertheless, they are progressing to define their part in the miracle. Therefore, the need to move by faith is paramount. Naaman reluctantly moved, be it only out of desperation, through the mechanics of submerging himself seven times, which allowed the largest organ in his body to take in that which seemed foolish and weak. 1 Cor 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of this world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things - that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. If this book leads you away from giving God all the glory by encouraging you to take advantage of God’s science, then you have misunderstood, because anything that takes away from God’s glory is a cult! No, Naaman was worshiping the God who made this law that governed him, and he now understood how all His laws were made to govern for good, all that He created. I believe Elisha told Naaman that if he wanted his whole body to remain in this state, like that of a small child, he would need to continue obeying God’s laws. So perhaps Naaman used this earth to add life back into his family’s garden plot. What ever happened, Naaman was on his way to becoming a holy man of God. I give you this quote from the book “An Acres U.S.A. PRIMER” by Charles Walters Jr. and C.J. Fenzau, on page 79 under the heading, The cell, “It is thus in terms of absolute supply of body-building nutrients that the soil controls and directs the pattern of life. It limits life, at least, to those forms and numbers that can be maintained by the nutrient supply delivered by the soil”. Jesus said “I come to give you life and life more abundant”. No wonder, God instructed us to let the soil rest and replenish itself! Sick soil, sick body, sick body produces no glory to anybody, no glory to God, no worship to God.

Exodus 23:12 “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slaves in your household, and the aliens as well, may be refreshed. This is the second Sabbath and when observed and obeyed it will keep you from defiling the body. Since we are taken from the ground we operate identically, then it only stands to reason that the second Sabbath is for our bodies. Also, it is impossible for us to accomplish any work outside of our bodies. The first part of this sentence in God’s directive gives us parameters of His cycle of time in regards to rest, relative to work. The second part of this sentence is only clarifying why no work is to be done on the seventh day, but remember you are still in the context of the human body. God was addressing everyone and everyone had in their household what he was addressing. God was not going to try to explain the science He created which is governing the human body, so it could achieve the level of perfection He demands; to people that had no ability to understand. Instead, God gave them a picture of something they could understand to explain something that they could not understand, in order for them to grasp the concept that it was imperative that something in the body doing the work, be given time to be refreshed. Mark 2:27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” God knew the indispensable requirements of the human body and provided. The ox and donkey in the context of your body are your muscles, which does the heavy work and carries the loads. No nutrients can flow to muscles until your slaves and aliens (your homeostatic soil organisms) first do their work, which, of course, is to break down food into their basic elements. Just like the plant in the soils dynamics, you can only be nourished if you have adequate supply of first, the proper organisms, and second, food full of integrity. When there is no work to do, they become refreshed or have time to replenish, as by new supplies. Just like the soil replenishes its self, by receiving rest one in seven, so the body replenishes itself by giving it rest one in seven. (NASB) Acts 3:19 Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.

It is this setting aside, through these times, that this refreshing accomplishes repentance and one returns. However, if the Lord is not present, you will not have the strength to persevere. (NASB) Isaiah 30:23-24 …and it will be rich and plenteous; on that day your livestock will graze in a roomy pasture. Also the oxen and the donkeys which work the ground will eat salted fodder, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. Isaiah 32:20 How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters, who let out freely the ox and the donkey. The fodder that your livestock will be feeding on is salted by the Spirit of God. Pro 11:25 A generous man will prosper; He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. A man that is concerned for the welfare of others, who will sacrifice his time generously to refresh them, will also make the time available for his organisms to be replenished, as by new supplies. To give your body a rest, God is saying, do not eat anything or exert yourself one day in seven. 2 Thes 3:10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: “If anyone will not work neither let him eat.” For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. Paul is operating out of love, yet his instructions are to withhold food from those who will not work. This would seem to go contrary to our human concept of how love would act out. This person is showing his inability to discipline his own body by making excuses why he will not work. A body that will not work, has no capacity to burn calories, where as one engaged in heavy toil burns many calories. The body was not designed to receive more calories than it has used, but as a result of satisfying the cravings, evil is allowed to start its work of lawlessness. Ecc 5:12 The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much. But the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep. A person acting out of love understands this vital connection, and is instructed to take responsibility in helping the weaker brother. One day per week we are commanded to rest and refrain from doing any work, and to the disciplined person who loves his Maker, this means showing reverence by obeying. Likewise, taking on more calories than the body can use is displaying contempt for what He has made and purchased. Matt 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

Phi 3:18-19 For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. God is talking about a literal hunger and a literal thirsting to bring about righteousness. If the body is not using this divine energy to masticate, digest, assimilate and eliminate food, then this divine energy goes to repair the temple. It is through this repairing of God’s holy temple that we come into a right standing before a Holy God. You are thinking right now that if I stop eating, I will become weak, do to the lack of energy. You know this because you were asked by God to write the manual on how this holy temple, your body, works, or is it based purely on your highest authority, your hunger pains. John 6:27 “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give you, for on Him the Father God has set His seal.” Jesus is going to give you the knowledge because He is the manual with the seal of God. John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” To hunger or thirst are both signals from the flesh, likewise the words “comes” and “believes” are directives for the body to engage true knowledge, which will remove the fleshly desires. John 6:45 “It is written in the Prophets: ‘And They Shall All Be Taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. Only those who are drawn by the Father can hear and learn. At some point in your journey of denial for righteousness, a medic-physical change takes place in your body, whereby, in the normal course of work you now are void of hunger or thirst. And how can I be sure that this energy that I do not feel I have is going to work on my holy temple? We must come by faith but also understand that God’s Word is a complete manual for all things pertaining to life and death. 2 Chr 24:13 “The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the repairs progressed under them. They rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design and reinforced it.” God is not going to just repair your body to its’ original design, he going to reinforce your body to suit your vocation. He would not commission us to go to a new vocation where we would be unequipped to handle the requirements of the job. Our spirit can only accomplish the work of God through a body that is under submission, to God’s pattern.

Just like the plant you also eat second. If the homoeostatic soil organisms in your G.I. track, for any reason, do not eat, that is; break down your food into a state that the body can utilize, your body will starve to death, even though you will feel full. Micah 6:13-14 “So also I will make you sick, striking you down, desolating you because of your sins. You will eat, but not be satisfied, and your vileness will be in your midst. You will try to remove it for safekeeping. But you will not preserve anything, and what you do preserve I will give it to the sword.” Satan is not only the father of lies, but a master of deception. Satan wants us to live by our feeling and not by our knowledge, because he knows that this is going to destroy God’s Holy Temple. I can think of no greater deception, after one has entered into His covenant, than to be misled to the point of destroying your own Temple, the very body that houses you and God, and the vessel needed to accomplish His purposes. Soil that has lost its integrity produces food that is lacking nutrients. The body that is lacking nutrients or rest, either by way of consuming defiled food, lacking the ability to break its food down or regulate the cell, is on its way to a depraved body which leads to a depraved mind, not to mention sickness and disease. 2 Cor 7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. The Hebrew or Greek verb teleioo 5048 represents two words “perfecting” in the RV and “consecrate” in the KJV. To grasp what the writer was communicating is to combine these meanings; The first “to bring to an end by completing or perfecting”. Jesus is saying you will arrive, you will obtain what is needed to reach this level I have set. The second word “consecrate” < con - together + sacrare, to make holy < to set apart as holy; make or declare sacred for religious use. In other words, when the writer gives us the actions to perfecting holiness he is also giving us the actions that result in being consecrated. To purify yourself, you must stop contaminating yourself and then have the energy to start removing the existing pollutants. He is saying there is a set amount of time required to complete consecration or to arrive at a state where by God considers you holy, and if God considers you holy, he also considers you pure. The only question is how long and what is the procedure? Other Bible translations use the word, “dedication” instead of “perfecting” which in the verb, primarily means, “to make new, to renew”. Dedication used as a noun, became used particularly on the 25th of Chisleu (Dec.), instituted by Judas Maccabaeus 164 B.C., to commemorate the cleaning of the Temple from the pollution of Antiochus

Epiphanes; hence it was called the Feast of the Dedication. This feast could be celebrated anywhere and the lighting of the lamps was a prominent feature, hence the description “Feast of Lights.” This certainly would be what John 9:5 is referring to when he quotes Jesus saying “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” For in John 10:22, he points out “Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.” God wanted to take something old, clean out the contaminates, and make it new. That sounds like a celebration of a Temple cleansing program, by the life of Christ, at Christmas time to me. Titus 1:15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their action they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. Ignorance is bliss, but renders little when truth is revealed. Ignorance is not a shield or a defense against standing in the presence of God. Also, God holds me and you responsible for the blood of the people around us, when we know the truth and we don’t inform them. We all have become corrupted, that is, we started out pure as a child, but as we grew older, we took inside of us things that caused spoilage, rot, moral debase, evil, depravity, alterations and foreign admixtures that have encumbered both our minds and our consciences, which removed our ability to believe. The Apostle Paul, through the Holy Spirit, is informing us that we who are corrupt will not position ourselves to receive Gods best, even though we claim to know him, our actions deny Him, and place us in his category of detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing ANYTHING good. Psalms 78:36 But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant. It is not a coincidence that Jesus, early in John 2:12, cleanses the Temple and even though it was a physical building, He made it quite clear that the temple He was talking about was His body. Christ himself was pure, but after his death, we became His body and our blood is neither pure, nor our bodies holy. Christmas time should not only be a time of celebrating because the Light of the World came to redeem you and me, but also to commemorate the cleaning of our personal Temple that we may be consecrated, perfecting holiness, and dedicated to that Light. We seem to be quite satisfied with only celebrating the Light and missing the other half of the blessing, which is the power to have our temples renewed.

2 Tim 2:20-21 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. The responsibility falls precisely and solely on the person who chooses to be a vessel for honor. But remember, you have no ability outside of Christ, to receive the strength, or to believe the knowledge needed to accomplish this task. God speaks through Haggai in Chapter 2:6 to give us insight not only into this New Testament directive, but by whose power the peace will be granted, that this house might reflect a greater glory. (NASB) Haggai 2:6-9 “For thus says the Lord of host: ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and also dry land. I will shake all nations, and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of hosts. ‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ declares the Lord of hosts.” Sickness does not equate to peace, but reflects a vessel (body) that has been pushed passed its ability to maintain law and order. Haggai goes on to give us a picture of what this vessel of honor will operate like, in Chapter 2:23. “ ‘On that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the Lord of hosts.” What an honor, to operate like Christ’s own signet ring! Adhering to God’s Sabbath’s laws, you will be on your way to receiving all His blessings. Exodus 23:25 Worship the Lord your God and his blessings will be on your food and water. This is the promise for the first Sabbath to render holy food and water, but there is a condition to worship, and to worship is to obey His instructions. This is why Naaman had to travel to the Jordan River, a river that was muddy and teaming with life and not bath in the rivers of Damascus. Exodus 23:25-26 I will take away sickness from among you and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span. This is the promise for the second Sabbath, but it is a package deal, which is to say to lose either one is to put in jeopardy the total.

Romans 7:22-23 For I joyfully concur with the laws of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Paul could see and was experiencing God’s laws working in his organs, which brought him great joy through great blessing. But Paul was also all things to all people. He was working in the law of love, which has greater parameters, in order to win some to Christ, therefore, his actions of eating with them at their table always served to arouse his fleshly desires. Your ability to operate in the realm of unconditional love is limited by two factors: 1.) to the degree that our microorganisms are in balance and 2.) to the degree the blood and body is pure. Working out of God’s new dimension of love does not exempt you from the ever present temptation of sin. It would appear that from time to time, Paul succumbed to his temptations, and with evil working in your members, it will always start to make you a prisoner to the law of sin. If God wants us to operate in the mud, then we are going to get our feet muddy, but if we will humble ourselves regular, before Jesus, He will always wash our feet. When a body is pure, how much more sensitive and responsive and aware are its members of the presence of evil? This evil will take you prisoner for a time, and when it does, it will wage war against your mind in an attempt to call evil good. After coming out of Egypt or excepting Christ as your Lord and Savior, obeying the two Sabbaths are instrumental if you want to be heading toward holiness, which will position yourself to believe and therefore, receive God’s best. Exodus 31:12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. This is not, you may, or you should, or if you feel like it today; no, observe my Sabbaths, period! “I am” is telling us this knowing that He is sending His Son to show us the way, not to prove Him to be a liar, but to fulfill and obey every word that comes from the mouth of God, which never changes. God is telling you if you want to see the evidence that I am the Lord you must observe my Sabbaths and through these actions you will be transformed from unholy, to holy. That is not to say these are the only actions towards holiness, but without following God’s sequence in his design, any attempt to arrive or portray holiness through a

difference method than His, would be to become deceived by the flesh. Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. Paul is pleading with us, in view of the fact that Jesus has reconciled us to God, to follow how God wants us to discipline our bodies daily, and let that be our spiritual act of worship, that we might become holy and pleasing to God. God demands that we offer our body a living sacrifice, just as he demanded that of his Son. Our job is to carry on the work of Jesus and just as He offered himself to the Father without spot or defect, we have the same responsibility. Sick and diseased, blind or deaf, with spot or defect of any kind is offering to God that which is unacceptable. God accepts the responsibility to remove all the obstacles that are in your way, which would stop you from giving to him exactly what he asks of you and from you. Zech 4:6 “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. “What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’ ” You could put your name here with your mountain, be it sickness or disease, or anything that stands in your way of completing what God is asking of you, because He thinks of you with no less desire or compassion. Without taking action to positioning yourself in a way that allows the power of grace to wean you off of the pattern of the world, you will never start the procedure that will transform you by the renewing of your mind. Without a mind renewed in this way, that is God’s way, you will not be able to test or approve his good, pleasing and perfect will. Our minds are on the way to becoming depraved, because we do not do anything different than what the world does. Yes, Jesus supplied and fulfilled everything that was needed so that both sides of his covenant could be met, but if there are no actions that are building towards holiness, then we are in fact, moving away from His contract. 1 Kings 6:11-13 The word of the Lord came to Solomon: “As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, carry out my regulations and keep all my

commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel.” We tell non-believers that we are the salt and light, but they see no light and taste no salt, which should be a witness back to us that we don’t believe any more than to give lip service. We need to produce fruit in keeping with repentance so we can be the salt and light that God demands us to be. Unless we change the condition of our minds through an ongoing replacement of a fresh supply, we will be unable to keep in step with the Spirit. It is only when we turn our backs on the patterns of the world can this metamorphose of the mind start to become a reality. The implications of being out of this state of mind metamorphose are catastrophic in scope. Is it possible you could work your whole life thinking you are saved and doing the will of God, just to see it all go up in smoke? Sobering thought! Deu 28:58-61 If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name - the Lord your God - the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, severe and lingering illnesses. He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. The Lord will bring on you ever kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this book of the law, until you are destroyed. People wake up and look around! This is exactly what is happening to us and the people of all countries. Have you ever heard of or can you even imagine the magnitude of our diverse sicknesses? Make no mistake these sicknesses and disasters are going to continue until we change or are destroyed. God is using the fear of disease, every kind of sickness and disasters, not recorded in His book, to motivate His people to keep their purity by obeying his instructions: which of course is only aligning yourself with his science. God said: Genesis 2:15 “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surly die.” God could not have said in Exodus 23:25-26 Worship the Lord your God and his blessings will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span if he had meant in Genesis we were going to die of sickness and disease. To not believe or to turn your back on these promises is not only to cut your life short, but to subject yourself to a period suffering through disease before death. Not to mention the burden on your family, friends and the church.

Pro 5:11 At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors. I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.” God has given us His Holy Scriptures to correct us through knowledge. At the end of your life there should be no groaning, for you have heeded His instructions, and discipline yourself in the times of refreshing for your flesh and body. It only ends in disgrace when you allow your heart to spurn correction. And what about your children, are you going to continue to propagate this lie to them, and subject them to a life of misery and disillusionment because if you are, You are in fact, sacrificing your children to your idols. Jer 7:31 “And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnorn, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, and it did not come into My mind. And who taught us to sacrifice our children? Jer 9:14 “…but have walked after the stubbornness of their heart and after the Baals, as their father taught them.” God is telling us that our days are numbered, and if you don’t cut your days short by your disobedience, he will give you a full life span, and not subject you to disgrace. 1 Tim 4:16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things; for as you do this you will insure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

Chapter 22

The Fruit Tree The children of Israel are about to go into and possess the Promised Land, this soil in this land has been defiled through the actions of the former inhabitants. Therefore, God instructs them on the procedures that will be needed to transform the land, so it can produce fruit that is holy. That is, fruit, full of integrity. Lev 19:23-25 “ ‘When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten. In the forth year all of its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased.’ ” God is commanding them to observe specific actions on how to reclaim sick and diseased soils. These procedures accommodate the regenerating proprieties of the earth, so that it is capable of producing fruit that is acceptable to be eaten by His holy nation. Jer 2:2-3 …Thus says the Lord, “I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, the love of your betrothals, your following after Me in the wilderness, through a land not sown. Israel was holy to the Lord, The first of His harvest; all who ate it became guilty; Evil came upon them,” declares the Lord. If God forbids the eating of the first crop, He is not doing it to hurt you, but to guide them and you through what will remove holiness or allow evil to curse you. Each year, of the three year process, the tree is dropping its fruit and leaves on the soil. As you can see, this procedure of allowing the fruit to decompose each year around the tree would act in an accumulative nature, which builds up the organisms and nutrients in the soil. The superfluous supply of hungry microorganisms now goes to work to clean up the acidity of the soil. In the fourth year, the land has been transformed by the renewing of the earth from a state of sin to a state of holiness, from a state of sickness and disease to a state of health, from a state of defilement to a state of cleanliness, from a state of uselessness to a state of true productivity. This tree is now ready to pour out its first fruits that are pure, and will only bring forth fruit that is pure, with all praise and glory going to the Lord. Titus 1:15 To the pure, all things are pure. Once the soil becomes pure it can only bring forth that which is pure, regardless of what ever it is growing. We are referred to as “trees” in the word of God, but if our soil has become acidic and in need of minerals we need to regenerate its properties. Eze 22:23 And the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, say to her,

‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst, like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. Her priest have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have not taught the difference between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.” We were not instructed in the truth by the people we held in high regard. They have no understanding between holy and profane or the unclean and the clean and as a result their incompetence we have been torn to pieces. Luke 11:41 “But give that which is within as charity, and then all things are clean.” If you follow this blueprint of the fruit tree for your life, then you will have a good start to giving that which is within, as charity. God is saying that if you will establish and follow My transition you will go on to receive His blessing of abundance which starts with understanding Him. However, it is not until you are in your fourth year that you can produce holy fruits and this holy fruit is always received by the High Priest. Rev 14:4-5 These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And no lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless. The word “women” here is used as a metaphor to give all of us a picture of the relationship which our spirit has with the side of us that is weaker, our flesh. We all have gratified the flesh from time to time, if not on a regular bases, but should we be given the knowledge and the time to finish the race well, our covenant with Christ will erase our past indiscretions. This is a picture of how, we, as sick and diseased soil, can be transformed to produce fruit that is holy. It starts by giving the body complete rest one in seven, which allows a quantity of time to remove demands, which produces the only environment that frees our slaves and aliens to build back their numbers. A cell under managed, by these microscopic creatures, is a cell lacking the ability to manufacture the supply of energy needed. A cell starving for energy will lose the battle to maintain God’s holy temple or propagate lawlessness to the depths of depravity. This process of denying ourselves insures that we will preserve the integrity of the body but only at the level we find ourselves at. Now that we have halted the slide, it is time to start repairing the damage and transforming the heart. Exodus 5:1 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to me in the wilderness.’ ”

These feasts are to God; appointed by Him for our benefit and His glory, and He knows how long it will take. Longer consecutive periods of time are needed where the body is at rest, so that this wonderfully built body is able to undo the years of damage caused by our disobedience. Cleaning up and clearing out its members regenerates by purifying the body and the mind. This three year period works on an accumulative nature, until finally through perseverance you arrive at Zion were all your fruit is holy. The longer you submit to this accumulative nature of God’s science, the clearer and clearer your spiritual sight becomes, so you can start to train your senses to operate in this new law of love. Deu 26:12 “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and to the widow, that they may eat in your towns, and be satisfied. It is only when you have finished paying all your tithe to Zion, in the third year, can it flow out from here to the stranger, to the orphan and to the widow. Zech 8:2 Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes with great wrath I am jealous for her.” This jealousy will be unleashed when the cup is full and is going to remove everything that man has made which works to pollute Zion. I believe that when you harmonize God’s commands with the reality of this accumulative phenomenon that is taking place in the body, it will take us to where John the Baptist was when Jesus referred to him as “A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet”. Some of you may believe I am making a correlation here that I have no license over, but Jesus gave us the license when he spoke this parable in Luke. Luke 13:6 Then He (Jesus) told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ “ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut down.’ ” We are God’s fig trees that He has adopted and our soil is defiled and He is asking this of his Son, “It has been three years I have been looking for fruit and I haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the earth’s resources?” But our Savior is there interceding on our behalf and petitioning the Father to allow Him one more year to work with us.

We are commanded to produce fruit in keeping with repentance, that is, there is a holy fruit which is derived from the actions of repentance. John said to the multitude who were going to be baptized by him in Luke 3:7; …“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” These condemning words were directed at all who have the heart attitude being displayed by the Pharisees. What was this heart attitude? Pro 26:12 Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. John 9:41 “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains. Good fruit comes only from good soil. John and Jesus, in the strongest words was telling them and us that if you cannot produce holy fruit, which only comes through repentance, then your soil has not been reclaimed. Repentance demands holy fruit; it is not just any fruit. Who is wise enough to school us in this area of repentance? How about the men of Nineveh? Matt 12:41 The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment, and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and something greater than Jonah is here. We see that the wickedness of the city of Nineveh has come up before the Lord. The Lord sent Jonah to warn them that He was going to overthrow the city because of their wickedness. God’s word in Matt 12:41 tells us that they repented and because of this they will stand at the Day of Judgment. Therefore, if they will stand, then they had the correct actions surrounding what God demands in repentance. So what did the king proclaim to his people in Nineveh? (NASB) Jonah 3:7-8 And he issued a proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands. “Who knows, God may turn and relent, and withdraw His burning anger so that we shall not perish?” It just does not seem logical to us that repentance would mean delivering the body into a state of such anguish for that period of time. Different logistics (come about from) are established from the clearest picture of knowledge.

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” To be covered in sackcloth is a picture of the humble attitude being expressed through this time of denial where you earnestly pray and turn from wickedness and violence that your own hand is perpetrating against your own body. What needs to be understood here? We see a group of people, some eighty thousand souls, who for what ever reason believed Jonah, that is, they changed the way they were living when he warned them that their city was going to be overthrown in forty days. These people took a specific action that delivered them from disaster. Repentance is not different for each person, or any and all flesh, for all are made from the same material which functions identically. The actions return to them a positive outcome, they were blessed. From a rational point of view, what more of a picture could God paint to make repentance any clearer for us? Jonah preached to the people of Nineveh, that is, he spoke with them and informed them on where they were, relative to where God wanted them. In other words, he gave them the gospel message and it produced in them a uniform act over the complete city. The question you needed to be asking yourself; is the information that I am giving you in this book directing you to respond in kind? If so, you need to consider that it may in fact be the only gospel message. What about giving us a picture with a totally different disaster were the outcome was in the negative, to verify and clarify that the actions which the people of Nineveh performed were not just appropriate for their particular circumstances. God does just that in Matt 24:38 “For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking; they were marrying and giving in marrying, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. These people that Noah preached to for 120 years could not believe, and therefore, did not take proper actions which would have given understanding, by which they could have been saved. It is not a coincidence that God’s word immediately reveals exactly their actions that rendered their minds impotent. And it is not a coincidence that the actions of the people in Noah’s day, which delivered them to death, were the exactly opposite to the actions of citizens of Nineveh which saved them and delivered them to eternal life. These two groups of people were both warned of pending disaster but only the one group that allowed fear and trembling to motivate them to Rev 3:18-19 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may be come rich, and white garments,

that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. Those whom I love I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore and repent. Where is your eye salve so you can see? Matt 12:42 “The Queen of the South shall rise up with this generation at the judgment and shall condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold something greater than Solomon is here.” Jesus’ words recorded for us in Matthew direct us to one greater than Solomon and greater than Jonah. But if the men of Nineveh and the Queen of the South, with the men of this generation, are going to rise up at the judgment and condemn it, they must have learned and applied the knowledge of repentance before the days of Jesus. Therefore, whatever was recorded for us in the book of Jonah and through the words of Solomon must be identical to the life and way of Christ. 1 Kings 10:2-5 ...When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. And Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from the king which he did not explain to her. When the queen of Sheba perceived all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had build, the food on his table, the attendance of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. Solomon was the king, and the only house that he would have built, which would be relevant to repentance, would be the house that housed his spirit. The Queen of Sheba was to obtain insight to why certain foods were on his table, and why certain foods were not. The understanding of how and when to call for his food, that he would be protected against those who would have him maimed or killed. She was given perception to understand that all this applied knowledge illuminated steps of truth which were arranged to take him upward into the very house of the Lord, to receive God’s wisdom and will worship in spirit and truth. 2 Tim 2:23-26 But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. The Pharisees and Sadducees were producing unholy fruit for their repentance, but if it is not holy, God does not grant repentance that leads to knowledge, and without knowledge no one can come to their senses, and stop doing the devil’s will. It is in the

“doing” of this “repentance” that gives us the ability to understand and comprehend, just, the knowledge of the truth. After we possess the knowledge of the truth, we will know how to continue to appropriate the strength to make the love of Jesus a crowning reality in our life. But like us, they could not see that their fruit was coming from soil that was diseased. If we are forbidden to eat such fruit, how much more is Christ going to reject it. Matt 23:26 (Jesus speaking) Blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. They did not know what he meant by this and neither do we. Since we did not understand and clean the inside of our dish and cup, Jesus is speaking to us. We are this brood of vipers spitting out poison. Matt 7:17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. The difference between a good tree and a bad tree is the state of the soil. There is no such thing as bad fruit coming from a tree that is growing in holy soil, or good fruit coming from a tree that is growing in depleted soil. The soil is the key to whether or not God will consider the fruit holy. If your personal soil, that is the clay from which you were fashioned with, has become depleted, your fruit which can look the same will be rejected. The poisons which are making us personally sick, which are robbing us of our integrity, are the same poisons that keep us from being in the character of Christ, or should I say, reflecting all His character attributes. When people are under pressure or sick, as much as they don’t want to be, their seemingly nice demeanor changes to an abrasive, confrontational attitude, which can display all the attributes which are not in Christ’s character. In other words, we know better, but the flesh is in control of our body and as such, we are helpless in this state to display the fruits of the Spirit of God. That is why Jesus was not only healing everybody He could, but also warning them not to take in these evils again. Eph 4:29-32 Let not even one word rotten or worthless proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for the building up according to the need of the moment, that it may give kindness and blessing to those who hear. And do not cause sorrow to The Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and indignation and impulsive wrath and clamor and abusive language be put away from you, along with all wickedness. And be good and kind to one another, tenderhearted, showing favor freely to each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

As much as the depleted body (soil) is working against you, in contrast, the body with integrity (holy soil) will be working for you. That is why Jesus said in Titus 1:15 “To the pure all things are pure”. A pure body has integrity which can only reproduce fruit with the same integrity. The good fruit is always full of integrity and that is the fruit of the Spirit which is; (Gal 5:22) love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The one who is exhibiting these qualities, God will place on a stand. Luke 11:33 “No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar, nor under a peck-measure, but on the lamp stand, in order that those who enter may see the light. The lamp of your body is your eye; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Then watch out that the light in you may not be darkness. If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark parts in it, it shall be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.” Jesus could see into the literal eyes of these Pharisees, and observed the dark cloudiness within. The eye works like a mirror to reflect the spiritual condition of the body. Whatever has caused the eye to become dark has first caused the body to become evil. Repentance is the action which causes the reverting back of the eye to a clear state. Iridology is the study of the eyes; it is a scientific fact that all parts of your body are represented in your eyes. The eye is not only a window into your soul, but also works like a diary of the body, and as such, reflects back the complete history of all that we have done to it. The eye acts like God’s stenographer of our life, recording the good and the evil as it pertains to our body. It is impossible to produce good fruit from a body Whose eyes are dark and cloudy. Matt 3:10 The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Jeremiah could see what was happening with his countrymen, and was asking God why His righteousness allows this continuation in (NASB) Jer 12:1-3 Righteous art thou, O Lord, that I would plead my case with Thee; Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with thee: Why has the way of the wicked prospered? Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease? Thou hast planted them, they have also taken root; they grow, they have even produced fruit. Thou art near to their lips but far from their mind. But Thou knowest me, O Lord; and Thou dost examine my heart attitude towards Thee. Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of carnage! He knows that it is going to take three years to purify our clay, but after that, we will produce fruit that is holy. If we keep eating our own fruit, it never drops to the ground, starting his process of transforming defiled soil into holy soil.

If we keep spending this energy on ourselves, our soil (bodies) will remain in this state of defilement and will never produce holy fruit. After the allotted time, Jesus is going to start digging around us and fertilizing. Suffering is an expression of God’s love in action that attempts to jar us from our complacence to drive us back to the Word, so we can find out where we went wrong. Unlimited grace is always there at our disposal to accomplish what God requires in our lives, but access is limited only to the days allotted to us. It is a fearful thing to realize you have not appropriated, by faith, grace in sufficient quantity to take you to the place were Jesus can present you to the Father as a blameless and pure, child of God. 2 Cor 6:1 And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain – for He says, “AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THAT DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU”; behold now is THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION”2 Cor 11:2 …I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. That is why Paul exhorts us in Phi 2:12 Therefore, my friends, as you have always obeyed ... Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God, without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life. Are you thinking, “I have no fear and trembling today?” Is God telling me that to be obedient to him I must continually work out my salvation with ongoing fear and trembling? I was taught salvation was a gift, and a gift does not require work. But wait a minute, who is doing the work, me or God? Paul’s words are requiring both. Does the fear and trembling come because I am concerned that God will not fulfill his side of the work required? Could it be that fear and trembling is to act as a motivator for me to persist in my actions to take hold of what Christ offers? And if I don’t complain or argue with God’s directions regarding this salvation, I may become a blameless and pure child of God? I thought salvation was merely a gift received once and for all. What is this word “may” doing in here? Paul is telling us it is an ongoing process in which the participant is dynamically involved. It is not fear and trembling because of doubt or anxiety, but instead, the reference is to an active reverence and oneness of meaning in answering to God’s grace. This salvation is a continual work of surrendering without complaining or arguing, whereby, Christ goes to work in and through me to accomplish what the Father demands. For most of you that are in a different vain of understanding, nothing I say will

convince you that this is anything more than salvation by works. In Titus 2:12 It (grace) teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope. 1 John 3:3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. This requires a deliberate action on our part because of the wonderful hope that the promises hold out for each one of us. God is not going to ask us to purify ourselves and then leave us alone to decide the procedure. If we know anything about God, it is that he is not going to be lacking any details, anywhere, and certainly not in regards to his sacred and Holy Temple where in he is dwelling. You don’t need an over abundance of brain power to understand what he was telling them to do. But wouldn’t that be just like God to use the one thing that has no short term visible evidence, that cannot be adhered to accept by the grace of his Son, goes directly against our flesh and our nature and to be the only thing that will allow us to position ourselves to receive his power. Jesus was not telling them there was no need to fast, but a great need to fast. Joel 2:12 “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rent your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. The actions of renting the heart are the actions of fasting, weeping and mourning, and nothing else. Any and all other actions are renting your garments and accomplish only what your flesh holds up as a decoy. Fasting gives a particular benefit to the body, yet the actions are in literally doing nothing. If I choose not to recognize who made the body, the glory goes to the body. I continue to worship it by providing for my idol, organic foods, pure water, fresh air, rest and exercise. But if I know the one who made the body, through His wonderful workmanship, the actions of doing nothing which reaps the benefits, goes directly to His glory. Now I continue to worship God by providing for my body what His word tells me His vessel functions best on, organic foods, pure water, fresh air, complete rest, exercise and periods of prolonged rest (fasting). The idol worshiper, in the end, will always gratify his flesh, for he will not circumcise his flesh, whereas, the ones who fast regularly obey God and reap the benefits in the actions of circumcising his flesh. Some cults are taking advantage of parts of His knowledge by providing what the

body functions best on, which only rents their garment. Should I allow their ignorance of the Truth to keep me from implementing the actions that overlap the fuller picture that God’s word reveals because some may misunderstand and call my actions a cult? In John 16:29-31 Jesus is preparing them for his departure. He is excited because for the first time he saw responses that confirmed what the three years were all about, that is, positioning His disciples so that they could believe. Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” John 16:31 “You believe at last!” Jesus answered. Jesus was not talking any different to them than he had been all along. No, something else changed, something in them was finally allowing them to see. Something about them was finally allowing them to perceive what he was saying. Something changed in their minds that allowed them to believe and Jesus knew it. The question that needs asking is; “What was their state for almost three years prior to this announcement?” Before this proclamation they had been healing the sick and casting out demons and many wonderful things, yet they were not by Jesus’ definition “believers”. So if it was not their knowing Jesus, or being around Jesus for a length of time that caused them to arrive at this new state of conciseness, what was it? It was not seeing all his miracles, or hearing all the sermons, but willingly going through the hardships of following Him. These were not some mental or spiritual hardships that they needed to overcome in their minds, but physical challenges, like lack of food, sleeping out in gardens and walking everywhere. It was following Him through all the physical provocations that changed their flesh by regeneration and prepared their bodies to receive a new reality of physics, where you have no limits placed on you through what you see. This new reality comes through perseverance as they followed Jesus who was living day to day like a poor man. This state of living is Jesus’ “eye salve”, and little by little, day by day it was working. This was the day Jesus had been waiting for and he was excited to know that they finally believed. To be a Believer, is to arrival at a higher state of conciseness through regeneration, which take you through a door into a new law of physics, that redefines your reality, to were all things are possible in the will of God. Jesus now knew that all things would be possible for His disciples, and He now has them ready for Pentecost, were there would be nothing obstructing the power of the Holy Spirit being released through their lives. Does it not make sense that defiled soil would produce defiled food, and even when you start out pure, it would not take long

before you would be given over to a mind that could not think straight? However, thank God, the opposite is true, eating food full of integrity and allowing Jesus to purify our bodies through rest and fasting, over three years, can renew our minds, rendering us free from doubt and place us in the comparable position as Jesus’ disciples on the day of Pentecost. You cannot rush defiled soil back into production. You must wait, for who wants to eat unholy fruit that is bitter. You could pass this food off to the world as holy, but you are not giving them what is needed to sustain them. But once this time period is over, there is no more waiting, for the land has been reclaimed, all fruit coming from this land is acceptable. The time has come to work the land for which it was created, under the conditions set out to maintain its integrity. In exactly the same way, you cannot rush a defiled temple, your body, into producing fruit that is acceptable for the Lord. David said in Psalms 27:14 “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalms 40:1-2 I wait patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and he heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. After Jesus was baptized, he went immediately into the desert to cry out to the one who could save him from death. He showed us how to be strong in heart as he waited patiently for forty days. But what was he waiting for? 1 Samuel 10:6 The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you. God builds great character through this time of waiting, as he is renewing your mind, so when the time is up you can keep in step with the Spirit. It is in the third year when you know your standing firm in your intimate love relationship that He starts revealing His mission for your life. The danger in this third year is that you don’t wait, you are anxious to start your mission and you move out before your mind is completely renewed. If you are not in step with the Spirit, that is to say, in the place and at the time that God ordained, then you are out of step and you are operating outside of the Spirit. If we desire to have his power display in our lives, we must do it His way. The fact that Jesus spent three years with his disciples is telling us it takes three years, respect him as the author of life, for he knows all things. Luke 24:49 “I am going to send to you what my Father has promised; But stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Jesus directed them to wait for the power that he was going to send. But what about the power they had already been using, was this power just an extension of Christ’s? Did Jesus only make this power available to them to the degree that they believed? Matt 17:19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” (The demon) Jesus replied, “Because you have so little faith.” I believe this power that the disciples were a part of, must have been connected with Jesus’ physical presence, for if it was not, there would be no need for this warning to wait. I believe this transfer of powers should have been an indication to the disciples that while Jesus was with them he conducted their living in such a way to position them to receive their own powers from the Spirit. Jesus’ disciples never completely understood how they were positioned to receive their individual power, for if they had, Christ would have never told them this in John 13:7 “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” that is, when the Holy Spirit comes he will reveal all things. Daniel 2:47 ... and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries,.. Once Jesus started this action it should have become a perpetual phenomena, that is to say, each of his disciples who completed sanctification received the same power to duplicate the same results. His disciples could not drive out this demon because their level of purity reflected their level of faith. You cannot take your faith to a higher level until your body’s purity reaches a higher level. Romans 14:2 One man has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eat vegetables only. In the Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary this word “weak” 770 - means: noisy. The primary root comes from 7442: to creak (or emit a stridulous sound) In the Greek dictionary it means: be diseased, impotent folk, be sick. The word is telling me that a weak person needs only to eat vegetables because his weakness comes from low energy. Bring his energy level up, and his weakness in the form of making noise or emitting a stridulous sound is gone. A stridulous sound means: to make a shrill, grating or chirping sound by rubbing certain body parts together, as some insects do. Something that is making me sick or diseased is emitting stridulous sounds that are coming from my body. These sounds must be in a frequency range which is not detectable to the human ear. In the book “The Cure for All Diseases” by Hulda Clack, Ph.D., N.D. on page 10 she writes “So my electronic method attacking illness was born. Find the frequency of a bacterium, virus or parasite using a slide or dead bit. Treat the living invaders inside the

human body with this frequency and in a matter of minutes they are no longer transmitting their own bandwidths - they are dead or sick and will be removed by our white blood cells.” Eating only vegetables for a length of time makes the body strong, in that which is needed to know Truth and build faith. These “things” which are giving off the noise, which are stagnating our purity, is being sustained through robbing us of our energy. The foods that demand exorbitant energy to break down are the foods that we need to temporarily give up. However, once our faith is operating at the level God demands, we will have the knowledge and understanding to eat all things which do not cause us to give an offence. Romans 14:20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives an offence. It is not good to eat meat or to drink wine or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. If a younger brother in the Lord is going through his time of sanctification, whereby he is abstaining from meat and wine in order to purify his body, and you place him in a compromising position for the sake of what you want to eat, you potentially stumble him, and are showing him no love. All foods are clean, but to eat without consideration for the one who you may be offending, is to act contrary to love. Also, what you are eating maybe clean, BUT they are evil for the man who eats and gives an offence. Your level of faith may give you the ability to digest certain foods well, where as your friend eating the same food may produce nothing but gas and bloating. Of course this in no way overrides God’s direction for what can and cannot be eaten in the Old Testament. Overeating at any level of faith, produce foul smelling gases which are offensive, and certainly work to tear down the works of God. If you are willing to offend those who Christ died for, by what you eat, you have not entered into his law of love, therefore, this food is evil. Song 4:10 “How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than all kinds of spices! Your lips, my bride, drip honey; Honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. A garden locked is my sister, my bride, a rock garden locked, a spring sealed up. I am quite sure the fragrance of Lebanon does not smell like something has crawled inside you and died. Nothing is getting in this rock garden to spoil it because the person in charge has it locked down. Each one is at a different stage in their building project of love, but remember, he who is

greatest is the servant of all. Let this attitude of humility speak for you to address your question of ranking, for by indulging your privilege you show you have not yet arrived. Psalms 25:3 No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame,... But when the time is up and (Psalm 103:5) “your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” there is nothing to wait for! Isaiah 40:29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. When you “hope in the Lord” it is a physical following even when your actions cannot be understood, because you choose to believe that He knows the eternal workings of your body and you trust him when He says the body can have its strength renewed. If you can muster just a little faith, maybe you can start to trust and obey, for God will lead you to his best. Psalms 29:11 The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. Strength comes as a result of peace and the only peace Jesus promises is an inner peace. I give you this acronym for peace: P - Perseverance through pain, E - Expectation of intervention, A - Ascribe unto God, C - Cleansing through surrendering, E - Essence of true worship He will transform you from top to bottom, inside and out, he will carry you along by his grace until you are ready to soar into your mission. When the waiting is over, then your worthy to start moving in the power of the Spirit, for the Spirit is in perpetual motion and so is the eagle. Jesus knew his disciples were thoroughly equipped with all that was needed to carry out his final command; “All authority in heaven has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. The making of a disciple is to teach one to understand why obeying Truth is paramount. However, without faith there is no P.E.A.C.E. and therefore, you will not be changed into a different person. PEACE comes by way of repentance to produce holiness, and without holiness you will not see Truth.

Jesus then instructs us, his disciples, on the pattern that this directive should follow. Matt 10:7 As you go to preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. This is not just one way of many, something we should consider and then decide for ourselves. No, Jesus is saying; this is what my disciples will function like. He is telling us to examine ourselves, because if you cannot live up to His directives, then this could serve to speak to where you are on your highway to holiness. If you cannot give freely, you have not freely received!

Chapter 23

The Smoking Gun Amos 3:7 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plans to his servants the prophets. We have God’s word telling us that He will do nothing without revealing His plans to the servants that He has chosen to prophesied. We can and will know in advance, but will we recognize it for what it is? Psalms 140:2 ...who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day. They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s; the poison of vipers is on their lips. Who are these evil men? Psalms 140:9 Let the heads of those who surround me be covered with the trouble their lips have caused. If the shoe fits put it on. Why are these men devising evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day? Why have their tongues become as sharp as a serpent’s? How did this viper’s poison get into them so it could be on their lips? The psalmist tells us the lips are the parts that are causing the trouble and this trouble is going to fall even on the heads of the very people which surrounded him. Why have these lips become deceived that they would do such a thing? Job 20:12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue, though he cannot bear to let it go and keeps it in his mouth, yet his food will turn sour in his stomach; it will become the venom of serpents within him. He will spit out the riches he swallowed; God will make his stomach vomit them up. He will suck the poison of serpents; the fangs of an adder will kill him. He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream. What he toiled for he must give back uneaten; He will not enjoy the profit from his trading.” Through this passage in Job, God is telling us that this food that is sweet goes into the stomach and then it turns into poisonous venom and makes us sick. At some juncture this food becomes evil and evil is sin. Ex23:19 You are not to boil a kid in the milk of its mother. Meat is a protein and milk is a protein, Is God telling us that two proteins are not to be mixed? Hosea 3:1 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the

Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin-cakes.” Was God telling them not to mix fruit with grains? As wonderfully engineered as this body is it was not designed to digest many different foods at the same time. God’s chooses to work within His laws in chemistry as he does for all His other laws. Different foods require different formulas for complete digestion. Therefore, as we combine many varying foods together in one meal we limit the body’s ability to completely digest anything. Undigested food in the stomach will turn sour and become poison. This poison will be sucked off through the intestines into the bloodstream and make its way to every part of the body. We are sinning against our own bodies and we have no idea that our actions are separating us from God. We are willing to endure sickness and disease so as to continue consuming the sweet taste of these delicacies. We know there is some digestion problems, yet never perceiving that good foods combined improperly is poisoning our bodies. These actions will keep us from the living water, where we would have been enjoying literally honey and cream. The person’s hard work from his trading, which enabled him to buy this food, gave his body no advantage. The issue is acerbated do to the fact that we believe we have done nothing wrong. Pro 5:6 She gives no thought to her way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not. Pro 30:20 This is the way of an adulteress: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’ It is not only the over consumption which is going to hurt us but the wrong combining of foods. They are sweet and appealing, but God considers these acts as committing adultery.

Pro 18:7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin, And his lips are the snare of his soul. This trouble that the lips are causing is proceeding to induce the heart to devise evil plans because of the essence of who you are becoming. Day after day “the body of Christ” is slowly and continually being bathed in poisons at the ignorance of our own hands. Matt 15:19 Jesus said “For out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” Matt 12:34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. The lips operating like gates have let in poison and the body has been designed to fight off evil which is resulting in war every day, not peace. Job 36:18 “Beware lest wrath 2534 entice you to scoffing; and do not let the

greatness of the ransom 3724 turn you aside. This is Elihu speaking of God’s dealings with men and Elihu was not condemned by God like Job’s other three friends. In the Hebrew dictionary this word wrath 2534 states - heat; anger or poison (from its’ fever) and ransom 3724 states - to cover, appease, make atonement. Elihu is warning us to beware that the heat which comes from this poison, can and will, entice us to make our ransom the object of our contempt. These actions of mocking the Lamb of God will expose you to your sin. Pro 14:30 A heart at peace gives life to the body. If your lips refuse to take in poison there is no demand on your body to use up energy to make peace, which now can be used to give life to the body. Isaiah was caught up like Job, just as we all are being deceived by our wrong doing. Isaiah 6:5 Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean (2931 - foul in a religious sense: defiled, polluted) lips, (8198 - through the idea of termination; the lip as a natural boundary) and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. And he said this has touched your lips; “And your sin is forgiven.” Think of it, even this great man of God before he came into the service of The Creator, lived a life which could not discern between the pure and the profane. Isaiah saw Truth for who He was, which compelled him to suffer the pain of having his lips cauterized by a hot coal, so as to keep from polluting God’s holy temple. Back then, there was no one who saw God and today there is no one who sees God. Our nature has not changed from Isaiah’s day! In the foot notes in my first Bible (NIV) it has this to say under Psalms 141; Like in Psalms 140, the prayer is profuse (generous) in its physiological (the study of the function and vital processes of living organisms or their parts and organs) allusions: (allude, mention) hands, mouth, lips, heart, head, bones, eyes. David understood that his body was made up of these living organisms and how and what they were fed, made the difference to how he conducted himself. This understanding of the truth and choice to submit to it, position himself to be refereed to by God “as man after God’s own heart.” This is not some special privilege David enjoyed, but a conscious decision on his part to line up with the truth. Likewise, you need not ask God for some special concession so you too, can be in this elite classification, but only make a conscious decision to apply His truth. Truth applied is truth that goes to work for you, for to line up with truth and not receive the blessing of that truth is impossible.

Psalms 39:1 “I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle, while the wicked are in my presence.” Psalms 141:3 Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies. David’s prayer is asking God to keep watch over what his lips allow in, so his heart may not be drawn to do what is evil, or to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers. David is calling on God to give him the strength to refuse the desires of his flesh by not eating of these evildoers delicacies. He has understanding into the laws of physiology and is directly connecting what is put in the mouth and eaten to the state of the heart. David knows that these delicacies when eaten are going to subtly seduce and take away his ability to resist evil or believe God. Romans 10:10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. The mind does not possess within itself the ability to believe, it only understands the need to confess to its depravity. It is the heart that will be proclaiming what you believe and not the intellect stemming from arrogance. Could I be conducting myself arrogantly and not know it? (NASB) Job 15:25-28 Because he has stretch out his hand arrogantly against the Almighty. “He rushes headlong at Him with his massive shield. “For he has covered his face with his fat, and made his thighs heavy with flesh. God through Job gives us a picture of what the state of living in arrogance looks like and acts like. If your choices have produced a massive body, you are arrogantly rushing headlong at Him. It is your actions, by your choices, that have pitted you against the Almighty. (NIV) 1 Samuel 15:22 “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” It is clearly showing us that a fat person is practicing idolatry! The state of my heart is crucial because it is the pure state of my heart that gives me the ability to believe. For if I cannot believe I will not be justified, and if I am not justified, even if I confess that Jesus is Lord, I do not posses its prerequisite to be saved. The degree to which I indulge in their delicacies will be the same degree that my heart is led away from the truth. The degree my heart is corrupt, or pure, will determine at what level of faith my life will function at.

Pro 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is a wellspring of life. Pro 27:19 As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man. (NASB) Luke 21:34 (Jesus speaking) “Be on your guard, that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation (2897 means – surfeiting or an overabundant supply, excess, an intemperate or immoderate indulgence in something [as food or drink) and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.” Whatever has the capability to change your heart has the mastery over your spirit, soul and your very life. In Psalms, Chapter 73, David was considering the life of the wicked and reassuring himself the price of purity was the only reasonable and sane purchase. He contrasts the wicked with that of the righteous. (NASB) Psalms 73:1-28 Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart! But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling; My steps had almost slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant, as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death; and their body is fat. They are not in trouble as other men; nor are they plagued like mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; the garment of violence covers them their eyes bulges from fatness; the imaginations of their hearts run riot. They mock, and wickedly speak of oppression; they speak from on high. They have set their mouths against heavens and their tongue parades through the earth. Therefore his people return to this place; and waters of abundance are drunk by them. And they say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; and always at ease, they have increased in wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure, and washed my hands in innocence; for I have been stricken all day long, and chastened every morning, if I had said, “I will speak thus,” Behold, I should have betrayed the generation of Thy children. When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight, until I came into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end. Surely thou dost set them in slippery places; thou dost cast them down to destruction. How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, thou wilt despise their form. When my heart was embittered, and I was pierced within, then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before Thee. Nevertheless I am continually with Thee; thou hast taken hold of my right hand. With Thy counsel thou wilt guide me, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from Thee will perish; Thou hast destroyed all those who are unfaithful to Thee. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge,

that I tell of all Thy works. In verse 27, it is good to note that the Psalmist states that those who are far from God will perish. The life of the wicked is described as dying quickly without pains, (Psalms 78:33) their body is fat, they are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like mankind. Their eyes bulge from fatness; the imaginations of their heart run riot. Fatness is directly related to and controls the thought process. They question if God knows or if He has knowledge. But in Psalms 73:27, the Spirit speaking through the Psalmist leaves no room for speculation by the descriptive definition of the meaning of the phrase “are unfaithful” [#2181Hebrew & Chaldee dic.] which makes fatness of the body, (from being “highly fed”), synonymous with committing idolatry, or playing the harlot. We who are highly fed (I suggest it is most all of us) have brought upon ourselves a new reality, whether we understand it or not. Now go and read your bible and put on your new reality and know the cost of whoredom. Eze 34:16 “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment. Eze 34:20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them, “Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. God is Judging My Life By Examining My Body! If what my lips let in makes me sick, could this have a bearing on my heart? It is in consideration of this question that moves me to entertain the idea that the two could be connected, and it is only from the word of God that Truth will come to shed His light. Mark 2:5 Jesus is limited by people’s faith. And Jesus seeing their faith (# 4102) said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” These men came believing and expecting only, that their friend would be cured and able to walk. The word “faith” here in the Greek Dictionary, # 4102 means; persuasion, ie. credence; moral conviction, belief. Jesus only provides, to the extent that our moral conviction, of a religious truth, will allow us to receive. These men demonstrated their assurance in Jesus by their actions and disregard for someone else’s roof. Their resolve freed Jesus up to meet their request. Their expectations were to have their friend set free from his disease and walk, not to have his sins forgiven. They would have had no belief that this could be possible for they knew only God could forgive sin. In Mark 1:34 “and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who he was” because at this point, this truth of who He was, would only be revealed to whom the Father blesses. Secondly when Jesus met this need with the words, “My son your sins (264) are

forgiven” Christ was revealing two things. First, the fact that this man’s condition was a result of him missing the mark, and secondly, that he was God. These scribes had no trouble making the connection of what His words were implying, but in an attempt to underscore the imperative, Jesus asks the question "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven' or to say, 'Arise, and take up your bed and walk'?" The question was posed to them to start them thinking in a new direction, away from a man who heals, to an understanding that the two issues are one in the same. That is, sin and sickness are synonymous. Sin is lawlessness that breaks out in chaos within God’s Holy temple, our bodies, because it robs Him of receiving all the glory and honor from His workmanship. The fact that this man walked out of the house certainly proved Jesus authority to forgive sin in a way which is undeniable. The actions were to bring to light and establish two facts and insuring one more, first; That your body is a testimony to the reality of your spiritual condition. That is, if your body is not functioning the way it was designed, then it is confirming the state of your heart. Secondly, that Jesus had authority on earth to forgive sin, and therefore, was God. And by implication, could forgive all sin, which includes that which cannot be seen, by you or your neighbor. Sin is just a word that God has created to quantify the thoughts and actions emanating from a physical body which is harboring evil. Evil interrupts the peaceful workings of the body and throws it into lawlessness. Sin is most often recognized as a symptom of lawlessness, but lawlessness in and of itself in sin. (NASB) Matt 9:11-13 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax gatherers and ‘sinners’?" But when he hears this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Jesus parallels the healthy with the righteous and the sick with the sinner. Sickness is Sin and Sin is Sickness. In the context of health and sickness what does this statement mean: “I desire compassion, and not sacrifice”? Jesus tells the most educated religious leaders, of the day, to go and learn what this means, and He is telling the most educated religious leaders of today, the same thing. Jesus is saying that he desires that you, being the master of your body, to show compassion for the living organism which work to place your body in a state which glorifies the Father. He does not desire you to sacrifice the integrity of your body for

some external project you are dedicating to God. Isaiah 33:24 And no resident will say, “I am sick”; the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity. "Healthy", in the Greek dictionary, #2480, which means; to be strong, have power; able, strong enough, health. And, "Righteous", in the Greek dictionary, #1342, which means; Correct. This comes from the primary word #1349, which means; right, justice (the principle, a decision or it execution) Therefore, when Jesus correlates the righteous to the healthy, this is what He is saying: The people, because they understand the principle, have made a decision to carry out its execution, and in doing so are exhibiting their strength. On the other hand we have the "Sinners", which in the Greek dictionary, #268, means; - Sinful. This comes from a root word, #264, which means; to miss the mark, do wrong, committed offence. "Sick", in the Greek dictionary, #2560, means; badly: - cruelly, evil, ill, sick, very wretched, wrong motives, wrongly. This comes from the root word #2556, which means; bad, evil, evil things, evildoer, harm, loathsome, wretches, wrong. To get further insight to this word I went to the Hebrew and Chaldee dictionary and it had this to say: was a primary root which means; proposed to boil up; hence to ferment (with scum); to glow (with redness); foul; troubled. Now let us bring together the meanings of the words, "Sinners" and "Sick", that Jesus intended that we might go and learn what this means. Jesus did not come to call the righteous, but people who have missed the mark, who do wrong, who are committing offences. That is to say, the sick people who are in a bad way, which are distinguishable in this bad way through actions of evil, illness, cruelty, wretchedness and wrong motives, because something in them has boiled up, hence to ferment with scum, consequently, to glow with redness from poisons which smell foul. This description marks a behavior which cannot be mistaken for something which could be happening outside the body, but inside the body. Jesus did not come for the righteous, but for the person who’s spiritually is at a level that is not acceptable, and therefore, will not produce what the Father demands, worship that is true. Jer 6:7 As a well keeps water fresh so she keeps fresh her wickedness. Violence and destruction are heard in her; sickness and wounds are ever before Me. 1 Cor 6:18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. The word immorality here is 265 in the Greek means sin which encompasses all types

of evil to the body. Pro 13:25 The Righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, But the stomach of the wicked is in want. 1 Cor 6:13 Food is for the stomach, and the stomach for food; but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body. The word immorality here, number 4202, in the Strong’s dictionary means: - fornication or to commit fornication. We may immediately think of acts of being with someone else and not stay within confines of our own body members which send our minds off thinking in a different direction. Our cravings and appetites have enlarged our stomachs to force the members of our bodies outside of their engineering capabilities, which results in operating our temples in a state of immorality or playing the harlot. You are sinning against your own body by practicing a state of lawlessness when you fill an over sized stomach with many incompatible foods. 1 Cor 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? We eat to the point of becoming plump because our bodies are craving for real nourishment. Our actions in ignorance, is by God’s definition, Immoral. While each of us has a stomach, with food that can be placed in it, we will always be in a battle for morality. Thank God at some point, He will remove that which is ever beguiling us to take on evil. Isaiah 10:27 So it will be in that day, that his burden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be broken because of fatness. Fatness #8081 grease. (a primary root) #8080; to shine (cause, make) oily or gross: become (make, wax) fat. The sad reality is the weight you carry for your friend and family, who are in this state, in that day, will be no more. We know that no immoral man has any inheritance in the kingdom of God. For those of you, who have not been annihilated, by the revealing of truth, in the meaning of this word “immorality” let us investigate, to see if fermentation is poisoning our bodies, since God holds us accountable for all deeds that are done in the body, and to the body because the Lord is for the body. Ferment comes from the word ferentum, fervere, to boil; a substance or organism

causing fermentation, as yeast, bacteria, etc. Fermentation is the breakdown of complex molecules in organic compounds, caused by a ferment (bacteria that curdles milk by fermentation). To decompose gradually by the action of bacteria is to rot. The rotting of organic matter by bacteria, fungi, and oxidation is verbalized by the word "putrefaction" that results in producing foul-smelling products. Isaiah 3:24 Now it will come about that instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction; … I looked up the digestive system in the Better Homes and Gardens, Family Medical Guide book, Chapter 13, produced by J. Alfred Rider, M.D. and started reading. On page 454 I read "Under a microscope the surface is seen to have myriads of tiny pits. These are depressions where glands - about 35,000,000 of them - exude their secretions. Stomach glands and specialized cells produce mucus, enzymes, hydrochloric acid, and a factor that enable Vitamin B 12 to be dissolved through intestinal walls into the circulation. Gastric juice is a complex mixture of many substances. The predominant enzyme of the stomach, pepsin, is a potent digester of meats and proteins. Another enzyme, rennin, has the sole task of curdling milk. Pepsin is active only in an acid medium. A normal stomach is definitely on the acid side. Hydrochloric acid produced by the stomach cells is a highly corrosive mineral acid." "The stomach is nearly always free of bacteria" Next I turned to a great book called "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC. Under the heading "Indigestion" on page 460 we read "If food is not digested properly, it FERMENTS in the stomach and upper intestines, producing hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and organic acids. These acids do not help digestion, but are factors in gas and bloating. Foods high in complex carbohydrates, such as grains and legumes, are the primary foods responsible for gas because they are difficult to digest, and therefore are more likely to yield undigested particles on which the intestinal bacteria act. Undigested food and bacteria present in the gut can produce toxins that can damage the mucosal lining, causing leaky gut syndrome." (Other words used for toxins are: poisons, venom, virus, contagion, bane, and other words use for bane are: evil, cursed, plague, afflicted, destroyer, ruin.) Page 60 under "Elements of Health", I read: "If proteins are not completely digested, undigested proteins particles may make their way into the bloodstream through the intestinal wall with other nutrients. This phenomenon is known as leaky gut syndrome, and it can result in allergic reactions that may be more or less severe, depending upon the strength of the immune system. This is one reason that proper digestion of proteins is so important.” Page 309 under "Crohn’s Disease", I read: "Antigenic reactions may result from "leaky gut syndrome," in which minute particles of undigested or partially digested food pass through the swollen and inflamed mucosal wall into the bloodstream, where they

cause reactions.” (In the Hebrew and Chaldee dictionary in which "sick", was a primary root, it cannot be a coincidence that part of this meaning was described as "to glow (with redness)", which is exactly what a swollen and inflamed mucosal wall would look like.) It is in our ignorance that we have not recognized that different foods require different enzymes for proper digestion. Yes, there are some foods in the same category but each food has a unique chemical makeup. The eating of one food at one time is called monolithic eating. By denying yourself the mixing in of other foods you free up the body’s chemistry to do a perfect job in the digestion process which leads to quick assimilation of nutrients and proper elimination. Which is to say, that each time you add another compatible food your body will be doing less than the perfect job? Do you not think that this way of living is why Jesus referred to John the Baptist as “More than a prophet”? The problem arises when we mix foods at one meal that are not in the same category. One category of foods require an alkaline enzyme to break it down well another requires an acid enzyme. Think of it like this, if you are cleaning up the acid on your car battery you could use baking soda because baking soda is alkaline and alkaline neutralizes acid. Therefore, when the stomach receives a food that requires hydrochloric acid to digest it along with a food that requires an alkaline enzyme for its digestion the two are neutralized. We know that when your car is in neutral nothing moves. When the food in your stomach is in neutral the only thing that happens is fermentation and rotting. Isaiah used the word putrefaction to describe the injustice done to the body. The wrong way of eating results in putrefied waste releasing toxic poisons as it moves through my body. Do you think that a steady diet of toxic poisons moving through someone’s intestines could be appropriate describe and considered by Jesus in His use of the word "SICK"? And where there are toxins there are always parasites. Here is a small excerpt from a webpage www.drnatura.com under the heading "What You Must Know About Parasites": "All the toxins and dead processed foods lead to poor digestion causing a toxic buildup in the body, including the colon. This toxic waste material in the colon then frequently turns into - in the words of National Geographic "A sinister world of monstrous creatures that feed on living flesh: Parasites". Discover Magazine published a feature article in its August 2000 issue: "Every living thing has at least one parasite that lives inside or on it, and many, including humans, have far more ... Scientists ... are only just beginning to discover exactly how powerful these hidden inhabitants can be, but their research is pointing to a remarkable possibility: Parasites may rule the world. The notion that tiny creatures, we’ve largely taken for granted, are such a dominant force is immensely disturbing. ...We are collections of cells that work together, kept harmonized by chemical signals. If an

organism can control those signals - an organism like a parasite - then it can control us. And therein lies the peculiar and precise horror of parasites.” This is exactly what happened to Saul when God gave him over to an evil spirit. Eph 5:5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Here the word “immoral” in the Hebrew (4205) means: a wound - sore. But the primary root (2115) means: to press down and out: - crush, crushed, squeezed. I have just shown you that the leaky gut syndrome comes from a fermenting/rotting process in the stomach, which poisons the body and renders you impure. This syndrome wounds your body and you become red from inflammation. We see in this verse the writer used a, "or" between immoral, impure and covetous, which is to say, if you’re one of them, then you are all of them and you are classed as an idolater. (NIV) Matt 21:44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed. You have a choice to be broken or crushed, one or the other. All indigestion is sin, but chronic indigestion is practicing sin, which will transform a heart, rendering the individual, an immoral and impure person, that acts with covetousness to worship something other than God, no matter what he says, or thinks. This person, regardless of his sincerity, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ. Chronic Indigestion Is Practicing Sin Christ is not interested in us mining our bodies to dedicate some sacrifice to Him, but rather, to demonstrate charity by understanding and providing the requirements of peace, as it relates to His body. He, being the Doctor, has come to call the sick by supplying the strength needed to be healed, which leads to sanctification. Your Spiritual acts of Worship cannot flow out from the Body, Until it is the Body. Romans 12:1 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Chapter 24

True Worshipers True worship is worship which God accepts and takes delight in. In John, Chapter 4 and in the 24th Verse, God give us His guidelines for worshiping Him. John 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth. The dictionary has defined spirit as the thinking, feeling part of man; mind; intelligence. Also the life, will, thought, etc., regarded as separate from the matter like a ghost, angel, demon, fairy, etc. Therefore, its definition of a person who is spiritual is; of the spirit or soul as distinguished from the body or material matters. It would appear that we who are living cannot worship God in spirit if we are to use the world’s definition of “in the spirit”. How can we who operate from a body of flesh worship in spirit without first dying? Romans 8:12-13 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh – for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. So to be operating “in the spirit” we must die to the desires of the body. 1 Cor 15:31 I protest, brethren, by the boasting in you, which I have in Jesus Christ our Lord, I die daily. Paul was human and humans have bodies. Bodies have flesh that want to be gratified each and every day. Therefore, a death to the flesh must happen every day so that a life worthy of glory may live on. Paul gives us the spiritual requirements of worshiping God. Romans 12:1 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Paul also goes on to tell us the details of how to present our bodies as holy and acceptable. 2 Cor 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 1 Peter 1:14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lust which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

Who will supply the truth so we will have the knowledge and come out of our ignorance? The dictionary has defined truth as: the quality or state of being true; specifically, a) originally, loyalty b) sincerity; honesty c) the quality of being in agreement with reality or facts d) reality; actual existence e) agreement with a standard, rules etc.; correctness. An established or verified fact, etc. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. Jesus came to show us the right way. He has hidden the knowledge of the facts, which makes following Him a matter of faith and trust. Jesus placed all things in existence and in agreement with His standard, rules etc. which makes the One with this power Truth. Truth has supplied a way of living which will give us the knowledge and the strength to overcome. There is only one way to heaven and that is through true worship. Jesus came to provide a better way to worship that the conscience may be cleansed and the worship unrestricted. Mark 11:12-14 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, He found nothing but leaves, because it was not in season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” Jesus starts this analogy, this picture of a tree, immediately before the cleaning of the temple and then concludes it after, by giving us the results. He encompasses this cleaning of the Temple by this analogy to help us understand the deeper truths and the hidden treasures of true worship. The man Jesus, was drawn to this tree, by his human need for food. He knew the Father would be supplying all his needs. When he reached it and discovered the Father was not going to use this tree’s fruit to meet his needs, He cursed it. Christ the Son saw the Father working through this tree, and the tree heard and obeyed His words that were spoken. Every miracle the Father does through his Son, or you, needs to be processed or we will miss understanding what the Father is doing. On the surface we see Jesus was hungry for food but it was not the season for figs. Christ then saw what the Father was hungry for holy fruit from true worshipers. In this analogy, we have two discoveries. One is that the tree is full of leaves and looks like it should have fruit, and second, there was no fruit. Jesus the man was deceived by this tree, until he came near. After seeing this tree, that could not satisfy his desire, Christ the God removed this tree. If this tree was to be no more, then he must provide a different tree, whereby we can be nourished. Jesus the man was representing people hungry to worship God, and Christ the God is focused on providing the environment conducive for meeting this deep desire to be spiritually fed. In short, Jesus came to solve the problems by giving us a new tree and a better way. I believe Jesus is using this tree to show us a picture of the transformation that is about to take place with his temple. He changed it from a building to his own body, so when

we are hungry for worship we will not be limited to a temple that looks good, but only offers a season for enjoying the sweet fruit of communion. Heb 9:6-14 Now when these things have been thus prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacles, performing the divine worship, but into the second only once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed, while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from the dead works serve the living God? In the Old Testament, we understand that it was the integrity of the blood from an unblemished goat or calf that sanctified the flesh. These people were symbolically taking on this integrity of the sacrifice by becoming sprinkled with the ashes of these animals. Today, not only can we have our flesh cleansed, but also our conscience cleared, if we will literally and physically change our blood to the exact standard of Christ’s blood. They had the blood symbolically cleanse them, but we have the literal blood which cleanses us. We are now Christ’s body, the temple of the living God with the freedom to worship anytime, anywhere. Nothing can separate us from the ability to worship God from an unadulterated conscience. The problem of our conscience is now solved through Christ’s spotless sacrifice. Now, since the out tabernacle is no longer standing, the way into the holy place will be disclosed through the discovery of these sins we are committing in ignorance. Rev 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Jesus does not have a list of requirements or a set of standards before he will come in and share His food with you and take over your surrendered body as His Holy Temple. Jesus will accept you in any condition just for the asking and a sincere desire to repent. Be under no allusions about the cost of opening this door. Jesus will provide what you eat and drink, and when you eat it and drink it, the stomach will be of no consideration. But once inside, He will immediately call you out to the desert to start the process of

reconciling you to God’s standard of righteousness and holiness which will accomplish drastic house cleaning. It is in the desert that the Spirit will reveal to you these acts of sin you are committing in ignorance. Remember, He scourges every son whom He receives and without discipline, we are illegitimate children. Heb 12:8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. We have all become participants of illegitimate children and not sons, through of all things, our stomachs! It is combating this second problem that you are going to have trouble with, but like the first, Jesus gives us an analogy, a picture, something we can understand and see so we can relate it to something we cannot see. Just like the tree was an analogy of the physical Temple building, the physical Temple building is an analogy of the new Temple, Christ’s body. We are Christ’s body. Christ cursed the fig tree because it had no fruit that would satisfy the requirements of God. Now, Christ must do a cleansing work in the new temple by his Holy Spirit so holiness can be perfected and the requirements of God met. Upon completion, this temple of Christ’s Saints will only produce fruit that will satisfy the demands of God. All that this Saintly servant of God does will be classified as holy fruit or true worship. However, like in the fig tree, the person who cannot supply what they were designed to produce will, by the words of His mouth, shrivel, dry up and die. What the scriptures revealed next is a wonderful picture of what Christ is literally going to do in each of our bodies, his Holy Temple, should we choose to believe and follow. John 2:13-17 When it was all most time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my father’s house into a market! His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for his house will consume me.” Mark 11:16-17 and he would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’ ” These people had to travel up to Jerusalem to offer their sacrifice for the Passover and the ones who were travelling a long distance planned on purchasing their living sacrifice close to the temple. When Jesus arrived, he found the outer courtyard, the place dedicated for Gentile worship, filled with animals and money changers. These people that were selling the

sacrifices had a captive market and their greed seized the opportunity that the law of supply and demand afforded it. Not only did they deprive the Gentiles of a place to worship, but charged them absorptive prices. Let’s summarize what a Gentile needed to endure after traveling for six or seven days to worship the God of Glory. He arrives at the Temple expecting to offer his usual cow and finds out all he can afford is a pigeon. After arguing for many minutes over the injustice, he takes his small sacrifice to the place it would be offered and finds out it is in amongst the pens of animals. He kneels down to worship, but he is so worked up with being robbed and the smell and noise of the animals all around, it leaves him exhausted, depressed, and never really worshiping at all. We likewise, find ourselves wanting a time of meaningful worship but we have been robbed of most of our energy. We then take what is left of our small offering to our altar, where all the noisy, smelly interaction between our pollutants and our parasites distracts our desire. The whole situation has not only robbed us of our holiness, but our ability to produce the quantity and quality of worship we were designed and expected to return. Jesus cleaned up the temple back then, by way of a whip, and His grace stands ready to clean it up now through this same scourging procedure. For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines. And (Heb 12:6) He scourges every son whom He receives. The question is, “Are you going to recognize and receive His love?” Pro 5:11-14 At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors. I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.” At the end of our life, if you have hated discipline, you will groan because without correction you will have spent your flesh and therefore, your body will be in pain. This is no time to spurn correction or despise discipline. Look around you and evaluate the older people who are groaning. God is telling us that this was not the way he designed it to be. It is time we took responsibility for the order inside our temples and stop catering to the lawlessness the world is only to happy to give us. Also we must stop taking short cuts through our temples because it is convenient. Things like working all night, fast foods, microwave ovens, cell phones and many others all because it is going to save us time or make us money at the direct expense of our temple’s integrity. In short, we need to stop sacrificing our bodies by bowing down to Baal, all because we think we can somehow sneak through without bearing the consequences. Baal - A common Semitic word meaning: owner, lord, husband. We are commanded to purify ourselves, to perfect holiness, which takes discipline. When we do, all sickness and disease will cease. Our minds, along with our bodies, will be renewed and our ability to believe without doubting will flood in. Jesus came and brought us the light, and we choose to move in the darkness. We have fallen into a pit,

a deep dark hole. Eze 8:12 He said to me, (God) “Son of Man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord does not see us; The Lord has forsaken the land.’ ” Again, he said, “You will see them doing things that are even more detestable.” A shrine is a place of worship, in which we take part in some ritual to satisfy our gods, or idols, that pollutes or cuts through our Holy Temple, robbing God of worship, and robs us of God’s close fellowship. We have many different idols, like money and materialism, pleasure and convenience, or fame and notoriety, and if we tried to overcome these gods with the world’s mind set we would confront them one at a time. But thanks be to God, for he has provided superior wisdom in his word through the apostle Paul that cut through all the visible symptoms and exposes the root cause. Phi 3:18 For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthy things. The lusts of the eyes, the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life all have their origin in the flesh. The flesh has robbed our minds of the ability to discern the truths in the word of God. The stomach is the organ of the flesh that we have set up as our idol. Each time we bow down to its desires, the delusion becomes stronger. But the Lord’s love is always trying to reconcile us as He speaks through Hosea in Hosea 3:1 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin-cakes.” Which foods have you combined to make up your “sacred raisin-cakes”? The combinations are endless and they taste so good, but the chemical reality becomes so devastating. God is not interested in going after your stomach or your foods; no he is going straight to the problem, your flesh. But the same tools the flesh used to get you off track, God is going to use to place you back on track, and as you surrender to the Lord’s process, this strong delusion you are under will dissipate, and you will come to your senses. The apostle James speaks with a group who are deciding what are the most important guide lines to emphasize at this time for the Gentile believers who are turning to Christ in Acts 15:19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

Let me give you a picture illustrating what I believe he is talking about. You go out to your organic garden and pick a wonderful salad for the first course at supper, but then you add the second and third courses. These courses are comprised of indigestible combinations which are turned into poisons. The body works feverously trying to digest the part that is possible to digest but in the end you could have a net energy loss and make accommodations for a toxic acidic deposit. Your idol is dictating to you what is going to go in God’s Holy Temple. John 2:23-25 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, beholding His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them for He new all men, and because He did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man for he Himself knew what was in man. Anything that pollutes, and / or hurts the body, is evil. Evil goes to control the mind. That is why we need God’s strength to stop the evil and then to remove it, before we become wicked. In this example, you choose to do the polluting to satisfy your idol, but in this next illustration you will see that it is not only your idol you need to be concerned with. You buy your salad from the store, bring it home, wash it and dress it with oil and vinegar. What you may not have realized is that this head of lettuce was grown on soil that has lost its integrity. No integrity in the soil, no honesty in the plant, no nutrients to the body. The farmer has decided to use the soil as a medium to hold water and feed his plant with acid base chemical fertilizer because he can harvest twice as many heads of lettuce per acre. Originally, this plant was sacrificed to the farmer’s idol of greed, but now the farmer finds it working as a whip, for his economic survival, which is someone else’s greed. Abstaining from food polluted by idols was the number one directive that James highlighted for the Gentiles, for Moses’ instructions are well known and taught weekly. These four recommendations that James points out here are just to bring attention to some key areas as these Gentiles start their pilgrimage and are only to highlight and compliment the doctrines of Moses and the Prophets. Jesus, the Lord himself gives us his parable in Luke 15:16 with the lost son who squandered his inheritance, to illustrate how the stomach is to play into the returning of the senses and the subsequent actions of repenting. “He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.” Do you see the parallel between what Jesus told the rich young rule when he asked how he can inherit eternal life? Jesus told him to go and sell all that he possesses. This boy that squandered all his inheritance did the best thing which could have happened to him because he stopped poisoning his body and was forced to rest his stomach. He

thought he was starving to death just like the grumblings that came from the children of Israel in the desert. The next sentence after, Jesus points out that no one gave him anything to eat, the boy’s senses came back to him. Senses means; sound thinking; normal intelligence and judgment or the ability to think or reason soundly. Can God make it any plainer than this? The stomach was empty, and the senses returned. Something changed in his mind, so he had the ability to reason soundly. He does a 180-degree turn, confesses his sin and heads to the Father, where there is food to spare. All of us have lost our ability to reason soundly. Maybe it is time we were to go without food for a long period of time so our ability to reason soundly can return to us. Jesus said, “If you want to be my disciple you must deny your self”. Do you think that maybe some of this boy’s bones were showing because his body was denied food before he made it back to the father? John 4:32 Jesus said, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Jesus is being satisfied from an ongoing love feast with the Father. Is there anything that Jesus had in common with this wayward boy at the time this boy’s senses returned to him? Psalms 22:17 I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; they divide my garments among them and my clothes they cast lots. They stared at Jesus on the cross, because without His clothes they were appalled and disgusted at the sight of His body. At the time Jesus needed to be at the pinnacle of His spiritual strength, He knew it would also require Him to be at the height of His physical weakness. If you want to function like Christ in the Spirit, your body must look like His in the flesh. Is it any wonder that Christ said to Paul through the Spirit in (NASB) 2 Cor 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” The prodigal son, also, by his own foolishness became weak for such an extended period of time, whereby the Spirit brought clarity to his mind as it filled him with good things and as a result he too returned to the Father. Romans 14:2 …but he who is weak eats vegetables only. Someone who is weak is someone who is acidic. Vegetables are an alkaline food which neutralize acids and returns a weak body to its balanced state. Vegetables digest easily and relatively quickly without an excessive amount of energy consumed. Since we are in control of our bodies we need to understand that, like it or not, we are in the management of energy business. Daniel stayed in weakness until power was perfected and so should you. Luke 1:53 “He has filled the hunger with good things; and sent away the rich empty handed.” The rich crave and can materially afford the pastries and fats, the meats and high acidic foods, and enjoy the alcoholic drinks all to turn their body to an acid state. Christ did not send them away empty handed, their choices equated to robbing them of the good things which could have come from returning to a balanced state.

Hunger – a) feeling or showing hunger; specifically a wanting or needing food. b) craving Rich – a) having much money or property; wealthy b) containing much butter (or other fat), cream, sugar, flavoring, etc. Daniel stayed in weakness until power was perfected and so should you. God is using Mary, the mother of Jesus, to provide a significant clue to the mystery surrounding the secrets of the knowledge of truth, in regards to people who are at opposite ends. Since most of you will conceive in your mind that she is talking about spiritual hunger, let us consider that as the context. If it is the proper context, then it must also be rational and coherent when we apply it to the other word “rich”. However, someone who is rich that is having an abundance of spiritual things cannot be perceived as being turned away from God empty handed. When Mary uses the word hungry she is talking about a physical hunger in contrast with the rich who are always well fed. If a man will not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God, then there is something else which is desirable and necessary that food cannot provide. This “something” that comes from the mouth of God must alter the environment required to materialize that which is vitally needed. Mary describes these things that will come from hunger as good things that are beneficial godly things, which move us closer to God, as apposed to bad things or no things which leaves us stagnant or without blessing. Zep 1:12 “And it will come about at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men who are stagnant in spirit, who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good or evil!” The people who have been in a state of having little resources with which to satisfy their cravings for food, produced the only thing suitable for the purpose of transforming the human condition to a state of moral soundness; rest. This prodigal son, before he squandered his inheritance, had much money and was less likely to set aside the feeling of hunger or any other feeling from the flesh. That is why Jesus told the rich young ruler to give away his money to the poor and come follow him. You just cannot see that which you will be filled with, you must come by faith. The rich, as a result, are not filled with beneficial things to bring about virtue but are sent away with an ever increasing delusion. And what is this allusion that keeps the rich from knowing the truth? They believe that the physical body is separate from their spiritually. Rev 2:9 ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan. The leaders of the house of Israel are blaming God because the land is responding to their disobedience. They have convinced themselves, by way of absences of Light, or

loss of senses, that there is no connection between the rest they were commanded to give the land or their bodies, and the disasters that are over taking them. Heb 3:18-19 And to whom did He swear that they should not enter his rest, (2663 to cause to cease, restrained) but those who were disobedient? And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. We see that disobedience, in the physical, translates to unbelief in the spiritual, because the two are the same. Heb 4:1 Therefore, let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering his rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it. Let us use fear from the understanding that this window of opportunity to enter will not always remain, and that time is needed in this state to secure our resolve. Heb 4:2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. This good news will tell you that time in His rest will transform you, but you will not understand how. You cannot conceive that such a simple act of denial over time could bridge such a wide gulf. Knowledge must be “united by faith” in the one who engineered every part of us, in order to reap the profit that He tells us will be ours. In other words, act on what the “I Am” is telling you by faith, and let this faith in you be ever grounded in who the “I Am” is. Heb 4:9 There remains, therefore, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his work, as God did from His. People, this is New Testament and there remains a Sabbath-rest. Do not think that some how Christ’s coming did away with this! The Sabbath comes around every seventh day and is made clear that this is not just an Old Testament requirement, but remains for all times. God rested from ALL His work and we must rest from ALL our work. Satan working through your flesh would have you believe that taking on nourishment without physical movement is replenishing our energy. But of course, when you understand how energy is produced in the cells and by whom, you will see that this is completely opposite to the truth of the matter. This rest is for the ones who need the time to replenish themselves, so they can continue to supply you with the same level of energy you had the week before. Therefore, without this type of rest, you slowly over the years, deplete the numbers of

the ones whose job it is to supply you with energy. Your body runs on only one commodity, and that is energy. Without energy, you start to break down. Gideon tore down his father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah poles. Gideon demolished their shrine, which is a place of worship, usually one whose center is a sacred object. Upon arriving at the shrine, by oneself or in a group, the ritual begins by the observance of some set rites. A rite is a formal, customary observance, practice, or procedure. The acid test to determine if we are worshiping at a shrine or the altar of the Lord, will be whether it takes us closer to God or draws us farther away. Whether it is purifying or contaminating our bodies or spirits. Whether it serves to perfect holiness or defiles us. As we survey the landscape, we see these shrines are all around us today. Not only do we worship their gods, but we take these rites home with us to faithfully observe them. Most of us have brought many of these rituals into our Holy Temples and bow down to them daily, if not hourly. After church, we love to socialize at the corner whore house to gratify our flesh with their dainties they offer and then we can take some home for later. Our houses are filled with merchandise that compromises our Temple’s integrity and deprives us of our holiness. These rites are slowly but systematically eroding our faith, our ability to believe or position ourselves to receive God’s best. Faith is the assurance and ability to know that you can see the will of God, and respond in confidence to any situation, through Christ’s intangible reality, as you perpetually glorify God. We, like the children of Israel are not achieving what God demanded of them in these areas of rest, because like them, we are not exercising faith in a large enough quantity to cause us to see and be empowered by his grace. Isaiah 48:17 This is what the Lord says your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be cut off before me.” Christ’s grace taught and empowered his disciples over a three year period of time, to live by actions that positioned them to receive the power of the Holy Spirit. It was no coincidence that Pentecost came at the end of this time. Today, if we choose to be a disciple of Christ, we must walk ever so close to him so that his grace can teach us and empower us to achieve God’s best. We must subject ourselves to His three year cleansing program, so that we may be worthy to receive and

operate under the power of the Spirit. Luke 20:35 "...but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage. If we refuse, not only are we lost, but perhaps our children’s children. Also in this verse, the Spirit is revealing the movement of peace in relationship to the movement of righteousness. Peace, like a river, can be pictured quite easily, a steady even flowing existence. However, righteousness, although it is consistent it fluctuates in a certain acceptable parameters, unlike a river. To bring this analogy across and realize that it describes the actions of the human body in a right relationship to God is to uncover the very intimacies of His love feast. Our wave is timed on a seven day cycle. For six days it builds, but on the seventh day it falls on the Rock, and gravity takes it back out to start its cycle all over again. Seven is a number that means complete. Eight is a number representing a new beginning. There should be no work for our wave on the seventh day, it must just relax and let go. God’s sciences take over to position our water where it may begin to receive His grace again. If this theory or analogy of the wave is correct, that it represents the flowing actions of righteousness in the Old Testament, it must mesh perfectly with the actions of following Jesus and the teaching of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. We know that the Apostle Peter followed Jesus and in Matt 19:27-28 Peter asks Him this question, “Behold, we have left everything and followed you; what then will there be for us? And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration (3824) … Jesus went through this regeneration, and all who follow through with this process will go on to receive what Jesus is offering. Let us look deep into this word “regeneration” which Jesus used to describe the qualifying actions needed so that we might receive. The first question is, what was Jesus communicating to us with this statement: “You who have followed Me, in the regeneration.”? First, the definition of the word “followed” 1.) to take as a model; imitate, 2.) to listen to, or observe closely 3.) to understand the continuity or logic. 4.) to come after in time. Secondly, the definition of the word “regeneration” as laid out in the Greek Dictionary of the New Testament (NASB) under the 3824 - it states: from 3825 (spiritual) rebirth (the state or the act). From 3825 - it states: probably from the same as 3823 (through the idea of oscillatory repetition); (adv.) anew, ie. (of place) back, (of time) once more, or (conj.) furthermore or on the other hand; - again. From 3823 - it states: (to vibrate: another form of 906); wrestling: - + wrestle

What is the English dictionary definition of the word oscillatory? Oscillate: 1.) to swing back and forth 2.) to be indecisive; vacillate 3.) Physics to vary between maximum and minimum values, as current oscillatory is a word that means action; adjective. What is the English dictionary definition of this word vibrate? Vibrate: 1.) to give off light or sound by vibration. 2.) to set in a to-and-fro motion; oscillate to swing back and forth, as a pendulum. 3.) to move rapidly back and forth; quiver, as a plucked string. Let us answer the question based on these definitions given to the number assigned to regeneration and the definition of follow in the English dictionary. Jesus was saying to these people, “Those of you who will take me as a model, that will listen and observe closely, will understand the logic to come after me in time, by comprehending and experiencing the science dealing with the changes of matter and energy through the act of oscillatory repetition, that is to have your physics or your natural physical matter to vary between maximum and minimum values whereby you will give off light by elevating vibrations.” Isaiah, in the Old Testament, recorded the actions of righteousness as he was carried along by the Spirit of God. Peter was taught by Jesus, directly, but what about Paul who was taught by no man? The “One” Paul had is the “One” who we have, that is the Holy Spirit who reveals all things. Paul records his actions in 1 Cor 9:26-27 for us to understand and for verification. “Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, …” What is the meaning of this word buffet? Buffet: 1.) any blow or shock, 2.) to thrust about 3.) to struggle against, 4.) to strike repeatedly: batter (the waves batted the shore) Paul was struggling against his body, repeatedly shocking it like the waves battering the shore. He was not beating the air like some spiritual thing in his mind but rather taking physical action to maintain the reality of righteousness. This warrior for God was a sensible steward, who understood that freedom comes by staying inside God’s parameters and knowing the limitations of what you have to work with. Luke 12:42 And the Lord said, “Who is the faithful and sensible steward, who his master will put in charge of his servants to give them their rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master find doing when he comes.”

This time of rationing for God’s servants, directed by Paul for the Corinthians, was a transition period which Paul had already completed. Paul was the steward and as such his righteousness gave him the freedom to eat and drink what he wanted and when. However, his love scarified this right as not to hamper the gospel message being produced in the people in the church at Corinth (1 Cor 9:4-12). Paul lead by example as Jesus did when He transformed the apostles. 1 Cor 8:8-12 But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat. But take care lest this liberty of yours somehow becomes a stumbling box to the weak. For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if it is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols? For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. And thus, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. These new believers at Corinth were just starting to implement the changes to their life styles which would place them on God’s journey to regeneration. For most of them these changes would be completely opposite to what they had grown up with. These people are not only weak because Paul had them on a ration of bread, but to a greater degree, due to the fact that their bodies were going through symptoms of withdrawal. You can see why God holds all of us responsible after regeneration when we exercise our rights at an inappropriate time or place. All three of these accounts are relating one thing, REPENTANCE! Can anyone of us have difficulty relating this concept to our life? Is this not crystal clear? Romans 6:21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. If you never take actions that make, and show, that you have no choice over God’s will, that is, operate like a slave to God, how can you expect to reap the benefits that leads to holiness, through which you can take hold of eternal life? Wrong actions, no eternal life. It was only after King Solomon followed the exact instructions with all the details in every area in the building of God’s temple, was His house worthy to receive Him. But when this time of preparation was completed, we read in 1 Kings 8:10 When the priest withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. And the priest could not perform their services because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

God acknowledges Solomon’s prays of dedication and acclamation of his goodness and faithfulness this way in 1 Kings 9:1-9 The Lord said to him: “I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. “As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and righteousness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ “But if you or your sons turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. And though this temple is now imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to his temple?’ People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them - that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.’ ” We see that if you walk with integrity of heart and uprightness, observing God’s decrees and laws, he will establish your royal throne. But if we turn away and not observe the commands and decrees He has given us, then we are going to lose the land and He will reject this temple, even though He has already consecrated it for His name. These two disasters that ultimately came upon Israel correspond directly from the results of disobeying the two Sabbath commands, in which the soil produced fruit without integrity, and the temple produced a heart without integrity. 1 Chr 29:17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. Or NASB “Since I know, O my God, that Thou triest the heart and delightest in uprightness, I, in integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; Integrity – 4334 – states; a level, straightness; justice, equity, uprightness, and from the English dictionary it states; a being complete; wholeness – unimpaired condition; soundness – uprightness, honesty, and sincerity. “Integrity of heart” is a metaphor of how one conducts his physical movement in life. Just as a bad tree cannot produce good fruit so a body without soundness cannot possess a life which represents integrity. Satan will make it appear that you can but God’s word clearly states you can not. A body without integrity cannot maintain or defend it’s self and is open to an invasion. Our bodies are just earth that has not been reclaimed; no reclamation equals no holy fruit. Jer 18:22 Let a cry be heard from their houses when you suddenly bring invaders against them.

When you get sick or become diseased you have moved out of the faith, your house is being over run by microscopic invaders, and Oh what a cry can be heard coming from our houses. We like to move and operate as if we own our houses, somehow never really connecting the deep truth that it has ceased to be our house and has become a Holy Temple. We do not conduct ourselves in a fashion that acknowledges that our physical bodies are an extension of the Lord’s physical body. Our actions are sending a crystal clear sound to the one who gave His body and blood for us, that overrides any verbal vibrations / communications or flowery prayers that would suggest we love Him. We are not recognizing the body of the Lord. That is why many among us are weak and sick, and a number of us have died premature. Job 5:26 You will come to the grave in full vigor, like sheaves gathered in season. We are expected to come to the end of our lives with vigorousness, like seeds which have fallen into the ground and have produced that for which they were seeded, in their deeded time. 1 Cor 11:27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judge ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. The first question that Jesus is posing to us is, “Are you eating the bread or drinking this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner?” We will not know if the answer is yes until we know what the Lord means by “unworthy manner”. Now he goes on to tell us we ought to examine ourselves to find out. Our answer to this question does not come from how spiritual we feel or what our flesh would have us believe, but it will be pronounced directly from the evidence within our examination. Jesus goes on to tell us that the examination is to see if we are in fact recognizing the body of the Lord. Jesus points out that the consequences for the act of not “recognizing the body of the Lord” will be to eat and drink judgment on oneself. Jesus gives us the clear consequences of this judgment which he provides, so there are no allusions on where we stand. Jesus said: “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me”. This is a reminder each time I partake that this is not my flesh, and I needed to examine my physical responses to determine if I am correctly governing His body, on a daily basis. We are commanded to “put on Christ” or mimic the character of Christ’s life, and Christ’s word tells us that the life is in the blood (Lev 17:11) therefore, to assess the character of ones life is to assess the character of ones blood.

1 Cor 11:24-25 “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (Verse 25) “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” You cannot have the covenant until you have the blood because the covenant is in the blood. It is impossible to display the life that was in Christ if you cannot display the blood that was also in Him. Since this new covenant that I am depending on is literally in the blood of Christ, then I had better have this same literal blood flowing in me. For, I cannot claim this new covenant unless I transform into His blood and His body. John 6:53 Jesus therefore said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.” The Holy Word is the flesh and blood of Christ, there is no difference. You must understand what is being asked of you before you can assess obedience. For it is only through the obedience to the correct understanding of the word of God that your blood and flesh is regenerated to the exact standards of Christ’s blood and flesh. This transformation is a physical thing that is happening to you, which is only your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1-2. The reality is, as long as I keep His blood of integrity pumping through His flesh of integrity, in my body, I have materialized His new covenant with the body that I possess. Let me try and sum it up for you through something we all can understand. A man who is trying to secure life insurance, must answer truthfully, many questions regarding his habits and also provide a blood and urine sample for analysis. He has given three testimonies that will bear out the truth of his life. In the same way, the Holy Spirit in you, your blood and your water will all come together to testify to your degree of holiness (2 Cor 7:1, 1 John 3:3). The new covenant is “in His blood” and if the integrity of His blood is found in you, then His covenant is also found in you (John 6:54-56) 1 John 5:8 For there are three that bare witness, the spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. Is it any wonder that Jesus’ disciples asked him “Then who can be saved?” (Matt 19:2326). This is why He warns us in 1 Cor 11:29. This is not just a once a month responsibility, but a life long, day to day imperative. John 6:56 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in Him. And what is this new way of governing and resting our bodies proclaiming to our friends, our family and the world? 1 Cor 11:26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the

Lord’s death until he comes. All who are looking on you are examining you and noting the differences in your life. If these actions are producing a life which draws others to Christ, you have become the witness of the Lord’s death. If you have no appeal, you have no witness! Jesus identifies, unequivocally for us, how the consequences will manifest themselves in our daily lives, so we will know if we are in fact not recognizing the body and blood of the Lord. The answer to our question on what Jesus means by “unworthy manner” is; If our bodies and our blood, which is not our bodies or our blood, but Christ’s, are weak and sickly, and that some of us have fallen asleep before our time, then we are guilty. He is commanding us to judge ourselves, so his love will not have to discipline us to keep us from being condemned with the world. Many of us, if not all of us are weak, and who among us is not sick sometimes? How many of our fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters have died from sickness and disease? We need to wake up and realize we are being disciplined, and harness this pain to drive us to our manual. How long will we buy into the lie that this pain is some how a natural part of the body of Christ and not recognize it as his discipline? Who wants to wake up on the other side of eternity to experience what Jesus meant by being “condemned with the world”? Ezekiel was caught up in the Spirit, between earth and heaven, where God showed him in visions what was happening in the Temple. God told him to look, so he looked, and saw this idol of jealousy. God describes what they are doing here as utterly detestable, “things that will drive me far from my sanctuary”. Eze 8:16 He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs towards the temple of the Lord and their faces towards the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east. He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the house of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they fill the land with violence and continually provoke me to anger? Look at them putting branch to their nose! Therefore, I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them.” We have turned our backs on our own temples, bowing down to worldly things to fix our problems. We show no regard for our temples, as we light up and suck in the smoke of another cigarette or cigar. The world will always provide the counterfeit, the imposter, to mask the symptoms and as we, the people of God, support their initiatives, we are indorsing and promoting evil. This evil fills our body which eventually controls our thoughts, leading us into actions of violence in the land. To mask the symptoms is only to expand and drive the problem

deeper. We are prophets, but if we follow heresy, we teach heresy. If we teach heresy, we are false prophets of Baal. Eze 16:47 Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or done according to their abominations; but as if they were too little, you acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they. Zech 5:3 And he said to me, (the Angel) “This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished. The Lord Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in his house and destroy it, both its timbers and its stones.’ ” This scripture is not talking about the curse that God placed on the land because of Adam’s disobedience. This is a personal curse sent out over the whole land that affects people individually through their disobedience to their covenant. This house is our body, and it will be our flesh and bones that will be destroyed, because the way we are conducting ourselves is robbing God of his glory and testifying to what is false. Eze 14:14 ...even if these three men - Noah, Daniel and Job - were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign Lord. ... they could not save their own sons or daughters. Likewise, if our sons and daughters will not heed instructions and exercise discipline, no level of holiness on our part will save them. Deu 11:26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse - the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known. Nobody is exempt or will sidestep the Word of God. This curse comes from not obeying and following after other gods. Disease will enter the body which houses the Spirit because of actions of disobedience, which is robbing God of praise and worship and testifying to what is false. You cannot testify to what is false and expect God to stand by and allow your life to be long or prosperous. No, all its timber and stones will be destroyed. Eze 15:6 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem. I will set my face against them. Although they have come out of the fire, the fire will yet consume them. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches, but branches can only be burned after they are broken off and are dried up. We Christians by applying the grace of the Sovereign

Lord are in the position to come through the purifying fires untouched, if we continue to store up oil for our lamps. The Lord is telling us that to sit still after what we have entered into His covenant and not go forward, is to have all the tools to do the job but never get the job done. God is not interested in what could have been executed, but what is accomplished. (NASB) Romans 11:19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you. Behold the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise, you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again. Don’t be arrogant in your thinking that just because you sincerely prayed to invite Jesus into your heart and except him as your savior, that you are grafted in, never to be removed. If someone has given you a false definition of belief, or a wrong understanding of grace, and you are blindly following, you will be broken off. There are well meaning sincere pastors with zeal caught up in this conspiracy, driven by ignorance and their own appetites. (NASB) Romans 16:18 For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. Romans 11:5-8 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day.” And David said in Psalms 69:22 “May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their backs be bent forever.” And what was on their table but food that is bread in Obadiah’s way of saying it. Obadiah 1:7 …they who eat your bread will set an ambush for you. (There is no understanding in him.) Remember, only the remnant returned to rebuild the walls and the temple. The elect will put grace to work for them, removing the snare, the trap and the stumbling block, so that their table has no opportunity to retaliate by hardening the heart. The level at which you put grace to work will establish the level you believe. It is only in the doing, that belief is established and elevated.

The Lord brings all these components together for us as he reveals to Jeremiah the problem. Jer 11:9 Then the Lord said to me, “There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. They have returned to the sins of their forefathers who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their forefathers. Therefore this is what the Lord says: I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me I will not listen to them... (Verse 15) “What is my beloved doing in my temple as she works out her evil schemes with many? Can consecrated meat avert your punishment? When you engage in your wickedness, then you rejoice. The Lord called you a thriving olive tree with fruit beautiful in form. But with the roar of a mighty storm he will set you on fire, and its branches will be broken. The Lord Almighty, who planted you, has decreed disaster for you, because the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done evil and provoked me to anger by burning incense to Baal. You were a beautiful olive tree that was caught up in a conspiracy. This evil in you broke the covenant and brought on a disaster that caused the Lord to break off your branch. The question is, “Are you going to allow your branch to dry up and be burned or to put grace to work, that you may be grafted back in?” Phi 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It is I that must take the initiative to do what I believe, and as I do, I must draw on Christ who will strengthen me. Now is the time for fear and trembling, when time is still our friend, where fear and trembling can be harnessed to deliver me to the place were I can be consumed with what Jesus was consumed with. If Jesus was monopolized with intense enthusiasm for my body, (John 2:17 “Zeal for his house will consume me”), then the whole scripture must not only be pointing to this fact, but it must also be the key to giving the Father exactly what he is looking for, true worshipers. Should I have any less zeal for what Jesus is consumed with? It must be the key to believing. If I am not consumed with my body, His Holy Temple, then I am not demonstrating belief in the truth, because the Truth will always consume the person who genuinely knows. Jesus must do something to the so called “Christian” people in the world to separate out the ones who are deceiving themselves by only paying lip service. (NASB) Psalms 78:36 But they received Him with their mouth, and lied to Him with their tongue.

Your tongue may fool many people, even yourself, but your actions of being consumed are the only proof of this reality in your life. (NASB) Luke 12:51-52 “Do not suppose that I came to grant peace on the earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two, and two against three. What a message of controversy, one that will not be clearly accepted. The first example that clearly illustrates this truth for me comes as we see the children of Israel coming out of Egypt. God had brought them out into the desert to worship him and to prepare them to go into the Promised Land. But the whole community grumbled against Moses and would have preferred to die in Egypt because “there we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into the desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” The Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you...” The Lord gave the day of rest, a holy Sabbath, “so all the people rested on the seventh day”. God sent consuming fires and a severe plague to the people that complained about their hardships and who had craved other food. Psalms 78:18 They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved. They spoke against God, saying “Can God spread a table in the desert? When he struck the rock, water gushed out, and streams flowed abundantly. But can he supply meat for his people?” I believe God was providing the opportunity for the nation (body) to be purified over a three year period so when they arrived the first time at the border, they could believe and go directly into the Promised Land. Numbers 14:11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? The nation rebelled and God gave into their demands which took them off His course to purification. No amount of miraculous signs motivated these people to believe and the same can be said for us. We, like them, are willfully putting God to the test by giving into our cravings of food, and are unwilling to forgo our meat and wine. After the forty years of living in the desert all the people who would not believe were purged from the body. Now the entire assembly becomes pure, acting like living sacrifices, they became holy and pleasing to God, for this was their spiritual act of worship. They no longer conformed to the pattern

of the world and as a result they experienced a regeneration of the mind. They were made pure through the promise, just as it was credited to Abraham as righteousness. Acts 4:32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. Why? Acts 4:33 (Because) ...and much grace was upon them all. This was said in the New Testament, but you can be sure it was reality back in that day also. We now have a body united, pure in heart and who completely believe. Everyone could approve what “God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will”. They moved into the Promised Land with no hesitation and received victory after victory. God instructed them to completely destroy these nations because of his jealousy for the purity of his people. So, can we draw any comparisons to what happened to these special peoples of God, before and during their entry into the Promised Land? If your answer is no, this book has not come alive for you as yet. What these people went through is exactly what must take place in our lives so we can be given our mission, and accomplish our mission. Joshua 3:1 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. After three days the officers went throughout the camp, giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priest, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your position and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep your distance of about a thousand yards between you and the ark; do not go near it.” Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” These peoples are the people that God wants us to be, and because we are still alive we have the opportunity to be. Yes, these people have been purified and made holy over the forty years they endured in the desert, only because of what their parents chose, but this was never God’s plan for them or for us. Nothing has changed today, if we follow our parents and adopt their ways we will reap the same, as we parish in the desert. Jer 9:14 “but have walked after the stubbornness of their heart and after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.” It took God Himself to break this cycle of destruction! It was bread from heaven which returned those who were twenty years and younger, and God will do this again. But here, God is talking to the spiritually alive person reading this, to understand and seek direction, by coming out into our desert as soon as possible. God is directing us to come early in the morning of our lives to the river of living waters and camp there for three years. (Remember, Naaman was instructed to travel to the river Jordan to be cleansed,

and returned with the ability to believe, humbly like a small child.) After three years of drinking and bathing in the living waters, God will have transformed you, like that of a small child with a renewed mind to see where God is moving. When God starts to move, you follow, because then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. God is going to show himself to you and direct you in your personal mission for him. If we will consecrate ourselves as we wait on the Lord in this period of time that he has ordained, then we will see him do amazing things among us. Joshua 5:1 Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until we had crossed over, their hearts melted and they had no longer had the courage to face the Israelites. Joshua 5:2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.” Joshua 5:8 And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed. What is the relevance to us today that God should place this in his word for us to meditate on? We know that the Jordan River was at flood stage and would have been muddy since the waters would have overflowed the banks. The waters would have been teaming with life from the soil it was washing away, and would give this abundant life to all that would come to be washed. Jesus himself was baptized by John in this same river. But this river was a barrier that blocked the way to the Promised Land. You cannot get around it or over it, you must go through the waters. This river is relevant to us today, because it represents the Lord Jesus Christ, and he wants us to know what it is going to take to enter the Promised Land. This nation of Israel has been called out of the world, and by faith, had put their trust in God to save them, but that did not give them a ticket to the Promised Land. No, there is this period of time needed to prepare before you are worthy to receive the freedom to be moving under the power of the Spirit. There is only one baptism, but until you submit with actions that take you out into the desert to die to yourself, or be circumcised of heart, you will never have the power to move into the Promised Land. Eph 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism. Speaking of John the Baptist in Luke 1:15 ...He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on

before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah... And in Jesus’ case, written in Luke 4:1 and 4:14 we see the same two engagements. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, and Verse 14, Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,... Upon confession and a turning, the process of grafting in, will have started. Nourishing sap starts to flow ever so slowly from the root, working to soften the heart until a surrendering of the will has transpired. Jesus surrendered to the will of the Spirit and was immediately led into the desert where circumcision of the heart was to be performed, where suffering led to obedience. Romans 11:17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. The power comes from the results of the circumcision. You have now shared in his suffering and nothing will keep you from sharing in his glory, right here, right now. Why was circumcision practical to them at this time and what is God trying to tell us in recording this action? The whole Nation just finished witnessing a river in flood stage being stopped up, just for them to cross over to the Promised Land. After they passed over, God instructed them to pile up stones, gathered from the middle of the river, to make a marker for this great miraculous event. Right after this crossing, God had them circumcised and remain camped there until they were healed, which would have given them time, through pain, to associate this loss of flesh as a sign that God was with them. In this shared time of pain, as they were being marked for God, it served to fortify their comradely, and each time the men urinated they would have been reminded that God is going before them and God was with them. How can an army who is one in heart and purpose, holy before the Lord and is free from fear of death, be stopped or defeated? But what is a blessing to them, returns a curse to their foes. This miracle brought fear to the minds of their enemies and this time of healing worked to destroy their enemy’s courage to fight. What was a blessing to one became a curse to the other. I believe there to be no problem for us to see how circumcision was just a practical application of the goodness of God in the circumstances of their mission, but this Word of God is ageless and this event in time was to address us today, to produce in us the same results. This event of their circumcision is God’s picture, something tangible that can be seen to show us what we cannot see, that has happened inside of them, that is, consecration, the circumcision of the heart.

Romans 2:29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God. Only a man who is circumcised of the heart by the Spirit can discern another man’s circumcision, for insight will not come to the uncircumcised. John 7:24 Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment. God wants us to draw the parallels from the physical to the spiritual, so we can know the physical steps to arrive at the spiritual reality needed to complete consecration. This communication transience time, which means it can be applied to any generation throughout history, to achieve what is demanded from all of us, to be set apart for God in the only way he designed us to be set apart. The spiritual cutting away of the flesh is in an area that is just as sensitive and painful as the physical area in the flesh. Both procedures take a skilled surgeon and cannot be achieved by your own hands, in your own strength or through any power you might have. Col 2:11 …and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; … There is only one way to lighten the body of flesh without hands, and that is to fast. Also, there is only one Doctor that can sustain you through this time period of denial, and we all know who that is. But you must come willingly to the operation and deny that part of your flesh that will be removed. Jesus showed us the way as he willingly went out to the desert to suffer through the pain of this “circumcision of the heart” and just like him, we who have the courage to follow and see it through will also return in power. Through the pain of righteous suffering comes the power, and added to that is all the benefits that wisdom will provide, long life, riches and honor and all her ways are peaceful and pleasant. God gives us a stern warning through Jer 9:25 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh - Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the desert in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.” If you want to be Jesus’ disciple, you must learn to follow. To follow somebody when you are able to read their life backwards as well as forwards, opens up a dimension that our flesh has used to rob us of the power. Most Christians expect to have the same results that Jesus had, even though they want

to bypass the clear steps Jesus took. They focus on the glory of service until Satan has them so beat up that they quit, never thinking to go back to the drawing board and look to see what steps they missed. Glory, without the pain of circumcision is a counterfeit glory, one that will not only be consumed by the flames, but will ignite your very soul. Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. When Jesus was in the desert he was showing us how to bar the only door through which the devil can enter and use to tempt us, and the correct response to send him fleeing. Only by continually recognizing the power that is ours in the uplifted hands of Jesus, can we ever have success in keeping this door barred. Luke 4:14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through out the whole countryside. All Christians have the choice in becoming full of the Holy Spirit but because of ignorance and / or laziness they will suffer and die in the desert, but the ones who will purify themselves will move in the power of the Spirit into the Promised Land. I can’t speak for you but I’m tired of living in the desert. Matt 11:25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father for this was your good pleasure. Can God make this any clearer? He has hidden the message that makes the difference! We have the audacity, after making a sincere prayer to except Christ as our savior, to project ourselves immediately to a completed status of priest. This position took the disciples the better part of three years to arrive at. Give your head a shake. You are not going to achieve this through words! To pursue knowledge and understanding which is not directly related to positioning yourself to becoming like a little child, is to gain that which will deceive you and Isaiah 29:13-14 makes it quite clear. “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonders upon wonders; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.” Matt 18:3 And Jesus said “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. The first step to becoming a little child is to humble yourself by accepting Jesus as your

savior and believing he has the power to save you. But believing demonstrates itself by following. In other words, don’t tell me you believe, show me you believe. For it is in the doing you fulfill your side of the contract. Little children have no trouble humbling or believing not because they are little children but because their purity allows them to trust and believe. Their actions show how and what they believe, there are no doubts, but they move with complete trust. Don’t be hasty in your conclusions on the scope of God’s grace, for this is a powerful revelation Jesus makes about his requirements for heaven. 1 Cor 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of this world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the base things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. Base: (beis) the bottom or supporting part of anything, the fundamental or underlying principle or part as of an organization or system. Base: (beis) devoid of honor or morality; ignoble; contemptible. The world thinks microorganisms are foolish and held in contempt, not needed in soils nor note worthy in the body, but the wise become diseased and die in shame. These little creatures are weak, but without them even the strength of the strong is gone. These creatures form the bases of what sustains life in all things. These creatures are so small you cannot even see them and by not keeping the Sabbaths, you despise them and as a result you nullify the things you can see. When you come to the understanding of what they are and their numbers in your body, you will start to see the reality that you are missing all substance you might otherwise use to boast in. Under the heading “Photosynthesis” in “An acres U.S.A.” page 13; “human system is not alone as an operating mechanism, we are shared, rented, occupied. The very interior of our cells are homesteaded by the mitochondria, small separate creatures... These little fellows are self-sufficient sooners. ....their own DNA and RNA and replicate in their own way. Like the rhizobial bacteria on the roots of beans, they are symbionts. Except for them we couldn’t even drum a finger, much less think a thought. Except for powerful microscopes, we would never lay an eye on one, and yet plant and human life depend on them, suffer disease because of them, live and die according to how life and death are balanced among them.” (This information in “An acres U.S.A. comes from the book “The lives of a cell” by Lewis Thomas) On page 3 of Lewis’s book I give you this quote; the biologic science of recent years has been making this a more urgent fact of life. The new, hard problem will be to cope with the dawning, intensifying realization of just how interlocked we are. The old, clung-

to notions most of us have held about our special lordship are being deeply undermined. Item. A good case can be made for our nonexistence as entities. We are not made up, as we had always supposed, of successively enriched packets of our own parts. We are shared, rented, occupied. At the interior of our cells, driving them, providing the oxidative energy that sends us out for the improvement of each shining day, are the mitochondria, and in a strict sense they are not ours. They turn out to be little separate creatures, the colonial posterity of migrant prokaryocytes, probably primitive bacteria that swam into ancestral precursors of our eukaryotic cells and stay there. Ever since, they have maintained themselves and their ways, replicating in their own fashion, privately, with their own DNA and RNA quite different from ours. They are as much symbionts as the rhizobial bacteria in the roots of beans. Without them, we would not move a muscle, drum a finger, think a thought. Mitochondria are stable and responsible lodgers, and I choose to trust them. But what about the other little animals, similarly established in my cells, sorting and balancing me, clustering me together? My centrioles, basal bodies, and probably a good many other more obscure tiny beings at work inside my cells, each with its own special genome, are as foreign, and as essential, as aphids in anthills. My cells are ecosystems more complex than Jamaica Bay. I like to think that they work in my interest, that each breath they draw for me, but perhaps it is they who walk through the local park in the early morning, sensing my senses, listening to my music, thinking my thoughts. Page 71: The usual way of looking at them is as enslaved creatures, captured to supple ATP for cells unable to respire on their own, or to provide carbohydrate and oxygen for cells unequipped for photosynthesis. This master-slave arrangement is the common view of full-grown biologists, eukaryotes all. Page 72: It is a good thing for the entire enterprise that mitochondria and chloroplasts have remained small, conservative, and stable, since these two organelles are, in a fundamental sense, the most important living things on earth. Between them they produce the oxygen and arrange for its use. In effect, they run the place. My mitochondria comprise a very large proportion of me. I cannot do the calculation, but I suppose there is almost as much of them in sheer dry bulk as there is the rest of me. Looked at in this way, I could be taken for a very large, motile colony of respiring bacteria, operating a complex system of nuclei, microtubules, and neurons for the pleasure and sustenance of their families, and running, at the moment, a typewriter. I am intimately involved, and obliged to do a great deal of essential work for my mitochondria. Page 83: Meanwhile, we are paying too little attention, and respect, to the build-in

durability and sheer power of the human organism. Its surest tendency is toward stability and balance. It is a distortion, with something profoundly disloyal about it, to picture the human being as a teetering, fallible contraption, always needing watching and patching, always on the verge of flapping to pieces; this is the doctrine that people hear most, and most eloquently, on all our information media. Pro 14:11 The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish. The problem is that this book by Lewis Thomas does not tell us what to do to allow them to flourish. Can there be any doubt in what God was communicating in Exodus 23:12 when he commanded us to rest the slaves and aliens in our household, so they may be refreshed? These little fellows have their own DNA, RNA and replicate in their own way, that sure sounds like a slave or alien that is working inside me for my benefit. Is it any wonder, if these little fellows get out of balance that I am going to be defiled? I am not asking you to believe something that is going to take great faith, for this information is right before our eyes. Just take in the knowledge and understand that this is what you look like, and when you go away don’t forget your reflection. Matt 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” When you are not eating or drinking you are giving these little creatures the time and the environment to flourish or to refresh them for your righteousness. Matt 5:20 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Without keeping the Sabbath day holy (one day per week) and His four feasts per year (7days of four periods) we deny them the time to reassert themselves which culminates to move us from a state of righteousness to a state of wickedness. Rev 3:2 Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. Your deeds will never be complete in the sight of God until these little creatures are maintained in a superfluous state, because then you will be moving in the power of the Holy Spirit. Your body must return to the state that these little creatures were when you were a little child, or you will never enter the kingdom of God.

Matt 11:25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. Unless you are in this balanced state you cannot see these hidden things. Matt 18:3 And Jesus said “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. You are only going to accomplish this regeneration by keeping your eyes on the uplifted hands of your Savior. The entire Holy Scriptures are centered around Christ and His zeal for His house, which focuses attention on building or reclaiming the prosperity of your smallest common denominator. These microscopic creatures will either give you the ability to believe, or rob you of that same ability, to the degree their integrity is lacking. If you cannot believe, you will not position yourself to receive Christ’s Holiness, and without being holy you cannot see the Lord face to face. Exodus 33:11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Numbers 12:6 The Lord said, “Listen to my words: “When a prophet is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. If the Lord is speaking to us in dark sayings how can we see His form? (NASB) Pro 1:6 To understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles. God said that He speaks in riddles to all who have not gone through the circumcision of the heart. Psalms 49:4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddles on the harp. The question becomes, how can I be certain that I know the secrets which unlocks the riddles? To unlock the riddle I must seek for a formula which can hold all pieces of the riddle that when computed is practical and relevant, centered in reason, for every human being alive at any given moment and it must compliment and support every other riddle. Matt 13:10-12 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to people in parable?” He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven

has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have in abundance. We must accept the fact that the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given to us in riddles and dark sayings. Just because you have prayed the prayer of salvation, does not mean you will possess the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. You must continue to ask, seek and knock, if you want to have His form revealed, if you want to know what is demanded of you. Matt 13:12-17 Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; Though hearing they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; You will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused: they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it. And to hear what you hear but did not hear it. Remember that there are only two witnesses in Revelation, Chapter 11, that are sent to measure the temple or your body, in six billion people. They are measuring inside the temple where the people are worshipping and are counting on the name of Christ for salvation. Yes, we have many evangelist and missionaries introducing people to Christ but no one is remembering to compare our bodies to Christ’s body and make known the standard of His high calling. Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. These many prophets and righteous men are people that are young in life, and because of their lack of knowledge, their way of living is actually mining their body away from godliness, as their fathers taught them. There is no greater example than that of the young King Saul. This man was in a right relationship to God, called by God and went on to prophecy. (NASB) Pro 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Why can’t the young stay in this right relationship to God? We know that it has been appointed once to die, but this “death” would speak only to the ones who are being robbed by their incorrect assessment on where they are heading.

We must not and we can not blindly accept the way it has always been done if we see those who have gone before us reaping the consequences which are clearly laid out in the word of God for those who are naive. Ecc 12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them; before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain; in the day that the watchman of the house tremble and the mighty men stoop, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim; and the doors on the streets are shut as the sound of grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will sing softly. God is giving us a picture of what form these evil days will take and the road of effects which will take us there. We have been programmed to believe that the aging process is one of physical deterioration. If God is practical and we know that He is, what is the practical answer? There must be a hidden way of living laid out in the word of God which regenerates, on a regular basis, that which sustains the cells of the body. What we have grown to equate is that food directly gives our cells energy, even though the elderly can only receive a small amount of the potential energy in foods that they would consume. This reality is why the world will tell you to eat five or six small meals per day. The mechanism engineered to extract the energy from the food must be reducing in size. The gospel is the secret to unlocking the knowledge so we can do a one hundred and eighty degree turn, in other words, instead of living in such a way as to consume that which was internally designed to sustain our health, we repent and build back from our hardened hearts. The problem is people’s hearts have become calloused to the point they hardly hear with their ears and they have closed eyes. If their hearts were not hardened, they could see and hear, giving them understanding within their hearts, so that they would turn to position themselves to receive God’s healing. What could be so hidden, that so many prophets and righteous men who realize they are missing a crucial component in their theology, cannot discover the answer? How can we have the complete truth in the Bible, God’s living word, ever before us and fail to comprehend the very directives that will set us free? How did our hearts become calloused and what is it going to take to soften them again? In Mark 6:37 Jesus feeds the five thousand, and then Jesus immediately sent his disciples by boat on ahead of him to Bethsaida. He stayed behind to make his way up

onto a mountainside to pray. Jesus was asking the Father what the deeper meaning of this miracle was. What did it signify? Jesus was processing this miraculous happening or this encounter with the Father. We know Jesus was concerned for the people’s strength and wanted the disciples to feed them something before he dismissed them. We witnessed the physical needs of the people being met, which was the miracle, but there is always a message. Jesus’ actions were showing us what to do after we have had an encounter with God. And where do we find the Disciples? Mark 6:47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. The disciples were not thinking on what just happened before their very eyes with the feeding of the five thousand, they were caught up in the storms of life. And is that not just like us? We know that God has just blessed us through some miracle and we are happy to consume it, but we never ask him what he is trying to communicate to us. Mark 6:48-50 About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they saw him and were terrified. Why was Jesus about to pass them by? If you do not process your encounters with God, it will be harder to see the next encounter and it may pass you by. When you meditate on the wonders of the goodness of God, you are allowing and directing your unconscious part of your mind to physically change the state of your body. Mark 6:50-52 Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Then he climbed in the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. If the disciple’s hearts can become hardened as God physically worked amongst them, how much more are we susceptible when the Spirit works amongst us? We must perceive what is happening through our spirit and not our physical sight. This involves having no obstructions in the lines of communication, or positioning yourself to be pure so the fruit of your worship is Holy and can be enjoyed. As Christ is enjoying your holy sweet fruit of worship, He is communicating back to you other aspects of His grace to draw you closer to the very center of His will. If you do not go before the Lord and ask Him to show you the meaning of the encounter,

your heart will become calloused or hardened and you will miss what Jesus is trying to communicate to you. The disciples summed up their witnessing of the feeding of the thousands by seeing only God’s goodness that was on the surface. That is, the people had not eaten in three days and Jesus was concerned that some might faint on their return journey, if they did not feed them. If the disciples had processed this encounter, God would have revealed to them that they were the two small fishes and the loaves of bread that were going to feed the whole world. And what about the people that were fed, did they not have the same obligation to process their encounter of this miracle? We know that God’s actions were relevant to the disciples, that is, he was trying to show them something. We know his actions became his word, which is relevant to all generations. So, what is he trying to show me, right now, today? I believe these people could have been with Jesus two days or four days, but the fact that it was three days tells me that we who will persist and wait patiently on him will not be turned away hungry. If we will feast on him over a three year period, he will show himself to us. John 6:55-56 “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. Each time we read God’s Word, it is in an encounter with God, and therefore, we need to process the story or the parable by going before the Lord in prayer, meditation with a pure mind that is focused. If our relationship is rushed, and one of shallowness or being content with what is seen on the surface, you will never get into the deepest intimate love relationship which is rich beyond understanding or comprehension. Only by implementing the pieces of truth you have been given today, will insure that you will be lead into the deeper truths of tomorrow. If your faith is stagnant, so is your implementation of the truth. If you have no truth, you are not reading his Word or retaining the things God has brought into your life. John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be, loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him.” Pro 10:14 Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin. Eph 5:13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” The truths in God’s Word are inexhaustible. The level we have obtained is irrelevant and Christ is always ready to shine more light on us if we will position ourselves to receive. Christ is only going to entrust Himself to you to the degree you have crucified your flesh. This is a sliding scale of knowledge coming to you until you see Christ face

to face. But make no mistake; it is not until purity is perfected and moving within the parameters of righteousness that you have reclaimed your soil. If your tree is not growing in holy soil, it cannot produce fruit that is holy. Works that have been accomplished by the flesh are really acts of arrogance, and will not stand up to the scrutiny of the refiner’s fire.

Chapter 25

Rebuilding of Your Temple Deu 29:29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and our children forever, that we may follow all the words of his law. Don’t think just because you have a shallow desire to understand the secret things that belong to the Lord, that you can some how discover them by reading on your own, or even have the ability to believe if there was someone to tell you. These secrets can only be revealed to you if you are in the physical state that allows you to perceive truth or believe. I say perceive because it is a sensing of knowledge driven by the Holy Spirit attempting to reveal truth through your impurities. The Spirit requires a period of time to renew your body, which positions your mind to receive truth or to see God. Herein lies, the dilemma. Once it seemed logical to receive Jesus as our savior we are told that we are believers. We now identify ourselves with this label used for those people in the Bible who followed Christ. We now start to follow the people who tell us that they are following Christ. There was no human logic of why something was done and over time faith gave way to ignorance. Now that we are in the age of knowledge we have the logic but will not perceive that this has anything to do with our holiness. Even if we could see the connection we have no strength to follow. We need Jesus out front with His strengthening, leading us into battle with our physical impurities. We need to move by faith that Jesus will provide the strength to maintain a posture, where by we are starting to experience His promises coming from His rebuilding plan. In short, we need Jesus’ strengthening to believe, but we need to believe before he strengthens us. Without faith, you will never have the strength to carry out His decree to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. Ezra 6:1 King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives stored in the treasury at Babylon. A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it: Memorandum: In the first year of the King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid. It is to be ninety feet high and ninety feet wide, with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury. Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of God. Now then, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Eurphrates, and Shethar- Bozenai and you, their fellow officials of that province, stay away from there. Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor

of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site. Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in construction of this house of God: The expenses of these men are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop. Whatever is needed - young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem - must be given to them daily without fail, so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons. Furthermore, I decree that if anyone changes this edict, a beam is to be pulled from his house and he is to be lifted up and impaled on it. And for this crime his house is to be made a pile of rubble. May God, who caused his name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem. I Darius have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence. This is God’s direct command, his decree for us to rebuild his holy temple on the same foundation as the old one. This lays to rest the question “If I must rebuild”, and takes us onto the question “How must I rebuild”. 2 Chr 2:4 Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, dedicating it to Him, and to set out the showbread continually, and to offer burnt offerings morning and evening, on Sabbaths and on new moons and on the appointed feasts of the Lord our God, this being required forever in Israel. Rebuilding process can be very discouraging, especially if you are starting with a dilapidated shack that is addicted to all the dainty foods. The showbread is Christ and with Him comes the battle plan for success and the strengthening to keep it in order. To set this showbread out continually is to keep review your battle lines while you pray, first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. Christ has engineered three special times, two to sustain you and one for growth. These special times can be trying so He tells us to keep reading His word, meditating, and praying through our temptations. Remember, this is your life now, forever. Jesus is washing your feet. Psalms 36:8-9 They drink their fill of the abundance of Thy house; And Thou dost give them to drink of the river of Thy delights. For with Thee is the fountain of life; In Thy light we see light. Keep your chin up and your mind on His provisions for you in His decree. Remember, you may have not given your temple any consideration your whole life, so don’t expect any short cuts. Even if we are setting out to renew a house that has had some maintenance, it is still going to take you a considerable amount of time, energy and money. You must start at the foundation and move up from there. No matter how much we

would like to skip the restoration process it can only be accomplished through discipline and perseverance, and of course, knowledge. God is always ready to start the renewing process on our minds, but unless we are willing to surrender our bodies to him, he must wait. Like an old building that has never had any upkeep, it is going to take time, which is going to develop discipline, perseverance and faith. The knowledge or science will be supplied by the one who formed us and once He has made you aware it is your job to follow. The Master builder will direct work to begin on the critical areas first, and work his way through and so this process will conclude on the mountain of transfiguration. God does not leave us to imagine how his rebuilding process will commence or conclude, but provides details on exactly what it is going to take. 2 Chr 24:4-13 Some time later Joash decided to rebuild the temple of the Lord. He called together the priests and Levites and said to them... 2 Kings 12:4 Joash said to the priests. “Collect all the money that is brought as a sacred offerings to the temple of the Lord - the money collected in the census, the money received from personal vows and the money brought voluntarily to the temple. Let every priest receive the money from one of the treasurers, and let it be used to repair whatever damage is found in the temple” These sacred offerings come from three areas. The census, which is the Sabbath day of rest, the new moons and the appointed feasts, then the personal vows which are when you are seeking to know the will of God, and as you voluntarily submit because you know this money is going directly to repair your body. This currency that God is utilizing to rebuild our, or should I say, His holy temple, is what He has given to all of us, His divine energy. This divine energy that is doing the work is being paid out of the royal treasury. It seems like it is human nature to burn up every last ounce of energy on ourselves, and then stay up half the night watching TV. This energy that is recouped during the night was designed to carry us through the next day, and for most of us, we must chemically alter the state of the body to do that. The Sabbath, new moons and feasts were not only to build back that which creates our energy but frees up energy which was being used for digestion. This redirection of energy routs out pollutants in our cells. The physical food must be replaced by showbread, which is every word that comes from the mouth of God. God’s feasts or longer fasts reinstate our dwindling supply of mitochondria and other organisms. That’s why when Moses laid still and stopped eating for forty days on behalf of the Israelites, God blessed him personally by cleaning out his temple and filling his energy tanks.

Deu 34:7 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. Job 5:26 You will come to the grave in full vigor, like sheaves gathered in season. “We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself.” (NASB) Job 42:16 And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his grandsons four generations. God’s intention was to have his temple, our bodies, restored on an ongoing basis, so He called on His priests and Levites. There are two basic parts to us, the spirit, and the physical body or the tent. In order to understand and grasp this wonderful message you must picture yourself as in these two parts. 2 Kings 12:6 But by the twenty - third year of King Joash the priest still had not repaired the temple. It is no coincidence that at age 30, the King asserts his royal authority and takes charge of the temple repairs. Christ, our King at age 30, asserts his royal authority and takes charge of restoring our temples back to one of order. 2 Chr 24:5 “Go to towns of Judah and collect the money due annually from all Israel, to repair the temple of your God. Do it now.” But the Levites did not act at once. They probably figured that if we ask the people for more monies, they will just cut back on the monies they are allocating already to support our existing programs. The Levites did not want these funds redirected, for they feared it would cut into their standard of living and may reflect on them badly. Likewise, we don’t want to give up spending His divine energy on ourselves because it is going to cut back on our activities and crumple our lifestyle. We could not bear the ridicule that our so called friends or family would lavish on us. 2 Kings 12:7 Therefore King Joash summoned Jehoiada the priest and other priests and asked them, “Why aren’t you repairing the damage done to the temple? Take no more money from your treasurers, but hand it over for repairing the temple.” The priest agreed that they would not collect any more money from the people and they would not repair the temple themselves. Our spirit is instructed by the word of God, through the strength of Christ’s uplifted hands, to go to the towns of Juda, wherein, is housed the body of Israel, to collect money that was due annually. That is to say, all God’s Saints must go to their body and collect a commodity, something that we can use to motivate our repair men. We are commanded to do it now, but we will not act at once because we are enjoying spending this commodity on gratifying our flesh, just like the Levities.

It was made clear that any commodities or moneys that had already changed hands would not be reimbursed for the temple’s repairs. If our bodies have already received this commodity then they have already spent this commodity, therefore, nothing will be returned and what is going to repair this temple will not come from the past. 2 Chr 24:6 Therefore the King summoned Jehoiada the chief priest and said to him, “Why haven’t you required the Levities to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by Moses the servant of the Lord and by the assembly of Israel for the tent of the Testimony?” Now, God is speaking to Christ, and asking him why he had not required his people to bring in the tax for the Tent of the Testimony that is imposed by His word. Christ is telling us that His temple, our physical bodies are to be walking testimony to His goodness and love of the One who created us. This very tax, that is the action of collecting, was to be a testimony to the people around us. And what this tax accomplished would confirm the glory and majesty of the King we serve. When I deny my body sustenance, I am allowing this tax to be collected and this tax not only benefits the one giving it, but goes to the greater good of all. (NIV) 2 Chr 24:7 Now that son of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into the temple of God and had used even its sacred objects for Baals. If God has a temple that he wants to keep holy and pure, you know that Satan is right there breaking in to vandalize, pollute and to subtly seduce us into using our sacred objects for worshiping other gods. Our flesh is his door to our temple which we never learn to lock, in fact, we invite him in. He has seduced us to the point where we believe that we have no sacred objects and the objects we are using are ours, and they have no purpose in our worship to a Holy God. (NIV) 2 Chr 24:8 At the king’s command, a chest was made and placed outside, at the gate of the temple of the Lord. A proclamation was then issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they should bring to the Lord the tax that Moses the servant of the God had required of Israel in the desert. All the officials and all the people brought their contributions gladly, dropping them into the chest until it was full. Whenever the chest was brought in by the Levites to the Kings officials and they saw there was a large amount of money, the royal secretary and the officers of the chief priest would come back and empty the chest and carry it back to its place. They did this regularly and collected a great amount of money. Jesus makes a publication through his word, to his Saints, to make accommodations, for the setting aside their contributions of this commodity, regularly. Once the Saints understood, that this commodity was going directly to the rebuilding process of their temple, they were happy to donate.

Over time you can see that this process would eventually rebuild the entire structure, in an organized fashion. Once the people could see some changes taking place to their temple, and believed that this money was actually going to the purpose it was given, they became excited to see greater and greater progress. Once you adopt this truth into your life, you are on the road to the abundant life. (NIV) 2 Chr 24:12 The King and Jehoiada gave it to the men who carried out the work required for the temple of the Lord. They hired masons and carpenters to restore the Lord’s temple, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the temple. 2 Kings 12:13 The money brought into the temple was not spent for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets or any other articles of gold or silver for the temple of the Lord; it was paid to the workmen, who used it to repair the temple. They did not require an accounting from those whom they gave the money to pay the workers, because they acted with complete honesty. You may think you have all the beautiful articles of gold and silver on the inside of your temple, but if your temple looks and functions like a broken down shack, no one is going to trust you when you invite them to view the decor. People are invited by what they see, not by what you tell them. When you hire workers for a project, even if you trust the men with your money, to be prudent it would require you to perform an audit. If nothing else, an accounting will keep them acting with complete honesty throughout the life of the rebuilding process. It doesn’t make sense that God would include such a detail unless he was talking about a situation where an accounting would be impossible to perform. By making this statement, He is resolving us of this responsibility. If this responsibility is not ours, then it must be His, which would only make sense, if this is His rebuilding program on his temple. This account in 2 Kings was a shadow of what was to come and what came was a new Temple that was not built by human hands. Our great Designer has placed within us a mechanism to create new energy and to pool unused energy and materials until the quantity required has been reached to restore the next phase. The organisms in charge of the work are completely honest, diligent and loyal, so the repairs will progress under them. (NIV) 2 Chr 24:12 The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the repairs progressed under them. They rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design and reinforced it. Your mother or father may not have had all the materials needed, when building your temple, and as a result there could be areas that are not up to code or lacking integrity. As long as we obey our Lord, the supplies and the commodity will always be there to do

the job. But our great God does not stop there, he is going to reinforce our bodies, enabling us to adapt to our geography. No wonder David said in the Psalms “We are fearfully and wonderfully made.” That sounds too good to be true. Eph 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us,... That is right. His design has placed within each of us His power that will go to work if given the correct environment. What more do you want a LOVING GOD to do! Eph 3:17 ....And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filed to the measure of all the fullness of God. Paul prays that we “may have the power” together with all the saints. There would be no need to pray that we would have the power, if the power was loosed automatically as the Spirit entered. For today we are taught, except Jesus into your heart, confess, turn from your sins, and the Spirit will come into your body with all His power, so get going, you have received everything. And well, it is true that where the Spirit is, there is the power, which is to say, where the Spirit is, only gives you access to everything you will ever need to live a holy and godly life in this present age. For if the full power took over our lives the minute the Spirit entered, we would all be living a holy and godly life. No, it takes time to be rooted and established in love and if you are not willing to do the time, don’t fool yourself into thinking your going to grasp how wide, long and deep is this love of Christ, or even to know this love that surpasses knowledge. Jesus was baptized and was filled with the Holy Spirit in Luke 4:1, but it was not until he returns from the desert, that in Luke 4:14 described him as being under the power of the Spirit. There is only one baptism, even though there are three different components that we need to recognize and acknowledge. First the receiving of the Spirit, second the dying to yourself or circumcision of the heart, and finally receiving the power to know and do the will of God for your life. For those of us who have the Spirit and think we have the power, we pull out our measuring lines and lay them beside the grace of God, only to find that our lines stop just this side of the rebuilding work that Jesus wants to do in each of our temples. And because that is as far as your line will go, that’s as far as you will go. But don’t be too hard on yourself, for when you look around nobody else believes their line is long enough either. Quote by C.S. Lewis “We settle for less than what God has for us.”

The sad reality is, wide is the gate that leads to destruction and narrow is the way that leads to heaven. And if you are satisfied with sacrificing true substance for hollow companionship, carry on. But the remnant will believe and take action. The elect will lay down their sickles and come to the temple. The sheep will hear his voice and follow. If you are going with the majority, you will be using the wide gate. Eze 43:6 While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me inside the temple. He said: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever. The house of Israel will never again defile my holy name - by their prostitution and the lifeless idols of their kings at the high places. When they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts next to my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they defiled my holy name by their detestable practices. So I destroyed them in my anger. Now let them put away from me their prostitution and lifeless idols of their kings, and I will live among them forever.” “Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple - its arrangement, its exits and entrances - its whole design and all its regulations and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations. The message in this book is an attempt to educate you, from God’s word, on the whole design of your temple and all God’s laws and regulations that govern how your body will function, that is, either testifying to His goodness or demonstrating what appears to be His inabilities. Jer 22:13 “Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who uses his neighbor’s services without pay and does not give him his wages. Who says, ‘I will build myself a roomy house with spacious upper rooms and cut out its windows, paneling it with cedar and paint it bright red.’ “Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar? Did your fathers eat and drink, and do righteousness? Then it was well with him.” “He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; then it was well. Is not that what it means to know me?” declares the Lord. The Lord is warning all peoples who are building their place of residence, and everyone is building by the fact that they are living, that to avoid calamity they must incorporate righteousness and justice into all aspects of construction. Justice comes from knowledge and understanding, which should be developed and stored in our upper rooms, our minds, but to deprive an associate of what he needs to maintain himself in his integrity is to deny justice.

Anybody that builds their house by withholding the laborer’s wages will naturally over size their rooms and the bigger the house the more he needs to consume to fill it. The ongoing attempt to process what was consumed by fewer and fewer laborer’s willing to work without pay, automatically produces an environment hostile or inflamed. An inflamed house gets painted red. The Lord is asking the question of whether you become a king by who consumes the most to tell us the answer. The classic statement “Less is More” has never been more relevant or fit so precise. The Lord possesses the question to state the obvious answer; you do not become a king by the quantity of that which lines the inside of your house. By the next question He goes on to tell us that IF our fathers exhibited justice and righteousness, it was only through their disciple in the area of eating and drinking that enabled them to plead the cause of the afflicted and needy. The Lord repeats Himself to underscore the affects of the discipline by stating “Then it was well with him”. To maintain the integrity of the discipline is what it means to know Him.

Chapter 26

Sanctification What do we know about our God that could be considered facts that are undisputed? We know that he knows all things and knows them before they happen. He knows us completely, what we will choose, how we think, our weaknesses and our potential for good or evil. We know that He sent his son Jesus, the embodiment of his Holy Scriptures to show us the way we are to follow, and His Word that tells us the actions that will take us where He wants us to go. God’s love for his creation was displayed by sending his only Son to be sacrificed in a brutal death, just to give us the ability to be saved. He is a God of details and perfect timing with complete power, yet sensitive to our every need. He knows he needs to speak to us in ways we can understand. Romans 6:19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. God, through Paul, is again pulling back the spiritual veil in an attempt to reveal truth to us in worldly human terms, because we are living by the flesh, which has removed our ability to perceive truth in the spiritual realm. A member, in the context of our body, is anything that functions as a part of our body. We have given our members, which is our limbs, organs, and flesh, as slaves, which means they have no choice in the matter of lawlessness as a result of subjecting them to impurities. In our ignorance of what God classifies as impure, we continue to consume, resulting in further lawlessness. As a result, it gives us a compounding effect on our members, which takes our depravity to new lows. How do you force your organs and allow them no choice in regards to impurity and lawlessness? (NASB) Psalms 106:34-39 They did not destroy the people, as the Lord commanded them, but they mingled with the nations, and learned their practices and served they idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons, and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with the blood. Thus they became unclean in their practices, and played the harlot in their deeds. We have not been trained to recognize how our bodies communicate when they are being poisoned. Satan has made a joke out of the body’s language and we all have had a great laugh. The comedy shows are full of burps, belches, sneezes and loud flatulent sounds. We might feel overfull sometimes at a Christmas dinner or at

Thanksgiving, but no one ever told us that all this variety of foods cannot be consumed together. We fall in love and are seduced by all the beautifully prepared dishes and salivate over the great variety of all its wonderful smells. But after the heat of the moment is over we cannot recognize the lawlessness that is caused by indulging our lusts. It is like the cocktail of poisons which form in our stomach, is someone else’s problem. If only we had someone who would sound the alarm and scream murder. The baby of a nursing mother can do just that. She knows not to drink coffee while she is breast feeding her enfant child but she is perplexed at her colicky child. The poisons which are poisoning her body are also poisoning her milk. We think that there is something wrong with the baby, when actuality, the baby is telling us there is something evil within the mother’s milk. Lawlessness comes from the evil within our bodies and lawlessness is happening in all of our bodies. Let me paint you a picture of lawlessness so you can relate and sympathize what is taking place inside his members and yours. Think of the worst riot you have ever seen on television, police blooding rioters, gas bombs igniting fires in shops, cars upside down burning with black smoke, glass being smashed with looting and pilfering, rape and indecent assaults happening all over the city and innocent people being shot dead, well the wounded cry out for help. Do you see any peace in this scenario? When we disobey in these areas, it results in further lawlessness. That is why we are commanded to present our members as slaves to righteousness and / or obedience which results in sanctification. Just as when we presented our members to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, we now turn and obey by presenting our members to righteousness, resulting in further righteousness. It is this accumulative process, by obeying the laws that govern that takes us onto winning the prize, eternal life. Romans 6:22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. Grace is the free gift, and when applied you derive your benefit, which frees you from sin and enslaves you to God, as long as you use time to overcome. It is in the actions of receiving the benefits of Christ’s work that results in sanctification / repentance / circumcision of the heart, that eternal life is granted. It is going through this formula here on earth, which brings us to the outcome of eternal life. For, eternal life is the prize, not the gift. (NASB) Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. “Free Gift”, #5486 is defined as religious qualification and to grant as a favor. In other words, if you obey, you will become qualified to ask for the favor of eternal life. Sanctification allows you to be in a position to ask for eternal life. It is a free gift, because without the grace extended to us, we could never be in a position to ask.

(NIV) 1 Thes 4:3 It is God’s will that you be sanctified... (NASB) 1 Thes 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is’ that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor. 2 Thes 2:13 …God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. Our loving heavenly Father wills that we are sanctified. Why? If we are not pursuing sanctification, we will not be able to see the Lord. In others words, you can read your Bible all you want and never see or understand what Jesus is communicating. Heb 12:14 Purse peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. It is only when you are on this road called sanctification that more and more enlightenment comes. This is not an option, but a command, because he wants his best for each one of his children. The Christian Churches today operate as if God commands sanctification, but has never shown or told us how to become sanctified. God said, “BE sanctified, not work at it until I complete the process by taking you to heaven.” 1 Thes 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sanctification needs to be completed before the coming of our Lord, so that our spirit, soul and body may be preserved completely, because it becomes our token of good faith which invokes Christ’s covenant. It appears to me as if we like to think of this purification process as something we can take or leave. We have allowed Satan to convince us that whatever we do will be so insignificant to our holy transformation, that we discourage ourselves from obeying God’s definition of this process called sanctification. God is not going to give us the directive to be sanctified and not make it clear whose responsibility it is to see it through, or the geography where it is completed. Heb 12:3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart. You must prepare your heart to believe. Understanding that our great loving heavenly Father, when he gives a command to be sanctified, is also going to give you, not only the exact details on how to accomplish so you can receive the benefits, but the consequences of the noncompliance. Think about what we are asked to believe, would I command my child to act on a word that he could not comprehend, unless I explained fully what was expected of him. Would I not, out of my love for him, explain the

wonderful benefits of complying, and also warn him of the consequences of disregarding them? If we who are evil, know how to treat our children with love, how much more the one whose essence is love, will treat the object of his affection? Matt 7:11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! God is telling us we are evil, so let us understand He has given us His greatest gift, so that we may use it to overcome our evil. Heb 10:12 ...but He, having offered one sacrifice for sin for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A STOOD STOOL FOR HIS FEET. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, “THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM. AFTER THOSE DAYS, (after the days of sanctification are completed) SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND ON THEIR MINDS I WILL WRITE THEM,” He then says, “AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” (Without being sanctified, Christ will remember our sins and lawless deeds.) Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary is an offering of flesh and blood and because it was always complete in its integrity, it was accepted by the Father. The Father’s love was reflected in that He connected all sins from all people to this one perfect sacrifice. Christ’s actions allowed Him to broker a new covenant with us because He is now covering our position of sin. Since Christ paid the debt, He holds the paper on each one of us. Christ’s new deal needed a component of grace because it would take time to comply with His terms and conditions. Should we believe that we have a need which His offer can address, we would secure that which is promised by entering into the covenant. Now, if there is nothing required on our part to take hold of His promise, no covenant or grace would be necessary. After Jesus completed His transaction with the Father, by His sacrifice on the cross, He sat down at the right hand side of His Father, waiting from that time onward, to see who will believe. If we choose to believe, we examine the covenant to understand what is being asked for on our part. If we misinterpreted the contract or chose not to believe, we become enemies of the cross because we never completed repentance. It is this next sentence that is so very crucial to whether you will comprehend what it is which you are being asked for, to fulfill your side of the covenant. The NIV Bible says “those who are being made holy” and if you choose to believe this, you most likely are waiting for your sanctification process to be completed in heaven, but you will end up a foot stool. The NAS Bible says “those who are sanctified”, it is past tense. Jesus Christ offered Himself one time for all sin, and in doing so, perfected for all time only those who demonstrated they believed His offering by completing sanctification.

Sanctification is a Display of Good Faith Not only does the Lord confirm his timing for his conditions relative to our actions, but provides a second testimony through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit confirms that there is a contract, but it will only be made “after those days”. After what days? The Spirit is verifying that it is going to take a number of days to finish the work of sanctification. It is after those days, that the covenant is made with us, because our hearts and minds have been prepared by time to receive His laws, and in doing so; these actions fulfill our obligations to the covenant. When you couple these actions of obedience in our life with Christ’s sacrifice, the results are perfection, and our sins and lawless deeds He will remember no more. To believe sanctification is completed in heaven, is to never enter into His covenant. Exodus 19:10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their cloths and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. We know that the Old Testament is a foreshadow of what is to come. Moses has just brought these people out of the world and they all chose to follow Moses out into the desert for the purpose of celebrating a feast to God. Exodus 5:1 …“Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.” At a feast, something is being consumed and someone is doing the consuming. If we were holding the feast we might kill or sacrifice the fatten calf and then consume it. The Lord God of Israel will have the pleasure of this feast and as such, it is we who are to be killed or sacrificed. Exodus 5:3 “…Please, let us go a three day journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” At this time in the Old Testament they had flocks of animals which were used in the sacrifices; a physical happening representing what was needed to be given in our own physical lives. It matters not what time period we are in, God’s word always provides a prophet to tell us what is about to happen and to clarify where most of us will be at, in the outcome. Zechariah was called on by God to speak to the people of that day, that this sword missed those who had been keeping His feasts for the last seventy years, in Chapter 7. Zech 7:2 Now Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech and their men to seek the favor of the Lord, speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the Lord

of hosts, and to the prophets saying, “Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?” These men that had been brought through this horrendous time were now well motivated to seek the favor of the Lord. Nevertheless, it was not the priests or the prophets who responded to this question of their devotion. Keep in mind that many things are being revealed to us through this dialogue and one of the big ones is what these feasts look like and what they will achieve when combined properly. Zech 7:4-5 Then the word of the Lord of host came to me: “Say to all the people of the land and to the priest, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?’ ” A feast to the Lord is an extended period of time whereby one would fast, weep in spirit and mourn in heart. Note that it was also the so called priests and the prophets that needed the answer as well, because they too where in violation and had not produced the proper outcome. Zech 7:6 ‘And when you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves?’ Most of them only appeared to be following God’s directives by their partial observing of His appointed feasts. As a result, they pleased themselves by neglecting their obligation in their day to day and their week to week. This same horrendous time of judgment was prophesied by Ezekiel for the future and the sword and pestilence was to take a great toll on the population. Ezekiel in his pointing out what God is going to do for them at this time also verifies that it is we who are this animal that need to be sacrificed regularly at God’s appointed feasts. Eze 36:37-38 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “This also I will let the house of Israel ask Me to do for them: I will increase their men like a flock. Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so will the waste cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” We Are The Animals That Are To Be Sacrificed At God’s Appointed Feasts. What is the elite priesthood doing? Eze 44:24 They shall also keep My Laws and My statutes in all My appointed feast, and sanctify My Sabbaths. It is in the doing of denying your flesh that transforms you into this elite group. Ezekiel in Chapter 45, not only clarifies for us God’s three classes of people in His chosen group but in Verse 17, gives us four headings of these times of denying your flesh. Eze 45:17-25 “And it shall be the prince’s part to provide the burnt offerings, the

grain offerings, and the libations, at the feasts, on the new moons, and on the Sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel; … Make no mistake, a prince is a priest in waiting, that is, waiting on the Lord to transform him, or a growing up of what God intended him to be. Luke 12:42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you, that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.” In Chapter 7 of Zechariah, Verse 7, the Lord tells them that He sent the former prophets, which had told of this before this destruction of Jerusalem. So now that God has your undivided and complete attention He will try telling you again. Zech 7:8-9 Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah saying, “Thus has the Lord of hosts said, ‘Dispense (8199) true (571) justice, (4941) and practice (6213) kindness (2617) and compassion (7356) each to his brother; (251) and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ In the past, these seemly straight forward words have painted the wrong picture, and as a result we have no idea of the practical instructions. In other words, God gave us over to a depraved mind to wax worse. Lam 2:6 …The Lord has caused to be forgotten the appointed feast and Sabbath in Zion. Nevertheless, it is in the root meanings of our translated words that we can arrive at a completely different picture, one which will take us on to victory, in that we may keep our crown. Keep in mind that all scripture must come under the supreme context which Jesus frames up for us in Matthew Chapter 23, Verse 25 and 26. Matt 23:25-26 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and selfindulgence. Blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.” Here is the Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary meaning that gives us the picture for the words used in Zech 7:8-9. Dispense (8199) a primary root; to judge ie. Pronounce sentence (for or against) by extension to govern; passively to litigate. Litigate means; to contest in a lawsuit. True (571) a primary word; a mother (as the bond of the family); in a wide sense (both literally and figurative)

Justice (4941) from 8199; prop. a verdict (favorable or unfavorable) pronounced judicially, especially a sentence or formal decree (human or [participle] divine law, individual or collective), includes the act, the place, the suit, the crime, and the penalty; abstract Justice, includes a particular right, or privilege, or even a style: - adversary, ceremony, charge x crime, custom, determination, disposing, judgment, ordinance, right, sentence. Practice (6213) a primary root; to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application (as follows); - accomplish, advance, appoint, become, bear, bestow, bring forth, bruise, have the charge of, (ready) dressed, execute, exercise, fashion, + feast, hold ([a feast]), maintain, procure, provide, x sacrifice, serve, trim, workman, yield, use. Kindness (2617) from 2616; kindness; by implication (towards God) piety; rarely (by opp.) reproof, or (subject) beauty: - favor, good deed (-liness), loving kindness, 2616 - a primary root prop. perhaps to bow (the neck only [comp2603] in courtesy to an equal) to reprove; - show self merciful, put to shame. 2603 - a primary root [comp. 2588] prop. to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior, be merciful, have pity upon. 2588 - a primary root; prop. To incline; by impliedly to decline (of the slanting rays of evening); specially to pitch a tent; generally to encamp (for a abode or siege): - abide (in tents), camp, grow to end, lie, rest in tent. Compassion (7356) from 7355; compassionate (in the plural); by extension the womb (as cherishing the fetus); by implication a maiden: - bowels, compassion, mercy, pity, womb. 7355 a primary root; to fondle; by implication to love, mercy, having pity. Each (376) contracted For 582 [or perhaps rather from an unused root meaning to be extant]; a man as a individual or male person; often used as an adjunction to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation. 5822 - man, people, person, servant, some (x of them) Brother (251) - a primary word; a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relationship and metaph. Affinity or resemblance [like 1]: another, brother (-ly), kindred, like, other. So what is the true picture that God is expressing through Zechariah in Chapter 7, taking the root meanings of these words directly out of the Hebrew dictionary, and allowing them to be applied internally? That is, understanding that they are speaking about our guts and organs. Zech 7:8-9 (Dispense) Judge yourself by means of litigation for the purpose of pronouncing a sentence; (Prove to yourself by means of a precise factual collection of truth) (True) do this from the standpoint of a mother who purpose is to keep the family together. (Your objective is harmony within your own members) (Justice) Your verdict must be based and come from divine law, breaking down for the perpetrator the act, the

place, the suit, the crime, and the penalty for his choices. (I must identify how and where I am going against God’s laws and understand the repercussions of such actions.) (Kindness) Become a workman by holding a feast to accomplish sacrifice, serving up loving kindness towards God by bowing the neck and bending the knee to an inferior, in that which you gave Him, (When you obey you will rest your body, as a result you sacrifice what you could do for what God wants to do with the things inside that you consider inferior.) (Compassion) yourself as the maiden, (To let God work is to show compassion for yourself as the weaker.) (Each) (Brother) that encompasses all other members that have come together to make you complete. (Your whole body is the beneficiary.) The people of Zechariah’s day refused to pay attention, were stubborn, and stopped their ears from hearing. They made their hearts like flint; therefore, great wrath came from the Lord. Zech 7:11-12 “But they refused to pay attention, and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. “And they made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.” The Lord of hosts by His Spirit has caused me to see and to warn this generation. Do not be foolish in thinking He is going to be a long time in coming! Luke 12:45 “But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. However, if we believe in our hearts that Christ’s Day of Judgment is a long ways off, we will “party on” with the scribes and Pharisees and all the other hypocrites. This doing what we feel like attitude beats our slaves because in our eating and drinking we show them no mercy. We do not understand that our thinking must come from somewhere by some means. These slaves are the means by which we will make a judgment and either be, “cut to pieces and assigned a place with unbelievers” or know what to believe to have the strength to overcome and do what pleases the Master. 2 Thes 2:10 …and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false. Why do we believe what is false? Is it because God gives us over to a depraved mind to have this “deluding influence”? Deluding means; a mistaken or misleading opinion, idea, belief, etc. A belief held in the face of evidence to the contrary, that is resistant to all

reason. I am giving you overwhelming evidence to the contrary, so put away your sword and stop resisting reason. Rev 18:23 because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. After receiving and establishing this intimate love relationship, your actions will look after the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and if maintained you will not devise evil in your heart against anyone because when the inside is clean “the outside of it may become clean”. Zech 8:19 Thus says the Lord of host, “The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.” Feast (4150) (2 Chron 8:13) from 3259; prop. an appointment, ie. A fixed time or season; as appointed beforehand, a place of solemn assembly. 3259 - a primary root; to fix upon by appointment; by implication to meet at a stated time, to summon to trial, to engage for marriage: - agree, betroth, meet together. Jude 1:12 These men are those who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; waves of the sea, casting up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever. Jude is not talking to the insincere babes in Christ, but to those who are going through or have gone through the requirements that the word of God demands for the completion of repentance. When God calls us to a feast, it is a love feast to prepare for marriage. Initially, we come in fear, but as we grow it becomes respect. When I come to my future Husband I know He loves me tender. I show my love / respect to Him by giving myself over to be consumed by Him. As His hands caress my body, removing that which hinders, He awakens my passion and flames my desire to consume His blood and His body (John 6:54-56). Each time we meet my love grows deeper as He gives me more of Himself. Now that is an intimate love relationship! If you will / can maintain this intimate union, it will only be a matter of time until a new child will be born in you. Remember when God talks about His feasts, it’s a love fest; We are each being consumed by the other! We don’t like to be consumed; therefore, we have no fear of God and we are repulsed by the thought of eating His flesh and drinking His blood. Heb 13:9 Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace not by foods, through which those who were thus occupied were not benefited.

This choice by the Israelites to take a three day journey into the desert to hold a feast to the Lord removed them from the world’s influence and started them on God’s journey to Zion. God, in His love for them, had them pinned against the Red Sea to position his nation for baptism. His people went safely through and under the water witnessing the literal washing away of the world behind them. And the force that held them for years was broken, as the entire Egyptian army was swept away. But there was something more they needed to do before God was going to come down and show himself to them. They needed to consecrate themselves for two days, making ready and waiting for God to show himself to them sometime in the third day. Could this outward preparation before meeting God be to symbolize some inward consecration that he requires of all his children? Is it possible today, that we have come out of the world, been baptized and yet have never seen God in his completeness? Well let’s look at some New Testament verses that will shed light. 2 Tim 2:20-21 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels , but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. God is telling us that in each of our mature bodies, that are the older, larger houses, we have two types of vessels. These vessels are just utensils, which are at our disposal, used to hold things that will worship and glorify God, and utensils that if not removed will serve only to discredit the Master. Consecration is the act of cleaning out of the body, and the discarding of that which blocks us from giving what God demands; worship. Sanctified is the term used to describe the finished work of consecration. The person must take the initiative to see that the job is done, but this by no means suggests that he cannot utilize what Jesus has provided to complete this task. It was Moses who was asked by God to go to the people and instruct them to wash their clothes. This instruction on how to wash their clothes was just the knowledge of the gospel of Christ. God did not ask Moses to go and wash their clothes. No, the responsibility fell squarely on the individual, once he has the knowledge, to obey and wash his own clothes. Remember, Moses was a typology of Christ and if you believe Jesus does something more, that allows you to place the responsibility back on Him, you are sadly mistaken. If it is required of me to open an iron door, it would be foolish of me to think I will break it down with my shoulder. The wise thing to do, if I do not possess the key, would be to recognize that I have no means in and of myself to reach the objective. Therefore, to search for the key would be prudent. Once the key is found and the operation is completed, this word of God tells us that we will be vessels for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good works.

Luke 11:52 “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering you hindered.” Our Christian leaders / Church today have given up on going through this door, out of ignorance and pride, because they cannot break it down nor do they possess the key. Consequently, the ones we trust, in order to appear to be worthy, place their own spin on consecration, and so they make believe that they and you are useful to the Master, when in fact all are enemies of the cross. Eph 4:21-24 ...if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Where is the evidence that you have laid aside the old self and have been renewed in the spirit of your mind? Jesus stands knocking on the other side of this door with the knowledge and the strength you need to find the key, but it is you by faith, who will take what He offers and wash your own clothes, that opens the door. Phi 2:12-16 So then my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing; that you may prove yourself to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may have cause to glory because I did not run in vein nor toil in vein. If salvation comes by a quick and sincere prayer, there is no need to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” because it is done in a mater of a few minutes. A true theology must incorporate and flow with all scriptures, and not after we bastardized the ones we don’t like. It is true that fear and trembling gives way to love as our motivator and anchor, once sanctification is completed. But remember, in the beginning, it was love that allowed you in your ignorance to progress in the way of your choosing. God’s love gives you more of what your actions are showing Him you want. Fear and trembles should be the results of understanding exactly how God’s love works, and is given to carry us through this time of purification. We are not to grumble, or argue when the Spirit of God wants to do its work in us, but to submit, that we, if we submit, may prove ourselves to be blameless and innocent. You prove yourself by submitting, that His love may take you on to His good pleasure, where the outcome is you appearing as lights in a dark world. God’s love will do whatever you want to submit to, but do not think that this love only transports you one way.

Rev 3:4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes, they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed the white. For all reading John’s Revelation must be baffled by his word “worthy” in his context. The word “worthy” places the onus directly on the ones who wish to overcome and allows no wiggle room as to where the responsibility lies. The meaning of this word “worthy” collides head on with our understanding of the meanings of our words believe and faith, in the context which our flesh has held them. But by the Spirit of God, this book shows you how you can reconcile the two positions without eroding either one or contaminating your theology by works. If there are only a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes, then this scripture is telling me, that most of us have soiled our clothes. We know God is not talking about the physical strips of cloth that cover my body, because I wash them daily. All we know is this; “something” has become soiled, that it covers, and that it needs washing. We know there are only two parts to all of us, the physical and the spiritual, so one of the two needs washing. Our spiritual is wrapped up in the physical; therefore, it is our physical flesh that needs the washing. We cannot see that we are soiled but we come, which shows we believe, and by faith we believe God to do the work in us because we have no idea how it can be accomplished. Of course, not in our own strength, for we have no strength to defeat our flesh. In 2 Cor 5:4 the writer leaves no doubt what these clothes represent when he said, “For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling.” We are spirit, and for awhile we are clothed in this tent and for some reason we do not like the thought of giving up what we know, for what we are asked to believe. All of us who have lived past the age of accountability are responsible for our soiled clothes, and should we choose to forego this cleansing process, we will not be worthy. Rev 22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. This is not some passive state that you spiritually arrive at or enter into by a fussy feeling at the end of your church service, but rather an active engagement where you have the responsibility to come and submit and receive the unmerited favor that allows you to persevere to complete the task. It is then and only then, that you have the right to the tree of life, by the grace of God. Don’t be fooled. Satan, by appealing to the flesh, will provide other ways which appear to wash your robes and place you in the city, but these methods bypass the gates of grace and give no access to the tree of life.

Malachi 3:2 But who can endure the day of his coming? For he will be like the refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years. “In the day of His coming” speaks of a specific period of time in which He will show himself as a fire to some and a launderer’s soap to others. Using a refiner’s fire would take a longer time period, based on the extent of the impurities, to completely remove the dross. On the other hand, to some it will only require a little soap and water to finish the job because these are either little children or have been born again. Eventually, no matter which category you are in, you will bring offerings in righteousness. These actions of cleaning by soap and water are all that is necessary to wash this new child that you died to bare. You overcame this unpleasant time to complete sanctification. Rev 3:21 “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. The word “overcomes” which would suggest a period of time that may not be all that pleasant. John 16:21 A women giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. Jesus gave this picture to all his disciples which can include you. This unpleasant period of time that leads up to you, as this new child being born, will be forgotten because of the joy, from here on, you will know in this world. And what is this joy? John 16:22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. When you as this new child are born again, you will see Jesus clearly, and understand him completely, never needing to ask him anything, because your sight has answered everything. Seeing Jesus clearly, is working with Jesus, where the Father is working and that is in the center of His will for you. “In that day” refers to this time period immediately following your new birth. This new birth through pain and anguish is reaping the rewards of perseverance. The old mind set has passed away; the ignorance you called knowledge, the uncertainty of truth, the spirit of stupor with all the mysteries of the gospel. (Eph 6:19) Turn to the end of Luke, Chapter 24 and Verse 45 and understand where Jesus’ disciples had been, that is carrying and developing this new child. They finally arrived at this time in their lives where this transformation in their

minds was about to come to fruition. Luke 24:44 Now He said to them, “These are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about me in the Law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures… But just a few days earlier, in Chapter 24, the knowledge conveyed to them through the woman, by way of the angel at the tomb, was nonsense, and they would not believe them. Luke 24:11 And the words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. The Bible directs us to do all things in “the name of Christ” but if we are not in His nature, then we cannot claim to be in the confines of this qualifier. If it is not in Christ’s Name by His strength, then it is in your name by your strength and that is called “works”. The point is that two people can do the exact same good deed out of love, one will remain for eternity and the other will not be recognized even though both recipients will be blessed (Matt 7:21-23). Don’t think for one minute that the five foolish virgins were not doing good deeds (Matt 25:1-13). Repentance is completed in different lengths of time for different people, just like the natural human births. Nobody gets pregnant and gives birth tomorrow. But when conception has come to full term, one day you go from that which is hidden, to that which is your treasure, from that which is a mystery, to that which is known. Col 1:25-27 Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations; but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Col 2:3 …in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. There is no greater joy than to be operating from the center of God’s Will, because when you ask, you receive. Jer 6:27 “I have made you an assayer and a tester among My people, that you may know and assay their way.” And when this time of joy is completed He will give you the honor to be able to walk with him dressed in white because Jesus has called you worthy. The question is not “what needs washing” but how can it be washed and how long does it take?

Psalms 27:13 I am still confident in this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. The Israelites persevered through this unpleasant time of washing. They were being strong and taking heart as they waited in the third day to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, not the land of heaven. They overcame by persevering through discipline over time, and God did not disappoint them. The Israelites, just like David, were waiting with expectations of seeing God. After you see God, you see his goodness, and when you see his goodness it renews your strength, because you have less doubt through greater insight. This understanding leads us to a practical application that positions us to receive a larger proportion of his goodness. John 13:10 Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” “Then Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” We must place the clothes in the washing machine but it is the soap and water which cleans. It is very clear that Jesus is the one who will be doing the cleansing. There are two separate cleanses; the complete washing followed by a periodical washing of only the feet. Simon Peter had all the attributes needed to be Jesus’ disciple and his whole body was clean, yet he still required this “washing of his feet”. The feet represent the part of the body that becomes soiled as they carry us through this polluted world. We know that Jesus’ Spirit was supplying grace and his power was operating in them in varying degrees. This washing was an essential requirement for keeping them in the parameters of righteousness and holy living. When the time of consecration is completed and we have come to the full definition of being called a “believer” our bodies are still getting dirty. We still have need for the grace of God and His plans to keep us clean. It is only His Spirit that works inside us which can bring us to the state of humility required not only to will, but to receive His washing. If we will not humbly surrender to our King and Lord and be taken captive, we will not be spared. Jer 38:17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live. First, the body receives a complete bath and is clean. But this washing of the feet was only to symbolize a small cleansing of the internal parts of the body that have again become polluted. Jesus understood the connection between the feet and water and how His Devine energy would play out in keeping His disciples pure. Therefore, for us to wash each others feet or as Jesus put it to Simon Peter “Feed my lambs” or “Take care of my sheep”, we are commanded to show them and lead them to where they to can be washed by Jesus. This “showing” can only be accomplished through sharing the

knowledge of the goodness of God, and this “leading” would be to guide them into implementing the practical steps. But of course, unless the Spirit is working to humble them, they cannot be shown or lead. They were commanded to wait for the Holy Spirit’s power to come upon them, and before Jesus was to leave them, He graciously made clear of the need for this washing. For the Spirit’s power upon you one day, does not automatically guarantee it for tomorrow. Power comes from purity and not from position. Matt 23:25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and selfindulgence. Blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” We now know that we started out clean, not sinless, and have become soiled on the inside of our bodies. And as we walk in this world, even doing God’s will, we will become partially soiled or polluted again. We now know that if we want God to reveal himself to us we must have Jesus, our high priest, wash the inside of our complete bodies and continue to wash some parts of our body periodically. Jesus is telling us that if we can overcome and receive his washing on the inside, that action will automatically produce holy actions on the outside. In other words, if Jesus cleans us on the inside, we act like Jesus on the outside. 1 Cor 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? After we have given our lives to Jesus Christ, he makes our bodies his Holy temple. Christ wants his Holy temple sanctified and he wants us to allow him to cleanse it periodically. Something has come into our bodies and come over our bodies that we did not have when we were young. Something is polluting His Temple. Something is there that was never meant to be there. This something must be identified and barred from entering His temple. And the process of expelling must start. God’s Holy Word has just given us our next lead, we now know that our bodies are no longer our bodies, but his Holy Temple, and therefore, each time His Word speaks of the Temple, God is telling us something about our bodies. For most of you this fact will be a monumental jump that you must make or risk missing God’s best. If you think about this, it is a brilliant way to convey the truth, yet seal the truth, for without faith how do you make this leap? And even if you make this jump of faith, without God giving you the understanding to see how the analogy corresponds to your body, you will terminate this line of thinking.

Luke 11:41 “But give that which is within as charity, and then all things are clean.” Jesus was talking to the Pharisees about the body when he addressed them, for the benefit of all who would fit into this disparity. This is not talking about finding it in our hearts to give to that homeless person that comes across our path, or to place our charity into the bowl at Christmas time. If I give that which is within my body as charity, I must discontinue the drawing of the benefits from that which returned pleasure, for I have lost the ownership. If I continue to use everything that lies beneath the skin for the purpose of something other than what the new owner directs, I have not given it away and the outcome is gratification of the flesh, resulting in lawlessness. However, this one action, when it is completed, needs no other consideration, for it is the root of all the symptoms, which makes all things clean. Eze 7:22 I will turn my face away from them, and they will desecrate my treasured place; robbers will enter it and desecrate it. This treasured place is referring to Jerusalem’s Temple, your body. It is time we accepted the Father’s discipline so that His face may turn back to us and remove us from reaping the curses of disobedience. Repentance is a 180 degree turn, a time of coming back from desecration; a time to rebuild the wall, a time to rebuild the temple, that the glory of the Lord may dwell in you. Acts 3:19 Heb 12:4-6 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” There are many things which one forgets, do to the facts that either the event never happened, or what happened never left a deep enough mark. This discipline or reprove is going to cause you to become physically weak but don’t faint, rejoice! The sons whom God receives can never forget their scourging for the event tore flesh from their bodies and left a deep impression in their minds. No scourging, no receiving! John 2:15 So He (Jesus) made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both cattle and sheep; He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. The cattle and the sheep and the money changers represent something in our bodies that we know is not designed to be there, just like the Temple was not designed to have the cattle and sheep or the money changers inside it. We know that the money changers would not have been there except that the live offerings were there.

This is a Quote from the Book “The Cure for all Diseases” “All sickness and diseases come from the presence of pollutants and parasites”. Some of you are thinking right now, “Is he going to ask me to take another leap of faith and consider that this is what God is trying to tell me?” Well, I am glad to see you are starting to get the picture, and yes this is exactly what I’m asking of you. Let us take a moment to summarize what we know about sanctification. It is non-negotiable; God wants all to be sanctified. We know it is a cleansing and purifying process which takes place in the body over a specific amount of time. We know it is pollutants and parasites that are causing sickness and diseases and the body was not designed to house them. And we know that Jesus is going to clean them out with a complete bath and afterwards keep washing the parts that become contaminated as we operate within His will on this earth. We know that the outside can never be clean if we live with a polluted inside, because we have a law of attraction working against us. We have some idea on how to stop taking in the pollutants and if there are no pollutants the parasites will leave, just the way the money changers would have left if the sacrifices were gone. The only thing we don’t know is how Jesus is going to remove the existing pollutants so this law of attraction can start working for us. But remember, Christ braided a whip and scourged His temple! If this is true, how did we get so far off course? 2 Chr 24:17 After the death of Jehoiada, the official of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. Eze 11:11-12 “I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you.” After Jesus’ death the Christian leaders started listening to the kings of this world who deceived them. 2 Chr 24:18 They abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem. They went away from God’s design for the maintenance of his temple and abandoned the worship of God through His temple. They traded the blessing of God for the curse because of their guilt from their idolatry. Today, we also have been lead away, by abandoning the decrees and laws which are designed to keep our temples functioning in the will of God, and by adopting the art of sorcery through drugs to alleviate the effects of the curse. These potions with their spells have blinded us to the truth by hardening our hearts.

Eze 2:3 He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ And whether they listen or fail to listen - for they are a rebellious house - they will know that a prophet has been among them. Eze 2:7 But the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate. Ezekiel, by way of the Spirit, is recording for us the future. Do not be foolish enough to think this is not directed at us today. The whole Christian community, this very day, is in revolt because Satan has worked to harden our hearts and close our minds. If you have not already had any satanic attack in your reading so far, prepare for one now. For if Satan ever loses this battle in your mind, over who you are representing in God’s Word, it will produce a crack in his cocoon that he has about you. Even a small crack will allow the light to bust it wide open and place you on the road to receiving power through knowledge and understanding. 2 Chr 24:19 Although the Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen. “This is what the Lord says: ‘Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’ ” Before God made everything, he established laws that would govern all things that he made. Genesis 1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. What was very good? All that He created, the physical world and everything living in it. He needed laws to hold things in place and set parameters and established how all things would interact with one another. These commands and statutes not only hold all things together, but gives all things the ability to continue in time for their specific purpose. You are operating in God’s world and whether you like it or not, His laws will govern you. Only when you position yourself to receive a renewing of the mind, can this understanding and knowledge be embraced, releasing power to submit to all of God’s directives, which brings you ever closer in tune with the symphony that is going on around you. This process was hidden and buried under and in the demands of righteousness which the Old Testament laws, precepts, stipulations and decrees revealed to us. Gal 3:24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ that we may

be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. Romans 8:2-4 ...because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. We were powerless to overcome sin and death, even though we had the knowledge of what was required. God offers, through His sacrifice to us, to off load all our sins onto Jesus to eliminate that which was working to separate us from Him. So, God in his goodness sent His only son to strengthen those that understood what the Old Testament directives were demanding. Jesus strengthens us through His gracious loving act of taking our punishment and paying off our debt of sin. What kind of love sends a son to died for someone else and how can one turn his back on the love expressed by the sinless one who died? This Spirit of life which sets me free from the law of sin and death has a qualifier; a prerequisite. It is only to those people who understand how the sinful nature is operating in them that will be able to utilize and apply Jesus’ strengthening to overcome. If you don’t know then you are not working to apply! Romans 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set of the flesh is hostile towards God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. The Spirit of life will supply the knowledge, the strength and the power, if I choose to closely follow Jesus’ example. Jesus is our leader which we can take heart in because He has overcome and sits at the right hand of the Father making intersession for us. But we must exercise faith, by obeying, even though we may not want to comply until we know why it is necessary. This stubborn attitude keeps us from the knowledge of the actions needed. Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Again, it is by faith, we see His righteous right hand lifted high for us and his strength takes us onto victory. Like it was for Abraham, it will be for us, Genesis 15:6 “Abram believed the Lord, and he credit it to him as righteousness.” Abram demonstrated that he believed the Lord, not by strengthening his flesh, which would have served only to deceive himself. Abram kept his eyes on the Lord, as he launched out in a direction which otherwise would have been illogical. Or, the children of Israel when Moses stood all day in their view with his hands held high to secure the

victory over the Amalekites. It is now that the law of Christ, with His strength, which sets us free to follow the path which seems to be irrational, that believing might be fulfilled and completed in us. (NASB) James 2:14-26 What use is it, my brother, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you say to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But some may well say, “You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a results of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. It is in the action of continually marching in a seemingly unintelligent posture that authenticates faith. (NASB) Romans 4:4-5 Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one how does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness. Both these men started out wicked and both are working. The difference is one man believes he is accomplishing what God requires by his own strength, seated in his will of logic. The other man by faith, believes and achieves, by looking to Christ’s uplifted hands for his strength to do what, in his mind, originates in the absurd. It was a different mind set which they brought to their work, based on the knowledge they chose to believe, that justified the one man and condemn the other. “Works” here refers to an attitude of self reliance; therefore, the man who does not work in this attitude of self reliance is accomplishing his goal with a complete trust on something outside of himself. The man who did not work, did not accomplish his goal, of following in steps of faith, by sitting on his hands. Therefore, do not confuse the issue by thinking one stood still and one moved. It was in their choice of direction that one man had to move by faith and trust in something he did not understand, at the time, to arrive at the place of blessing where he could understand the difference. Romans 4:12 …and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the

circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised. Once this process of consecration has been completed to the standard God deems is holy, every note you play is pure and in harmony, because you have chosen to be purified and come under his authority. If you want God to allow you to operate through His law of love, as Peter did, you must first learn to submit and embrace the directives which transforms you. The devil has deceived us into thinking that we can act contrary to God’s laws / sciences, and still receive God’s blessings. He has been operating just under the radar through our stomachs which ultimately robs us of power and holiness. This is where we find ourselves today rejecting His blessings and using the world’s sorceries in an attempt to circumvent the curses in all their manifestations. Rev 9:21 …And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their immorality, nor of their thefts. Gal 5:19-24 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outburst of anger, disputes, dissensions factions, envying drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Sorceries (5331) – from 5332, medication (“pharmacy”) (by extension) magic (literally or figurally) witchcraft 5332 – (a drug, i.e. spell giving potion; a druggist (“pharmacist”) or poisoner Rev 18:23 …and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. The merchants, who were the great men of the earth, will have no one left in their country to be a witness for the truth of the gospel because they deceived everyone by convincing us that the only way to fight sickness and disease was through their medication / drugs or their spell giving potions. How do you avoid the curse when you have forsaken the Lord? God help us! Joel 2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion declare a holy assembly. Gather the people consecrate the assembly. Jeremiah 8:20 “The harvest is past,

the summer is ended, and we are not saved” The feast of trumpets is now! And it is time to enter into your love fest!

Chapter 27

Share in His Suffering Numbers 14:33-34 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert. For forty years - one year for each of the forty days you explored the land - you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you. The children of Israel suffered one year of purification and testing in the desert for every day the spies were in the land of Canaan. This process of time cleansed the nation, for all who disobeyed were purged from the body of the assembly. When Christ came, he identified with Israel’s time of suffering in the desert. Mark 1:2 “At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert” Where he suffered one day for every year it took the Father to sanctify the nation of Israel. It was after 40 days without food or water in which Jesus’ body, if it needed it or not, was purged from everything that would hinder the power of the Spirit being released in his life. It was only through the Spirit’s power that Jesus would do the work of the Father, just as the body of Israel marched into Caanan by the power of the Spirit to do the Father’s will. Jesus being pure and holy returned in the power of the Spirit to submit and embrace the Father’s Will. His Father's will was to place all of our sin in his body on the cross. The Holy Father was compelled to turn his back on his Son, do to the unholiness of our ugly sin that Christ bore. Jesus said “Destroy this temple and I will rebuild it in three days”. We destroyed the body of Jesus and caused him to suffer and die, separating Him from the Father for three days. Jesus spent three days in the land, the time it took to prefect holiness or rebuild His Temple, which allowed him to be reunited with the Father. When Jesus descended into the earth, he was experiencing what it was like to have the Father against him, and so through his life and death, completely identified with the Father’s chosen people. Jesus was in the ground separated from the Father, working on our behalf, just as the spies were sent by Israel into the land to labor, on their behalf. Israel rejected God’s grace by not believing that God would give them this land and were sentenced one year of purification for each day the spies were in the land. Likewise, we have rejected God’s grace, through unbelief and have brought upon ourselves the full allotted time of suffering needed to restore our faith. Christ Jesus, God’s Grace, suffered in the land three days and if we chose to share in his suffering,

the same formula will apply. God commands us to be consecrated and that takes a time of suffering. Now we are sentenced to one year of purification for every day Christ was in the land. Christ rebuilt his temple in three days our temple will take one year for every day. Three years. Romans 8:16 The Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are God’s children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his suffering in order that we may also share in his glory. It is through the grace applied, not grace left on the shelf, or grace left in the pocket, that we are children of God, heirs and co-heirs with Christ. And even to a greater degree, if we chose to share in his suffering, in order that we may also share in his glory, not only in heaven but on earth. To the same degree we submit to this suffering that leads to obedience, will be the same level we will share in his glory. In the same way as Christ identified with his chosen people we need to identify with our chosen Savor. 1 Peter 2:24 “... by his wounds we are healed”. It was no coincidence that Jesus received 40 lashes less one, because the 40th lash is physical death and we need to be alive to take up our cross and follow him. Jesus is showing the two ways we can come to purity; if we choose the desert experience his burden is light, however, this physical bloodying and torturing is the catch all solution. Christ was compelled to pay for everyone’s past sins, which reconciles everyone completely. Jesus willingly surrendered to the Father’s will and each time this “cat of nine tails” came across his body it tore flesh from his bones. When we surrender to the Father’s will through the process of sanctification, our flesh will be scourged from our bones not by an external means, but by an internal means. Heb 12:6-8 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives. It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which we all have become partakes, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Jesus submitted to the Father’s will to show us discipline by allowing these brutal Roman soldiers to remove His flesh. But you say, “I am not strong enough to go through that.” Only the free gift of grace can take you through, so learn how to use it, because he scourges every son he receives and we all have become as illegitimate children. Heb 12:9-10 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to disciple us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us

for our good, that we may share His holiness. Without trusting our Father, and believing that it is good for us to subject ourselves to His discipline, how can we expect to share in His holiness? If the Father subjected Jesus to this flogging, how much more are we in need of discipline to bring about this sharing of His holiness? Heb 12:11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Don’t get this time confused with receiving God’s curses because of your waywardness, but understand this time of sorrow is flowing from your obedience and your surrender. It is in this time period of sorrow that this body can be trained to produce the peaceful fruit of righteousness. We can have no external righteousness until we expel the lawlessness and establish peace within. Heb 12:12-14 Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. Keep your eyes and thoughts directly on the uplifted hands of Christ and your mind meditating on His word day and night in this time of denying yourself, for there is no other power that can strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble. You may be tempted to stray from this path, but remember it is for the good of this part of your body that is not working that you endure, so it can be healed. This internal peace needs to be shared with all men because this action is sanctification and it is not optional. Heb 12:15-17 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. Those of you who are stronger should come along side the weaker brother and shoreup with the grace of God. In this way, you will alleviate the pressure and dissolve the bitterness before their frustration causes trouble. For in their time of temptation, like Esau, they too could sell their birthright for a single meal. When God is calling you to repentance, he is also giving you the time needed to complete it, but should time run out, no amount of sincere tears or prayers takes the place of obedience.

1 Peter 4:1 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same intention (for whoever has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin), so as to live for the rest of your earthly life no longer by human desires but by the will of God. Let these words cut through your dilutions to bring understanding in your prescription. Jesus humbled himself before his Father, or “suffered in the flesh”, by denying his flesh what it craved. Only these actions can and will allow you to live your earthly life without being controlled by human desires. The one who is accomplishing good actions from human desires is only boasting in his flesh. Also, without this time of suffering you will never be able to endure the sharp pains of the thorns your worldly friends and family will find to inflict on you, in an attempt to bring you back to their reality of truth. To understand what a thorn is, and have the knowledge of what it is not, is to gain stability. Hermeneutic, is used as sharp tool, to bring about conformity. In my opinion, hermeneutics is a cleverly devised scheme, orchestrated by the flesh, to hamstring our teacher, the Holy Spirit. Only the spoiled come to class and hand the teacher their list of their world’s rules on how they will be taught. Or try to discredit, in the eyes of the class, anyone who will not conform to what they have adopted as the proper method of learning. If there are some root studies that tend to confuse more than to clarify, then we need to stay after class until our teacher reveals the knowledge, and not to allow our impatience to look for avenues to circumvent what is imperative to understand. In the so called “Christian world” today, it is no coincident that one of the more popular arguments which they like to cling to from the Word of God, to legitimize illness, is Paul’s thorn in his flesh. (2 Cor 17:7-10) But upon close examination, we come to understand that using this line of reasoning completely overrides the very boundaries of hermeneutic, which they would have the Spirit operate within. Paul was given a thorn in the flesh, which using their definition of how we must learn, (that words are to be understood as they are plainly presented) would be anything that is pointed, like a thorn, imbedded in his flesh. But they are suggesting this to be a “more mature Biblical understanding of illness”. How do Biblical hermeneutics allow you to jump from having a thorn under your skin, to being ill? Or, where is their hermeneutics when Jesus states: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” in the Sermon on the Mount. Let the ones who are rigid in their application start with this beatitude, for it was most certainly true in Paul’s life. 2 Cor 11:27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 2 Cor 10:12 For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those

who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding. The very people which profess to use hermeneutic are the very ones who are inconsistence in their submission to its definition. It is used as more of a tool to win battles, rather than in finding the truth. Hermeneutic was conceived by man, not by God. To use something formulated by men as a strict guideline will narrow your parameter and may never allow you to perceive the truth, thus falling victim and proving God’s point. Paul further quantifies this “thorn in the flesh” remark, with the words that follow immediately after, which are “a messenger of Satan to buffet me”. After Christ answers him, he concedes by this statement in 2 Cor 12:10 Therefore I am well content with weakness, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. Satan always works through other people to make you uncomfortable. Paul was taught by the Holy Spirit through the Old Testament initially, and as a result, could see that he was reaping precisely what God warned of in Numbers 33:55-56 “ ‘But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land in which you live. ‘And it shall come about that as I plan to do to them, so I will do to you.’ ” Joshua 23:12-13 “For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations , and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you. Paul could deal with looking at the people, who insulted him, but it was, these people who beat him, stoned him, and had him flogged that was the most painful to his flesh. Jesus also had many thorns in His flesh, but in the end, He wore them as His crown as a part of His glory. Disobedience allowed some people to remain in the land, and like one bad apple that spoils the bunch, corruption in his country men was the order of day. Like in Paul’s day, we, the so called “Evangelicals” are in bed with the world, but woe to the ones who will point this out. Two thousand years have gone by but nothing has changed. Paul’s thorn in his flesh will be like all who share the truth, and will have nothing to do with illness. 2 Tim 3:12 And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Without arming yourself with the same intention, you are not finished with sin and are

still living by a human desire, which makes you a prickling brier or a painful thorn to any who would speak the truth. If the way you’re living is not bringing upon you persecution and scorn from members of your very family, rest assure, then you are not living godly in Christ Jesus. Matt 24:9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name.” This is not coming about through a name but because you are displaying the combination of traits and qualities which were distinguishing the nature of Christ. Our prayers do not need to end “in Christ name” they need to be “in Christ’s name”. It is in the being which is qualifying our right to speak to the Father because our body has the purity of Christ’s blood in it and the integrity of His flesh on our bones. No actions, no rights. Eze 28:24 “And there will be no more for the house of Israel a prickling brier or painful thorn from any round about them who scorned them; then they will know that I am the Lord God.” The day has arrived when God will grant Paul’s request to remove the thorn of scorn from the house of Israel. In 2 Kings 17:5 we read, The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. If you are interested to know what we can expect after this siege, please read 2 Kings 7:1-20. The Siege of Jerusalem in Ezekiel Chapter 4. God is using Ezekiel to draw us out a picture of a city under siege to give us more information on what is required in our time of suffering, for if we share in His suffering, we will also share in His glory. Eze 4:1-3 “Now, Son of man, take clay tablets, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it. Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face towards it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel. We know and believe that God’s word is relevant to each one of us, and to be pertinent is to be personal. What does his word tell us about his city of Jerusalem? Salem was also used as the name of this city and in Psalms 76:2 we find God telling us that His tent or His tabernacle resides there. “His tent is in Salem” or In Salem also is his tabernacle. In Heb 7:2 we find Salem has a king. “... First, his name means “king of righteousness”; then also “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” Without father

or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, ... We now know that our king of Jerusalem, the Son of man, is Christ Jesus who formed our body out of clay to be our “tent”, His “tabernacle,” and His “Holy Temple” is within this city. Jesus wants to cut this city off from supply by laying siege works against it, and it will look like His actions are cold and hard, but He will still be watching over us. This is just like when He watched over the children of Israel when he brought them out into the desert for their three year journey to the Promised Land. Eze 4:4-5 Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the house of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side. I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the house of Israel. Eze 4:6 “After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin of the house of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year. In this self imposed three year siege on your own body, I believe God has assigned us 430 days of feasting on the bread of heaven, because man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. I also believe this is confirmed in Daniel, when an anointed one shall be cut off in sixty two ‘sevens’ or 434 days. (NRSV) Daniel 9:22 He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have come to give you insight and understanding. (NRSV) Daniel 9:24 “Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city: to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.” “Know therefore and understand: from the time that the word went out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the time of an anointed prince, there shall be seven weeks; and for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with streets and moat, but in a troubled time. After the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing, and the troops of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. We know that Daniels’ vision here was talking about end times, and we have had our eyes on the Middle East, and particularly Jerusalem, where we believe the Temple must be rebuilt. But I submit to you that this decree to restore and rebuild is speaking of your personal holy temple. This book contains The Standard that is to be raised, and the time is counting down. Are we going to follow the one who came to show us the way or believe in the counterfeit?

John 10:26-27 ...but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. Jesus, after receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, was lead out into the desert where he identified with the sin of the house of Judah for 40 days. After suffering for Judah, he started his three year journey, bearing the sins of the house of Israel, where Jesus completed the 390 days with his disciples. There is no doubt that is why Jesus said in Matt 16:24 “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. Matt 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. That is, done with grace, not in our own abilities by works. Each time the Spirit leads us to deny ourselves for an extended period of time we will again share in Christ’s sufferings, but we will only suffer physically for a short period of time, just as Jesus suffered physically for a short time. Mark 15:25 It was the third hour when they crucified him. Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama saback thani?” - which means, “My God my God, why have you forsaken me? Mark 15:37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. Should the Spirit take you on a long fast, your intense hunger pains will stop in three days just as Christ’s intense physical pain stopped in three days. What a wonderful way God has provided to us that we might share in his suffering. When following God’s definition of weekly rest, we are physically resting our bodies’ muscles, as we work to build our faith and start stabilizing our decline. It is when we humble ourselves and come to God’s feast that the natural outcome is to develop considerable spiritual muscle and makes steps up the mountain of transfiguration to see His glory. The power of the flesh diminishes to the same degree the spiritual muscle flourishes. Since the process is accumulative in nature, the Spirit will reach a point where it is unhindered by the flesh and unbelief. Matt 26:41 Jesus said; “the spirit is willing, but the body is weak. When the Spirit reaches the point of control, the fruit of the Spirit flow freely as we come under a new law, the law of love. Romans 8:17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his suffering in order that we may also share in

his glory. How many of us read, “We are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” and completely miss the qualifying part of this scripture, that is the, “IF”, we are children. These actions bring about a self imposed sharing in His suffering, which not only transforms us to the state of children, but in fact keeps us in this condition. These actions are not something you would automatically pursue, but rather glean, through close study with someone who knows the way. James 3:1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment. Consider 1 Cor 8:1-2 when deciding. When you mourn for someone, you choose to share in their sufferings. Christ made it crystal clear how he wanted his disciples to manifest their mourning for him in Matt 9:14-15 Then John’s disciples came to him and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered, “How can the guest of the bridegroom mourn while he is still with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. John the Baptist started his disciples out fasting because he knew without establishing a high degree of purity in his disciple’s bodies they could never believe, that is, to put into action the truths that he was going to share with them. When Jesus comes on the scene and they leave John for Jesus, He suspended fasting. When questioned about the fasting, he refers to the practice as mourning, and points out that there is no need to mourn for someone who is with them. But of course, points out clearly, there will come a need for fasting after the Bridegroom is taken. Upon His death, and subsequent ascension to heaven, Jesus reinstates what John started. You can be sure of this, Jesus is not going to reinstate something that has no purpose or is of little value. When one mourns, God sees the intense degree of longing through this act of humility to meet with his Son, Jesus. It has been said, “Passion is the degree of what one is willing to endure to achieve God’s purpose for his life.” Jesus will always show himself to a passionate person who humbly obeys. Ecc 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning. God is telling us that it is in the house of mourning that circumcision of the heart takes place, not in the house of our feasting. Matt 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Matt 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” The wise will fast to perfect holiness, out of reverence for God, and Jesus will comfort them as He fills them. This is the first way Jesus wants us to share in his suffering, for I believe if this is not the first way, then you are missing the way. Christ’s blood housed the new covenant which proved itself in just three days, clearing the way to give us eternal newness of spiritual life, just as denying ourselves, sharing in his suffering or mourning, over three years purifies our physical blood, giving our blood the same physical integrity which produces a newness of physical flesh. In other words, being born a new. Lev 17:14 ...because the life of every creature is its blood. We being co-heirs with Christ by the fact that we are sharing in his suffering also gives us the privilege to share in his glory. Since we are sharing in His suffering right now here on earth, we can expect to share in His glory right now here on earth. Mark 16:15 Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation, Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; They will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” Mark 16:20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it. These signs will be the manifestations of his glory for us, here and now, to anyone who positions themselves to receive God’s best, which is to believe, but to a lesser degree, until He removes all stumbling blocks. This being true also makes the opposite true, that is, if we’re not displaying these signs, we need to question whether we have completed sanctification. These signs come by way of God’s laws of science. Therefore, anyone understanding this science and applying knowledge will receive the outcome of their actions, because God’s blessings will rain down on all who implement truth. The righteous will give all the glory to God and be saved; the foolish will rob God of his glory and pay the ultimate price. Luke 24:49 “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the

city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Pro 18:2 A fool does not delight in understanding, But only in revealing his own mind. The moment we embrace Jesus as our savior, the Holy Spirit grafts us in and starts softening our hearts so we will have a desire to obey the Word of God. It is only by searching the Word of God can we come to an understanding of what it means to allow Christ to become Lord and Master of our life. Once the Spirit reveals truth, we must position ourselves to receive it, thus demonstrating that Christ is, in fact, Lord of our life. Leaving the city without giving the time required to consecrate yourself, to receive this baptism of power, is like leaving for war without having any bullets in your gun. But worst than not having any bullets in your gun, is arriving on the battlefield acting like you do. The natural outcome is to make excuses for God, or to stop going into battle. Our flesh has us believing that it is our ability to understand the Bible intellectually that produces spirituality, and we have completely missed the fact that it is the purity of our physical temple which transforms all things into spiritual worship. If the blood is polluted with parasites and toxic wastes, it has lost its’ integrity and is unholy. The life you are living is a reflection of your blood you are pumping, because your blood feeds your body and if the blood is impure, the body is impure and unholy. Lev 17:11 ‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’ God is Accessing My Life by Examining My Blood! Yes, this Old Testament was a representation, a picture of Christ’s pure and holy blood. His very life surrendered and poured out on God’s altar to cover the short fall in our attempt to follow. But remember Gal 2:20 ‘I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me. If we have poured our blood out on the altar (crucified with Christ) in the same condition as Christ’s blood was poured out, then our actions of faith, which transformed our blood, meets and fulfills the obligation we have to remove His “subject to clauses” in His covenant. As long as my blood remains in a pure state, then the terms and conditions have been met, which now bounds Christ by the commitment of His word. I continue to live by faith because I do not understand how these directives which He commands me to follow, keeps my blood pure. The responsibility now has shifted from me to Him. It is now time

for me to receive from Him what His words obligated Him to do for me, that is, present me to God as one of His sons. This is now Christ’s body and blood, and to be worthy to partake of the Lord’s Supper without being guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord Jesus, I need to examine His body and His blood in me. Psalms 18:26 ...to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. There are only two categories here and there is no mixing of the two, you are either pure or your crooked. When God shows Himself pure, we receive His blessings. When He shows himself shrewd, we receive His curses. The problem is, in the absence of anyone who is pure, displaying the blessing; we try to distort the words of God to convince ourselves and others, that our shrewd treatment we are receiving is really his blessing. Therefore, we are like an alcoholic who never sees he has a drinking problem and our crookedness remains covered. Titus 1:15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to the those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their action they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. You can be in God’s church building, showing and telling God and others around you that you believe, but if your blood and body is in a corrupt state, your actions deny Him and he considers you detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. That does not leave much room for salvation, never mind areas for rewards. You may be able to attract the foolish but a true believer is repelled, for this law of attraction is always at work. The word believing can only be used to describe a body in a pure state. If we are pure, all things are pure, and we have no trouble believing, because neither our minds nor our consciences are corrupt. When the Israelites arrived at the border of Canaan the second time, there was no hesitation. They went straight into the Promised Land. God’s word did not say, to the sincere, all things are pure, so why are we determined to live that way? To muster some faith to enter God’s grace is only the starting point of God’s goodness and blessings. To remain in a corrupt state will rob you in every way. You may in fact think you are on your way to heaven, but you will only arrive after your lengthy stay in captivity, and never know the goodness and blessings of God here on earth. God will supply all your needs until your time of grace is over, but you will remain living in the desert convincing yourself it is the best God has for you. Lev 20:7 “ ‘Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.’ ”

In keeping His decrees and following them, you will be consecrating yourself. By positioning yourself to be consecrated, it will be the Lord who works in you to accomplish this state of holiness. Your only responsibility is to take action that applies His grace, where by maneuvering yourself to a place were the obligation falls on God’s word to bless. God can not be shown to be unfaithful or proven to be a liar. Exodus 29:44 “So I will consecrate the Tent of meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Then I will dwell among Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. It is not until the Tent of Meeting, the altar, and Aaron and his sons were consecrated by God, that He would dwell among them. At this point, God had already called them out of the world and they consented to go to Him. Our bodies are this Tent where we meet God inside, at the altar to worship. The Israelites are aware they’re not in Egypt anymore, but they don’t believe in this God who wants to be their God, and dwell among them. Once holiness is completed through consecration, they will know and believe that this is their God and He will dwell among them. We need a good understanding of the knowledge of Christ’s love in order to allow grace to motivate us to say no to ungodliness. Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and live selfcontrolled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. Christ came to do three things. First to redeem us from sin, the second was to show us the way to purify our bodies, so we will be like him, eager to do what is good, and the third was to give us the strength to overcome our flesh. This can only take place when our minds are in a position to absorb and comprehend the on going magnitude of his goodness. Wisdom will be proven right. The only question is, “Do you want to use your life in an attempt to prove it wrong?” Or should you give God the benefit of the doubt and position yourself to prove it right. Then, when it turns out to be correct, you end up receiving what wisdom promises. Long life, honor and riches and all her ways are peaceful and pleasant.

Chapter 28

Obsessed or Zeal It was said by Christ, in tribute to John the Baptist, Matt 11:11 “He was the greatest man ever born of a woman” and Matt 11:9 “he was more than a prophet”. Is it possible that this man, who was born of a woman, could have a nature that is not human? Would it be right for Jesus to hold John up as an example for us, if he was exempt from the evils of human desirers? We know God had a special mission for him that he needed to start immediately, because of the Spirit’s timing in his life. Luke 1:15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine or liquor; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, while yet in his mother’s womb. Well, this seems quite clear. To be great, your start in life involves a filling of the Holy Spirit. That is, the actions of being filled, and a commitment to abstain from wine or alcohol. I think that certainly this conduct can be considered actions of zeal. But the real question is how and why did he get from here to a place where he was not eating nor drinking? In Matt 11:18-19 Jesus said, “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds." Jesus is paralleling John’s life with His in this area of eating and drinking. Yet, even though their consumption of provision and conduct were somewhat opposite, they both were displaying the actions of wisdom. That is, they were displaying truth. John and Jesus did not fit into the religious protocol of the day because Jesus came to bring us a new covenant. Is that not why Jesus said in Matt 11:6 “And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me.” The religious leaders of the day did not know what to do with these two seemingly different reflections of the truth. John’s way of existence shows a man that is obsessed, but what knowledge of the Truth possessed him to remain living in the desert under what we would consider illogical conditions? And was it these conditions that allowed John to rise above the lure of human desire? We know that alcohol instantly lowers your inhibitions, that is, it creates a condition where by your mental process that restrains an action, emotion, or thought is reduced. If deeds could be generated from some other realm than the body, then there would be little point in isolating things that affect the mental process. Therefore, anything which has the ability to impact my psychological process, in an ungodly way, has the same ability to project this ungodly way through my deeds.

If it is truly in the deeds that wisdom is vindicated, then it was by his actions of obsession which caused Jesus to refer to John as “more than a prophet”. Can we understand how these seemingly illogical actions positioned him logically in the Truth, as to be referred to as “more than a prophet”? We know that John’s actions correspond to another great holy prophet of old. I find in 2 Kings 1:8 They replied, “He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist.” The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.” and in comparison with Mark 1:6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. The teachers of the law should have recognized John as being Elijah from comparing what was written, to how John acted. Why was it necessary to have two different men with the same spirit? In an attempt to understand the “why” let us look at what this Spirit in Elijah accomplished. 1 Kings 17:1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years except by my word.” Let us understand this man that God raised up came at a critical time, when the worship of Baal threatened the very existence of worshiping the Lord in Israel. No rain for several years would certainly consume a king’s thoughts as his subjects became impoverished. After many days Elijah calls for a show down. 1 Kings 18:19-21 “Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel, and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word. After the Lord supplied intense fire that consumed the sacrifice, Elijah said to the people in 1 Kings 18:40; “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. Elijah did away with all the prophets of Baal, and returned the sons of Israel back to the Lord. 1 Kings 18:1 Now it came about after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth.”

Was it just a coincidence that the nation of Israel actions ended a drought of three years? Was it the miracle, or this lack of food that gave them the ability to believe the truth? We know that it was not the miracle, because if it were, the children of Israel, after living through miracle after miracle, would not have had to spend forty years in the desert for disobedience. The Lord, through Elijah, withheld the rains for three and a half years to cause His people to return to Him by way of what they did not consume. Hosea 13:6 As they had their pastures, they became satisfied, and being satisfied, their hearts became proud; therefore they forget Me. Remember, it was the people who were finally able to see the light of Truth that seized the false prophets of Baal and put them to death. These false prophets thought that they were of God. They were fooled into thinking that they possessed within themselves the ability to discern good from evil, by intellectual means from how they constructed reality. (NASB) Isaiah 26:9-11 At night my soul longs for Thee, indeed, my spirit within me seeks Thee diligently; for when the earth experiences Thy judgments the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. Though the wicked is shown favor, He does not learn righteousness; he deals unjustly in the land of uprightness, and does not perceive the majesty of the Lord. O Lord, Thy hand is lifted up yet they do not see it. It was not the miracle of the fire from heaven, but what the lack of food over this three year period of time accomplished; to transform their minds that caused them to believe. This same scenario will repeat itself in the days of the judgment or testing, where fire will come down from heaven to burn up some and purify others. So what did this same Spirit in John accomplish? In 1 Kings 19:5-13, Elijah was touched by an angel and was given a cake of bread and a jar of water to strengthen him as he traveled forty days and forty nights across the desert to reach Horeb, the mountain of God. It was the angel of the Lord who supplied the necessary sustenance to strengthen Elijah to make his pilgrimage of purity across his desert to the mountain of God. After this journey, God showed himself powerfully to Elijah. There is no doubt in my mind that John went through a similar purification process that was pivotal in him receiving insight to the love of God and knowing his mission on how he was to fit into God’s will. John was filled with the Holy Spirit at birth, but there is no connection at birth with the power. When John denied himself food, drink, soft clothes, a warm house and all the things of this world, to live out in the desert, he did it for a reason, and the deliberate act

was not to make him look like he was out of his mind. No, he did it because through the reading of the Old Testament the Spirit revealed to him he was chosen to fulfill this prophecy that was written by Isaiah. He had the eyes and the heart to see it. When they asked him who he was, John replied, “I am the one crying in the wilderness make straight the paths of the Lord.” Why did he not say, John so and so, from where ever? No, he was living in the reality of the word of God. He became who the Spirit revealed to him he was. John not only knew the scripture that said “Zeal for his house will consume him” but understood exactly how that was to translate into human life. The power of the Holy Spirit positioned him to be the epitome of the pure life and an example of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Luke 9:23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.” God is not going to commission a saint to announce the arrival of the Savior of the world if that saint’s action can be called into question. John’s actions reflected directly onto Jesus. The Holy Spirit was in complete control of John and any directives he gave to his disciples were completely in the center of God’s will. When Jesus started to address the crowd in regards to John, he questioned them about what they went out to see, since he was not dressed in fine clothes. “A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you. John was working ahead of Jesus and starting to get the people ready to receive the way. There is only one “way” and that is the way of Christ. So if John was before Christ preparing the only way, this way that he was living and teaching was in fact the method to position oneself to receive all which Jesus is offering. Jesus lets us understand how John ranked, so we can know what weight to give to his teaching by reporting to us, “I tell you the truth; among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist...” John had the ability to see where God was working and he embraced the invitation to be used there. These great prophets of God chose to obey and rely on the Holy Spirit to accomplish the will of the Father through them. Jesus shows us that he too has placed himself under this same authority and will do nothing by himself. John 5:19 Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.” John, like Jesus, knew that seeing where the Father was working was key to

accomplishing their missions and enjoying the power of the Spirit. If the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does and the Son came to show us the way to have the same relationship, then it would stand to reason that if we follow the steps, the Father will treat us in the same manor. The only possibility that John could have had to prepare the way for the one who is called “The Way” is to be giving directions that run parallel to the directions the “Way” came to give. Jesus baptism was superior to that of John’s, but the way was congruent. Matt 9:14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” If we hunger and thirst for more and more of God’s power to be released in our lives, we will start aligning ourselves more and more with the principles that John exhibited and directed his disciples to follow. If you are uncertain how to follow Jesus, then mirror the one who is mirroring Jesus until the Spirit reveals to you the Person of Christ. Matt 21:32 Jesus said to them,...“For John came to you to show you the way to righteousness, and you did not believe him, but tax collectors and the prostitutes did.” The way of righteousness is a journey and if you are not on this journey to the mountain of God then you are not filling your earthenware jar of oil, that is your body, and it shows you do not believe. Just because of the times in which we live and our vocations don’t afford us the same luxuries as John, we should not abandon the underlining principles. John not only spoke, but demonstrated the practical principles of truth, and that is why the people came to see, hear and be baptized. Matt 3:5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea, and all the district around the Jordan; and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins. John demonstrated his blessings and power to us when God’s law of purity is embraced with his statement in John 1:29 “behold the lamb of God” when he saw him in a distance. This same ability to see God and where he is working is not just limited to John, but will become the attribute of all who will embrace this law of purity. The Spirit, through John the Baptist short life, exhibited a repentant life and started his disciples out on the same path. His directive to abstain from food was voluntary, not withheld. Love asks for volunteers, and volunteers by faith will see the Father, these deeds caused His people to return to Him by way of what they did not consume. John was positioning the elect, that is the bride, to be able to receive Christ Jesus as their bridegroom. (NASB) Luke 2:36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven

years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. And she never left the temple, serving night and day with fasting and prayers. God has laid out for us what it takes to be a prophetess, and since we are expecting to be married to Christ, when the Lamb returns to take His bride, we must fulfill our requirements. I know that this sounds quite simple, and for something so simple how can we be having such difficulty? Could it be that we have left the temple? Anna never left the temple, which means she never abandoned that which was to honor God, her body. To abandon ones temple would seem impossible, since you are always in it. When you have stopped serving in your temple night and day with fasting and pray, then you have forsaken it and opened it up to that which would ravage it, through unrestrained lawlessness. God is a God of order, and when His temple is practicing lawlessness, it cannot obey her husband, much less follow him. God views it as committing adultery. But Anna gives us a perfect example of what we as prophetess need to function like. Jesus in Matt 17:11-13 leaves no doubt who John was, but also speaks of another Elijah to come in the future. God has demonstrated that He has had two Elijahs, would it be so hard to believe in three. (NASB) And he answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you, that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to them whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist. The disciples may have understood, by way of Christ reply that John had in him the spirit of Elijah, but no one in that time period recognizes him as such. So, what about this Elijah to come, the one who will restore all things? Mark 9:12 And he said to them, “Elijah does come first, and restores all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that he will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him.” Jesus is asking us a question, to unlock the mystery, using himself as the point in time. If it wasn’t John the Baptist, or Jesus, we need to be looking for a man that has the spirit of Elijah, which will restore all things. Therefore, when he comes, we are only going to recognize him by comparing his life to that of the life of Elijah and John the Baptist, and if his message is restoring all things. The only reason Jesus is sending another Elijah is because the scribes and false prophets have mislead the people, which is the same reason He needed the first two Elijahs. What does this “restoring all things” look like? (NASB) Malachi 4:5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I

come and smite the land with a curse.” Luke 1:17 “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah. TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN and the disobedient to the attitude of righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Sometime, before this great and terrible day of the Lord, this man is going to have the spirit of Elijah in him, and will deliver God’s message which will change the hearts of men and women, boys and girls, by exposing their disobedience and instructing them in the attitude of righteousness. If the church, and I use the word loosely, understood “the way” as our spiritual leaders would have us believe, then there would be no need for this third and final Elijah. This Elijah to come will not be preaching what any other so called spiritual leaders are advocating, for his message will be radically different in every way. For the Lord will not return until all of His elect are in a position and ready to be received. What happened in the days of John the Baptist is going to repeat itself. Just as John was a forerunner of the Christ, preparing the way with a message of repentance, so will be someone else. Likewise, the words portraying John’s mission and the reasons for the commission are the identical, so that it will make ready the bride of Christ for the return of the bridegroom. The actions to bring about repentance are precisely the faithful behavior of the bride as she dresses herself in her white gown. Luke 1:17 “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah. To turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. What does this word attitude mean? Attitude: The posture of the body in connection with an action, mood, etc. Posture: The position of the body or the carriage of the body. Could this mean that we “the elect” are in disobedience, because of the manner of how we are carrying our head and body in contrast with the attitude of righteous? We know that the goal is righteousness, and therefore, is the “answer” righteousness? The question becomes, what are our variables which constitute our equation? If attitude forms the equation, and attitude is the manner of carrying the head and body, then our variables are in the different ways of holding or supporting our head and body as we move. We can only move and be supported if we have life and the life is in the blood. Lev 17:14 “For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life.

The blood has only two real variables, pure or contaminated. If contaminated blood produces lawlessness (lawlessness # 3551 in the Greek, means to parcel out, and especially food) and lawlessness is the parceling out of food, then how I consume food is going to determine the purity of the blood. If our variables are “pure and contaminate” in our equation of attitude, then it is the variable “contaminate” which must be producing disobedience. Therefore, would it not stand to reason that “pure variable in the blood” would produce obedience which leads to righteousness and a white gown? James 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. This man that comes will have a nature just like ours, who will pray that we will recognize that it is in our intake of food, or our hunger and thirst after righteousness, which needs to be our primary concern. These three men with the Spirit all have the same directive, to expose false teachings and to make ready for Christ to receive. And what about Paul’s life? If the Lord trusted and honored him to write a large portion of the New Testament he must have also been purified. On the road to Damascus, the Lord blinded him to make him comprehend his darkness, so that he could see he was spiritually blind. Up to this point he believed with everything in him that it was the Christians who were blind. Saul has great zeal for God, but he was on the wrong road. His physical blindness of three days was God’s miracle, telling him and us the length of time needed to overcome his and our physical problem of spiritual blindness. The three days of blindness, was to represent his three years he would spend in humility, humbling himself before God, which invoked and positioned him to receive the teaching by the Spirit on how to see. Each time I humble myself before the Lord for an extended period of time; there are three things that I notice soon after. I dump putrefied fecal material, my mind becomes clearer and my I have a new appreciation for what I allow into my body. Given the time, and the accumulative nature of this process, there will be no missing the mark. You will ultimately communicate with Christ face to face. The Spirit taught Paul all things and the Spirit wants to teach you all things. Gal 1:15 But when God, who set me apart by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter... This man was not only going exactly opposite to the will of God, but doing it with such drive all the followers of Jesus were greatly concerned. His whole life was instantly turned 180 degrees, which means, everything in his life that testified against Christ,

even though he believed his action and motives were from God, turned to have this Jesus revealed. He was turned by God’s grace and immediately went into the desert, where he started his three years of repentance. Paul did not return in the power of the Spirit from the desert, so when did he receive power? We cannot argue that Paul was ignorant of the truth or was lacking in power when he started his ministry. Therefore, we must conclude that God revealed himself to Paul sometime in this three year period and was endowed with power before the start of his ministry. You cannot expect to have the power unless you do the time as you follow the steps. God made no exception for his Son, Paul or anybody else, and neither will he for you. Isaiah 20:3 “Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years, as a sign and a token against Egypt and Cush.” The Holy Spirit through the Old Testament did not miss conveying the proper time line to Paul. It was no coincidence that Paul spent the amount of time he did with the Ephesians Elders to facilitate their sanctification. I am sure Paul spent four or five years studying in bible school to become a Pharisee, and who can argue that this was not God’s will, but it still took another three years in God’s program with the Holy Spirit as teacher. The Spirit of God was in Paul, so it would make sense that when he was teaching the Ephesians Elders he would repeat the same program in the same time frame. Acts 20:31 So Be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. “Now I commit you to God and to the word of this grace, which can build up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified." This was not some instantaneous inheritance which comes following some quick pray, but this is an understanding of the words of grace, which when obeyed, will build you to a point where you can be given an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Note that Paul said “who are sanctified, not “those who will finish being sanctified by Christ in Heaven”. Most, if not all well meaning pastors would have you believe that sanctification is an on going process which will only finish in heaven. Was Joseph a man obsessed or was he consumed with a zeal for his house? (NASB) Genesis 39:3-5 Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight, and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge. And it came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus the Lord’s blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field.

I could not imagine anyone who would not want the Lord of heaven and earth to be with him in a way where all that they would put their hand to, would prosper. Something was different about Joseph than all his brothers. Whatever it was, we need to know how to take hold of it. And for all that have eyes to see God, in the next few verses paints us the picture of why He was blessing him and the circumstances which need to come together to either start you on this road of blessing, or in Joseph’s case, take him higher. (NASB) Genesis 39:6-12 …Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And it came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all things in my charge. There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil, and sin against God?” And it came about as she spoke to Joseph day after day, that he did not listen to her to lie beside her, or be with her. Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. And she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside. This integrity that Joseph held dearly maintained and produced in him a handsome form and a clean appearance. When Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him, he refused to give in to her demands and gratify his flesh. When the situation developed to the point where temptation literally seized him, he fled to a place that removed him from his seducer and cooled him down. Day after day food is calling out to seduce us in our master’s house, our bodies, and when we are all alone the temptation can be overwhelming. Joseph could not do this great evil because poison was not raining in his life and he was not about to allow it to start, and sin against God. Joseph was placed in prison by Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials. Genesis 39:20 ...But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness... How can the Bible expect us to believe, that being confined in a cell with a diet of bread and water for some six or seven years, could be considered an act of kindness by the Lord? The fact of the matter is that before the Lord could raise Joseph to the position second only under Pharaoh, he had to purify him. Joseph was suffering in prison and he did not even know what was happening, but the actions that follow truth, with or without knowledge, give the same results. This time in prison sanctified Joseph and he may not have even known what took place. For some of us, we need God to show us this same kindness, because without a prison we cannot discipline ourselves for the length

of time required to perfect holiness. It is not a coincidence that this is what the great tribulation period is going to provide for all humanity; a time of captivity where God removes all temptations in varying degrees which bless some and curse others. Should we see it for what it is and choose to embrace this kindness by obeying, then we can be transported to where we need to be, to receive God’s best. If we are not ready or choose to rebel, we will die and go through a much longer and grievous captivity where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matt 13:41-43 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father, He who has ears, let him hear.” We all have ears. We all can hear but the question is, “Why can we not materialize the message from the word to paint the correct picture?” Jesus is telling us by His words He is sending His angels to remove all stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness. Each of us has a choice once we know what lawlessness looks like and the requirements of righteousness. All the conveniences of life that we have constructed, which we believe has made living our lives easier, have produced short cuts at the expense of our temples. Many of these involve and are made possible by “the prince of the power of the air” which culminates to keep the righteous from shining as the sun. Rev 13:10 If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and faith of the saints. If we move quickly with actions that move us into righteousness before the beast kills the two witnesses of God, we will hear the voice of the Lord when he calls up His bride. However, the foolish virgins will not hear the call and will be forced to return for more oil in the last half of the tribulation period. Those who have no regard for God will be removed to captivity, some sooner and some later. Eze 16:53 “Nevertheless, I will restore their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and along with them your own captivity, in order that you may bear your humiliation, and feel ashamed for all that you have done when you become a consolation to them.” At some point in time God is going to restore our loved ones to us who, through their actions, chose plan “B” that they may wipe away all tears from heaven. They may be called the least in heaven, as they bear their humiliation, but they are all in heaven with us. Joseph and Mary spent three days searching for Jesus after they discovered he was not with the caravan. When they found Him, his mother said in Luke 2:48 “Son, why

have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” (Jesus replies) “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Are we like His parents that were anxiously searching for Jesus? And why are we searching? They did not understand what He was saying to them or the significance of the time line needed to find him. We, like His parents, have traveled away from where Jesus is and it took them two days to come full circle, to where they could start to look. Those two days for them equates to two years for us. Sometime in the third year, we will find him, just like they found him sometime on the third day. They were searching to find, for the purpose of having Him with them, the same reason we will be searching. When they found Him, they talked to Jesus face to face, just as we will. They found Him in his Father’s house, the temple courts, asking questions and giving answers. When we find Him sometime in the third year, he will start revealing Himself to us inside the Father’s house, our bodies. God said in Isaiah 55:10-11 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Once you know the truth, there is no running away from God’s plans for you. Jonah tried to resist his mission that God had for him, and through his account we gain insight to the power of God to accomplish His will through His Saint. By Jonahs’ own actions he found himself inside the whale, the place God took him to, where he would die to himself to save others. John 12:24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Once he made the decision to die to himself, God provided the power to make this journey to purity. Jonah 1:17 But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. It took this great fish three days and nights to swim to where God needed Jonah transported too, not only in terms of proximity in geography, but relative to purity. Once purity is achieved, God has a way of transporting you right to the center of his will, and like Jonah, you will go on in the power of the Spirit to turn people back to God. Matt 12:39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But no sign will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

We are this wicked and adulterous generation and we need no other signs, because Jonah is now speaking loud and clear. If Jesus was monopolized with intense enthusiasm for my body, this same zeal would have been exemplified in the lives of other great men of faith as well. Daniel 1:8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. This is not Daniel being concerned because the king is asking him to drink blood or eat dung or other putrid things, for that would be understandable to believe that you would become defiled. No, this is royal food and wine, and was the best in the whole world. It did not make sense to the King or anyone else who would not take seriously the instructions found in the word of God. Daniel knew the words of God and placed his trust in the one who designed his body, as well as, the world he lives in. Daniel 1:12-16 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. At the end of ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.” And are these actions stemming from knowledge given somewhere in the Old Testament whereby Daniel could have gleaned this wisdom from? The answer is yes and is not hidden from anyone who is seeking to know truth. Genesis 1:29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” Genesis 1:30 I give every green plant for food. Nev 13:22 And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come as gatekeepers to sanctify the Sabbath day. Job 20:12-14 Though evil is sweet in his mouth, And he hides it under his tongue, Though he desires it and will not let it go, But holds it in his mouth, Yet his food in his stomach is changed to the venom of cobras within him. Pro 23:1-3 When you sit down to dine with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you; And put a knife to your throat, If you are a man of great appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, For it is deceptive food. Daniel knew that it was his responsibility alone to purify himself. He was aware of what foods were best and had been taught the purification rules. 2 Chr 30:19 May the good Lord pardon everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary. What was quite evident to Daniel was how the combining of certain foods, although sweet in the mouth and most desirous, would turn to poisons in his stomach. He also knew that high

acid foods like meat and wine would work to remove sound thinking and shorten ones life. There was plenty of choice meat and wine on the table of the King of Babylon along with dishes that combined foods that would harm and poison the body. You do not understand that you are being poisoned. This poison goes to deceives you and you will not respect God for who He is. This is what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel 4:29 “Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. The king reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ ” If Daniel was human and this food was going to defile him, then it was going to defile all humans who were eating at the king’s table, which includes the king. When Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, verbalized what was in his heart, God gave him another dream to inform him of the sentence of his actions, not to condemn him but to restore him. Daniel 4:27 “Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.” The king most certainly did not heed Daniel’s advice. Daniel 4:29 “Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. The king reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ ” Here we have God’s word showing the arrogance and the pride building in the king’s heart by what and how he chose to eat, to a point were his mind became full of himself. Daniel 4:31 ‘While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the wild beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’ I do not see the king eating his choice foods anymore, do you? For seven years he ate green feed from herbs and the one herb which is known as king, is alfalfa. Green feed of alfalfa is king because its makeup purifies the blood and God’s word tells us that the life is in the blood. When the blood becomes pure, it is only a matter of time and the mind becomes pure.

Daniel 4:34 “But at the end of that period I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; … There was no one out with the king in the field preaching to him or teaching him the way to know God, but yet by his actions, his mind returned to him in such a way that he saw God for who He was. There are two very important words which my New American Standard Bible directs to the Hebrew; the one is reason (4486) and the other is returned (7725). To understand and receive the full impact of what happened is to unlock the very heart of the gospel of Christ so let us look deep into these words. Reason: 4486 correspondingly to 4093; wisdom or intelligence: - knowledge, reason, understanding. 4093: from 3045; intelligence or consciousness: - knowledge, science, thought. 3045: a primary root; to know (probable to ascertain by seeing); be diligent, (can, cause to) discern, discover, endued with, have knowledge, (make to be, make self known, + be learned, + perceive, privy to, x prognosticator, regard, have respect, teach, (can) tell, understand, have (understanding), x will be. Returned (7725) a primary root; to turn back (hence, away) generally to retreat; often adverbially again: - (break, build, circumcise, dig, call to mind, convert, deliver (again), + deny, draw back, fetch home again, recompense, recover, refresh, relieve, render (again), x repent, take back (off), (cause to, make to) turn (again, backwards, from off) The king was out in the field with the cattle, being diligent in drawing back, recovering, refreshing, causing to repent because he had no choice; he was out of his royal mind. But when the natural effects of such a diet take hold, in time, there is no one who is not endowed with thought of knowledge and understanding. Who can discern, discover, make self known, perceive, privy to, that is a prognosticator, one who foretells or predicts, because that is what seeing God gives you. Daniel 4:36 “At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were resorted to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty and surpassing greatness was added to me. We, like Daniel, or Nebuchadnezzar, need a period of time where we are on a regiment of vegetables and off of meats and wine so our minds will see him clearly and direct our bodies to praise, honor and glorify Him who lives forever. Daniel’s advice was not just for the king, but all human beings, with a half an ounce of understanding, who can conceive they are operating from the realm of pride and arrogance, rather than reasoning. Isaiah 2:12 For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning against everyone who is proud and lofty, and against everyone who is lifted up, that he may be

abased. Should we choose not to take Daniel’s advice and start of our own accord, we, like Nebuchadnezzar, will be sentenced to seven years of tribulation, where we may not be out of our minds, but it will be out of our control, likewise, not to condemn us, but for the purpose of restoring. Psalms 69:22 May the table set before them become a snare; may it become retribution and a trap. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever. Pour out your wrath on them; may their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents. God is showing us that our table has the potential, depending on how it is set, to become a snare which will take revenge for ignorant actions. As we continue, we will reap the deserved punishment for breaking God’s eternal laws, which is only the natural outcome to disobedience. What we allow ourselves to eat will darken our eyes so we cannot see where the Father is working. Our knowledge of God, which is our center of strength, will be distorted and bent away from the truth until our life is no more. Isaiah 28:8 For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place. It is a statement that transience time, for whom at any point in history has knowingly sat down to a bowl of vomit? This truth is covering all tables throughout time. There is no one that is in a clean place! Human nature has not changed, and without insight, one can not see that truth stated is always correct. If no one did sit down to a bowl of vomit then what is God telling us? This vomit is undigested foods, which if it could be thrown up would not hurt you. This food has not made you sick to your stomach, and if it had, you would not be eating it again. Is God using this table set with vomit to convey to us that we keep going back to eat what makes us sick even through we do not realize it? Could this be why God refers to pagan nations as dogs? Psalms 59:14 And they return at evening, they howl like a dog, And go around the city. They wander about for food, and growl if they are not satisfied. Pro 26:11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who repeats his folly. If we keep getting sick, then we are acting like a dog. If we do not recognize that our folly is at our table and we keep returning to chow down the same food which made us sick, then a dog would be the perfect analogy. Do not be foolish enough to let your flesh convince you that these words of God are painting some spiritual picture that leaves you void of direction. These necessary concrete actions, which are intended to be conveyed as it relates to the physical body, are defining your spiritual reality. Remember, it is not the spiritual body that must endure to the end, but the physical body.

Matt 24:13 “But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.” Rev 2:26 and 3:21 Why? Because the answer is obvious. God is judging the physical temple that each one of us has built, through our choices, in order to reveal the true nature of our spiritual reality. The Day of Judgment is a physical test! 2 Peter 2:21-22 “For it would be better for them not to have know the way of righteousness, than having know it, to turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow after washing, returns to its wallowing in the mire.” Our own action of lust for food is aligning us with the curse, which gives us over to a depraved mind and before long there is nothing spiritual left in our bodies. Yes, the lights may be on, but there is nobody home. Pro 23:1 Note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you be given to gluttony. Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive. Over eating is so devastating to the body, that God is using a picture of a knife to our throat to help us resist this temptation. But the act of gluttony is different for every person, depending on that person’s size. Over eating can occur long before you feel full. Most of us have forced the enlargement of this organ and until it is brought back to its God given size, who can assess anything? Pro 14:25 The Righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, but the stomach of the wicked is in want. 1 Cor 6:13 Food is for the stomach, and the stomach for food; but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body. God wants us to be able to enjoy eating. That is one of the great benefits that are delivered when you take time to feast on God’s word. Feasting on the word of God gives time for the stomach to return to its God given size. Remember, just because these delicacies taste so good, that does not mean that they are godly, for they are in fact deceptive, that is, to make a person believe what is not true. If one were to continue indulging in such foods, even the most grounded Christian, would find himself moving away from what the Lord is for, your body, and find himself deep in immorality. Numbers 14:11-12 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them... It is in these miraculous signs that should cause us to understand the importance of

employing all the directives, for it is in the act of deploying, that enables us to use the word “believes”.

Chapter 29

Take a Bath We are ambassadors for Christ our Lord and our action must line up with his Word so as not to disgrace him or hold him in contempt. But the outcome of our actions are testifying to the people around us as they look into our lives and see sickness, disease, dissension and divorce etc., that we have no more power than they. Pro 18:3 When wickedness comes, so does contempt with shame comes disgrace. They see a powerless God through the lives of His powerless people. They hear of the promises of His Word and view them as a mirage that is always in the distance. In an attempt to convince ourselves that we are following God’s word, even though the evidence speaks to the contrary, we play down or reason away scripture that clearly exemplifies our lack of power. Then with lives that reflect no living testimony, we have the audacity to think that the pagans would be interested or even our own children. (NIV) Jer 23:14 “And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: They commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his wickedness. They are like Sodom to me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.” Therefore, this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets: “I will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread through out the land.” (NASB) Jer 23:16 Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; they speak a vision of their own imagination, not from the mouth of the Lord.” Jer 23:17 They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’ And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’ But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or hear his words? Who has listened and heard his words? See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purpose of his heart. In the days to come you will understand it clearly. I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds. But you say my food does not taste bitter and my water has not poisoned me. Just

because you have never eaten anything but bitter food, you think that is what your food should taste like. But by not following God’s law for the land, you are producing bitter food. You have been charmed into thinking your water is safe because you are still alive after you consume it, but by polluting the land, you are contaminating the water with poison. And who does God tell us is responsible for this ungodliness that has been able to spread throughout our land, but our very own ministers of the Word of God. Sincerity and zeal does not override the knowledge of the truth, and only actions of submission to the truth will receive His blessings. Jeremiah and Daniel are telling us that it will only be in the days to come that we will understand it clearly. In the (NASB) Jer 23:20 it reads “In the last days you will clearly understand it”. Daniel 12:4 “But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time, many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.” Wake up people, we are in the last days and knowledge has brought about that day of clear understanding! These so called prophets have not stood in the council of the Lord, but yet have run with their own message. Wrong is still wrong, sincere or otherwise and we are paying the ultimate price for ignorance. Jer 4:13 ...Woe to us! We are in ruined! O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts? Pro 19:2 It is not good to have zeal without knowledge or to be hasty and miss the way. Out of ignorance and disobedience we will die trying to push God’s Word into our mold rather than humbly submitting and allowing him to pour us into His mold. Our so called leaders of the way of truth have formulated their own rules for studying God’s word which always leads to their answers by way of the flesh. But the true “disciple” who was given to be our teacher, needs no formulas or abides by no restrictions, and always has the correct answers by way of the Spirit. We today, have zeal with sincerity, but lack knowledge and understanding and are hastily missing the way. The tragic significance of continuing in this arrogance will be seen in the numbers of people who show no fear towards the only Holy God, because they see no concrete physical benefits or consequences from their actions or ours. Jer 7:28 ...Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips. Luke 12:49 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!” Jesus is telling us that through Him will come a consuming judgment of fire that will

engulf the whole earth. (Abomination of Desolation) Matt 24:27 “For just as the lighting comes from the east, and flashes even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.” Fire burns away the impure, but takes the pure to a higher state of holiness. Matt 13:40-41 “Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angles, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the RIGHTEOUS will SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father…” Matt 13:49 “So it will be at the end of the age; the angles shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous, … The question is, “Why does Jesus wish this fire was already kindled?” Christ wishes it was already started because He can see that people will not give up their flesh, and until He changes the environment, the young will be sacrificed to their parent’s idols. The people left in the land will not be open to the gospel message until this disaster takes place. The time was not right for the plain truth to be known, the secrets to be revealed and the riddles to be solved. (NASB) 1 Cor 13:9-10 For we know in part and we prophecy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. We read this and somehow perceive this “perfect” to come to mean Jesus, but this was after Christ’s death that the writer is prophecy only in part, because he says he only knows in part. The “perfect”, which is referred to, is the complete understanding of the implementation of the directives in the truths of the gospel of Christ. That is, when you “perfect” holiness in your temple (body) or Christ comes in you. (NASB) 1 Cor 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known. It was going to be some time in the future. And to know the future, relative to where we are in time, we turn to Jeremiah where we need to read the complete Chapter 23. It is in Verse 20 that Jeremiah not only qualifies the time that he is referring to, but provides for us the information on when our understanding will become clear, that is seeing Christ face to face. (NASB) Jer 23:20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; In the last days you will clearly understand it.

Matt 24:13 “But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.” The ones who did not endure were following a gospel that filled them with false hopes. They where believing, that is, living out a message that was not true. A message which could not sustain them and the cost of their folly was their very lives. However, there is a gospel, that is an unquestionable truth which some will be following who will continue on to preach to the people which shall remain, a doctrine to be maintained of great importance. Luke 12:49 “But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!” It took Jesus full attention to drink this cup that the Father had for him. Jesus knew that without providing for us what his baptism would secure, there would be no means to escape the fire. It would be left up to the Holy Spirit working through The Word of God to bring about this message of fire in whom He would reveal it to. Whoever has the eyes to see and the ears to hear is the one God has honored to speak the words of fire. Rev 11:3-5 “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” These two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouths and devours their enemies; and if anyone would desire to harm them, in this manner he must be killed. These two witnesses will supply the oil to the bowl in the form of words of knowledge. The conduit will direct this knowledge to the seven churches. This knowledge which they possess is a message of fire, which will give off great light; therefore, they are placed on two lamp stands and granted authority. Luke 12:51 “Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two, and two against three.” “They will be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” Jesus goes on to tell us what the authentic message of fire will do once it arrives. We have not implemented the truth of the Gospel of Christ unless this uncanny division is true in our households. The true message in any household will produce a 60/40 split. If your household remains of one mind, then it had not been introduced to the “words of fire” and you have been deceived. This is not talking about two different camps, one relying on Jesus and the other having no faith. No, this is two groups both confessing to

Christ’s finishing work on the cross. Each group is convinced they are ready and are going out to meet their Savior. This message of fire which produces this spilt is not some little riff, some minor point that allows our family to continue living in peace. Matt 13:12 “And brother will deliver brother to death, and father his children; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.” Jesus is using this bizarre turn of events in the family history as a signal as “the” sign of the times, because Jesus immediately goes on to utilize this reality in reference to His coming. (NASB) Luke 12:54 And He was also saying to the multitudes, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. “And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out that way. “You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and sky, but why do you not analyze this present time? We can not analyze something that is not present in our time; however, we will analyze it completely when we see it. The problem is if we are living a life of hypocrisy we will never be in a position to see it. (NASB) Luke 12:57 “And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right? When we can see this reality of division shaping up, then it is up to us to take the initiative to search the word of God so that we may be able to judge what the correct posture is, for somebody is wrong. Luke 12:58 “For while you are with your opponent to appear before the magistrate, on your way there make an effort to settle with him, in order that he may not drag you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison.” Whoever is telling you this message of truth is your opponent and since time is relevant, you are always moving ever forward to the magistrate. In other words, if you can judge what is right and your life needs correcting, then use this time to repent. Make no mistake if you choose incorrectly the judge will have you thrown into prison. Luke 12:59 “I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent.” Take heart for those who will judge wrongly, it would appear that there is a way to an end of prison. The only question is how much time. Rev 13:10 If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes…

If it is possible through ignorance to end up in captivity yet posses within myself, through God’s wonderful engineering, the ability to revise my position before Christ’s covenant; it must line up with what John the Baptist declared. Mark 1:4 John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness (859) of sins. Forgiveness (859) Freedom; figuratively pardon: - deliverance, liberty, remission. Remission - 1) the act of remitting or state of being remitted. 2) a reduction of the term of a sentence of imprisonment, as for good conduct. 3) Forgiveness for sins 4) discharge from penalty, obligation etc. 5) lessening of intensity; abatement, as in the severity of symptoms of a disease. Mark is telling us that John the Baptist was preaching to come and enter into actions which turn us away from our natural progression to a lessening or leaving of pain / symptoms etc. To the degree we fall short in this lessening / leaving of pain or repentance is to the degree and duration that imprisonment is necessary to transform us into a right standing. After paying the last cent, one is discharged to bear the disgrace and shame in heaven for eternity! Luke 1:77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high shall visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Pro 14:11 The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish. The writer is talking about the human body and “flourish” is a term used to describe what the organisms and mitochondria will be doing in the tent of the upright. If our conduct produces wickedness, then time in prison is going to destroy that which makes us wicked. Deu 25:2 “If there is a dispute between men and they go to court, and the judges decide their case, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked, then it shall be if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall then make him lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of stripes according to his guilt.” Pro 20:30 Stripes that wound scour away evil, and strokes reach the innermost parts. The purer you become, the closer you are to perfecting holiness and the closer you are to holiness, the fewer number of stripes are needed to reach holiness. Therefore, you can see it is never rational to give up on producing purity in the body.

John 13:6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but hands and my head as well!” Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that is why he said not everyone was clean. Jesus told them they were not going to understand the significance of the action that he was performing on them, even though they could see that he was washing a part of their body that was dirty. Peter started to resist this washing until Jesus communicates the imperativeness of this action. What action could be so important as to disqualify Peter from having a part with Jesus in his ministry, even though Jesus said he was clean? 1 Cor 6:11 And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God. The disciples were given a bath over the three years by Jesus and never knew it. It was this washing, by way of a bath, over three years by Jesus that sanctified and justified. Jesus said, in regards to the washing of the feet, in John 13:7 “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” But he was not going to be around because the next day he was going to be crucified. Jesus leads his disciples through this period of transformation but it was going to be left up to the Spirit to reveal to them how they were transformed. The clear steps of this journey to transformation would never be written down, thus ensuring only the elect could make this journey by faith, through grace. Remember, His disciples had to walk through this time period to arrive at transformation. This foot washing came after this period of transformation. First, we must identify and understand the mistakes made by Judas which kept him from sanctification. And second, we must know what this cleansing means for His followers today, for after transmogrify we do not want to disqualify ourselves. John 13:2 ...and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Judas was one of the more gifted disciples and was given the responsibility to manage the money. Like all the disciples, Judas experienced the goodness and power of God, by being a vessel in action that healed people, and met people’s needs. He had come through the three years of training with the other disciples, but this money bag enticed his desires to have it all, that is, the power of the Spirit, and the gratifying of the flesh.

And like all balancing acts, there comes the day when the two masters come head to head, and then you must choose. He knew who Jesus was, but he played this game in his mind too long and was caught up in the circumstances by his own juggling act. Just like what Saul did, when God told him to completely destroy everything in the camp of the Amalekites. Saul spared what he thought was the best, and it ended up costing him his crown. The authorities knew well the appearance of Jesus, so it was not like Judas was giving them what was indispensable. For who would have believed, that the religious leaders could hold God, much less, put Him to death? After all, it was not like Jesus’ face was unknown. Satan had him deceived! Heb 6:4-8 For in the case of those who once been enlighten and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good word of the God and the power of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame. It was not a moment of insanity, but small actions of disobedience, that rendered Judas’s decision to spare his flesh, which took his life. But how did these seemingly small acts of compromise, at this point in Judas’s purity, lead him to destroy his life? Keep in mind that Judas had not been clothed with power from on high. Matt 12:43-45 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it. “Then it says, I will return to my house from which I came; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. “Then it goes, and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation. Understanding comes from knowledge, and a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. God’s Word provides complete knowledge if we will study it to understand. Lacking understanding brings about actions which do not reflect a proper balanced approach. Ignorance would expel the criminal element within the city but neglect the police force, which would maintain the law and the order. A balanced approach to the problem would be to have an adequate policing force in place to protect the areas where lawlessness has been driven out of. To maneuver to have the one without the other is to create the perfect environment for pathogens to harbor and entrench themselves. The ways of Jesus brings about a balanced and orderly reclaiming of that which was held captive to evil. Judas succumbs to an unbalanced reality of swept but unoccupied. Choosing to make the choice to compromise without a complete understanding of what you’re dealing with leads you a worse state. Can we learn from Judas’s mistake or are the enticements of this world leading us to compromise?

King Saul, (in 1 Samuel 18:10-12) compromised, and these are lessons for anybody who might consider flirting with sin after putting his hands to the plow. Luke 9:62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hands to the plow and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.” Satan may have convinced you that you have been enlightened, been made partakers of the Holy Spirit and tasted the good Word of God, but do you really believe you have tasted the power of the age to come? If so, have you checked to see if it over-lays with scripture, in particular Mark 16:17-18. Where is this power being displayed in your life? If there is no real power being displayed, how can we believe we can identify with either King Saul or any of Jesus’ disciples? It is a blessing that we cannot identify with any of Jesus’ disciples, after Pentecost, because of the high standard of this anointing, and the irreversible consequences of falling back to faithlessness. So where does this leave us? Heb 5:12-14 For thought by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need of someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God and you have come to need milk and not solid food. We would all like to continue drinking warm milk and keep “ignorance” as our security blanket, but it is high time we started digesting the meat of the word and let our security come from the implementation of knowledge and understanding. It is like you understand truth on the level of milk and like a baby being introduced to solid food you continue to spit it up. It is time we stopped thinking that solid food comes by way of a straw. You need to chew awhile just to start the process of breaking it down into smaller bits so it can be digested. It takes work to digest meat, but if you refuse to allow the Holy Spirit to work through me to place it in your mouth, you will never grow up. So I have attempted to break it down into smaller pieces before placing it in your mouth, hoping that the smell of it won’t make you gag. Heb 5:13-14 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness for he is a baby. But solid food is for the mature who because of practice have their sense trained to discern good and evil. We cannot move onto solid food until we know and believe the difference between solid food and curdled milk. The key word here is “practice”! Do not think you are on solid food because you have acknowledged your need for a savior. Solid food is the understanding of small concepts of righteousness; like one would move from milk to pabulum. It is the adopting of these little steps of righteousness and continuing to digest, by meditation, which starts a process in you, whereby good and evil are defined in terms that shows their conception. Once you recognize the situation for its potential for good or evil, you are now ready for solid food, whereby you can start to practice the training part, as the Spirit reveals all the words of righteousness. Isaiah 28:9 “To whom would He teach knowledge? And whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just weaned from the breast?

...Indeed, He will speak to this people through stammering lips and a foreign tongue, He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary”; and, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen. So the word of the Lord to them will be: “Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line. A little here, a little there, that they may go and stumble backwards, be broken, snared, and taken captive.” God through the Spirit must interpret the message! God must give to you the interpretation of His message that is hidden! How can the Spirit practically interpret this message of words in His Bible? I have confessed that I believe and acknowledge my need for a Savior, what more can I do? Jesus has this answer for you in John 14:21; “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him.” By living and following the directives in Jesus’ word, you are receiving His love. His love will purify your mind so that at some point what did not make sense now makes perfect sense. Without receiving His love, the words in His Bible that promise rest to the weary amount to no more than a stammering from a person who is speaking in another language. Of course, we decipher a little order here and there, one line maybe two, just enough to conclude we are saved. The sad reality is that we are trying to run this race on our self imposed treadmill. Regardless of our efforts we are going backwards, only to be broken, snared and end up a captive of Hades. Believing is a word that Jesus uses to describe the start and the finish of the transformation process that starts in our thoughts and ends in our thoughts to change every aspect of our reality. The nature of thought that is left to its own, is to gather and process stimulus from what the senses are collecting though its immediate surroundings. Words express these concepts that have formed in our minds which further develop to cast pictures of what we believe our reality to be. As we dwell on these images, which are on the fringes or outside of God’s goodness, we reinforce an ever increasing disparity. The problem comes in when we are confronted with the laws of God, which states, “What you sow you will reap” or the law of attraction. The nature of this inescapable situation is that not only will you be held accountable for your thoughts, but that these very thoughts will multiply to bring you more of the same. But the greater problem comes in when we will not even believe we have positioned ourselves, through our thought life, to have this law working against us. Romans 14:22 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin. (Sin 266 - offence, from 264 - to miss the mark (and so not share in the prize). Doubts arrive from, either not obeying what you believe to be true, or lacking knowledge and

understanding of the complete Word of God. The responsibility falls on you, regardless. Knowledge and understanding can only be revealed by God through your obedience to embrace purity. Faith is expanded when you adopt a lifestyle that seeks purity. Purity of the body means faith is always demanding a higher degree of denial until you come to an existence of total reliance on God to feed you. Matt 6:25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” We will not believe because we cannot see how this law works. God wants us to obey and show we are accepting His words through faith, by trusting Him as we walk, believing that He knows the logistics of His own laws. Our faith has been derailed by our arrogance and conceit, displaying our contempt. Well, if we will not follow by faith, will we follow knowing the logistic? Every thought puts out a frequency. A positive thought resonates at a very fast vibration, but a negative thought resonates at a considerable lower vibration. Soil that vibrates at the low end attracts pest and disease, but once it is regenerated it gives off a very fast vibration. Pest and disease are attracted to low vibrations, because they as well are of low vibrations, whereas regenerated soil which resonates at the other end of the scale repels that which does not resonate at its level. A tree that bears fruit which is growing in soil of high resonation is producing fruit of the same high vibration range. Fruit that is considered by God to be holy, resonates at this high end, but fruit which is of low end vibrations, He rejects. The fruit which God demands from us is to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and without spot. A human body that vibrates at the low end of the scale attracts anything that is of the same nature. That is to say, that a body which put out negative thoughts is broadcasting in a frequency band that is attracting more and more what it is like, but repels more and more of what it needs. The longer the state of slow vibration or waves per unit of time, the more and more parasites and pollutants are attached and retained, producing and ever increasing density of prominent and distinctness of what its reality will be. God’s love through His laws, allow you to draw to yourself either the attributes of His curse or the blessing of His goodness. Thinking positive thoughts through prayer and fasting, meditating on God’s word and being in a constant state of thankfulness and praise, produces thoughts that resonate at the highest end of the scale. All good things are things that come from God and reflect His nature, which vibrates only at the high end. A person that understands this law must repent, that is to say be intentional with his thoughts and obedient in his actions. Eventually, you start to experience God’s law of attraction repelling not only everything that is inside your body that wants to harm His temple, but pulls you off of your addictions that have held you captive.

The Oxford Companion to the BIBLE, edited by Bruce M. Metzger and Micheal D. Coogan under the heading, “Science and the Bible, page 681-684. “On the relation of science to the Bible, the diversity of views and interpretations is vast, but representatives can usefully serve to indicate the variety of types of reactions found in the Judeo-Christian tradition. In De Doctrina Christiana (DGL) and De genesi ad Litteram (DGL), Augustine (354 - 430 ce) makes clear the relative insignificance of specialized sciences as compared with understanding scriptures, yet Augustine does not suggest that all knowledge can be found in scripture. In DDC, Augustine provides general rules for interpretation of ambiguous terms. .... It follows from these guidelines that the believer should not read the Bible to learn facts about the natural world unrelated to salvation. In DDCC, however, Augustine seems to require the certain truth of a new claim about nature in order to revise the apparently plain meaning of biblical text, but even in DGL Augustine reiterates the principle that God did not wish to teach men and women things of no relevance to their salvation. It was clear to Augustine that secular knowledge was indispensable for the correct interpretation of scripture.” “Almost immediately, however, Galileo apparently accepts the criterion proposed by Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) earlier in 1615 in a letter to Paolo Antomio Foscarini (1580-1616), a theologian who supported the Copernican theory, that only in cases in which a scientific conclusion is demonstrated, and not merely probable, are we authorized to reinterpret the plain meaning of the biblical text.” Also “The principles enunciated by Augustine seem susceptible of a broad interpretation with modern amendments: The Bible does not teach natural science; Theology makes legitimate knowledge claims; Our understanding of the meaning of the Bible has changed with our growth in knowledge of the physical universe; Belief in the divine origin of the universe has often motivated and sustained confidence in the ability of humans to penetrate the secrets of the universe; The failures of science and the excesses of human intervention alert us to the relevance of values for decisions in science and technology; Historical experience enjoins us to admit the possibly ultimate futility of human achievements; Biblical homage to the sacredness of nature and human responsibility is harmonious with the awe and wonder expressed by cosmologists and environmentalists; and the search for meaning in human existence supports the limited aim of consonance between theological and scientific interpretations of the cosmos. By Andre L. Goddu. In my observations, these scholars like Augustine, Conches, Aquinas, Oresme, Copernicus and Galileo all share one understanding, which was that the Bible was written from the stand point of all truth on the things relative to our salvation. And since science by definition is truth, the understanding of the arrangement of words that were used to communicate direction, relative to salvation, must evolve to bring out the correct interpretation of scripture, because science also came into being from all truth. If our interpretation of scripture has not kept up with, or been in check with our advancements in science, then we don’t have the clearest interpretation of the meaning, which may be needed to avoid disaster.

How does faith “in the age” of ignorance differ from faith “in the age” of knowledge? Quoted by Albert Einstein in a symposium in 1941. “Science can only be created by those who are thoroughly imbued with the aspiration toward truth and understanding, this source feeling, however, springs from the sphere of religion. To this there also belongs the faith in the possibility that the regulations valid for the world of existence are rational, that is, comprehensible to reason. I cannot conceive of a genuine scientist without that profound faith. The situation may be expressed by an image: science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” ( – Science, Philosophy and Religion: A Symposium, 1941 From the book “Essential Einstein” by Pomegranate Artbooks, Box 6099, Rohnert Park, CA 94927) At the time when Paul wrote his letters to the Corinthians, man’s knowledge was extremely limited because the foundation in science was in its infancy. Therefore, knowledge had no means to be understood or established as being true. Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being my priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. Paul did not know the science, much less how to verbalize it, of how his body went from the state of sickness to the state of the power to raise the dead. 1 Cor 2:4-10 And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of the God. Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND WHICH HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.” For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. It is not a mystery that Jesus lived and died or that God used him as our ransom for the debt of our sin. You can choose to accept it or reject it, either way it will not change who He was or what He did. The mystery of the hidden wisdom of God is the knowledge which will transform a man’s body from living out a life in a natural state of sickness and disease (sin) to a righteous godly life, in a spiritual state, where his body has the power to operate above sickness and to heal others as Christ healed others. The mystery, once you understand the knowledge, is in how to receive the strength to discipline the body, well on the way, before you arrive at the place worthy to command the power of the Spirit. In their age, who had the tools to discover the “things” that the eye has not seen? What

do you call the “things” that need to change in your body which will enable you to demonstrate the power of the Spirit? In Paul’s age, it never entered the mind of man nor was there anyone who could speak the science to educate the learned. If the knowledge is void, Paul cannot use persuasive words of worldly wisdom to give understanding to God’s procedure, which brings about a body being “born again” or a new creature in Christ. In their age, they had no other option but to follow by faith to position their bodies to display the power of the Spirit. It was the Spirit of God working alone, without man’s knowledge of science, combining the higher and advance thoughts in spiritual words that Paul might know the things freely given to us by God, that if followed, would make the difference. 1 Cor 2:12-16 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man. FOR WHO HAS THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE SHOULD INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ. We are living in the age of knowledge and understanding and even the natural man is forced to except science. Our age has used the tools developed by the pasted generations to see and name the "things" in our bodies that God engineered; the seemingly foolish things, the weak things, the base and despised things, the things that are so small, that it’s like they are not even there. The world’s scientists have discovered, to a large degree, those "things" we have to work with. These "things" are the basis for generating a life force, which will not only operate at a low level, accommodating sickness and disease, but at an abundant level in the realm of Christ. Is it that unreasonable to suggest that if we work with these "things" in a different way we would receive a different outcome? Today when our doctors are speaking on the vital importance of the body’s micro-organisms we are not laughing at the foolishness of their message. We now know that you might be the strongest man in the world but if you have no regard for the well being of these microscopic creatures you will bring upon your body disgrace and dishonor. Judg 16:6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength is and how you may be bound to afflict you.” 16:20-21 …But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison. To show no respect for these base “things” is to allow your flesh to keep seducing you with the elation of consuming carefully crafted combinations of food. In the end, your strength will be abated and your seeing gone. Deu 34:7 Although Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died his eyes was not dim, nor his vigor abated.

In the age of ignorance, people in Paul’s era needed to follow by faith to believe that they not only have “things” but that these “things” in their body can be elevated to a point which will achieve perfection, so that the glory of Christ may be displayed in them. Today, in the age of knowledge, faith is not needed when we can plainly see the “things” we operate with. However, like in ages past, we must come by faith to believe that Christ will supply the strength to go against our flesh and that these “things” have the ability to transport us into a new realm of being. If the rulers back then could have understood the mechanics of the body, which we have today, that allowed Jesus to operate in this new realm of power, it would have been accepted as reasonable and the jump of faith less of a stumbling block. Isaiah 1:18-20 “Come now, and let us reason together,” say the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken. The natural man is not willing to believe “that the regulations valid for the world of existence are rational, that is, comprehensible to reason”. However, the Lord is inviting us to come that we might reason together because the gospel message is comprehensible to reason. Reason 3198 – to decide, adjudge, Prove: - adjudicates The way in which we have consumed food has poisoned and inflamed the tissues of our temples and proceeds to form evil thoughts and feelings. What you think you become because actions and words flow from reasoning constructed in thought. (Job 20:12) (Matt 12:24) (Psalms 7:14) Sickness and disease hurt us and anything which hurts us is evil, and evil comes from where evil lives. Wake up, Oh natural man and stop rebelling; for the age of knowledge has shed its light on your perverse reasoning. Pro 5:6 She gives no thought to her way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not. Pro 30:20 This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, “I’ve done nothing wrong.” The Lord is saying: I have given you My laws by which I will operate, comprehend them and give earnest heed to them that through reasoning you might rightly conclude the direction that resolves the matter of your sins. But remember, if you are using medications / drugs (sorcery) to alleviate the symptoms of the curse, you have not gone through repentance, and therefore, your mind is giving way to a deluding influence, then by definition (“A belief held in the face of evidence to the contrary, that is resistant to all reason”), you will dismiss God’s attempt at rationalization. Jesus said to His disciples when they could not cast out a demon in a young boy, “O ye of little faith”. But when they ask Him why this was, He replied, “This kind can only come out through pray and fasting”. Jesus was telling them something so he could also tell us something.

Praying produces intentional positive thoughts, which attracts more of God and His power. Like to like. Fasting sets up an environment that starts to produce purity, by way of freeing up energy, which works in conjunction with strong positive thoughts to expel pollutants, parasites and all things that will keep the power of the Spirit from being displayed through you. As you persist in your course of obedience, this ever widening gap between the negative and positive vibrations become greater and greater to reflect a higher state of being or faith. Big faith, as apposed too little faith, resonates at the high end of the scale, which is attracted to and becomes part of the one who is of the highest vibration, God himself. “Be yet Holy, as I am Holy” Since we cannot see these vibrations, our senses must be trained to discern between low and high or between good and evil. This law of “like to like” determines where and who you will be associated with. Without holiness no one can see God, much less be with Him. John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My father, and I will love him, and disclose Myself to him.” Heb 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. The context is to do with the human body. The body was given two different forms of nourishment, milk and meat, but the first does not allow it to perceive the words which can lead the body to understand what state is required for righteousness. The second form of nourishment, meat, is only for the ones who have grown up. To arrival at adulthood, one must go through a time of practice where we are training a “sense” that we did not know we possess. This sensitivity to truth by becoming aware of our design, gives us the ability to digest that which makes others sick to their stomachs and stops them from moving onto righteousness. Without knowing the difference between good and evil, how can anyone who is desirous of following Christ stop practicing sin? God’s desire is for us to grow up and become useful vessels, but He cannot feed anyone with solid food until they have had time, through practice, to train their senses. Babies try to swallow everything they can get into their mouths, but end up spitting up all that disagrees. It is this bathing over time, which transforms us, to distinguish what is beneficial from what will hurt us. This training demands a time of discipline and the transition period seems unpalatable. But when purity is completed, it creates a body that is very sensitive to that which would hurt it. The body’s senses have become acute, training you to discern good from evil, and better from best. God is only interested in showing you what is best for your body, not giving you an exercise that proves His engineering abilities to cover your abuses. Heb 12:11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful but sorrowful; yet

to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruits of righteousness. There is nothing peaceful about feeding a baby good food that it cannot digest. God is interested in you displaying His glory, through His engineering, by your faithfulness in feeding your body that which brings out His best in you. It is in God’s engineering, coupled with your faithfulness which will bring about the power of the age to come, in you. This bath and washing have everything to do with the ability to believe and have nothing to do with the cleanliness of the exterior of the body. Jer 4:14 O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts? This washing of the disciple’s feet that Jesus preformed was an action that came from Jesus as Lord and was not explained. Whereas, the lesson in serving one another came from Jesus as teacher and was explained. What Jesus did as Lord was to be revealed later to them through the Holy Spirit. This washing was a time that required the disciples to exhibit great humility. Today, we must display this same kind of humility, or like Peter, risk losing everything. I believe that Jesus as Lord must be relied on to keep washing our feet, which become polluted as we give testimony in this world. But remember, this came after His disciples had their bath, and we know that a bath uses a great deal more water, and time, for it must cover the entire area. If you have not had a bath, a foot washing is not going to do the job. What the Lord was cleansing had the ability to rob Peter of his part with Jesus, rendering his life disqualified. Since your life is in your blood, I believe that even though Peter’s Temple was clean, Jesus knew that his blood would become polluted from his activity in the world. If the blood was allowed to remain polluted do to unsustainable demands, it would eventually corrupt the whole body. A corrupting body slowly robs the mind of the ability to believe. Mark 3:24-25 “And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” When Jesus was sending out His disciples he gave them these instructions in Luke 10:7-8 “And stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the labor is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. “And whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you;... Here we have Jesus telling His disciples in one verse after the other to “eat and drink what they give you”. For what reason would they not eat and drink what was given

them? And why was it so important that He repeated this message in the very next verse? The only logical reason He would repeat Himself would be to underscore the directive, so there was no misunderstanding in what he was saying. This directive implies that up to this point, they must have been very careful in what they consumed, for if this was not the case, there would be no reason to mention eating at all. The fact is that food drastically affects your blood, and since your life is in your blood, food drastically influences your life. Everything you do will affect your blood, from what your mind dwells on, to how and what you breathe, and all things in between. Phi 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. This is one of the biggest signal factors in producing high resonations in the body, which cost no money and can be done anywhere at any time, all the time. When you have no regard for the purity of your blood, you become sick, and the body moves into a lawless state. A state of being where, what was to govern by the design of God has lost control. When what you do, overloads your blood’s ability to maintain law and order in your body, you are practicing lawlessness, and this is the essence of sin. There are many manifestations as a result of disorder, but it all comes down to lawlessness. 1 John 3:4-10 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. And you know that he appeared to take away sins; and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. These true disciples that have been transformed into the law of love were being directed to allow their lives to be subjected to things of low vibrations, for a time, in order to reach out to others. But keep in mind how the law works, like to like, which is to say, small doses of low vibrations will be repelled by a body that is holy. Col 2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, ... Out of love they are sacrificing themselves, in order to present the saving knowledge of Christ. In this way, Christ’s disciples would be reflecting the very nature of Jesus himself.

2 Cor 11:2 For I am jealous for you with a Godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. For Paul to accomplish his directive, he subjected himself, for a time, to their sin in his body, even though he knew it was going against the lower law of God. Jesus took on our sin, in the hope that we would respond to His offering of salvation, likewise, Christ in us, repeats this process, for we are the body and blood of Christ. When we identify with these people, we contaminate our blood, and at this level of purity, we will sense evil working within us, attempting to separate us from God. If we do not humbly come and allow Jesus to wash this evil from our blood regularly, we will experience sickness, as a sign that we have moved out of the faith. In this secular book entitled “Prescription for Nutritional Healing” by Phyllis A. Balch (fourth edition) on page 787 under the heading “Fasting” it states: “Overtime, toxins build up in the body as the result of the pollutants in the air we breathe, the chemicals in the food and water we consume, and other means. Periodically, the body seeks to rid itself of these toxins and releases them from the tissues. (Do you think maybe this could happen on the new moon?) The toxins then enter the bloodstream, causing the body to experience a “low” or “down” cycle. During such a cycle, you may suffer from headaches, diarrhea, or depression. Fasting is an effective and safe method of helping the body detoxify itself and move through this low cycle with greater speed and fewer symptoms. In fact, fasting is recommended for any illnesses, as it gives the body the rest it needs to recover. Acute illnesses, colon disorders, allergies, and respiratory diseases are most responsive to fasting, while chronic degenerative diseases are least responsive. By relieving the body of work of digesting foods, fasting permits the system to rid itself of toxins while facilitating healing. But fasting is helpful not just in times of poor health or during the body’s low cycles. By fasting regularly, you give all of your organs a rest, and thus help reverse the aging process and live a longer and healthier life. During a fast, the following happens: The natural process of toxin excretion continues, while the influx of new toxins is reduced. This results in a reduction of total body toxicity. The energy usually used for digestion is redirected to immune function, cell growth, as well as eliminatory processes. The immune system’s workload is greatly reduced, and the digestive tract is spared any inflammation due to allergic reactions to food. Fat-stored chemicals, such as pesticides and drugs, are released. Physical awareness and sensitivity to diet and surroundings are increased.

Due to these effects of fasting, a fast can help you heal with greater speed; cleanse your liver, kidneys, and colon; purify your blood; help you lose excess weight and water; flush out toxins; clear the eyes and tongue; and cleanse the breath. It is recommended that you fast at least three days a month, and follow a ten day fast at least twice a year. Depending on the length of the fast, it accomplishes different things. A three day fast helps the body rid itself of toxins and cleanses the blood. A five day fast begins the process of healing and rebuilding the immune system. A ten day fast can take care of many problems before they arise and help to fight off illness, including the degenerative diseases that have become so common in our chemically polluted environment.” Now in bible terminology, I know this action of fasting is “washing” the entire body as it rests the entire body. Please research fasting in greater detail as not to overload your body through actions of zeal without knowledge. Zeal for his house will consume Him. This was not zeal for His Spirit. Why zeal for my body and not my Spirit? The body in Deuteronomy is depicted as a tent of testimony. My body is to work and testify as to what is happening in my Spirit. Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. We worship in spirit and in truth, but if our bodies are acting contrary to truth, then we are only kidding ourselves if we think it is worship. Our spiritual act of worship is completely exemplified and embodied by the actions of purifying our physical bodies and nothing else. 1 John 3:3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Only as we act like living sacrifices, in regards to our physical bodies, can Jesus our Great Physician transform us into holy and pleasing vessels. A son or daughter who circumvents this imperative stands alone in their own strength. That is conveyed to us in John 15:5 Jesus said “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” To the degree a body lacks physical integrity, is to the same degree you will be able to bear the fruit of the Spirit. John 15:1 Jesus said “I am the true vine and my father is the gardener. He cut off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” Pruning is painful as we suffer loss, but suffering teaches us obedience just like what it

did for Christ. Heb 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him... Please understand that Jesus only became the “source” of eternal salvation. It is only in the continual obeying that we can draw near to His source to receive this love of His sacrifice that eternal salvation continues to be ours. Jesus was made perfect through namely his ordeals in the desert and on the cross. In the desert, Jesus did not suffer because the devil tempted him, but because he went without food and water for forty days. He suffered through the physical rejection of his flesh but only to show us the way to purity. The body is burning up all it’s impurities in forty days but after the forty days, what was a good thing can become evil. Romans 8:17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. If we are willing to suffer the same ways he suffered, that is denying your body food, water and taking up our cross, we will indeed share in his glory. But if we charge ahead without following his exact instructions the outcome will render much different results. Matt 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” Deny yourself means: NIV text notes; humble (afflict) yourself Lev 16:29 “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourself and not do any work - whether nativeborn or an alien living among you...” Lev 16:31 It is a Sabbath day of rest, and you must deny yourself; it is a lasting ordinance. The expression came to be used of fasting. Psalms 35:13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered, I went about mourning... Psalms 69:10 When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn; when I put on sackcloth, people make sport of me. Denying yourself is fasting or mourning and it is a requirement of God.

Malachi 3:14 “You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God.’ What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty?” Don’t allow impatience to rob you of God’s blessings; remember do not despise the day of small things. When you consecrate yourself in the manner that follows Jesus, you are in fact losing your life only to find the abundant life. Out of the abundant life pours forth rivers of living waters and ample supply of fruit from the Spirit. God reveals his truth to our spirit, if we believe, if we adopt this new truth and it is allowed to govern our bodies. These actions produce dramatic results which cannot be hidden and you will become a walking testimony to those around you without saying a word. This new truth goes against what comes natural and only by the working of the Holy Spirit can this new truth be embraced and sustained. God brings these revealed truths into every area of our lives so that every area of our lives will be powered by the Holy Spirit. In this way, our whole lives become an act of worship. When the body goes to repair itself it knows in what order to start, based on what is most crucial. It will never bypass a step just because the energy requirements for this procedure are not fulfilled. The builders will wait until there is enough monies and materials to proceed, and be able to finish whatever they start. There is an order they follow and nothing gets to jump the cue, nor will they go on to an area that is less acute. The body has a great physician who knows the necessary steps by which his temple will be repaired. But if we never give the materials, or free up energy, we just stall out. God also knows the next step we must embrace, by the strength of his uplifted hands, in order to continue to allow Him to shape us closer to the likeness of his Son. If we don’t, or won’t, give the Spirit free reign in our lives when He is calling for implementation, we lack the ability to climb. Sooner or later we will have a need to gain altitude to rise over an obstacle, but with to much drag, the slightest pressure back on the stick will send you into a nose drive. And like a plane that has positioned itself in an altitude where it has lost lift, it falls from the sky. Stalling out brings on suffering, pain, and heartache, not only for the pilot, but for all that are flying in the plane. On the way down, you are not going to have the time to read the manual. If you survive, you will have plenty of time in recovery. It is always nice to fly with the engineer who designed the plane, but if you don’t have your head phones on, communication is next to impossible. God’s plan was quite simple really. Follow the steps of his Son and you will reach the world with the love of Christ and you will return what the Father wants, true worship. Praying + Surrendering + Word = Insight to a Direction Perseverance + Insight = Purity of Mind and Body Purity + Truth = Faith or the Ability to Believe

Praying in Faith = Power Released Through You Power Released + Love = People Changed for Christ People Changed for Christ + The Knowledge of Truth = Changed World Worshiping God

Chapter 30

The Crown’s Witness There is a hole in our theology. I believe that there is a gaping hole right in the middle of our Christian theology. This hole is responsible for our disunity, lack of love, divorce, self-centeredness, sickness, disease and unbelief which leads to every other sin. Jesus said “offer your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing this is your reasonable service” Jesus continually used the healing of the physical body to demonstrate the effects of believing in him and produce what the Father is seeking, true worshipers. I believe this area of disease to be shouting at us to bring attention to the fact that we have missed the paramount thing Jesus came to do, heal us in every way. If we worship God the way He directs us to, then his word tells us He will give us a full life span free from sickness and disease and every other blessing according to our mission. If we are worshiping the Lord the way we “think” He is wants to be worshiped and not following the truth, we should not be surprised when we reap what we sow. The reality is that this truth surrounding disease cannot be bypassed because it lays the foundational footing in which God must establish in order for your temple to receive his best. We know that God wants to build each one of us into a magnificent holy structure to his glory, so our lives might be a testimony to his goodness and faithfulness. We also know that Satan is working through our flesh to destroy us. Take holiness or purity out of the equation or give it the wrong definition or just limit the word in its scope and you will have a bag with no bottom, and a theology that leads to disillusionment. Follow the Order The spiritual Man who introduced my father to Christ in 1976, who lives in Florida, was going to take me diving to look for prehistoric fossilized sharks teeth. Before I could go diving with this man, I needed to prove to him that I could handle myself in this new environment. There were very few things that I wanted to do more than go diving with him. He said that he would take me scuba diving for artifacts but first I must pass the test he would give. The next morning we met and walked over to his neighbor’s pool where he had all the equipment I needed to survive under the water laid out around the pool. He had shown me how each of the pieces worked, and then proceeded to scatter all the equipment into the deep pool. The test was quit simple, to dive into the pool and not surface until you had all the equipment on.

Before I dove in, he gave me some pointers on what pieces I might consider going after first. The first thing I needed was the air tank because without the air I would be unconscious in three minutes and dead in five. I knew that no matter how long I could hold my breath, or the extra seconds I could gain from hyperventilating, this would not overcome a foolish first choice. To spend any amount of precious time doing anything but going directly to this life giving supply would be disastrous and would seal my fate. I dove in; I went straight for the tank and found the life giving oxygen that could sustain me. After retrieving the tank of air, I needed the weight belt to compensate for my buoyancy; now I did not have to struggle to stay down. Once I had the air and weight belt, I though I could relax and make my way slowly around to find the mask. But just when I thought I had everything under control I felt the air start to run out. Now, this is no time to be ignorant about your equipment or forget where your reserve switch is. You cannot panic in the heat of battle if you should find yourself short of the one thing which sustains you, but neither do you have the time to go looking for the answer; foolishness will kill you but knowledge will deliver you. I could not see and was operating on faith; one, that there would be a reserve and second, that I had time to find the value. What a relief to feel that air expand my lungs again. It was exhilarating to come through such a test. After several deep breaths I continued on with blurred vision and eventually God gave me a mask. I can see where I am going now, and with ease, I glided to retrieve all the other pieces. The point is this; to operate in this environment one needs to be careful to go after and to keep focused on the proper sequence. To go after anything but the power in the life giving tank of air, is to find yourself receiving a good thing, but not one that can sustain you in this atmosphere. The same thing holds true in God’s spiritual atmosphere, there are many good things out there, but failure to find or follow the divined order, leaves you weighted down under the water without any air. It is very hard to be useful when you are bobbing in the pool, never mind trying to find hidden treasures. Suffering that brings changes Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? I do. In the year 2000, the farm that I had been living on for 22 years that I had raised my family on, that I had built my house on, which I had built my life around, sold, and my calm stable world went into a tailspin. My children were in the most critical time period of their schooling and would not only have to adjust to life, but to a large city high school. For my wife and I, it meant leaving a small warm country church that was founded only months before we started attending, and transition to a city church. The dynamics of this situation was so bazaar and complex due to the fact that I had three other brothers, who owned this land but never lived on it. The details and facts surrounding this are irrelevant, but they did serve to isolate me

and remove from me everything that I held dear. The more I tried to solve the problem the more I separated myself. The more I exposed the injustice, the more I was told to get out of the company, not only by my wife but by a board of elders that was asked to judge the situation. I found to keep true to my convictions I must go against the board’s recommendation, my wife’s counsel, and to live and work in an environment that would be impossible in the flesh. After two years of living with a crushed spirit and crying out to God, praying and seeking Him, I had no further ambition or desire to do anything, except to go to heaven. My work was slow with little to no heart, and I could not even get going in the morning until I asked the Holy Spirit to move me. One morning in Pastor’s bible class he suggested that we should read the book “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren. I very rarely buy a book and I had no ambition to read this one. My wife purchased the book for me for Christmas and when I started reading it, I just wanted to keep on reading. It was so uplifting, so easy to understand God’s purpose for my life, and it challenged me to give my life completely and watch to see what he would do. It held out hope were I could see no hope. It became like a world that I could escape into, to rise above the pain, to function like I was living in this world of hope, when my flesh and all my senses told me that nothing has changed. I had no aspiration for anything, no desire for anything; I just prayed and waited on God. Obedience Finally, in one of my prayers, God conveyed to me that all I had was him. I rededicated my life completely to him and started obeying. It was not long until I started to understand the significance of complete obedience. This was not a matter of surrendering as one might think, but a total and complete devotion, a setting apart. I had been obeying the church for some 30 years, no, this was different, and this was like obeying a force outside of what we would consider reality. This was going against the flesh and operating by faith. I started saturating myself with God’s word as I drove 45 minutes each way to work. The focus of my life now started to shift off of myself and onto others. One day as I drove to work, I came upon a hitch hiker and for some reason I could not drive by like I would normally do. I stopped and picked him up, and it was not long before I knew why. He had been praying that someone would stop. After he told me his story, I turned my truck around and instead of taking him closer to a city so he could catch a bus back home I drove him all the way to another city to meet up with a trucker who would be taking him to a camp up north where he had a job. One day as I was working all alone as I usually did, God brought to my mind the question “what do you want in a job”. As I thought about the question, the first thing that I was certain of, was to do something that would last for eternity (I knew this was helping people), something that would bring joy to my life, something that could involve

working with my family and of course be able to support my obligations. Direction I was delivering produce to a city at 4:00 am, which was no big deal. But after I took over from my brother, in the city I was living in, I discovered I did not have the address or phone number so I could drop off the shipment. The order needed to arrive at 7:00 am sharp, and the time was tight, even if I could drive straight there. I had been to this warehouse four or maybe five months ago, but for the life of me my mind could not recall where. I did know the general location, but it is a big city. I was listening to a radio program and the reception was fuzzy, but the main point of what his man was saying was that Christ can help you and is practical. As I thought on this message, I began to place my circumstances into what this preacher was saying. I had to conclude that Christ wanted to be practical in my life right now. Without closing my eyes I asked Jesus to take me to this warehouse before 7:00 am. I don’t know how it happened but the truck never took a wrong turn and I arrived at 6:58 am. I sat there in my seat for several minutes numb and overwhelmed, asking myself what just happened. On the way home, I knew I had just had a big encounter with God and I was on cloud nine. It was not until after my meetings with Henry Blackaby, sixteen months later when he explained that we need to process our encounters, that I understood what Jesus was telling me. On July 15, 2004, at 3:20 am, God brought to my mind the spiritual message he was telling me sixteen months ago. He was saying “You know where you want to go in your life, ask me and then take your hand off the steering wheel of your life, and trust me to take you there”. This encounter was not just a help for that day, it was a message for my life, a living demonstration of a promise He was making to me. I now had a sad realization that I had missed hearing from Christ many times in the past because I failed to process my encounters. For many months nothing could move me out of this sense of earthly hopelessness in regards to doing anything other than remaining in this deep rut of despair. I was considering that God wanted me to some how live out my life in this situation and learn to “in the spirit” rise above these seemingly hopeless circumstances. Day after day I wonder how God was going to work in me so I could learn to live with my situation, but everyday the giant stared me down. On top of this bad situation our children were starting to leave the nest and my wife kept telling me how foolish it was to keep working with my brothers. As I worked on the back deck on my house, God brought to my mind that he could not steer me unless I started moving somewhere. The radio was on as I worked, and at that very moment, an invitation to attend a seminar was announced, which invited all who wanted to find out how to get off the “rat race of life”. I shared this with my wife and it seemed to spark some interest, so the whole family decided to attend. The seminar was attempting to give you the courage and the steps which are needed to take you out of your nine to five job and into a realm of financial security most people only dream of.

The lecture was OK, but over half of our time was spent playing a board game which demonstrated how to position oneself to receive the best in life, from the world’s perspective. After the session, I spoke with one of the speakers and told him that I had a board game, which has many times the fun value as this one. He quickly suggested that we market it, but I derailed his enthusiasm rapidly, as I went through the reasons that I had abandoned this initiative over twenty years ago. But my spirit gave me no rest from this concept, to the point where I completely reworked this game over the next sixteen months, to draw its participants to the real power of life, and thereby secure the only peace obtainable. God saw fit to give me the faith to register a name “Freedom Catch the Spirit”. Many things were happening at the same time as all this was going on, and one of them was teaching. I was asked to take on the responsibilities of teaching the grade 10 Sunday school class, which I did. I believed God was asking me to have actions in keeping with my commitment to him. The next Sunday after I had finished reading the Michael J. Fox book, I used his experience and his conclusion that praying works. In this class, we were learning the different pieces of armor the Lord gave to protect us against Satan. But the most powerful truth was that we had been given a secret weapon, pray. I posed the question, “Why would we not use our secret weapon at the start of our fight rather than at the end”. God was speaking to me on pray and confirming that pray could unlock the secrets. The very next Sunday my lesson that I was going to teach was on “Hannah: Profile in Courage”. As I studied the lesson, God showed me that I was Hannah asking Him to intervene in my circumstances. Several minutes later in the morning service, there would be a speaker who would confirm what this would mean for me. This missionary was speaking on the story of David and Goliath and asked how we were responding to our Goliath’s, like the soldier or like David. That God did not want us to live with our Goliath but to conquer it by trusting in him. I knew God was talking to me and I could hardly sit still, it was like a huge weight of despair was lifted off of me. God did not want me to learn to live with my Goliath, He wanted me to ask and trust Him for deliverance. Praise God! My wife buys the book “Experiencing God” by Dr. Backaby for herself and sat it on her night table. I had a meeting arranged with my two Pastors the next morning, where I would be trying to explain to them what was going on in my life. The problem was I did not know what was going on, much less how to explain it. As I was leaving the room, I noticed the book, and its title drew me in. As I started reading, I could hardly believe what I was reading. This book was describing exactly what was going on in my life and also was revealing God’s purposes and his ways. I was so excited and relieved that God provided me this book because I thought the Pastors would think that I was dreaming. I found out in the meeting that both Pastors had read this book and adopted its teachings. The Pastor suggested that I work through Dr. Backaby’s work book. As I am

working through, God is using this man’s work to give me a more complete understanding of how He works, why He works, and what He demands of someone He wants to work through. God showed me that obedience is paramount and the reward for obedience and love is that He will show himself to me. John 4:21 At this point my life I seemed to be lining up with his book and I wanted to continue to strive for complete obedience. There are several quotes from Dr. Blackaby’s book I would like to share that made a large impact on me and served to encourage: “To know and do the will of God, I must deny self and return to a God centered life.” “Everything in your Christian life depends on the quality of your intimate love relationship to God.” “Obedience is an outward expression of my love of God.” “When God gets ready for you to take a new step or direction in his activity, it will always be in sequence with what He has already been doing in your life.” “Members are enabled and equipped by the Holy Spirit to function where the Father has placed them in the body. God made us mutually interdependent. We need one another, what one lacks. Other in the body can and will supply.” “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him”. “The reason most of the world is not being attracted to Christ and His church is that God’s people lack the faith to attempt those things that only God can do”. Henry Blackaby’s writings have advanced my confidence that God is orchestrating this mission for me because everything that Henry has said to look at has confirmed God is at work in me. At this point all I can think about is showing him and maybe he can help me get started. Crises of belief My older brother, who lives 2500 miles away, phoned up one day and asked if I would come down and help him do some repairs on his acreage. I don’t know if I would have accepted the invitation, only I now was in the Spirit’s control, and “no” was not an option. When I was there working, we needed to go to our business office to check on the orders etc. As I was looking around I noticed a book in the bookcase that I had told my youngest brother to buy 15 years earlier. I picked up this book called “The Miracles of Fasting” by Paul Bragg and started skimming it. I would be going on holidays in a week which would give me the time needed to read it completely. But I knew right then, it was

the next step the Spirit would be taking me on. We ended up going to Cuba to an all inclusive resort, and even though all the food was free, I was so moved by the Spirit I started my second long fast two days before we came home. The first long fast happened 15 years ago and after its completion I said to myself that I would never, ever, ever, do that again! The first time it was completed in the flesh, but the second time it was all Spirit. I completely adopted all of Paul Bragg’s regiment as if it was from the Lord. From that moment on my life has never been the same. I am literally experiencing a physical regeneration that, among others things, is reversing my metabolism to that of a small child. Periodically, after longer fasts, my body would pass putrefied poisons that would burn upon exciting. Colds and flues are gone. It was not long and all the spiritual things that I struggled with faded away. My mind became so clear and my rest so sweet. Getting up early in the morning to spend hours with God became routine and natural. God’s word started to come alive and with each passing month I became more alive with the knowledge and understanding of his Word. I arrived home from a business trip only to find out that Dr. Blackaby was going to be speaking in my city at the Gideon’s National Convention which would be starting tomorrow. Wow! The man that has instructed me so much is going to be speaking just minutes from my home. This time period for me corresponded with a long fast, so I knew I would be in tune with whatever God had for me. As I waited for the program to start, pleased that my son was with me, I realized that I did not remember what had happened in Gideon’s life in the Bible. The question is why did this organization call themselves the “Gideons”? I made a mental note to look up this story later to find out. God’s last message to me through Henry’s final address to the assembly is telling me to process my encounter with God, and if you don’t, he may walk right by you the next time. I told Henry after his message at the meeting that lately I have been processing my encounters with God, even though I did not realize what I was doing. But now I am going to deliberately reflect, and reprocess all my encounters. As I arrived home, my mind seemed to naturally start processing, without even thinking what I am doing. My Mission A week later, on a Sunday night I was seeking God’s face with expectations of conformation, insight and direction. As I pick up my bible the thought came to mind, to read on the life of Joseph, since I felt there were many parallels. As I was searching, I

came upon Gideon and then I remembered that I wanted to read his life story. It was not long into the life of Gideon before I could see the correlation between his life and mind. Was the Lord trying to show me whom I was to become? As I continued on and read Judges 6:24 “The Lord is Peace” something happened, something in my spirit, it was no longer me reading the Bible, it was the Lord himself talking directly to me. I knew I had just received my commission, through the life and story of Gideon. I was dumbfounded, overwhelmed, amazed, excited and in awe. The Lord came down and met with Gideon, a simple farmer, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior.” “And the Lord looked at him and said, “Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of the Midian. Have I not sent you? Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.” Christ showed himself to me and I said what Gideon said, “Please do not depart from here, until I come back to Thee, and bring out my offering and lay it before Thee.” And He said to me, “I will remain until you return.” I did what Gideon did, and went away to prepare so I could present my body a living sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is my spiritual service of worship. Gideon knew he had seen the Lord face to face after his offering was consumed by fire from the rock. The offering of my body has been consumed by this same Rock. When you see truth face to face, you understand what is important and the steps to position yourself to be in the center of His will. This translated into a message of love from the words in a book that could not be understood. The Bible now has presented itself to me as a transforming book of remembrance, to all who will believe. Gideon made a proper alter to God after tearing down the alter to Baal, and used the wood from the Asherh poles to sacrifice himself and a second bull from his father’s herd. He followed the instructions given by the Lord and called the alter “the Lord is peace”. As it turned out, I did this without even knowing it because when I shared the truths with my younger brother we both were consumed. Gideon blew his trumpet which gathered his country men for action, and lead them to victory over a very oppressive foe. We also need some religious reforms, we are to tear down our pagan alters and used them to burn our true offering to God. And what does God require, but our bodies, a living sacrifice which is accomplished through obedience, faith and believing every word that comes from the mouth of God. We are called into action, and it is only what we do that will testify to whom we trust. But if we will hear the trumpet and respond, we too will be lead to receive victory over a vicious and ruthless invader. In the third year, I know my mission and He has given me His message. I started out in this direction of obedience only to draw closer to God by getting to know him through an intimate love relationship. Never in my wildness dreams did I ever think, or would think, that this would be the outcome, which is to say, this same transformation can and will

take place in your life, if you are willing to align yourself with His laws. Hidden Treasurers Col 2:2 ...So that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. After I passed this man’s test in his neighbor’s backyard pool, he was bound by the commitment of his word to take me diving. The responsibility shifted from me to him, it was now time for me to receive from him what his words obligated him to do for me. I watched him as he gathered the suits, tanks and all the gear we would need. He readied the boat and made all the preparations for our dive. He chose the river and navigated to the water which we would be diving in. Once you pass God’s test he also is bound by His own word to give you the desires of your heart. The problem that he revealed to me was that the state of Florida was the most heavily searched state in the U.S. In his opinion, this state was almost completely dived out, which is to say, every spot that could be searched, was searched many times over. He took me to a large river that had black water and we suited up. The water was dark and murky, 10 to 12 feet deep and moving slow. We were in the river for only about an hour, but I personally found over fifty prehistoric fossilized sharks teeth. Together, in one hour, we had collectively found over 150 pieces. The Bible is the most searched book ever and would appear to be completely laid bare, but in a relatively short time my basket overflowed with the full riches of knowledge and understanding. This dive was most certainly an encounter with God. After about two weeks from the time I arrived back home, he wrote me a letter and informed me that the river we had been diving in was croc infested. The world will tell you it is too dangerous to go after these riches that lead to all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge but the love of God compels you to come by faith. As I now process this encounter, God has revealed to me that if you want to find new treasures, let him take you to the places which few have the courage, or perseverance to dive, for in a short period of time your basket will be full. My purpose in completely surrendering was not to find new treasures, but rather to see and know God. It was to go after God with all of my heart, strength and sole. It was to see if He would be faithful to His word when he said; “Draw close to me and I will draw close to you”. It was not long before the Spirit had me on the road to purification, not that I understood what it was going to mean at this point. I had given up the right to knowing the “why” before I obey, because to trust God is to move by faith and nothing more. When the Spirit is in control, my outcome and yours are secure. Remember, God is not faithful to you; he is faithful to his word. It is only when you

become faithful to his Word, that he becomes faithful to you. With God now faithful to you, you can anticipate receiving all the promises and blessings that his word speaks of. The promised land, here I come! I am nearing the end of my sanctification process and I have been faithful in ascribing all what has been revealed to me, that is, what “Truth” looks like. Only my one brother has seen the truth of what I am sharing and there will be no turning away. But with all these words of truth, I cannot convince even one other person. I suppose it is do to time and influence that their teachers, who are blind, have had on them. God had provided to me many reference points for truth, and no doubt that is why He has preserved two articles for over seventeen years in my file under the heading “Health”. At the end of my writings, at this time he has directed me to this dormant file, and the findings of some sixty eminent physicians in Britain. I enclose them for you as proof of fact, that are outside of this bible, to corroborate and demonstrate that years of gathering knowledge only leads you back to the “Truth”. Taken From “health Words - A health through nutrition bulletin” Digestion or Congestion? Don’t let your health be stolen by a congested COLON. Rest, exercise, good food and supplements should be rewarded with health, vigor and lots of energy. If this is not the case, there must be a thief stealing, pilfering or just slowly draining the life supply. Perhaps it is time look deeper even to the depths of our being to find the answer. 1987 Dr. Albert Zehr, PH.D. In recent years, a growing number of health authorities are concluding that the colon blockage and bowel mismanagement are key factors behind most of man’s illnesses. Three of these well-known professionals strike a sobering note. V.E. Irons. A noted bowel specialist says, “In my opinion, there is only one real disease, and that disease is autointoxication - the body poisoning itself. It’s the filth in our system that kills us. So, I’m convinced that unless you clean out your colon you will never regain health.” Dr. Bernard Jensen summarizes his findings: “In the fifty years I’ve spent helping people to overcome disability and disease; it has become crystal clear that poor bowel management is at the root of most people’s problems. In treating over 300,000 patients, it is the bowel that invariably has to be cared for first before effective healing can take place.” (2 Chronicles 21:11-19) Dr. Norman Walker explaining, “Good health not only regenerates and rebuilds the cells and tissues which constitute your physical body to prevent corruption in the form of fermentation and putrefaction. This corruption, if retained and allowed to accumulate in

the body, prevents any possibility of attaining any degree of vibrant health... “Not to cleanse the colon.” Dr. Walker concludes, “is like having the entire garbage collecting staff in your city go on strike for days on end. The accumulation of garbage in the streets creates putrid, odoriferous, unhealthy gases which are dispersed into the atmosphere.” The Colon The Parts: The colon, also known as the large intestine, is about five feet long and is made up of three segments: 1. The ascending colon is the first part of the large intestine. At the lower extremity is a small appendage known as the appendix. The lower part of the ascending colon is called the cecum and it is here that the digested food (chyme) is received from the small intestine through the ileo cecal valve. 2. The transverse colon runs horizontally across the abdomen, beginning from the bend refereed to as the hepatic flexure, to the splenic flexure which leads into the descending colon. 3. The descending colon runs vertically down the left side, from the splenic flexure to the sigmoid and the rectum. Putrefying bacteria and waste materials refereed to as feces are held in the descending colon waiting to be eliminated. The sigmoid is the lower end of the colon leading to the rectum. It’s Function The colon’s functions are very important and basic to good health. 1. When the digested food (chyme) is received into the cecum it is semi-liquid and consists of undigested or undigested food substances, as well as secretions from the liver, pancreas, small intestine and water. In the cecum area much of the water is withdrawn and absorbed. 2. Bacterial action now begins to play a major role in the completion of the digestion process. Billions of friendly bacteria synthesize valuable nutrients by digesting of the fecal mass. Vitamin K, some of the B vitamins, as well as other nutrients are produced. Some remaining proteins are broken down into simpler substances. No digestive enzymes are secreted in the colon, but an alkaline fluid aids in the completion of digestion begun in the small intestines. 3. During the process the chyme is pushed along through the colon by a peristaltic action which results from the muscles in the bulbous pouches of the colon walls. As the chyme moves, positive bacteria and more moisture are withdrawn. Also toxic waste from the blood system is received and carried with the fecal material into the rectum. The amount of time taken, i.e. “transit time” for this process depends on the amount of

roughage in the food, the water content and the condition of the colon. 4. When the fecal material arrives in the lower descending colon it should be formed in large soft stools and should be evacuated in a consistent and effortless way. Since by this time it contains putrefactive elements and toxic waste it must be discharged regularly and completely or ill health will result. Colon Complications Steal Health and Vigor When we realize that the colon is the sanitation department of our body we may tend to want to forget that it exists. However, a city would soon be plagued with ill health, disease and parasite infestation if it neglected its sanitation system. Yet, very few people consider that constant state of fatigue, sickness, and lethargy may be the result of a neglected sanitation system. When a person eats well, takes supplements and gets some exercise, Dr. Bernard Jensen describes autointoxication as “the result of faulty bowel functioning which produces undesirable consequences in the body and is the root cause of many of today’s diseases and illnesses.” In less sophisticated terms, auto-intoxication is what would happen in your house if the sewage drains would stop working! Where we might expect this to be the problem of some careless few, Dr. Harvey W. Kellog MD says, “Of the 22,000 operations I personally performed, I never found a single normal colon and of the 100,000 performed under my jurisdiction not over one per cent were normal.” Dr. Norman Walker, a specialist in colon health explains why and how colon congestion becomes a problem. “If a person has eaten processed, fried and over / under cooked foods, starches, sugar and excessive amounts of salt, his colon cannot possibly be efficient, even if he should have a bowel movement two to three times a day!” “The bulk which is so essential for the proper and complete digestion of our food is needed in the colon just as much as in the small intestine. Such bulk, however, must be composed of fibers or roughage of raw foods. When these fibers pass through the intestines they become, figuratively speaking, highly magnetized, and in this condition are very helpful in the functions involved in the various parts of the intestines. In the addition to receiving the residue of that part of our food which is not digested, the colon also accommodates itself to the fiber - the roughage - in the food upon which it depends for its intestinal broom.” “When the mineral elements which compose the foods we eat are saturated with oil or grease, the digestive organs cannot process them efficiently and they are passed out of the small intestine into the colon as debris. In addition, the body has a great deal of waste to dispose of through the colon in the form of used up cells and tissues. When ‘demagnetized’ food passes through the body system with little or no benefit, eventually, experience has proved these foods leave a coating of slime on the inner walls of the

colon like plaster on a wall. (Pro 30:11-12, 30:20) In course of time this coating may gradually increase its thickness until there is only a small hole through the center, and the matter so evacuated may contain much undigested food from which the body derives little to no benefit (see fig. 5) The consequent result is starvation of which we are not conscious but which causes old age and senility to race towards us with the throttle wide open.” Senility, means 1) of or typical of old age 2) showing the deterioration, esp. the mental confusion, memory loss, etc., often accompanying old age Colon Ailments Since the colon has relatively few nerve endings it can withstand considerable abuse without registering significant pain. Consequently many abnormalities may develop before one is aware of a problem. Diverticulitis is result of an undue amount of pressure resulting from the colon needing to force the hard feces in order to keep them moving. This tends to cause a hernia, producing a small pouch like sack in the tissue. After feces accumulate they become morbid and may become inflamed (see Fig. 3). Colitis is a somewhat general term but refers to inflammation of the colon, usually beginning with a rupture or from the decomposition of blocked fecal waste. Spastic Bowel. When the colon muscle is overworked, tense, and not given adequate rest it will go into a spasm. Ballooning is the result of backed up feces. The feces can accumulate and stretch the bowel walls into enormous proportions (Psalms 7:14) Stricture is a chronic narrowing of the colon passageway usually resulting from inflammation. The feces accumulating in front of the stricture may develop ballooning so that the segment just past the stricture may collapse and the muscles become atrophied or inoperative (see fig.3) Prolapsus is when the transverse colon falls or collapses probably due to an overload of accumulating waste (Pro 23:20-21, Phi 3:17-19). The fallen part may begin to rest on the lower organs and may become a problem especially for females. The abnormal pressure needed to force the feces through the hepatic and spenic flexure may also become a problem. Death Begins in the Colon Important Discussion of Alimentary Toxemia before the Royal Society of Medicine of Great Britain Recently, the subject of alimentary toxemia was discussed in London before the Royal

Society of medicine, by fifty-seven leading physicians of Great Britain. Among the speakers were eminent surgeons, physicians, and specialists in the various branches of medicine. Poisons of Alimentary intestinal Toxemia The following is a list of the various poisons noted by the several speakers: Indol, skaroi, phenol, cresol, indican, sulphurretted hydrogen, ammonia, histidine, urrobilin, methylmercaptan, tetramerhy-lendiamin, pentamethy, lendiamine, putrescin, cadaverin, neurin, cholin, muscarine, butyric acid, bera-imidazzolethy-lamine, methylgandinine, ptomarropine, botulin, typtophane, sepsin, idolethylamine, sulpherroglobine. Of the 36 poisons mentioned above, several are highly active, producing most profound effects, and in very small quantities. In cases of alimentary toxemia some one or several of these poisons is constantly bathing the delicate body cells, and setting up charges which finally result in grave disease. (Job 20:12-16, Romans 3:13) Symptoms and Diseases Due to Alimentary Toxemia It should be understood that these findings are not mere theories, but are the results of demonstrations in actual practice by eminent physicians. Of course it is not claimed that alimentary toxemia is the only case of all symptoms and diseases named: Although of many it may be the sole or principal cause, some of them are due to other causes as well. In the following summary, the various symptoms and disorders mentioned in the discussion in London, to which reference has been made above, are grouped and classified. The Digestive Organs Duodenal ulcer causing partial or complete obstruction of the duodenum; pyloric spasm; pyloric obstruction; distension and dilation of the stomach; gastric ulcer; cancer of the stomach; adhesions of the omentum to the stomach and liver; inflammation of the liver; cancer of the liver (Pro 7:18-23). The muscular wall of the intestine as well as other atrophy, so that the passage of their contents is hindered. The abdominal viscera lose their normal relationship to the spine and to each other, on account of weakening of the abdominal muscles; these displacements are much more marked and serious in women. Other conditions are: Catariah of the intestines; foul gases and foul smelling stools; colitis; acute enteritis; appendicitis, acute and chronic; adhesions and “kinks” of the intestines; visceroptosis; enlargement of the spleen, distended abdomen; tenderness of the abdomen; diarrhea in children; inflammation of pancreas; chronic dragging abdomen pains; gastritis cancer of pancreas; inflammatory changes of gall bladder; cancer of gall bladder; gallstones; degeneration of the liver; cirrhosis of liver; infection of the gums, and decay of the teeth; ulcers in the mouth and pharynx. Heart and Blood Vessels Wasting and weakening of the heart muscles; micorbic cyamosis from the break up of

blood cells; fatty degeneration of the heart; endocarditis; myocarditis; subnormal blood pressure; enlargement of the heart; the dilation of the aorta; high blood pressure; arteriosclerosis; permanent dilation of the arteries. (Deu 12:23, Pro 4:23) Dr W. Bezley says: “There are few phases of cardiovascular troubles (disease of the heart and blood vessels) with which disorder of some part of the alimentary tract is not causatively associated.” (Psalms 38:3) The Nervous System Headaches of various kinds - frontal, occipital, temporal, dull or intense, hemicrania; headache of a character to lead to a mistaken diagnosis of the brain tumor. Acute neuralgia pains in the legs; neuritis; twitching of the eyes and the muscles of the face, arms, legs etc.; irritability; disturbances of nervous system, varying from simple headaches to absolute collapse; mental and physical depression; Insomnia; troubled sleep; unpleasant dreams; unrefreshing sleep; the patient awakening tired; excessive sleepiness; patient falling asleep in the day time; shivery sensation across lower spinal region, burning sensation in face, hand etc.; epileptiform tic; typhoid state; paralysis; chronic fatigue; horror of noises; morbid introspection; (having or showing an interest in gruesome or gloomy matters as one looks into one’s own mind, feelings, etc. Romans 7:22-23) perverted moral feeling (to lead astray from what is right or good; misdirect; corrupt Samuel 16:4); melancholia (A metal disorder characterized by extreme depression, brooding, etc. Romans 1:28-32); mania (a wild or violent metal disorder); loss of memory; difficulty of mental concentration; imbecility (great foolishness or stupidity); insanity; delirium (a temporary state of extreme metal excitement, marked by confused speech and hallucinations: it sometime occurs during a fever, in some forms of insanity, etc. Psalms 4:2, NASB Psalms 73:7); coma (a condition of stupor or lethargy Romans11:8). The Eyes Degenerative changes in the eye; inflammation of the lens; inflammation of the optic nerve; hardening of the lense; selerotitis; scierokeratitis; iritis; recurrent hemorrhage in the retina; eye dull and heavy. (NASB Pro 15:30-31) The Skin Formation of wrinkles; thin, inelastic, starchy skin; pigmentations of the skin - yellow, brown, state - black. Blue; muddy complexion; offensive secretion from the skin of flexures; thickening of the skin of back of the skin - sores and boils (Psalms 38:5); pemphigus; pruritus; herpes; eczema; dermatitis; lupus erythemarosus; acne rosaacrea; cold, clammy extreities; dark circles under the eyes; seborrhea; psoriasis; pityriasis; alopecia, lichen; planus jaundice; “An infinitesimal amount of poison may suffice to cause skin eruption.” (2 Kings 5:13-14)

Muscles and Joints Degeneration of the muscles; “Muscles waste and become soft and in advance cases tear easily. In young life the muscular debility produces the deformities which are called dorsal excurvation, or round shoulders, lateral curvature (Romans 11:8-10) flat foot, and knock knee. Weakness of abdominal muscles causes accumulation of feces in the pelvic colon, which renders evacuation of contents more and more difficult. Prominence of bones; rheumatic pains simulating sciatica and lumbago; various muscular pains; muscular rheumatism; arthritis deformities; synavitis; rickets; arthritis, acute and chronic.” Tubercle, and rheumatoid arthritis are the direct result of intestinal intoxication. Dr. Lane says: I do not believe it is possible for either of these diseases to obtain a foothold except in the presence of stasis.” General Disorders and Disturbances of Nutrition Degeneration of the organs of elimination, especially the liver, kidneys (Bright’s disease) and spleen; pernicious anemia; lowered resistance to infection of all kinds; premature senile decay; retardation of growth in children, accompanied by mental irritability and muscular fatigue; adenoids, enlarged tonsils; scurvy; enlarged thyroid (goitre); various tumors and thyroid; Raynaud’s disease. In those who apparently suffer no harm from constipation during a long series of years there is perhaps, as suggested by Hertz, a partial immunity established. The writer has long believed that such a immunity is sometimes established in the very obstinate constipation which accompanies absolute fasting, because of the cleaning of the tongue and reappearance of appetite which often occurs at the end of the second or third week of the fast, (Psalms 35:13-14, Psalms 109:24-25, Ecc 7:4) a phenomenon very much like that which appears in typhoid fever and other continued fevers. It must not be supposed, however, that even the establishment of so called immunity insures the body against all injury. The labor of eliminating enormous amounts of virulent toxins, which falls upon the kidneys, damages the renal tissues and produces premature failure of these essential organs. Any process which develops toxins within the body is a menace to the life of the tissues and should be suppressed as far as possible, and as quickly as possible. The fact that symptoms of poisoning resulting from constipation do not appear at once is no evidence that injury is not done. Dr. William Hunter in the course of the London discussion remarked that the chronic constipation “might exist in certain individuals as an almost permanent condition without apparently casing ill health is due solely to the power and protective action of the liver. It is not any evidence of the comparative harmlessness of constipation per se, but only as evidence that some individuals possess the cecum and the colon of an ox, with the liver of a pig, capable of doing any amount of distoxication.” In the face of such an array of evidence backed up by authority of nearly 60 eminent English physicians, and many hundreds of other English, U.S., German and French physicians whose names might be added, it is no longer possible to ignore the importance of alimentary toxemia or autointoxication as a fact in the

production of disease. To no other single cause is it possible to attribute one-tenth as many various and widely diverse disorders. It may be said that almost every chronic disease known is directly or indirectly due to the influence of bacterial poisons absorbed from the intestine. The colon may be justly looked upon as a veritable Pandora’s box, out of which come more human misery and suffering, metal and moral, as well as physical than from any other known source. The colon is a sewage system, but by neglect and abuse it becomes a cesspool. When it is clean and normal we are well and happy; let it stagnate, and it will distill the poisons of decay, fermentation and putrefaction into the blood, poisoning the brain and nervous system so that we become mentally depressed and irritable; it will poison the heart so that we are weak and listless; poisons the lungs so that the breath is foul; poisons the digestive organs so that we are distressed, and we age prematurely, look and feel old, the joints are stiff and painful, neuritis, dull eyes and sluggish brain overtake us; the pleasure of living is gone. (2 Tim 2:20-21) The preceding information should impress you with the vital importance of bowel regularity to you and every member of your family. (Pro 5:11-14) End of article. V.E. Irons. A noted bowel specialist says, “In my opinion, there is only one real disease, and that disease is autointoxication - the body poisoning itself. It’s the filth in our system that kills us. So, I’m convinced that unless you clean out your colon you will never regain health.” Job 20:12-16 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue, though he desires it and will not let it go but holds it in his mouth, yet his food in his stomach is changed to the venom of cobras within him. He swallows riches, but will vomit them up; God will expel them from his belly. He sucks the poison of cobras; the viper’s tongue slays him.” How can we tell if our food we eat is changing in our stomach to poisonous venom? When it comes to our bodies there are two things that cannot lie; the first is our blood and the second is our water. If there is poison under our tongues then there is poison in our blood and urine. 1 John 5:7-8 For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. There are three witnesses in a man before God, and all three will bear out the truth that is in a man; what comes out of a man’s mouth will witness to who is in control and the urine and the blood will each speak to the purity of the offering. You may say, I am righteous, but will your water and blood bear witness to that? This is what Christ was talking about when he addressed the teachers of the law and

Pharisees, in Matt 23:23-36 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices - mint, dill and cumin. But you neglected the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean” “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourself that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.” “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.” Titus 1:15-16 To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedience, and worthless for any good deed. Matt 5:20 “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Thank you, you may step down.

Chapter 31

Closing Statements from the Crown Isaiah 42:18-22 “Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see! Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one committed to me, blind like the servant of the Lord? You have many things, but have paid no attention; your ears are open, but you hear nothing.” It pleased the Lord for the sake of his righteousness to make His laws great and glorious. But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. They have become plunder, with no one to rescue them; they have been made loot, with no one to say, “Send them back.” Isaiah 48:1 “Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and come from the line of Judah, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord and invoke the God of Israel - but not in truth or righteousness - you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city and rely on the God of Israel - the Lord Almighty is his name: I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. For I knew how stubborn you were; the sinews of your neck were iron, your forehead was bronze. Isaiah 48:6 ...“From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you. (“things” is a word that is used in the plural) They are created now, and not long ago: you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot say, “Yes, I knew of them”. You have neither heard nor understood; from of old your ears have not been open. Isaiah 48:8-10 Well do I know how treacherous you are; you were called a rebel from birth. For my own name’s sake I delayed my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, as not to cut you off. See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own name sake I do this. How can I let myself be defamed. Isaiah 48:16 “Come near to me and listen to this: “From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret; at the time it happens, I am there.” And now the Sovereign Lord has sent me, with his Spirit. Isaiah 48:17-19 This is what the Lord says, your Redeemer. The Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their names would never be cut off nor destroyed from

before me.” Isaiah 48:20 Leave Babylon, flee from the Babylonians! (The world and the people that influence you to take part in the rituals of the world) Announce this with shouts of joy and proclaim it. Send it out to the ends of the earth; say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.” Isaiah 48:21 They did not thirst when he led them through the desert; he made water flow for them from the rock and water gushed out. Isaiah 48:22 “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” Isaiah 49:8 This is what the Lord says: “In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, to say to the captives, ‘Come out’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’ This is not the time that Christ’s blood covenant comes to fruition but rather a different and new dimension, a revealing of the height, width and depth of the love of Christ. The time of His covenant is over, but not the time of His love and compassion. When time passes, His favor will grant mercy to the captives and to those in darkness when he says, “Come out and be free.” It is time for the end of weeping and crying; the time of reunion. Matt 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” Matt 6:22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness, how great is that darkness!” If you want to see how bad the darkness is in your body, go to one who studies the eyes. Matt 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” A few is not many, when you consider that Jesus is talking to the “Evangelicals” and the “so called” leader of Christianity. Matt 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

But if the Word tells me my ears are open but I am not hearing, who will heal my ears that I may perceive the words? How do you put in practice that which you cannot hear to understand? Matt 10:34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn “ ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-inlaw a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ ” But how will it come to pass that the very ones who instructed me in my faith and taught me the way to live should now become my enemies? Pro 15:31 He who listens to a life giving rebuke will be home among the wise. If you don’t think, as you read these words that are bringing down a mighty rebuke, which is a life giving, all encompassing mandate that gives you the logistics to be at home with the wise, then where is your hope coming from? Pro 13:16 Every prudent man acts out of knowledge, but a fool exposes his folly. Pro 27:12 A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, The naive proceed and pay the penalty. Luke 12:47 “That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. The Crown will provide the Grace needed for Repentance. Acts 19:4 Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people, believe in the one who comes after him, that is Jesus.” John announced and introduced a baptism of repentance to make the way clear, or to remove any and all obstructions that would hinder us from believing in the one who would come after him. This baptism of repentance was manifested in his disciples lives with actions of denying oneself. Matt 9:14 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” When John’s disciples inquired of Jesus regarding fasting, they were disclosing an all important action that was directed by John to facilitate his mission of repentance. John told the Pharisees, to produce fruit in keeping with repentance, in an attempt to have them examine their fruit. The flesh focuses on the physical act of baptism as the means

from which we are instantly inwardly transformed, but without these proper actions of repentance the fruit that is produced is bitter and unholy. The flesh is a master at rationalizing anything else other than to sacrifice what is required, that is, itself. If there is no good fruit, there is no repentance. No repentance means no eternal life. Luke 3:9 The ax is already at the root of the tree, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Your root is exposed and God stands with the ax readied. Luke 13:3 and 13:5 (Jesus said) But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Jesus is telling us it is in the actions of repentance that will keep you from perishing not in the act of baptism. Then Jesus continues on to tell us what repentance is all about and what is required in his following statement, a parable in Luke 13:6-9. “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ “ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit the next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ ” This repentance that is required so we will not perish is completed over three years. No three years, no repentance. No repentance, no salvation. Jesus is our gardener, supplying all the grace we will need to start and complete this time required in repentance. This period of time transforms our fig tree from one that produces fruit that is unholy to fruit that is holy. A Holy God only eats holy fruit. The problem is that our flesh, by way of our pride, is producing fruit and trying to pass it off to God as holy. Our flesh holds us captive through ignorant pride and stubbornly insists there is no difference between the fruits. Since we are in fact producing a fruit, we surmise that this time of repentance, has been somehow completed by Christ’s grace. But Christ’s grace is to teach us and to give us the strength to say “no” to our flesh in this time of turning 180 degrees. Phi 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. What is this terminology of this word “fear”? In the New Testament, the words most often used to express phobos which means “fear”, “dread”, “terror”. In Job 4:14-15 Eliphaz speaks to Job ...fear and trembling seized me and made all my bones shake. A spirit glided past my face, and the hairs on my body stood on end. In Matt 28:4 God provides us with this example: The guards were so afraid of him

they shook and became like dead men. Paul directs us to work out our own salvation. If I am working something out, it is going to take deliberate actions over a period of time. And if this thing that I am working out has my life hanging in the balance, it is going to be understandable and healthy that I display a certain amount of fear and times of trembling. But this fear and trembling will not incapacitate me, because I know it is God who is at work in me, enabling me both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Before I am convicted of my need for a savior, I am ignorant of the punishment that awaits me, and therefore, there is no fear or trembling. If the Holy Spirit convicts me and reveals my need for a savior in some evangelistic meeting, the only fear and trembling that may take place, according to established thinking, is on the way up to the front, to pray the prayer of salvation. But Paul speaks of an ongoing action that is continually at work, producing in us the will and motivation to do His good pleasure. This fear and trembling should only diminish at the same rate my jar of oil increases. For as the oil displaces the air, so will his love in us displace fear and trembling. Therefore, in this three year period, I move, on a sliding scale, away from fear that has to do with punishment, into ever increasing love that has to do with joy from believing. Acts 9:31 The church then had peace throughout Judea, and Samaria, and it became stronger as believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers. So this time that I am living with fear, working out my salvation, turning 180 degrees, I am becoming stronger to the point of what? Luke 1:74 ...that we being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 1 John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no more fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. That is the same integrity of His flesh and blood, is also that of ours. 1 Cor 13:2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. It is not that you are a little bit of something; God’s word said you are nothing! Do not turn from the course once you can fathom all mysteries, or have faith that can move

mountains, but go on to perfect love. This is the point your jar of oil is full and you can sustain your light, passing from death to life. The scripture reveals to us that as Christ is, (that is his nature) so are we in this world; that is here on planet earth. It is unthinkable that someone would turn back after seeing the Lord for whom He is and abandon his new nature. If such a thing should happen, the reverse would also happen, to the point where they would not have enough oil in their jars to sustain the light needed to make the distance. To lose your salvation once you appropriate the grace of God, to achieve the requirements that He demands through His procedure of repentance is inconceivable, but not impossible. The question that we all need to be asking ourselves is not, “Can I lose my salvation?” but rather, “Did I ever go through His procedure, did I ever have His nature?” Jesus gives us a parable of the ten virgins to show us what it will be like for many on the day of his return, for the ones who stalled out while on this road of repentance. Matt 25:1-13 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this, Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ” “Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ” “But the wise replied, ‘No! There is not enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ” “And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet and the door was shut.” “Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord open to us.’ ” “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ ” “Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Is there anybody who considers themselves a bridesmaid who will not believe that the Kingdom of Heaven will be comparable to this parable? I would hope not. This is a picture in Jesus’ own words showing the conditions required to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but are these foolish virgins also God’s people? Jer 14:17 “Speak this word to them: “ ‘Let my eyes overflow with tears night and day without ceasing; for my virgin daughter - my people - has suffered a grievous wound, a crushing blow. If I go into the country, I see those slain by the sword; ... We see and understand that these women were all virgins and bridesmaids, who had in their possession the Light and some Oil. The lamp would be the word of God who shines forth the light, and the oil being the Holy Spirit. You must allow the Old

Testament to teach you what the oil represents. Psalms 89:20 “I have found David My servant; With My holy oil I have anointed him, With whom My hand will be established; My arm also will strengthen him. The enemy will not deceive him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.” To pinpoint the area in these virgins’ lives which actually made the difference, we can only have one variable, and that has been made plain for us, it was the amount of oil. All of us, like all of them, who have entered into the marriage covenant have been anointed with God’s holy oil. The Father has entrusted his possessions to us, his servants, and is expecting us to go to work and double the amount of oil which was given to each of us. What was true in David’s life will be true in ours. It was in his weakness that God established him by the out stretched hands of Christ. In other words, do not believe Satan’s lie through some well meaning, sincerely ignorant pastor who tells you that after you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior you have all of the Holy Spirit needed. They all knew who the groom was and went out expecting to be married. It is important to note that they all fell asleep until somebody woke them up. The five foolish bridesmaids did not dress themselves in their white wedding gowns, even though the groom purchased them and left instructions. These preparations needed for the ceremony are taxing and demanding but without the knowledge, fear and trembling cannot start this process. For the foolish five, this fear and trembling which is useful in repentance, did not arrive until after the door was shut and the time was over. I suggest we all take a lesson from these foolish bridesmaids, for when the door is open it will be time to go in, not the time to find out there is a requirement that needs time. I wonder if these five foolish bridesmaids quoted Eph 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.” Or maybe after they turn from the door, stunned that they were rejected, they recited with one accord: Romans 3:23 “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Whatever they were thinking, it was now crystal clear that they did not understand what was required of them to do by the power of grace. Like the servant who was given one talent and thought he had it made, said to his Master Matt 25:25 ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground; see, you have what is yours.’ (The Holy Spirit) “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gathered where I scattered

no seed? Then, you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.” “ ‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has shall more be given, and he shall have abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. And cast out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in the place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ” This indictment is not for the unbelievers and neither was this parable of the ten bridesmaids. No, Jesus was referring to all people that have accepted Christ as their Savior, because they all were bridesmaids with a lamp and oil. We understand that five were short of oil and we would expect that the love of Christ would give us the details on why they were short, because He said, “The Spirit will teach you all things.” The Spirit reveals all things by the word of God and by reading the intimate details we can understand the point at which these foolish bridesmaids missed the way that deceived them into thinking they had enough oil. God’s word never disappoints us when we are willing to humble ourselves before Him, and the Spirit has revealed the details surrounding this agreement between Him and these ten bridesmaids in Jeremiah Chapter 32. We find the army of King of Babylon besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah. God told Jeremiah to buy a field from his cousin, Hanamel. Jer 32:8 “Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’ Jer 32:9-14 ...so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weight out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed out the money on scales. Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy, and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. “In their presence I charged Baruch, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time.’ Definitions: Seal - A signet containing a distinctive mark, which stood for the individual who owned it. Terms - Conditions of a contract, sale, etc. that limit or define it. Condition - A clause in a contract that revokes or modifies a stipulation on certain

contingencies. 2 Cor 4:6-7 For God, who said, “Let the light shine out of darkness,” made this light shine in our hearts to give us the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this allsurpassing power is from God and not from us. This treasure is the covenant or contract and these jars of clay are our own bodies. This power only comes from applying the light of the knowledge in working out our contract that we signed with God in our own jars of clay. When you find this treasure, go sell all that you have and buy the field. Gal 3:15 “Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one set it aside or adds conditions to it.” All covenants or contracts whether it is between God the Father and Jesus, Christ and men or anybody else, must be ratified. Ratification has to do with approval and or confirming that which is offered, but that which is given freely needs no ratification. A covenant is only an agreement in principle, until it is ratified. If someone makes an offer to purchase and the seller excepting the offer as written, or without making changes, no ratification is needed and the purchaser gives up his down payment and is bound by his covenant. However, if a seller makes changes to the offer to purchase, the purchaser is under no obligation to ratify his covenant or contract on the date of closing. In other words, if I agree to sell my house and leave it in a certain condition but fail to deliver on the condition, I place ratification in jeopardy. We know that Jesus’ offer to us will not nor can not change, for it is written in his blood. We know Christ lived and died on earth and whatever the state of his blood was at, upon his death, established the standard required. Yes the bible tells you what to do so your blood and body can meet this standard and thereby, have this covenant ratified in you. Therefore, by His grace, He is waiting for a point in time when all changes are over in you, so He can either ratify His covenant or receive back His deposit. However, these same sets of circumstances which we find ourselves in are no different than what was asked of Jesus. What I am saying is this, “Jesus came, lived in such a way to fulfill His agreement and died. Jesus’ covenant, upon His death, was ratified by God the Father, solidifying the promise, which no one can set aside. The promise could be spoken to Abraham because God knew His son was not going to make changes to their agreement.” Gal 3:16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “and to seeds,” as referring to many but rather to one, “and to your seed,”

that is Christ. What I am saying is this: the law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. Christ was the promise of God, and He ratified it before it came into our earthly reality. Christ is our kinsman redeemer, he alone has the right to redeem and possess us. We demanded the ultimate price considering the circumstances, but our kinsman redeemer paid the price. He then signed the deed, sealed it and had all this witnessed. Everything on the part of our redeemer, for the purchase was complete. There was nothing that could stop the deal if we wanted it. We are excited to tell all our friends and loved ones that we have sold our land, but if we fall asleep before we have met the terms and conditions for the purchase, we may not awake in time to meet the requirements for closing. Our inaction will not relinquish the covenant only the great everlasting benefits which could have come from Christ’s offering. Let me take an example from everyday life. You decide to sell your house because you had noticed a few termite holes in your rafters. Nevertheless, you painted the outside of the house and asked twice market value. Several days later you received a phone call and sold the house, sight unseen, for full asking price. The buyer must have been aware of a possible termite infestation, for in the contract he demanded the house be fumigated. In the contract, under the heading “terms and conditions”, it stated that the purchaser would supply all the tools and expertise needed in the procedure to remove the infestation, but the work must be carried out by me, the seller. The contract stated that I could take as long as I needed to finish the procedure, but once started, the fumigation technique could require three years. You decide you cannot pass up this deal, so the both of you sign it, seal it, and have it witnessed. The purchaser insisted on giving a generous deposit and was looking forward to taking possession. Many years later the termites had completely destroyed your house, the purchaser came and took back his deposit and tore up the contract, leaving you absolutely destitute. It was such a great deal but you never got around to doing the work, life was just too busy and tomorrow never came. Eze 44:6-7 “Enough of all your abominations O house of Israel, when you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, even My house, when you offered My food, the fat and the blood; for they made My covenant void – this in addition to all your abominations. You are responsible for removing and keeping the termites out! This shows that this covenant can in fact become void based on our inaction. Jer 1:16 “And I pronounce My judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their hands.

1 Cor 11:25 In the same way, he (Jesus) took the cup, saying, “This is the new covenant in my blood; do this, in remembrance of me.” Covenant - Quoted from Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming “A covenant was an agreement between two parties that laid down conditions and guaranteed benefits, depending upon a person’s keeping or breaking the covenant. It was sealed by some form of witness. Covenants between God and Man, however, differed from purely human covenants in that they were not negotiated as agreements between equals. God was always the giver and man the receiver. Man could not negotiate an agreement with God or make demands upon him. Gods promises originated in his sovereign grace alone, and man could do nothing but accept God’s favors and direction.” Deu 29:9 Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do. Jer 11:3 Cursed is the man who does not heed the words of this covenant. This is a new covenant, a perfect contract, but it still has terms and conditions. There will be no excuses received for an incomplete covenant, for all that was needed was given, and the steps were demonstrated by Christ himself. Acts 3:18 “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you… We repent; Christ who was appointed for us wipes our sins away. Jer 11:10 ...Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their forefathers. Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.’ Make no mistake Jeremiah is talking about us today. And what kind of a covenant have we entered into? Let me think. That’s right it’s a marriage covenant! Jer 3:7-10 I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and wood. In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,”

declares the Lord. If we return to the Lord only in pretense, we too will be given our certificate of divorce. Your body is Jerusalem; the throne of the Lord. Depending on what and the amount that is burnt in this throne room on His altar, will decide if the fragrance is sweet or putrid. Jer 3:17 “At that time they shall call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord; nor shall they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. What about Jesus’ parable of the three men who he gave the talents to? Keep in mind that all three men were servants, knowing Jesus, and were planning to be with him in heaven. The first two servants took what was given to them, put it to work, doubling it and received their reward. But the servant who called Jesus “Master” that was given one talent was afraid to put it to work. In Matt 25:24-25 “Then a man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gathered where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.” This third servant was lazy, which means he did not do what was necessary and as a result became wicked. We see that fear working through the faithful, motivates him to take action that positioned him to be in the will of God. But fear working through the unfaithful servant, paralyzed him, because the action of unfaithfulness has rendered him impotent. This man had a wrong understanding of what his master required, for if he had known the master’s response, he would have carried out the proper actions. His mind needed to compute the best course of action for his talent base, on the proper processing of data. The problem was that his mind was not in a state were he could process what he knew to be true about his Master and translate it into practical steps of action that produced what the Master demanded. Likewise today, if we have a wrong understanding of what is demanded of us and we do not correct the problem, we will be as shocked as this man was when our Master strips us of our talent and has us thrown outside. Matt 25:26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you new that I harvest where I have not sown and gathered where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.”

“Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Make no mistake we are talking Hell! Heb 10:26-27 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sin is left, but only fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Heb 10:28-29 Anyone who rejects the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? Heb 10:30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay, “and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. One word of caution before you enter your closing statements; Remember Luke 20:18 “He who falls on this Rock will be broken to pieces, but to whom this Rock falls will be crushed.” Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

Chapter 32

Closing Statements by the Defense The way I see it, there are three possible defenses, depending on factors too numerous and varying to consider. So I am leaving it up to you to pick the one best suited to represent your client position. #1 My client was not informed that these laws were relevant to him in the 21st century, for he was under the impression the Old Testament commands were replaced with the coming of Christ. He is thankful to the Crown for making him aware of the severe repercussions for eternity and the oppressive nature of going against the Lord’s divine laws. My client is grateful to be given the opportunity to adopt this truth into his life and the fact that this way of living, only cost him his pride, as he surrenders to the Spirit, was something he was trying to lose anyway. Also, being given the knowledge of the steps to follow, and seeing how the Spirit will provide the power needed to rebuild, is beyond his wildest hopes. My client is overwhelmed with the possibilities that these great promises hold out for him and is looking forward to receiving his name inscribed on a pillar in the Temple of our God. I would like to ask the court to consider a suspending sentencing for a period of say, three years, at which time we can convene for sentencing.

#2 My client knows he on his way to heaven and that is what he keeps his eye on. He is very involved with the church and his good deeds are very extensive over many years. My client will not believe that our Holy God will allow all his property to be removed from his account, should he fail to make this journey. My client denies himself in many other ways and is faithful to take up his cross each and every day as he is following Jesus, the way he sees it. Well frankly Judge, my client has never gone without food and he informs me that if he has a problem, the doctors always seem to have something they can give him. The way my client sees it, there is not going to be anything new come to light in the Bible, in his opinion, God is only going to add to his church. As far as the promised land goes, he believes he is in it, and is experiencing the abundant life already. He believes that he is being sanctified already from the moment that Christ saved him and no other actions of surrendering are needed on his part. And well, he feels the Old Testament is somewhat outdated and mostly relevant for today’s life styles, but that his observation only comes after studying it for over forty years. I would like to recommend to this court, on behalf of my client, that these charges of holding his God in contempt, be dismissed on the basis that the evidence was inconclusive and far beyond a reasonable doubt.

#3 Your Honor, my client completely rejects this misrepresentation of the truth of the word of God. Over and over again this imposter has taken scripture out of context to build a case that is utterly bogus. He is suggesting a relationship closer to God will

come only by our works, and it is clear God said you can do nothing by yourself. If we were in the Old Testament days, I would suggest we take this blasphemer out and stone him to death. To think that this so called “standard” which he has raised, is stating that I am blind. This “standard” demands the creation of an elite Priesthood and if you choose to abstain, you become an enemy of God. It is beyond me, why this court or any other court would press such a charge on this idiotic, non-relevant scripture that has been presented today. I would like to make it quite clear to this court that my client is an elder in one of the biggest churches in this land, and if you think for one moment that you can make this charge stick, you’re crazier than the one who drew up this indictment. My client would strongly advise this court to drop all charges or risk offending all the saints that pays your salaries and fund your works. Things can go on just the way they were; no one needs to derail our church.

Chapter 33

Sentencing by the Judge We would all like to think that this court has not been convened to render a judgment between Heaven or Hell, and that we could stay in our seemly safe “Christian bubble”. We would like to believe that this question of eternity would fall only on the accused, which have not accepted Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. No, the reality has been exposed, and this court stands strictly for the Saints of God, the ones who have surrendered their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus was sentenced to die at age 33 and He gave up his life so we could have the strength to choose the abundant life. The question is: “Are we going to give up our life, by his strength, so we can live the abundant life?” Since you are the judge you will pronounce sentencing, either blessing, based on actions of truth applied, or punishment from actions of truth denied. If you are not sure on what sentence would be most appropriate, not to fret, the accused is already living out one of the two sentences. All that must be done is to lay his life over each of the sentences and compare to see which one he lines up with, then consider his closing statement. This is a fail safe way to hand down your verdict and be confident in your judgment.

Sentence #1 Deu 7:12-15 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers. He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land - your grains, new wine and oil - the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you. You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor any of your livestock without young. The Lord will keep you free from EVERY DISEASE. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you. Deu 11:13 So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today - to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all of your heart and with all of your soul - then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil. I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. Deu 14:2 ...for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.

Deu 26:19 He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised. Deu 28:3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. Deu 28:5-8 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and when you go out. The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on EVERYTHING you put your hand to. Deu 28:10-11 Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by my name of the Lord and they will fear you. The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity… Deu 28:12-13 The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the works for your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail, … you will always be at the top, NEVER at the bottom. Now that is Freedom!

Sentence #2 Deu 28:15-67 However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you. You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruins because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. The Lord will plague you with disease until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to posses. The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. The sky over head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. The Lord will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies unit you are destroyed. The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the Kingdoms on earth. Your carcasses will be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten

them away. The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and itch, from which you cannot be cured. The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. At midday you will grope about like a blind man in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you. You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and ravish her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not enjoy its fruit. Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them. Your son and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days. The sights you see will drive you mad. The Lord will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from your soles of your feet to the top of your head. You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it. You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail. All these curses will come upon you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, therefore, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. Then the Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods - gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your feet. There, the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!” So Satan has you convinced that this is Freedom? 2 Cor 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is Freedom.

“Freedom Catch the Spirit”®

The Cup Is Full And We Are Out Of Time It does not matter what time you start this repentance process. But know there is a particular day in which a level of purity will be necessary for you, in order that you may enter a wedding feast. Unfortunately, some of us will not have the three year time period needed to perfect purity, before Christ will call His bride up. For those people, He has allowed their own wickedness to fashion the instrument by which He will use to remove the dross from His church. Therefore, to be given the time needed to complete perfection one must restore his pledge and start to pay back what he has taken by robbery, so he may have the time to walk in the statutes which ensure life. Eze 33:15 … if a wicked man restores a pledge, pays back what he has taken by robbery, walks by the statute which ensure life without committing iniquity, he will surely live; he shall not die. The pledge is to recommit to your marriage vow of keeping yourself only for Him in purity. Fasting will start paying back what you have taken by robbery, and perhaps give you the time to finish your pilgrimage to purity even though it shall be the last half of the Tribulation. Eze 33:12 “And you son of man, say to your fellow citizens, ‘The righteousness of a righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stumble because of it in the day when he turns from his wickedness; whereas a righteous man will not be able to live by his righteousness on the day when he commits sin.’ You can see why knowing the signs of the times are imperative not only for the wicked but also for the righteous! Do not be caught reflecting on what you think your years of righteousness may entails. (NASB) Joel 1:14-15 Consecrate a fast, Proclaim a solemn assembly; Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. Alas for the day of the Lord is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty. Fasting raises the body’s purity and takes our vibrations ever higher. Rev 3:3 ‘Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I come upon you.’

The Lord gives us the date to this time, that is “from the day when the temple of the Lord was founded” or the starting point when he is going to start to remove all the things which are polluting His bride, when He says “consider”. In other words, this founding day you should note and evaluate the quantity harvested with what one would normally expect to see returned in an average year. Is there little seed in the barn? Have the trees and vines produced what they would normally bare? He says from this day on, He will bless us because to start us on this road to Zion you need to cut the supply of food. How much should we expect to be cut and if it is removed should we use this seemingly devastation as a fleece to what is to come? Haggai 2:15-18 “ ‘But now, do consider from this day onward: before one stone was placed on another in the temple of the Lord, from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there would be only twenty. I smote you and every work of your hands with blasting winds, mildew, and hail; yet you did not come back to Me, ‘declares the Lord. ‘Do consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the Lord was founded, consider: Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will bless you.’ ” September 2008 has past and what do we see that is on a world wide scale that could be a prelude to God starting to build His temple, our bodies; where we can clearly see the start of an overthrow of the kingdoms and powers of these kingdoms of the nations? If you believe we are close to the end times, then maybe we should consider that September 2008 we witnessed the start of what will be a global economic melt down. In fact you could say; the world’s economy is on fire and burning to the ground as we helplessly watch the merchants of the earth weep and mourn. Such an event must have been recorded in the word of God. Rev 18:2-4 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! And she has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.” Rev 18:11-19 “And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more; cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble, and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and

wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives. “And the fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them. The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls; for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste! And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste! Rev 18:22-24 “And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for the merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. And in her was found the blood of the prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.” Zec 8:9 Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Let your hands be strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built. But you say; “The Lord cannot return until the temple of the Lord is rebuilt and no one will know the hour of His return, only the Father”. You are quite right in this but remember this temple is your body and this is only the foundation or the starting point of His bride’s time of purification. 2 Thes 2:3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. All you so called “born again believers” out there which includes the elect of God are caught up within this apostasy. Jer 8:4 “And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, “ ‘Do men fall and not get up again? Does one turn away and not repent? Why then has this people, Jerusalem, turned away in continual apostasy? They hold fast to deceit, they refuse to return. I have listened and heard, they have spoken what is not right; No man repented of his wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to

his course, like a horse charging into battle. People wake up, we all have been deceived! Don’t think that you get to leave this mess in rapture, because you are the mess. And the only ticket out of here will come after three and a half years into the tribulation period. That is after this man of lawlessness is revealed; at the same time that God’s two witnesses ascend up to glory. God did not send these two messengers because a rapture removed His witness, but because there was no one in the world to expose the apostate church. God sent them because His first fruits had been deceived and were not ready to go. Rev 7:3 … “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.” After the first fruits leave the devastation becomes so great that God must intervene. Mark 13:20 Unless the Lord had shorted those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect whom he chose, He shorted the days. The Lord is only going to call up his bride after He first: reveals the standard and second: the time needed to complete repentance, or change into her wedding gown. In the past, the wonderful thing about following God’s directives is that there was no unnatural deadline. But with this boiling pot comes an unnatural deadline which makes it imperative to complete our purification process in the first half. I was well into a love feast with the Lord, when the Holy Spirit, through the word of Ezekiel, revealed to me the day this boiling pot will start to lay siege to Jerusalem. Eze 24:1-14 And the word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, saying: “Son of man, write the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. And speak a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “ ‘Put on the pot, put it on, and also pour water in it; Put into it the pieces, Every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; Fill it with choice bones. Take the choicest of the flock, And also pile wood under the pot. Make it boil vigorously. Also seeth its bones in it.’ ” “ ‘Therefore, thus says the Lord God, “ ‘Woe to the bloody city, To the pot in which there is rust And whose rust has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece,

Without making a choice. “ ‘For her blood is in her midst; She placed it on the bare rock; She did not pour it on the ground To cover it with dust. That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have put her blood on the bare rock, That it may not be covered. “ ‘Therefore, thus says the Lord God, “ ‘Woe to the bloody city! I also shall make the pile great. Heap on the wood, kindle the fire, (Lam 4:11 He has kindled a fire in Zion.) Boil the flesh well, (Isaiah 10:16 and Psalms 78:19-22) And mix in the spices, And let the bones be burned. Then set it empty on its coals, So that it may be hot, And its bronze may glow, And its filthiness may be melted in it, Its rust consumed. “She has wearied Me with toil, Yet her great rust has not gone from her; Let her rust be in the fire! “In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I would have cleansed you, Yet you are not clean, You will not be cleansed from your filthiness again, Until I have spent My wrath on you. “ ‘I, the Lord, have spoken; it is coming and I shall act. I shall not relent, and I shall not pity, and I shall not be sorry; according to your ways and according to your deeds I shall judge you,’ declares the Lord God.’ ” We should consider that the fire has started to be kindled, and it will be only a relatively short time before all flesh, that is present, will be placed in the boiling pot. Habakkuk 3:16 I heard and my inward parts trembled, at the sound my lips quivered, decay enters my bones, and in my place I tremble. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, for the people to arive who will invade us. We now know the time is close in which we must be ready, but how long will it take me to go from where I am now to where I must be? There will be no sign given to this wicked generation except for the sign of Jonah. Jonah 3:4 Then Jonah began to walk; and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown. Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.

When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ashes. And he issued a proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles; Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. “But both man and breast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands. Rev 3:18-21 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed, and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him, and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Mark 13:13 “And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved. Psalms 23 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quite waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou hast anointed my head with oil; Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

The Covenant Which Can Not Be Broken To all humanity with the desire of knowing this “Word of God” and are consumed with knowing the practical and seeing the relevance in every area of life through the matchless grace of God. Take heart all of you who think there is no hope, for God has made a covenant with himself regarding you and all of humanity, which can not be broken. Praise God! Eze 16:47-49 “Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or done according to their abominations; but, if that were too little, you acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they. As I live, declares the Lord God, Sodom, your sister, and her daughters, have not done as you and your daughters have done. “ ‘Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.’ ” Eze 16:53-55 “ ‘Nevertheless, I will restore their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and alone with

them your own captivity, in order that you may bear your humiliation, and feel ashamed for all that you have done when you become a consolation to them. Consolation 5162; a primary root; probable to sigh, ie: breathe strongly; by implication to be sorry, ie: (in the favorable sense) to pity, console or reflex; or unfavorable to avenge oneself: comfort self, ease (one self), repent (er, -ing, self). This is plan “B” and after you complete repentance in captivity, God restores you to them and them to you, and in this way you become a consolation to each other. Then, His love transports you to heaven where you bear your humiliation and feel ashamed for all that you have done. This act of reunion with the elect (plan “A”) wipes away all their tears and further reveals the glory of the love of God. Eze 16:55 “And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to their former state, and you with your daughters will also return to your former state. Eze 16:58 You have borne the penalty of your lewdness and abominations, the Lord declares. Luke 12:58-59 “For while you are going with your opponent to appear before the magistrate, on your way there make an effort to settle with him, in order that he may not drag you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. “I say to you, you shall not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent.” Eze 16:59-63 “ ‘For thus says the Lord God, I will also do with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Nevertheless, I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and younger; and I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant. Thus I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, in order that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your humiliation, when I have forgiven you for all that you have done, the Lord God declares.’ ” Eze 24:13 “ ‘In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I would have cleaned you, yet you are not clean, you will not be cleansed from your filthiness again, Until I have spent My wrath on you. “ ‘I, the Lord, have spoken; it is coming and I shall act. I shall not relent, and I shall not pity, and I shall not be sorry; according to your ways and according to your deeds I shall judge you, declares the Lord.’ ” Isaiah 26:19-21 Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy. For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits. Come, my people, enter into your rooms,

And close your doors behind you; Hide for a little while, Until indignation runs its course. For behold, the Lord is about to come out from His place To punish the inhabitants of earth for their iniquity. 2 Tim 2:13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself. Romans 3:3 What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? Praise God for He is faithful to His covenant, Despite our faithlessness to Christ’s covenant! This book is “The Lamb’s Book of Life” and just like all the other books in the Bible it was directed by the Holy Spirit through a human being. It will be opened together with all the other sixty-six books of the Bible at the great white throne of God. Their purpose is to judge people from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. That is, to have your name written in The Lamb’s Book of Life, your choices in life must harmonize and run parallel to this book; replicating in you the integrity of Christ’s blood and body. Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and the book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. I, Robert Victor Sinnamon, can think of no great honor than to serve my Lord and Savior by recording His revealing to me; who by His grace and Spirit has led me to an understanding and given me the practical knowledge to receive His best. This undertaking was done in conjunction with my brother, Glen Allan Sinnamon. My brother and I are two witnesses for Christ. Rev 10:7-9 … that there shall be delay no longer, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angle, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets. And the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.” And I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he said to me, “Take it and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.”

Amen