Now Hebrews 1:1
Hebrews 1:1a
"God,…" G-O-D, just exactly like the way Genesis begins. Well let’s go back to Genesis and compare Scripture with Scripture.
Genesis 1:1a
"In the beginning God…"
Do we see that? Now back in Hebrews. The word God written in Hebrew, this term God is Elohim, and Elohim in the Hebrew is a plural word. Elohim when used with a small "e" is translated gods, with a reference to the pagan gods, and it was a plural term. So Elohim is not singular, but rather plural. So it gives rise of course to what we call a Triune God. "Well the word Trinity isn’t in the Bible." So we say, we know that, because it’s a coined term, and one that everyone understands, so we won’t use it to satisfy those folks. But Elohim is a plural term for the Triune Godhead. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. All three are co-equal, in that term Elohim, that Triune Godhead! Now jump up to John’s gospel chapter 1, to see that God the Son was the One Who did the creating. So this Triune God designated the work of creation to the Communicator (known by the Hebrews as Yehoveh (O.T.) and Yeshua-Messieh (N.T.)), and we see that here in John chapter 1. Here's a tip Yehoveh means the ever revealing one or EHYEH-asher-EHYEH, “I am” to be more and more revealed as the communicator.(Exodus 3:14)
John 1:1
"In the beginning was the Word,(and what do you do with words? You communicate! That’s the whole idea, that in the beginning there was a Person in the Godhead that would communicate. He would express thought, and things that happen) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." So the Communicator, the Son, was no less than the Father, no more than the Spirit, because the Three were co-equal in the Godhead. So the Word was God! Now verse 3.
3 "All things were made by Him; (now we're a stickler for grammar, and we always show what modifies what? Well it says all things were made by Him is referring to the Word up in verse 1) and without Him was not any thing made that was made." Now to confirm that this is speaking of the Word, or Christ, or Jesus the Son, as we knew Him in the four gospel accounts, just drop down to verse 14.
John 1:14a "And the Word (this Communicator) was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)…" Now later on we’re going to look at this phrase "the only begotten." But for now let’s just let it sit for the time being.
14b "…full of grace and truth." Now that’s the Word! Remember, that Grace and Truth is what Jesus is full of, or introduces to humanity. If we’ll come on over into Paul’s writings over in Ephesians chapter 3, and we can drop right down to verse 9, and we’ll see Paul also tells us the Son was the Creator. Remember the Scriptures all fit.
Ephesians 3:9 "And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world had been hid in God, (the Triune God, but the same God, what was hidden in Jesus Christ? Grace and Truth! And more) who created all things by Jesus Christ:" So its through knowing Christ that we receive Grace and Truth.
Do you see how plain that is? Sure the Godhead was involved, all Three of them. The Elohim of Genesis 1:1. But the Son steps out and speaks the Word and communicates to the nothing that was there, and out came creation of the universe. Now let’s come over to Colossians chapter 1, where Paul makes it even so much plainer. And let’s just drop in at verse 12, so we’re sure who we’re talking about, as some questioned our use of terms in a recent discussion. And Paul writes:
Colossians 1:12-15a "Giving thanks to the Father, which has made us meet (or prepared us made us fit) to be partakers of the inheritance (we’ll be looking at that word also in Hebrews) of the saints in light: 13. Who (speaking of God the Father) has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has (already) translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: (we’ll also chase that word down from Genesis through Scripture, the word Son after a while) 14. In whom (that is in the Son) we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (now here comes the part about creation) 15. Who (speaking of the Son) is the image of the invisible God," Now what does that mean? This Triune Godhead of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit was never visible. The Godhead was an invisible Spirit, and He operates in the invisible. But when the time came it was God the Son Who stepped out and became then the visible manifestation of all three. That’s why in John 14, when Philip said, "Show us the Father and it suffice us." What did Jesus say to Philip? "If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father!" Why? Because Jesus was the manifestation of the invisible Godhead. In verse 12 we has the word "light" in this context what does it mean? Thayer's Word Dictionary says this: "of truth and its knowledge, together with the spiritual purity associated with it" Now read on in verse 15.
Colossians 1:15-16 "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: (He was before anything was ever created. He comes from eternity past) 16. For by Him (God the Son) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him:" So everything was created by and for Him. Now verse 17. He is still the controlling power, even after His work of the cross, and having been risen from the dead in the power of an Endless Life through His blood. He is the all powerful God.
Colossians 1:17 "And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist." Consist means, "held together." The world today knows nothing of this. For the average citizen of this world, Jesus Christ is just a cuss word. He’s just somebody to blaspheme, He’s someone to ridicule, but oh, one day, the world is going to stand before Him and they’re going drop to their immortal knees, and they’re going to recognize that He was indeed the Creator of everything - never lose sight of that!
We’re not putting our trust in some far flung philosophy, but rather we’re putting our trust in the visible manifestation of the invisible God. One day we’re going to see Him face to face, and we’re going to be with Him the Scriptures say, for all eternity. Now back to Hebrews 1:1
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
The Epistle to the Hebrews part I
Hebrews has all the trappings of an epistle of Paul, although it is not directed to the Gentiles or the Church, but rather it’s directed to the Hebrew believers "Christians". There has always been a lot of controversy over this epistle as to its authorship, and as to its time of writing and so forth. We're not a theologian, so we don’t have to get hung up on any of these big heavyweight arguments. We just tell what we think it is, and we believe the Apostle Paul is definitely the author of the Epistle of Hebrews though at times Clements or Luke's hand can be found in it's language or one of them may have wrote it for Paul.
Secondly, we feel that it was one of his earlier letters, if not the earliest. We read something in the past confirming that, and that is in some of the earliest or ancient manuscripts of our New Testament, the Epistle of Hebrews followed I and II Thessalonians. Now everyone is pretty much agreed that the Thessalonian letters were the first of Paul’s writings, and so if Hebrews in the ancient manuscripts followed Thessalonians, then that falls right in line.
Another thing we think we have to realize of Hebrews, is that there is absolutely nothing of Church language. In other words, we won’t find a Roman road to Salvation in Hebrews. There is not a Hebrews road to Salvation, so, "What’s the theme of the Epistle?" The theme of this Epistle of Hebrews is two fold.
1. We’re being shown a constant comparison of how this economy or dispensation or Age now under Grace is so much Better than anything that went before. And we’ll be looking at this over and over throughout this Epistle. We’ll see this is better! Yes, the Law was good, but this is so much Better.
2.More preeminent in importance is that Hebrews is going to point out Who Jesus Christ really is and that after His ascension we change the arrangement of His name to honor Him and His finished work, to Christ Jesus. Because He is declared by God to be the Son of God and is now our High Priest-King in the order of Melchizedek. It uncovers the veiled secret that God had hidden within His heart and which He called a mystery, as He revealed them to Paul and Paul alone.
This tremendous Epistle to the Hebrews, that it is not a book of Church doctrine, as we won’t find a single word in here about redemption or Salvation based on Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, or any reference to the Body of Christ, the Church nor any reference to faith + nothing as we see so often in Romans through Philemon. Nor is it a Book of corrections and admonitions like the Book of Galatians is. The Epistle of Hebrews is going to just show us what a tremendous important the personage Christ Jesus really is and His Ministry to us, in us. We have to remember, the Bible doesn’t tell us everything we’d like to know. "But the Bible does tell us everything that we need to know." The whole Epistle of Hebrews is written primarily to the Hebrew people who had turned to belief, trusting faith in Christ, and to prove to them that this Jesus of Nazareth, whom most of them now were in the throws of rejection in unbelief saying, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" And yet this Epistle of Hebrews is proving that Christ, the Son of God, is better than anything that had gone before. We hear of people that have been in a cult or even the main line churches, for maybe 40, 50, 60, or even 70 years, and then the Lord begins to show them the Truth of this beautiful Gospel of Grace, and they begin to grasp it, but yet there is that constant nagging, that pulls, with the thought, "What if I was right and this is wrong?" So most have that constant pull to go back into that which they had drummed into them for a lifetime.
We'll see these people to whom Paul was writing were in that same set of circumstances. They’ve been steeped in Judaism since way back in the days of Moses. They’ve been in Judaism and the Levitical Law-keeping as a nation of people throughout their whole lifetime, and now, to suddenly have this brought before them; that they were to turn their back on all that, because they’re no longer under the bondage to that Law, that God the Son has now finished the work of redemption, and faith alone is all that’s needed. Their no longer under the works as a belief system, of their forefathers, but rather a trusting in the Word which brings obedience or a doing of it. So we can see where a change to that would be tough. Just watch for that flavor throughout the Epistle of Hebrews. These Hebrews are trying to be pulled back into that, which up front, they can see is now behind them.
As a means of introduction to Hebrews let's take a look at another letter, this one will be Peter's letter: II Peter 3:15
"And account (or understand) that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation, even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom (divine illumination) given to him has written to you;" Let’s qualify who are the "you" that Peter is addressing. Well come back to I Peter chapter 1, and there we see very plainly that Peter is writing to the Hebrews, not Gentiles, not even a mixture of each. He is writing to Hebrews of the dispersion, the ones known as “Christians”.
I Peter 1:1
"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia."
So who is he addressing? Hebrews of the dispersion who had already been scattered away from their home area of Jerusalem and Judea, some of them from the Babylonian time. So now coming back to II Peter chapter 3, let’s finish our thought. Peter is letting them know that these people to whom he is writing have received letters from the Apostle Paul.
II Peter 3:15-16
"And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given to him has written to you;" (Hebrews) Then we go into the next verse, and if anyone is tempted to feel that Paul’s writings do not belong in our Bible, then here is proof by the writing of the Apostle Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, like any other writer of Scripture, that Paul’s letters are all Scripture. They carry a heavier glory than did Moses.
II Peter 3:16
"As also in all his epistles (Paul's), speaking in them of these things; (these things which pertain to Redemption leading through our Salvation up there in verse 15) in which are some things hard to be understood, (even Peter at his late date had a very hard time comprehending these doctrines of Grace that had come from the Apostle Paul’s pen, but nevertheless, he is still agreeing, that) which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction."
Now when we say the other Scriptures, after talking about Paul, what does it make them all? Scripture! So Paul’s letters, even by the inspiration of Peter’s pen, are still all Scripture. So if anyone ever tells you, "Well I don’t think much of Paul’s writing," then we just take them right to these verses. This is as plain as it can get that Paul was just as much a writer of the Word of God as Moses, Isaiah, or John, Peter or anyone else.
On our way to Hebrews lets look at one of Paul's statements found in Romans:
Romans 1:16
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it (the Gospel of God's Grace) is the power (remember this word power) of God to salvation to every one that believes; (now what is the process?) to the Jew (Hebrew) first, and also to the Greek."(or Gentiles)
Secondly, we feel that it was one of his earlier letters, if not the earliest. We read something in the past confirming that, and that is in some of the earliest or ancient manuscripts of our New Testament, the Epistle of Hebrews followed I and II Thessalonians. Now everyone is pretty much agreed that the Thessalonian letters were the first of Paul’s writings, and so if Hebrews in the ancient manuscripts followed Thessalonians, then that falls right in line.
Another thing we think we have to realize of Hebrews, is that there is absolutely nothing of Church language. In other words, we won’t find a Roman road to Salvation in Hebrews. There is not a Hebrews road to Salvation, so, "What’s the theme of the Epistle?" The theme of this Epistle of Hebrews is two fold.
1. We’re being shown a constant comparison of how this economy or dispensation or Age now under Grace is so much Better than anything that went before. And we’ll be looking at this over and over throughout this Epistle. We’ll see this is better! Yes, the Law was good, but this is so much Better.
2.More preeminent in importance is that Hebrews is going to point out Who Jesus Christ really is and that after His ascension we change the arrangement of His name to honor Him and His finished work, to Christ Jesus. Because He is declared by God to be the Son of God and is now our High Priest-King in the order of Melchizedek. It uncovers the veiled secret that God had hidden within His heart and which He called a mystery, as He revealed them to Paul and Paul alone.
This tremendous Epistle to the Hebrews, that it is not a book of Church doctrine, as we won’t find a single word in here about redemption or Salvation based on Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, or any reference to the Body of Christ, the Church nor any reference to faith + nothing as we see so often in Romans through Philemon. Nor is it a Book of corrections and admonitions like the Book of Galatians is. The Epistle of Hebrews is going to just show us what a tremendous important the personage Christ Jesus really is and His Ministry to us, in us. We have to remember, the Bible doesn’t tell us everything we’d like to know. "But the Bible does tell us everything that we need to know." The whole Epistle of Hebrews is written primarily to the Hebrew people who had turned to belief, trusting faith in Christ, and to prove to them that this Jesus of Nazareth, whom most of them now were in the throws of rejection in unbelief saying, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" And yet this Epistle of Hebrews is proving that Christ, the Son of God, is better than anything that had gone before. We hear of people that have been in a cult or even the main line churches, for maybe 40, 50, 60, or even 70 years, and then the Lord begins to show them the Truth of this beautiful Gospel of Grace, and they begin to grasp it, but yet there is that constant nagging, that pulls, with the thought, "What if I was right and this is wrong?" So most have that constant pull to go back into that which they had drummed into them for a lifetime.
We'll see these people to whom Paul was writing were in that same set of circumstances. They’ve been steeped in Judaism since way back in the days of Moses. They’ve been in Judaism and the Levitical Law-keeping as a nation of people throughout their whole lifetime, and now, to suddenly have this brought before them; that they were to turn their back on all that, because they’re no longer under the bondage to that Law, that God the Son has now finished the work of redemption, and faith alone is all that’s needed. Their no longer under the works as a belief system, of their forefathers, but rather a trusting in the Word which brings obedience or a doing of it. So we can see where a change to that would be tough. Just watch for that flavor throughout the Epistle of Hebrews. These Hebrews are trying to be pulled back into that, which up front, they can see is now behind them.
As a means of introduction to Hebrews let's take a look at another letter, this one will be Peter's letter: II Peter 3:15
"And account (or understand) that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation, even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom (divine illumination) given to him has written to you;" Let’s qualify who are the "you" that Peter is addressing. Well come back to I Peter chapter 1, and there we see very plainly that Peter is writing to the Hebrews, not Gentiles, not even a mixture of each. He is writing to Hebrews of the dispersion, the ones known as “Christians”.
I Peter 1:1
"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia."
So who is he addressing? Hebrews of the dispersion who had already been scattered away from their home area of Jerusalem and Judea, some of them from the Babylonian time. So now coming back to II Peter chapter 3, let’s finish our thought. Peter is letting them know that these people to whom he is writing have received letters from the Apostle Paul.
II Peter 3:15-16
"And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given to him has written to you;" (Hebrews) Then we go into the next verse, and if anyone is tempted to feel that Paul’s writings do not belong in our Bible, then here is proof by the writing of the Apostle Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, like any other writer of Scripture, that Paul’s letters are all Scripture. They carry a heavier glory than did Moses.
II Peter 3:16
"As also in all his epistles (Paul's), speaking in them of these things; (these things which pertain to Redemption leading through our Salvation up there in verse 15) in which are some things hard to be understood, (even Peter at his late date had a very hard time comprehending these doctrines of Grace that had come from the Apostle Paul’s pen, but nevertheless, he is still agreeing, that) which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction."
Now when we say the other Scriptures, after talking about Paul, what does it make them all? Scripture! So Paul’s letters, even by the inspiration of Peter’s pen, are still all Scripture. So if anyone ever tells you, "Well I don’t think much of Paul’s writing," then we just take them right to these verses. This is as plain as it can get that Paul was just as much a writer of the Word of God as Moses, Isaiah, or John, Peter or anyone else.
On our way to Hebrews lets look at one of Paul's statements found in Romans:
Romans 1:16
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it (the Gospel of God's Grace) is the power (remember this word power) of God to salvation to every one that believes; (now what is the process?) to the Jew (Hebrew) first, and also to the Greek."(or Gentiles)
Monday, February 27, 2012
Uncovering the Epistle to the Hebrews Introduction
For some time now we've been sharing the revelations of the secret things Moses spoke of in Deuteronomy 29:29 where it is recorded:
“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (KJV)
“The secret things belong unto Yehovah our God; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (ASV)
Now in both of these translations the last word is “law” which in the Strong's Dictionary numbering is H3384 which is the root of H8451 and means: to teach, inform, instruct, and show. And law, a precept, a statute.
Now we'll turn the John's gospel chapter 12 and starting with the 33rd verse:
"This He said, signifying what death He should die. The people answered Him, “We have heard out of the law that Christ abides for ever: and how say you, The Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man?” Then Jesus said to them, “Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walks in darkness knows not whither he goes. While you have light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light.” These things spoke Jesus, and departed, and did hide Himself from them."
"But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him: That the saying of Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, “Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, “He has blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.” These things said Esaias, when he saw His glory, and spoke of Him." (Isaiah 53:1, 40:10-11, 51:5, 9; 44:18-20; 6:9-10; 29:10; 42:19-20, 26:11; 53:5, 57:18-19)
"Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Jesus cried and said, He that believes on me, believes not on me, but on Him that sent me. And he that sees me sees Him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believes on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have
not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said to me, so I speak.
Now the words that Jesus had spoken in the hearing of the people were these also from John chapter 12 verses 23-32:
"Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say to you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die, it brings forth much fruit. He that loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Your name. Then came there a voice from heaven, “I have both glorified and will glorify again.” The people therefore, that stood by, and heard, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all to me."
This is taken from verses 33-50, 23-32 of the KJV and is edited for ease of reading only as this does not change the text or word meanings but helps in our understanding. This is in plain language and the meaning seems understandable. Now John also wrote in chapter 1 verse 12, 14 and 17: "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, to them that believe (John3:18, 20:31; Matthew 12:21; 1 John5:12) on His name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth......And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
Now with our sharing under the leading of the Holy Spirit, we've had the assistance of many fine and learned men such as the following: Watchman Nee, Andrew Murray, William Law, Les Feldick, James Fowler, Robert Hoekstra, Major Ian Thomas, F J Huegel and a host of others. We were lead to these writers because they all share a common thread of revelation. That being the purpose and perfect Will of God the Father which Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles had received from the mouth of the risen Lord, the secret that God had hidden within Him from before the foundation of the world. This secret or mystery we have been sharing as it is the foundation or ancient path which Jeremiah the Prophet in chapter 6 verses 16-19 spoke of:
Thus said the LORD, “Stand in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and you shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. Therefore hear, you nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened to my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.”
Now in verse 16 there's hidden “the old paths...the good way” and this relates all the way back to Genesis chapters 1-3 for in them is the path found which led man in bondage to death and sin. The secret is the taking of this path backward if you will or in reverse. Where Adam fell into death (separation from God) and sin (rebellion, lawlessness and the self will of Satan's nature); we through Christ reverse this evil. How Genesis 3:15 tells us, God placed in all of us a seed of His Divine nature (spirit life) or image and likeness of God the Son. The seed that Mary received, the sperm of God spoken, the Word made flesh, when visited by the angel and given the message that she was the chosen vessel as a virgin and of the house of Judah and King David's heir. When she said, “Behold the hand maiden of the Lord, be it to me according to thy Word O Lord” At that moment the Holy Spirit impregnated her with the Living Word. This proved her willingness to do God's Will and it is in like manner that we are to submit also.
Now we'll begin the study of the Epistle to the Hebrews and though it contains no Church language or redemption and salvation plain in it. It does have five warnings which we need to have knowledge of and like the OT scriptures we can gain wisdom and divine illumination from it.
“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (KJV)
“The secret things belong unto Yehovah our God; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (ASV)
Now in both of these translations the last word is “law” which in the Strong's Dictionary numbering is H3384 which is the root of H8451 and means: to teach, inform, instruct, and show. And law, a precept, a statute.
Now we'll turn the John's gospel chapter 12 and starting with the 33rd verse:
"This He said, signifying what death He should die. The people answered Him, “We have heard out of the law that Christ abides for ever: and how say you, The Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man?” Then Jesus said to them, “Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walks in darkness knows not whither he goes. While you have light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light.” These things spoke Jesus, and departed, and did hide Himself from them."
"But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him: That the saying of Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, “Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, “He has blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.” These things said Esaias, when he saw His glory, and spoke of Him." (Isaiah 53:1, 40:10-11, 51:5, 9; 44:18-20; 6:9-10; 29:10; 42:19-20, 26:11; 53:5, 57:18-19)
"Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Jesus cried and said, He that believes on me, believes not on me, but on Him that sent me. And he that sees me sees Him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believes on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have
not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said to me, so I speak.
Now the words that Jesus had spoken in the hearing of the people were these also from John chapter 12 verses 23-32:
"Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say to you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die, it brings forth much fruit. He that loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Your name. Then came there a voice from heaven, “I have both glorified and will glorify again.” The people therefore, that stood by, and heard, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all to me."
This is taken from verses 33-50, 23-32 of the KJV and is edited for ease of reading only as this does not change the text or word meanings but helps in our understanding. This is in plain language and the meaning seems understandable. Now John also wrote in chapter 1 verse 12, 14 and 17: "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, to them that believe (John3:18, 20:31; Matthew 12:21; 1 John5:12) on His name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth......And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
Now with our sharing under the leading of the Holy Spirit, we've had the assistance of many fine and learned men such as the following: Watchman Nee, Andrew Murray, William Law, Les Feldick, James Fowler, Robert Hoekstra, Major Ian Thomas, F J Huegel and a host of others. We were lead to these writers because they all share a common thread of revelation. That being the purpose and perfect Will of God the Father which Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles had received from the mouth of the risen Lord, the secret that God had hidden within Him from before the foundation of the world. This secret or mystery we have been sharing as it is the foundation or ancient path which Jeremiah the Prophet in chapter 6 verses 16-19 spoke of:
Thus said the LORD, “Stand in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and you shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. Therefore hear, you nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened to my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.”
Now in verse 16 there's hidden “the old paths...the good way” and this relates all the way back to Genesis chapters 1-3 for in them is the path found which led man in bondage to death and sin. The secret is the taking of this path backward if you will or in reverse. Where Adam fell into death (separation from God) and sin (rebellion, lawlessness and the self will of Satan's nature); we through Christ reverse this evil. How Genesis 3:15 tells us, God placed in all of us a seed of His Divine nature (spirit life) or image and likeness of God the Son. The seed that Mary received, the sperm of God spoken, the Word made flesh, when visited by the angel and given the message that she was the chosen vessel as a virgin and of the house of Judah and King David's heir. When she said, “Behold the hand maiden of the Lord, be it to me according to thy Word O Lord” At that moment the Holy Spirit impregnated her with the Living Word. This proved her willingness to do God's Will and it is in like manner that we are to submit also.
Now we'll begin the study of the Epistle to the Hebrews and though it contains no Church language or redemption and salvation plain in it. It does have five warnings which we need to have knowledge of and like the OT scriptures we can gain wisdom and divine illumination from it.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Ministration of the Holy Spirit
2Corinthians 3:2-6 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: For as much as you are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also has made us able ministers of the New Covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter kills, but of the Spirit that gives New Life. paraphrased
There is nothing so needed in the Church to-day. All its feebleness and formalities and worldliness, the lack of holiness, of personal devotion to Christ, of enthusiasm for His cause and kingdom, is owing to one thing---the Holy Spirit is not Known and Honored and Yielded to, as the one only, as the one all-sufficient source of a holy life. The New Covenant is not Known as a ministration of the Spirit in the heart of every believer. The one thing needful for the Church is---the Holy Spirit in His power dwelling and ruling in the lives of God's people. And as one of the chief means to this there are needed ministers of the Spirit, themselves living in the enjoyment and power of this great Gift, who persistently labor to bring their brethren into the possession of their birthright: the Holy Spirit in the heart,
maintaining, in Divine power, an unceasing communion with the Son and with the Father. The ministration of the Spirit makes the ministry of the Spirit possible and effectual. And the ministry of the Spirit again makes the ministration of the Spirit an actual experimental reality in the life of the Church.
The church needs conviction of its err and then come to repentance unto separation of the spirit of the world by way of death to its influence and power which now holds it under the penalty of death. The church needs as Lazarus to rip off the grave clothes to free itself from this bondage, then Trust the God who gives Newness of Life even to the dead,Who calls those things that be not as though they were.
We know how dependent the Church is on its ministry. The converse is no less true. The ministers are dependent on the Church. They are its children; they breathe its atmosphere; they share its health or sickliness; they are dependent upon its fellowship and intercession. Let none of us think that all that the New Covenant calls us to is to see that we personally accept and rejoice in its blessings. No, indeed; God wants everyone who enters into it to know that its privileges are for all His children, and to give Himself to make this known. And there is no more effectual way of doing this than taking thought for the ministry of the Church. Compare the ministry around you with its pattern in God's word (see specially 1
Corinthians 2; 2 Corinthians 3). Join with others who Know how the New Covenant is nothing, if it be not a ministration of the Holy Spirit, and cry to God for a spiritual ministry. Ask the leading of God the Holy Ghost to Teach you what can be done, what you can do, to have the ministry of your Church become a truly Spiritual one. Human condemnation will do as little good as human approbation. It is the supreme place of the Holy Spirit, as the representative and revealer of the Father and the Son, is made clear to us, that the one desire of our heart, and our continual prayer, will be, that God would so discover to all the ministers of His word their Heavenly calling, that they may, above everything, seek this one thing, ---to be sufficient ministers of the New Covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit.
God has made us ministers of the Spirit. There is something still, of no less importance. The Minister of the Spirit must especially see to it that he lead men to the Holy Spirit. Many will say, If he be led of the Spirit in teaching men, is not that enough? By no means. Men may become too dependent on himself; men may take his Scripture teaching at second-hand, and, while there is power and blessing in his ministry, have reason to wonder that the results are not more definitely spiritual and permanent. The reason is simple.
The New Covenant is: they shall no longer every man teach his brother, know the Lord, for all shall Know Me, from the least even to the greatest. The Father wants every child, from the least, to live in continual personal intercourse with Himself. This cannot be, except as he is taught and helped to Know and wait on the Holy Spirit. Bible study and prayer, faith and love and obedience, the whole daily walk must be taught as entirely dependent on the Teaching and Working of the indwelling Spirit.
Luke 1:67-75 Paraphrased: Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He has visited and redeemed his people, and has raised up an horn of Salvation for us in the house of His servant David; As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant; The oath which He swore to our father Abraham, that He would grant to us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.
This prayer of Zacharias is so apropos to us to-day as we're now under the Better Covenant than that spoken of here at first but the second portion is spoken by way of revelation of that which was to come. Because it contains Better promises than the old as we're to have received true holiness and righteousness in our hearts by way of the working of the Holy Spirit to serve the Living God and all our fellow man.
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also has made us able ministers of the New Covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter kills, but of the Spirit that gives New Life. paraphrased
There is nothing so needed in the Church to-day. All its feebleness and formalities and worldliness, the lack of holiness, of personal devotion to Christ, of enthusiasm for His cause and kingdom, is owing to one thing---the Holy Spirit is not Known and Honored and Yielded to, as the one only, as the one all-sufficient source of a holy life. The New Covenant is not Known as a ministration of the Spirit in the heart of every believer. The one thing needful for the Church is---the Holy Spirit in His power dwelling and ruling in the lives of God's people. And as one of the chief means to this there are needed ministers of the Spirit, themselves living in the enjoyment and power of this great Gift, who persistently labor to bring their brethren into the possession of their birthright: the Holy Spirit in the heart,
maintaining, in Divine power, an unceasing communion with the Son and with the Father. The ministration of the Spirit makes the ministry of the Spirit possible and effectual. And the ministry of the Spirit again makes the ministration of the Spirit an actual experimental reality in the life of the Church.
The church needs conviction of its err and then come to repentance unto separation of the spirit of the world by way of death to its influence and power which now holds it under the penalty of death. The church needs as Lazarus to rip off the grave clothes to free itself from this bondage, then Trust the God who gives Newness of Life even to the dead,Who calls those things that be not as though they were.
We know how dependent the Church is on its ministry. The converse is no less true. The ministers are dependent on the Church. They are its children; they breathe its atmosphere; they share its health or sickliness; they are dependent upon its fellowship and intercession. Let none of us think that all that the New Covenant calls us to is to see that we personally accept and rejoice in its blessings. No, indeed; God wants everyone who enters into it to know that its privileges are for all His children, and to give Himself to make this known. And there is no more effectual way of doing this than taking thought for the ministry of the Church. Compare the ministry around you with its pattern in God's word (see specially 1
Corinthians 2; 2 Corinthians 3). Join with others who Know how the New Covenant is nothing, if it be not a ministration of the Holy Spirit, and cry to God for a spiritual ministry. Ask the leading of God the Holy Ghost to Teach you what can be done, what you can do, to have the ministry of your Church become a truly Spiritual one. Human condemnation will do as little good as human approbation. It is the supreme place of the Holy Spirit, as the representative and revealer of the Father and the Son, is made clear to us, that the one desire of our heart, and our continual prayer, will be, that God would so discover to all the ministers of His word their Heavenly calling, that they may, above everything, seek this one thing, ---to be sufficient ministers of the New Covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit.
God has made us ministers of the Spirit. There is something still, of no less importance. The Minister of the Spirit must especially see to it that he lead men to the Holy Spirit. Many will say, If he be led of the Spirit in teaching men, is not that enough? By no means. Men may become too dependent on himself; men may take his Scripture teaching at second-hand, and, while there is power and blessing in his ministry, have reason to wonder that the results are not more definitely spiritual and permanent. The reason is simple.
The New Covenant is: they shall no longer every man teach his brother, know the Lord, for all shall Know Me, from the least even to the greatest. The Father wants every child, from the least, to live in continual personal intercourse with Himself. This cannot be, except as he is taught and helped to Know and wait on the Holy Spirit. Bible study and prayer, faith and love and obedience, the whole daily walk must be taught as entirely dependent on the Teaching and Working of the indwelling Spirit.
Luke 1:67-75 Paraphrased: Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He has visited and redeemed his people, and has raised up an horn of Salvation for us in the house of His servant David; As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant; The oath which He swore to our father Abraham, that He would grant to us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.
This prayer of Zacharias is so apropos to us to-day as we're now under the Better Covenant than that spoken of here at first but the second portion is spoken by way of revelation of that which was to come. Because it contains Better promises than the old as we're to have received true holiness and righteousness in our hearts by way of the working of the Holy Spirit to serve the Living God and all our fellow man.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Recognizing God's Voice and Following His Lead
Via my wife Glenda from a writing by Lawrence Sloam.
This came from the posting of a friend this morning. I was so taken by the clarity of it, I had to pass it along. Too much of the time, we just do not take the time to sit and truly listen, with the ears that He has given us. Nor do we take the time to see the vision with the eyes He has given us. Please take time to read this, I believe it will be a great blessing to you all!! As Paul prayed for the Ephesians, I pray for you;
Ephesians 1:17-23 "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the Knowledge of Him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
And what is the exceeding greatness of His power with authority to us-ward who believe (by means of receptivity), according to the working of His mighty power, Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the Heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And has put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the Church, Which is His Body, the fulness of Him that fills all in all."
VIA Lawrence Sloma:
Jesus declared, "This is Eternal Life that they may Know [God]" (John 17:2). Unfortunately, many in the Church miss the great blessing of fellowship or intimacy with our Lord because we have lost the ability to recognize His voice within us. Though we have the promise that "My sheep hear My voice," too many believers are starved for that intimate relationship that alone can satisfy the desire of their hearts.
I was one of those sheep who was deaf to His Shepherd until the Lord revealed four very simple keys (found in Habakkuk 2:1, 2) that unlocked the treasure of His voice....see more
Key #1 God's voice in your heart often sounds like a flow of spontaneous thoughts.
Habakkuk Knew (a word meaning intimacy or intercourse with) the sound of God speaking to him (Hab. 2:2). Elijah described it as a still, small voice (I Kings 19:12). I had always listened for an inner audible voice, and God does speak that way at times. However, I have found that usually, God's voice comes as spontaneous thoughts, visions, feelings, or impressions.
For example, haven't you been driving down the road and had a thought come to you to pray for a certain person? Didn't you believe it was God telling you to pray? What did God's voice sound like? Was it an audible voice, or was it a spontaneous thought that lit upon your mind?
Experience indicates that we perceive spirit-level communication as spontaneous thoughts, impressions and visions, and Scripture confirms this in many ways. For example, one definition of paga, a Hebrew word for intercession, is "a chance encounter or an accidental intersecting." When God lays people on our hearts, He does it through paga, a chance-encounter thought "accidentally" intersecting our minds.
Key #2 Become still so you can sense God's flow of thoughts and emotions within.
Habakkuk said, "I will stand on my guard post..." (Hab. 2:1). Habakkuk knew that to hear God's quiet, inner, spontaneous thoughts, he had to first go to a quiet place and still his own thoughts and emotions. Psalm 46:10 encourages us to be still, and know that He is God. There is a deep inner knowing (spontaneous flow) in our soul/spirits that each of us can experience when we quiet our flesh and our minds. If we are not still, we will sense only our own thoughts.
Loving God through a quiet worship song is one very effective way to become still. (Note II Kings 3:15.) After I worship and become silent within, I open myself for that spontaneous flow. If thoughts come of things I have forgotten to do, I write them down and dismiss them. If thoughts of guilt or unworthiness come, I repent thoroughly, receive the washing of the blood of the Lamb, putting on His robe of righteousness, seeing myself spotless before God (Is. 61:10; Col. 1:22).
To receive the pure Word of God, it is very important that my heart be properly focused as I become still because my focus is the source of the intuitive flow. If I fix my eyes upon Jesus, the intuitive flow comes from Jesus by way of inspiration or revelation of Christ Jesus. But if I fix my gaze upon some desire of my heart, the intuitive flow comes out of that desire. To have a pure flow I must become still and carefully fix my eyes upon Jesus. Again, quietly worshiping the High Priest-King, and receiving out of the stillness that follows quite easily accomplishes this.
Fix your gaze upon Jesus (Heb. 12:2), becoming quiet in His presence and sharing with Him what is on your heart. Spontaneous thoughts will begin to flow from the Throne of God to you through Christ, and you will actually be conversing with God the Father through our Priest-King the Lord Christ Jesus!
Therefore, when you want to hear from God, tune to chance-encounter or spontaneous thoughts.
Key #3 As you pray, fix the eyes of your heart upon Jesus, seeing in the Spirit the dreams and visions of Almighty God.
Habakkuk said, "I will keep watch to see," and God said, "Record the vision" (Hab. 2:1,2). Habakkuk was actually looking for vision as he prayed. He opened the eyes of his heart, and looked into the spirit world to see what God wanted to show him. This is an intriguing idea.(This was the son of mans practice daily as He depended on the Holy Spirit for all He was to say or do.)
God has always spoken through dreams and visions, and He specifically said that they would come to those upon whom the Holy Spirit is given or is received by (Acts 2:1-4, 17).
I had never thought of opening the eyes of my heart and looking for vision. However, I have come to believe that this is exactly what God wants me to do. He gave me eyes in my heart to see in the spirit the vision and movement of Almighty God. There is an active spirit world all around us, full of angels, demons, the Holy Spirit, the omnipresent Father, and His omnipresent Son, Christ Jesus. The only reasons for me not to see this reality are unbelief or lack of knowledge.
In order to see, we must look. Daniel saw a vision in his mind and said, "I was looking...I kept looking...I kept looking" (Dan. 7:2,9,13). As I pray, I look for Jesus, and I watch as He speaks to me, doing and saying the things that are on the Fathers and His heart. Many Christians will find that if they will only look, they will see, in the same way they receive spontaneous thoughts or inspirations of revelation. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us (Matt. 1:23). It is as simple as that. You can see Christ present with you because Christ is present within you. In fact, the vision may come so easily that you will be tempted to reject it, thinking that it is just you. But if you persist in recording these visions, your doubt will soon be overcome by faith as you recognize that the content of them could only be birthed in Almighty God.
Jesus demonstrated the ability of living out of constant contact with God, declaring that He did nothing on His own initiative, but only what He saw the Father doing, and heard the Father saying (John 5:19,20,30). What an incredible way to live!
Key #4 Journaling, the writing out of your prayers and God's answers, brings great freedom in hearing God's voice.
God told Habakkuk to record the vision (Hab. 2:2). This was not an isolated command. The Scriptures record many examples of individuals' prayers and God's replies (e.g. the Psalms, many of the prophecies, Revelation).
I call the process "two-way journaling," and I have found it to be a fabulous catalyst for clearly discerning God's inner, spontaneous flow, because as I journal I am able to write in faith for long periods of time, simply believing and being in a state of receptivity of God. I know that what I believe I have received from God must be tested. However, testing involves doubt and doubt blocks divine communication, so I do not want to test while I am trying to receive. With journaling, I can receive in faith, knowing that when the flow has ended I can test and examine it carefully, making sure that it lines up with Scripture.
You will be amazed when you journal. Doubt may hinder you at first, but throw it off, reminding yourself that it is a biblical concept, and that God is present, speaking to His children. Relax. When we cease our labors and enter His rest, God is free to flow (Heb. 4:10). Sit back comfortably, take out your pen and paper, smile, and turn your attention toward the Lord in praise and worship, seeking His face. After you write your question to Him, become still, fixing your gaze on Jesus you will suddenly have a very good thought. Don't doubt it; simply write it down. Later, as you read your journaling, you, too, will be blessed to discover that you are indeed dialoguing with God.
Some final notes: Knowing God through the Bible is a vital foundation to hearing His voice in your heart, so you must have a solid commitment to Knowing and Obeying the Scriptures. It is also very important for your growth and safety that you be related to solid, spiritual counselors. All major directional moves that come through journaling should be confirmed by your counselors before you act upon them.
Thanks Lawrence.....
During our sharing of various writers books, papers or articles we do so in an attitude of prayer and worship and the Lord directs us to add to or change some words or even add phrases for emphasis. As we have done in the above article. All in order and to the praise and the Glory of God through the Lord Jesus Christ our High Priest and LORD.
This came from the posting of a friend this morning. I was so taken by the clarity of it, I had to pass it along. Too much of the time, we just do not take the time to sit and truly listen, with the ears that He has given us. Nor do we take the time to see the vision with the eyes He has given us. Please take time to read this, I believe it will be a great blessing to you all!! As Paul prayed for the Ephesians, I pray for you;
Ephesians 1:17-23 "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the Knowledge of Him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
And what is the exceeding greatness of His power with authority to us-ward who believe (by means of receptivity), according to the working of His mighty power, Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the Heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And has put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the Church, Which is His Body, the fulness of Him that fills all in all."
VIA Lawrence Sloma:
Jesus declared, "This is Eternal Life that they may Know [God]" (John 17:2). Unfortunately, many in the Church miss the great blessing of fellowship or intimacy with our Lord because we have lost the ability to recognize His voice within us. Though we have the promise that "My sheep hear My voice," too many believers are starved for that intimate relationship that alone can satisfy the desire of their hearts.
I was one of those sheep who was deaf to His Shepherd until the Lord revealed four very simple keys (found in Habakkuk 2:1, 2) that unlocked the treasure of His voice....see more
Key #1 God's voice in your heart often sounds like a flow of spontaneous thoughts.
Habakkuk Knew (a word meaning intimacy or intercourse with) the sound of God speaking to him (Hab. 2:2). Elijah described it as a still, small voice (I Kings 19:12). I had always listened for an inner audible voice, and God does speak that way at times. However, I have found that usually, God's voice comes as spontaneous thoughts, visions, feelings, or impressions.
For example, haven't you been driving down the road and had a thought come to you to pray for a certain person? Didn't you believe it was God telling you to pray? What did God's voice sound like? Was it an audible voice, or was it a spontaneous thought that lit upon your mind?
Experience indicates that we perceive spirit-level communication as spontaneous thoughts, impressions and visions, and Scripture confirms this in many ways. For example, one definition of paga, a Hebrew word for intercession, is "a chance encounter or an accidental intersecting." When God lays people on our hearts, He does it through paga, a chance-encounter thought "accidentally" intersecting our minds.
Key #2 Become still so you can sense God's flow of thoughts and emotions within.
Habakkuk said, "I will stand on my guard post..." (Hab. 2:1). Habakkuk knew that to hear God's quiet, inner, spontaneous thoughts, he had to first go to a quiet place and still his own thoughts and emotions. Psalm 46:10 encourages us to be still, and know that He is God. There is a deep inner knowing (spontaneous flow) in our soul/spirits that each of us can experience when we quiet our flesh and our minds. If we are not still, we will sense only our own thoughts.
Loving God through a quiet worship song is one very effective way to become still. (Note II Kings 3:15.) After I worship and become silent within, I open myself for that spontaneous flow. If thoughts come of things I have forgotten to do, I write them down and dismiss them. If thoughts of guilt or unworthiness come, I repent thoroughly, receive the washing of the blood of the Lamb, putting on His robe of righteousness, seeing myself spotless before God (Is. 61:10; Col. 1:22).
To receive the pure Word of God, it is very important that my heart be properly focused as I become still because my focus is the source of the intuitive flow. If I fix my eyes upon Jesus, the intuitive flow comes from Jesus by way of inspiration or revelation of Christ Jesus. But if I fix my gaze upon some desire of my heart, the intuitive flow comes out of that desire. To have a pure flow I must become still and carefully fix my eyes upon Jesus. Again, quietly worshiping the High Priest-King, and receiving out of the stillness that follows quite easily accomplishes this.
Fix your gaze upon Jesus (Heb. 12:2), becoming quiet in His presence and sharing with Him what is on your heart. Spontaneous thoughts will begin to flow from the Throne of God to you through Christ, and you will actually be conversing with God the Father through our Priest-King the Lord Christ Jesus!
Therefore, when you want to hear from God, tune to chance-encounter or spontaneous thoughts.
Key #3 As you pray, fix the eyes of your heart upon Jesus, seeing in the Spirit the dreams and visions of Almighty God.
Habakkuk said, "I will keep watch to see," and God said, "Record the vision" (Hab. 2:1,2). Habakkuk was actually looking for vision as he prayed. He opened the eyes of his heart, and looked into the spirit world to see what God wanted to show him. This is an intriguing idea.(This was the son of mans practice daily as He depended on the Holy Spirit for all He was to say or do.)
God has always spoken through dreams and visions, and He specifically said that they would come to those upon whom the Holy Spirit is given or is received by (Acts 2:1-4, 17).
I had never thought of opening the eyes of my heart and looking for vision. However, I have come to believe that this is exactly what God wants me to do. He gave me eyes in my heart to see in the spirit the vision and movement of Almighty God. There is an active spirit world all around us, full of angels, demons, the Holy Spirit, the omnipresent Father, and His omnipresent Son, Christ Jesus. The only reasons for me not to see this reality are unbelief or lack of knowledge.
In order to see, we must look. Daniel saw a vision in his mind and said, "I was looking...I kept looking...I kept looking" (Dan. 7:2,9,13). As I pray, I look for Jesus, and I watch as He speaks to me, doing and saying the things that are on the Fathers and His heart. Many Christians will find that if they will only look, they will see, in the same way they receive spontaneous thoughts or inspirations of revelation. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us (Matt. 1:23). It is as simple as that. You can see Christ present with you because Christ is present within you. In fact, the vision may come so easily that you will be tempted to reject it, thinking that it is just you. But if you persist in recording these visions, your doubt will soon be overcome by faith as you recognize that the content of them could only be birthed in Almighty God.
Jesus demonstrated the ability of living out of constant contact with God, declaring that He did nothing on His own initiative, but only what He saw the Father doing, and heard the Father saying (John 5:19,20,30). What an incredible way to live!
Key #4 Journaling, the writing out of your prayers and God's answers, brings great freedom in hearing God's voice.
God told Habakkuk to record the vision (Hab. 2:2). This was not an isolated command. The Scriptures record many examples of individuals' prayers and God's replies (e.g. the Psalms, many of the prophecies, Revelation).
I call the process "two-way journaling," and I have found it to be a fabulous catalyst for clearly discerning God's inner, spontaneous flow, because as I journal I am able to write in faith for long periods of time, simply believing and being in a state of receptivity of God. I know that what I believe I have received from God must be tested. However, testing involves doubt and doubt blocks divine communication, so I do not want to test while I am trying to receive. With journaling, I can receive in faith, knowing that when the flow has ended I can test and examine it carefully, making sure that it lines up with Scripture.
You will be amazed when you journal. Doubt may hinder you at first, but throw it off, reminding yourself that it is a biblical concept, and that God is present, speaking to His children. Relax. When we cease our labors and enter His rest, God is free to flow (Heb. 4:10). Sit back comfortably, take out your pen and paper, smile, and turn your attention toward the Lord in praise and worship, seeking His face. After you write your question to Him, become still, fixing your gaze on Jesus you will suddenly have a very good thought. Don't doubt it; simply write it down. Later, as you read your journaling, you, too, will be blessed to discover that you are indeed dialoguing with God.
Some final notes: Knowing God through the Bible is a vital foundation to hearing His voice in your heart, so you must have a solid commitment to Knowing and Obeying the Scriptures. It is also very important for your growth and safety that you be related to solid, spiritual counselors. All major directional moves that come through journaling should be confirmed by your counselors before you act upon them.
Thanks Lawrence.....
During our sharing of various writers books, papers or articles we do so in an attitude of prayer and worship and the Lord directs us to add to or change some words or even add phrases for emphasis. As we have done in the above article. All in order and to the praise and the Glory of God through the Lord Jesus Christ our High Priest and LORD.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
The Mystery of Godliness apart XXII
By Major W. Ian Thomas
This will close the book. Hope that it has been a blessing to all and maybe help clear up any misgivings or lack of understanding.
Perhaps you are a businessman and you imagine that once you have entered your office you have become the boss. Everything you say now becomes law! You had better repent by giving this business over to God. The resources are not yours anyway. Everything belongs to Him. And, if you are someone who works in an environment where the Spirit cannot remain in control of your life, then you need to get out of that business before it becomes too late to enter into the Kingdom-Life of God. (Matt. 22:1-14)
In what part of your life do you seem to get by without depending on God {not God as a “come along helper” to your plans and desires, as so many ask Him to do, but God as the “originator” and “source” of your plans, activities and desires}? That is the place that needs to change! Right there! You had better repent. You cannot find the Kingdom-Life until you have stopped walking in the strength of the flesh.
Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His Rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it… For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works… Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest… (Heb. 4:1, 10-11 Emphasis added, for further enlightenment look at our other blog link in the left hand top side of this page)
You have been “made alive” in Christ to be exclusively at His disposal. You now need to fully present yourself to Him to be an instrument of His Righteousness, so He may control your activities and display the Light of His Life through your character. Can you honestly say in your own experience, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ Lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh {in a mortal body} I live by faith in the Son of God”? (Gal. 2:20 Emphasis added)
The Capital “I” needs to be crucified with Christ so that God may have complete possession of your body. The degree to which a deliberate, voluntary attitude of faith has permitted you to reckon yourself to be dead “with Christ,” and the degree to which you have stopped living by “the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (Eph. 2:3), will be the degree to which the redemptive plan of God has taken place within your life.
Your worth is directly related to how much you have permitted the Spirit of God to reveal the Son’s Life through you. Everything else is a dead loss and comes in last place or quits or falls out of the race set before us. In the end, everything of the flesh must be burned in the testing fires on the Day of Judgment.
When you are willing to fully surrender your body to become a vessel of Christ’s Kingdom-Life, then the Son of God will fill what you are – nothing, with what He is – everything. Only then will you be something!
With the old flesh-life out, and the Kingdom-Life of Christ in, how wealthy God will have made you! This is the Pearl of Great Price! Good friend, before you lay this book aside, embrace this life of faith. Great and precious are the promises to those who live by childlike dependence on God for everything. (2 Pet. 1:3-4) Submit yourself to Christ so that He may give you all that He has prepared for you in the Heavenly realms. (Eph. 1:3) He waits to share this wonderful Mystery of Godliness with you!
{We therefore} present to you the word of God in its fullness – the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. (Col. 1:25-28)
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing… Blessed is the man who endures temptation {in the time of testing}; for when he has been approved {to come out of the wilderness of human sufficiency}, he will receive the crown of Life {the Kingdom-Life} which the Lord has promised
to those who love Him. (Jam. 1:4, 12 Emphasis added)
We have come through this by personal experience and have stood the testings, trials and tribulations and still they come as the LORD perfects us with His teaching and revealing of our Salvation within. All to the Glory and Praise of an Endless Life in the presence of God. Even while here on earth in our present state as a receptive creature of God's making.
This will close the book. Hope that it has been a blessing to all and maybe help clear up any misgivings or lack of understanding.
Perhaps you are a businessman and you imagine that once you have entered your office you have become the boss. Everything you say now becomes law! You had better repent by giving this business over to God. The resources are not yours anyway. Everything belongs to Him. And, if you are someone who works in an environment where the Spirit cannot remain in control of your life, then you need to get out of that business before it becomes too late to enter into the Kingdom-Life of God. (Matt. 22:1-14)
In what part of your life do you seem to get by without depending on God {not God as a “come along helper” to your plans and desires, as so many ask Him to do, but God as the “originator” and “source” of your plans, activities and desires}? That is the place that needs to change! Right there! You had better repent. You cannot find the Kingdom-Life until you have stopped walking in the strength of the flesh.
Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His Rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it… For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works… Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest… (Heb. 4:1, 10-11 Emphasis added, for further enlightenment look at our other blog link in the left hand top side of this page)
You have been “made alive” in Christ to be exclusively at His disposal. You now need to fully present yourself to Him to be an instrument of His Righteousness, so He may control your activities and display the Light of His Life through your character. Can you honestly say in your own experience, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ Lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh {in a mortal body} I live by faith in the Son of God”? (Gal. 2:20 Emphasis added)
The Capital “I” needs to be crucified with Christ so that God may have complete possession of your body. The degree to which a deliberate, voluntary attitude of faith has permitted you to reckon yourself to be dead “with Christ,” and the degree to which you have stopped living by “the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (Eph. 2:3), will be the degree to which the redemptive plan of God has taken place within your life.
Your worth is directly related to how much you have permitted the Spirit of God to reveal the Son’s Life through you. Everything else is a dead loss and comes in last place or quits or falls out of the race set before us. In the end, everything of the flesh must be burned in the testing fires on the Day of Judgment.
When you are willing to fully surrender your body to become a vessel of Christ’s Kingdom-Life, then the Son of God will fill what you are – nothing, with what He is – everything. Only then will you be something!
With the old flesh-life out, and the Kingdom-Life of Christ in, how wealthy God will have made you! This is the Pearl of Great Price! Good friend, before you lay this book aside, embrace this life of faith. Great and precious are the promises to those who live by childlike dependence on God for everything. (2 Pet. 1:3-4) Submit yourself to Christ so that He may give you all that He has prepared for you in the Heavenly realms. (Eph. 1:3) He waits to share this wonderful Mystery of Godliness with you!
{We therefore} present to you the word of God in its fullness – the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. (Col. 1:25-28)
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing… Blessed is the man who endures temptation {in the time of testing}; for when he has been approved {to come out of the wilderness of human sufficiency}, he will receive the crown of Life {the Kingdom-Life} which the Lord has promised
to those who love Him. (Jam. 1:4, 12 Emphasis added)
We have come through this by personal experience and have stood the testings, trials and tribulations and still they come as the LORD perfects us with His teaching and revealing of our Salvation within. All to the Glory and Praise of an Endless Life in the presence of God. Even while here on earth in our present state as a receptive creature of God's making.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
The Mystery of Godliness apart XXI
By Major W. Ian Thomas
…For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8 Emphasis added)
For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man {the flesh-life} was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with {destroyed}, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died {to the flesh-life} has been freed from sin {the old life of self-sufficiency and self-will}. (Rom. 6:5-7)
Once Paul had finally come to the end of himself and had died to the ways of human effort {the old Adam-life, dealing with the external}, the risen Lord was able to manifest Himself through his mortal body. Paul was enabled to experience a complete victory over the old Adam-life by entering into an experiential relationship with Christ in His crucified life. It was by passing through this real death to the old self-life that he was able to begin sharing with Christ in His risen Life. It was then that he could honestly say, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20) And it was then that he could become “more than conquerors through Him who Loves us.” (Rom. 8:37)
Paul received what he referred to as “the abundance of Grace and of the Gift of Righteousness.” This abundant measure of Grace enabled him to “reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” He discovered that Christ’s risen Life was “much more” powerful than the flesh-life he had originally inherited from Adam.
For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one {Adam}, MUCH MORE those who receive abundance of Grace and of the Gift of Righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. (Rom. 5:17 Emphasis added)
How Much Are You Worth
We must never permit anyone to deceive us into believing that God has placed some set limitation on what Jesus Christ can do through us in this world. Through our dependent faith in God, we can put His Divine power and authority to work within our inner being to conquer everything that prevents the Son from displaying His Kingdom-Life of Love through our mortal bodies. He “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power, authority that is at work within us.” (Eph. 3:20 Emphasis added)
Since God can do more than we can imagine, let us not let carnal minds – minds that are still under the sway of the devil’s lies – limit our understanding of what He can do. “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27)
Yes, there will be a physical resurrection of the body “when the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” (1 Cor. 15:53) And this resurrected body will completely free us from the sufferings we have experienced in this cursed world. But we can still enter into a real participation with Christ in His Divine nature while we remain in this world. And even if it is only a dim likeness when contrasted to His Glorified Life, God does have the power to manifest the same victorious life, through us, that Jesus displayed by the power of the Holy Spirit through His mortal body. We are therefore expected to buy the heavenly Pearl – His Kingdom-Life – by following Him through the cross. (Matt. 16:24-25)
There are two ways for someone to live. The first is to live “to and for self,” and thereby “walk after the flesh.” The second is to live “to and for Christ,” and thereby “walk after the Spirit.” It is not just a matter of degree, it is a matter of kind. Your life will either have self at the center {even when serving Christ} or God at the center.
There are some who think they can serve both self and God. But Jesus Himself said, “No one can serve two masters.” (Matt. 6:24) You will either live by human effort according to “the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (Eph. 2:2-3), or you will live by faith under the control and power of the Holy Spirit. The choice, according to the Scriptures, is yours! And you will need to be very careful about your decision "if" you are to avoid being deceived like Adam and Eve.
If you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live {in the Kingdom-Life}. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Rom. 8:13-14 Emphasis added)
Which of these principles governs your behavior? Remember, there is a “form of godliness” that does not come from the “power” or authority of God. (2 Tim. 3:5) Therefore, we are not asking you about the degree of righteousness you have developed. The principle from which your behavior springs is what matters. Are you living by human effort, or are you living by the Spirit?
To help you answer this question, you should remember that the essence of sin is independence and self-sufficiency: “Everything that does not come from faith is sin.”
(Rom. 14:23) Are you totally surrendered to the Will of God and are you continually depending on Him to manifest His Life and works through you? Or, in your service to God, are you still independently directing your activities and living by your own human wisdom and efforts?
Every area of your life in which you have not learned to be wholly dependent on God is an area that still requires repentance. Are you still trying to become righteous through your own concerted efforts? You need to repent. Are there people you are still trying to change by ruling over them as the Gentiles do? You need to repent? As long as you are depending on human methods, human efforts and human wisdom to correct the world, you are not living by faith in God’s power or authority.
…For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8 Emphasis added)
For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man {the flesh-life} was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with {destroyed}, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died {to the flesh-life} has been freed from sin {the old life of self-sufficiency and self-will}. (Rom. 6:5-7)
Once Paul had finally come to the end of himself and had died to the ways of human effort {the old Adam-life, dealing with the external}, the risen Lord was able to manifest Himself through his mortal body. Paul was enabled to experience a complete victory over the old Adam-life by entering into an experiential relationship with Christ in His crucified life. It was by passing through this real death to the old self-life that he was able to begin sharing with Christ in His risen Life. It was then that he could honestly say, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20) And it was then that he could become “more than conquerors through Him who Loves us.” (Rom. 8:37)
Paul received what he referred to as “the abundance of Grace and of the Gift of Righteousness.” This abundant measure of Grace enabled him to “reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” He discovered that Christ’s risen Life was “much more” powerful than the flesh-life he had originally inherited from Adam.
For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one {Adam}, MUCH MORE those who receive abundance of Grace and of the Gift of Righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. (Rom. 5:17 Emphasis added)
How Much Are You Worth
We must never permit anyone to deceive us into believing that God has placed some set limitation on what Jesus Christ can do through us in this world. Through our dependent faith in God, we can put His Divine power and authority to work within our inner being to conquer everything that prevents the Son from displaying His Kingdom-Life of Love through our mortal bodies. He “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power, authority that is at work within us.” (Eph. 3:20 Emphasis added)
Since God can do more than we can imagine, let us not let carnal minds – minds that are still under the sway of the devil’s lies – limit our understanding of what He can do. “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27)
Yes, there will be a physical resurrection of the body “when the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” (1 Cor. 15:53) And this resurrected body will completely free us from the sufferings we have experienced in this cursed world. But we can still enter into a real participation with Christ in His Divine nature while we remain in this world. And even if it is only a dim likeness when contrasted to His Glorified Life, God does have the power to manifest the same victorious life, through us, that Jesus displayed by the power of the Holy Spirit through His mortal body. We are therefore expected to buy the heavenly Pearl – His Kingdom-Life – by following Him through the cross. (Matt. 16:24-25)
There are two ways for someone to live. The first is to live “to and for self,” and thereby “walk after the flesh.” The second is to live “to and for Christ,” and thereby “walk after the Spirit.” It is not just a matter of degree, it is a matter of kind. Your life will either have self at the center {even when serving Christ} or God at the center.
There are some who think they can serve both self and God. But Jesus Himself said, “No one can serve two masters.” (Matt. 6:24) You will either live by human effort according to “the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (Eph. 2:2-3), or you will live by faith under the control and power of the Holy Spirit. The choice, according to the Scriptures, is yours! And you will need to be very careful about your decision "if" you are to avoid being deceived like Adam and Eve.
If you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live {in the Kingdom-Life}. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Rom. 8:13-14 Emphasis added)
Which of these principles governs your behavior? Remember, there is a “form of godliness” that does not come from the “power” or authority of God. (2 Tim. 3:5) Therefore, we are not asking you about the degree of righteousness you have developed. The principle from which your behavior springs is what matters. Are you living by human effort, or are you living by the Spirit?
To help you answer this question, you should remember that the essence of sin is independence and self-sufficiency: “Everything that does not come from faith is sin.”
(Rom. 14:23) Are you totally surrendered to the Will of God and are you continually depending on Him to manifest His Life and works through you? Or, in your service to God, are you still independently directing your activities and living by your own human wisdom and efforts?
Every area of your life in which you have not learned to be wholly dependent on God is an area that still requires repentance. Are you still trying to become righteous through your own concerted efforts? You need to repent. Are there people you are still trying to change by ruling over them as the Gentiles do? You need to repent? As long as you are depending on human methods, human efforts and human wisdom to correct the world, you are not living by faith in God’s power or authority.
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