Endure to Manifest Salvation

This is one of the most important teachings to bearing the fruit of Salvation. Many do not understand the progression of salvation, but we must continue in real faith to bear the fruit of Christ in our soul to manifest salvation. (1Pe.1:9) receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Notice the fullness of salvation is the end of our faith, not the beginning.

A large number of people believe that once we enter the Kingdom by faith, that’s all there is to it, but the Bible says we stand by faith. That means you have to continue to stand in faith. Otherwise, according to what the Scripture says, you will be broken off. (Rom.11:19) Thou wilt say then, Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. (20) Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear: (21) for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee. (22) Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God’s goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

(23) And they also, if they continue not in their unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. You see, it’s enduring in your faith to the end that manifests salvation. (Mat.24:13) But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. In speaking about the time when God broke off the Jews, Paul made the statement, (Rom.11:7) What then? that which Israel seeketh for, that he obtained not; but the election obtained it, and the rest were hardened. God called His children out of Egypt, but we see in (Jud.5) Now I desire to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

They did not endure in their faith. He saved them, but then He broke them off when they did not believe. I’m afraid that there are a lot of Christians today who think they are saved because they stepped over some line back there somewhere and now they call themselves “Christians.” There is no line! When you step into the Kingdom, you stand by faith. You continuously stand by faith and, if you don’t, you can be broken off.

At the time Jesus came, they were coming to the end of the Jewish dispensation, when God was going to open the door to the Gentiles. Do you know what God did to the Jews then? What He did was, “the election obtained it and the rest were hardened.” There are only two kinds of God’s people: the “called” and the “elect.” All of the elect are called, but not all of the called are elect. “Chosen” is the Greek word eklektos, which is the same word as “elect.” (Mat.22:14) For many are called, but few chosen. You see, many receive the invitation to partake of Christ, but only those who bear fruit are going to be chosen. The Bible says the elect of the Jews obtained it and the rest were hardened.

We are now coming to the end of the Gentile dispensation in the Tribulation and God is going to do the same thing He did before, only this time the elect of the Gentiles are going to obtain salvation and the rest are going to be hardened when God turns back to the Jewish remnant. (Rom.11:8) According as it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, unto this very day. (9) And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, And a stumblingblock, and a recompense unto them: (10) Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, And bow thou down their back always. And these same people who were hardened were the people whom God used to persecute His “elect,” His “chosen,” His “called” Gentiles.

There is a great persecution coming upon the people of God and it is going to come from what has loosely been called “the people of God.” It will come from people who have hardened hearts who have been called, but they have refused to “walk in the light” of God’s Word. (1Jn.1:17) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin. They are caught up in religious spirits and in religion. They’re even going to think that they’re doing God a favor when they persecute those who truly follow the Lord. But we have to stand by faith. If we don’t stand by faith, we can be broken off.

Do you know what faith is? (Heb.11:1) Now faith is assurance (i.e., the assurance is that you have received the substance of what you ask) of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen. We say that we are saved and it is true that we are saved by faith. But when the Bible says you are saved by faith, it means you are receiving something that you don’t yet see. You may think, “I’ve received God’s Spirit so obviously, I’m saved!” No! You are not saved because you received God’s Spirit. You are saved because you are believing in what the sacrifice of Jesus accomplished for you and you are following God’s Spirit. That’s why you are saved!

Some people are very deceived thinking because they received God’s Spirit, they are a ‘shoo-in’ for the Kingdom. Well, that’s not what Scripture says. (Rom.8:14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. You see, receiving God’s Spirit does not make you a shoo-in. There are two sides to salvation. We receive it in our spirit instantly by faith, but we receive it in our soul progressively by manifestation. What we receive by faith in the beginning is going to be manifested as we walk in it and as we stand by faith.

What’s the substance that this born-again soul is made of? (Jas.1:21) Wherefore putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with meekness the implanted (meaning “inborn” or “ingrafted”) word, which is able to save your souls. The born-again soul is made from obedience to the Word. That means it’s made from Jesus Christ. He is the Word! Doesn’t this put a lot of importance on the Word? It certainly does! (Heb.11:1 KJV) Faith is the substance (i.e., the assurance that you have what you asked for) of the thing hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith in the Word is important. The Word is the seed of God that brings forth the fruit, which is able to save your souls. If you take that away, where is the ability for your soul to be saved?

People are deceived about what salvation is and they are losing their souls because they are not running the race. This is a race! (1Co.9:24) Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain. (2Ti.4:7) I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. To win this race we must have “kept the faith”. We are not running against one another, but we are running against a clock and we’ve been given a certain amount of time to bear fruit. Father gave the fig tree three years to bear fruit, Jesus asked for one more year in Luk 13:7-9. If we waste that time, we will be what the Bible calls “unprofitable servants.” (Luk.17:7) But who is there of you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say unto him, when he is come in from the field, Come straightway and sit down to meat;

(8) and will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? (9) Doth he thank the servant because he did the things that were commanded? (10) Even so ye also, when ye shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do. There are many who are content to just be running down the clock. They are not running, but the clock is running down and their time is running out.

Jesus taught us, (Mar.11:23) Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it. (24) Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. When you pray, believe you have received. God does everything that way! We pray for salvation and we believe we have received. But, if you don’t endure in that faith until you see it manifest, do you ever receive it? No! Jesus said, (Mat.10:22) ... He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.

We say that we are saved, but too many people don’t understand what the term “saved” really means. “Saved” (Greek: Sozo) is very encompassing. With scriptures it means deliverance from sin and deliverance from the curse of sin and of death. (Rom.8:2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. It’s pretty audacious to say “I am saved” at the very beginning, when you haven’t even started walking in salvation, but that’s what Jesus told us to do. (Mar.11:24) Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye received them, and ye shall have them.

Jesus in us is salvation. So at the very beginning, we claim our salvation. (Gal.2:20) I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. We claim all of that at the very beginning, but we must endure in faith, standing in Christ, to see the manifestation. Many people don’t understand this, so they just sit down and they don’t run the race. (Gal.5:7) Ye were running well; who hindered you that ye should not obey the truth?

There is a race to be run and there is an enemy to be fought, and there is a battle to be won. If a person doesn’t understand that, because of ignorance of the Word, they are not going to get very far. They’re not going to bear fruit. They’re going to end up with a hard heart and they’ll turn away from God, especially in these days, because we are coming to the time of a spewing-out of the Gentiles who have not born fruit. God’s salvation was not given to us. God’s salvation, God’s promise through Abraham, was given to “the seed.” (Gal.3:16) Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. The promise was spoken to Christ.

Well, then how do we manifest God’s salvation? Jesus said in, (Joh.15:1) I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. (2) Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit. (3) Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. (4) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me. (5) I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing. (6) If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

If we abide in Jesus, we bear much fruit, but if we don’t abide in Him, we will wither as a branch! So, if God’s salvation is in Christ, we must abide in Christ to have it. How do we abide in Christ? First of all, you abide in Christ by faith. You accept His deliverance by faith. You accept His salvation by faith and that faith is accounted to you for righteousness because you believed God. Understand, it is not manifest righteousness, but it is accounted to you, it is attributed to you, as righteousness. You are counted as “righteous” and that means “justified.” (Rom.4:5) But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness. You are accounted as righteous because of your faith in the sacrifice of Jesus, but then, as you walk with your faith in the sacrifice of Jesus, your salvation will start being manifested by God.

It will come down into the “seeing realm,” into the “physical realm.” It’s not just in the faith realm anymore. “Faith” is believing for something that you don’t see and “manifestation” is when now you are seeing it and abiding in Christ. You have salvation! (1Jn.5:11) And the witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. See where the life is? (12) He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life. This is why we must abide in Jesus. To abide in Jesus is to abide in salvation. It is to stand by faith and, if you don’t stand by faith, you have no guarantee from the Word of God.

(Php.2:12) So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. We need to be careful to seek out our own salvation with “fear and trembling.” (Mat.22:14) For many are called, but few chosen. Out of all those whom God called out of Egypt, many fell in the wilderness, but Joshua and Caleb are a “type” of all of those who enter into the Promised Land because they endured in their faith. (Num.14:28) Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord, surely as ye have spoken in mine ears (of unbelief), so will I do to you: (29) your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, that have murmured against me,

(30) surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein (some say God can’t break His Word. It is unbelief that breaks the covenant.), save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. (36) And the men, whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up an evil report against the land, (37) even those men that did bring up an evil report of the land, died by the plague before Jehovah. (38) But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, remained alive of those men that went to spy out the land. Today God is bringing many sons into the Kingdom and every single one of them is enduring in their faith and walking by faith. Our faith must grow and we must continually put the Word into our hearts to know what to exercise faith in.

The point is, we have to continue in the faith. (1Co.6:18) ... Every sin that a man doeth is without the body.... When you abide in Christ, you are abiding in righteousness. God’s purpose is to deliver us from walking in sin and to cause us to be “dressed up” of Jesus Christ. (Rom.13:14) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof]. That is salvation! We claim salvation now, but to the extent we don’t see it, to the extent we don’t walk in the faith of Jesus Christ, to that extent it has not yet manifested. We are claiming something that we don’t yet see.

There are many people who are resting in the flesh, but while you rest in the flesh, you don’t bear fruit. And the “unprofitable servant,” the one who doesn’t bear fruit, the one who doesn’t do something with the “talent” that God gave him, is going to be cast forth into outer darkness. (Mat.25:14) For [it is] as [when] a man, going into another country, called his own servants, (The Lord’s servants are not lost people.) and delivered unto them his goods. (15) And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey. The first two servants of the Lord traded with their talents and doubled what their Lord entrusted to them.

(Mat.25:18) But he that received the one went away and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. (19) Now after a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and maketh a reckoning with them. And their Lord was pleased with the first two, but he wasn’t pleased with the last servant. (Mat.25:24) And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter; (25) and I was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, thou hast thine own.

(26) But his lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not scatter ... (30) And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. It’s very important for people to understand that salvation is progressive because it motivates you to go on and not to sit down and rest in the flesh.

So with that in mind, let’s look at what the Bible has to say about our progressive salvation. (Act.15:11) But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in like manner as they. I dare say that there are many churches where, if you stood up and you quoted this verse, they would correct you. They would say, “No, we are saved!” They would rebuke you to your face. Well then, what’s the difference between their “are saved” and Peter’s “shall be saved”? The difference is that now we are talking about the manifestation of salvation in our life, not just receiving it by faith. There are as many verses in the Bible that point this out as there are verses that tell you to claim salvation by faith.

(Act.15:12) And all the multitude kept silence; and they hearkened. If you said this today in church, they wouldn’t keep silent and they wouldn’t listen. They would insist, “We are saved! We don’t have to worry about our salvation!” These people are “resting in the flesh,” but let me tell you, we do have to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling”. And the Bible says God can break you off, if you don’t stand by faith. (Rom.11:20) Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, (How do you get broken off of the Olive Tree if you were never in it?) and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear: (21) for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee. (22) Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God’s goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Well, let’s not get scared out of our faith, but let’s have enough respect for God to do what we were put here for. Paul called it a “race.” We were put here to run a race and we are racing against time! (1Co.15:1) Now I make known unto you brethren, the gospel (the Good News) which I preached unto you, which also ye received, wherein also ye stand, (2) by which also ye are being saved.... That is what it says in the original and in the numeric pattern, you are “being saved.”

Now, notice this next word. You should circle this next word. It says, “If.” (1Co.15:2) By which also ye are being saved, if ye hold fast with what word which I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain. Notice it is the “word I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain.” If we do not hold fast to the original Word, we believed in vain. It can be a waste of time, unless you “hold fast” to the Word that was once preached unto the saints.

(Jud.3) Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. We are to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” Some Bible versions add “once for all,” but “for all” was not in the original and the numeric pattern verifies the correct wording here. The faith that works which we must have, is the faith that is in agreement with this Word, not the modern “faith” that we are hearing so much of. Paul says you are being saved “if" you hold fast to this Word.

Let me show you something else about this reconciliation, which was made at Calvary almost 2000 years ago. (Col.1:21) And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works, (22) yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him: (23) if.... There’s that conditional word “if” again! We’ve been told that we’re the Church, the spotless and blemishless Bride ready to meet the Lord, but does it say that here? No! (Col.1:22) … to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him: (23) if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister.

He was saying, “Now you are reconciled through the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you without blemish and unreproveable, if you continue in the faith of the original Gospel.” The apostle Paul is not telling them that they are spotless and blemishless; he is telling them that this is the process, this is what God is doing. They were spotless and blemishless by faith, but they were not by manifestation. God’s faith is a means to an end. What good is faith, if it doesn’t change people? Faith is a means to bring you to His deliverance, His manifestation, His Christ-likeness. You’ve wasted your time, if you come to the end of this life with what you have called “faith” and there have been no works from it!

(Jas.2:20 KJV) But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? It’s barren, it’s incomplete, as the Bible says. Real faith changes you and it changes things. There is an “if” in this reconciliation and there is an “if” in this salvation. That “if” depends on our continuing in the faith of this Word. We cannot trust in the unbalanced doctrines of men! Some teach salvation by our own works and we are saved by works, but it is the works of God through us because we have faith. Some teach that salvation has all been accomplished by manifestation and that we don’t have to do anything to work it out. Both errors will destroy you!

Our main purpose here, according to the Book of Acts, is to search after God. (Act.17:24) The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; (25) neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; (26) and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined [their] appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; (27) that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us: (28) for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. We are to pursue after God “if perchance we might find him.” He is the Word, not men’s shortcuts, like just accept Jesus, no it’s Repent and Believe the Word.

(Heb.12:14) Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord. “Sanctification” is the separation from worldliness, separation from sin unto God. First, you have to be separated from sin by faith because faith is accounted as righteousness. (Rom.4:5) But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness. We are reckoned righteous by our faith and, second, by manifestation. Being reckoned righteous by faith is the means to the end. God’s purpose is not fulfilled in the reckoning; God’s purpose is fulfilled in the manifestation. (1Th.5:23) And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly (“completely”); and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you think it’s possible for God to do that? Well, it wouldn’t be a very smart prayer for Paul to pray, if it were not possible. There are many people nowadays who turn the grace of God into lasciviousness because they don’t want to believe that sanctification is even possible. They think you only need to be forgiven, but he says, “sanctify you completely” and “may your spirit, soul and body be preserved entire, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” You can see the progression that God wants: first spirit, then soul and then body; this is His plan. God’s plan is that you have to bear fruit in the area of the soul to get the new body.

(1Co.3:16) Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (17) If any man destroyeth the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, and such are ye. We have to take care of this temple and you will not be able to take care of it, except through faith. You can sometimes defile your body in ways that you don’t even know. For example, you can’t find a verse that says, “Thou shalt not smoke,” but the Bible says, if you destroy the body, God will destroy you.

(Heb.2:2) For if the word spoken through angels proved stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; (3) how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? In other words, if you get cancer of the lungs because you smoked, then you destroyed your own body and what does God say He’s going to do about it? Of course we can repent and believe for healing.

By the way, why do we have doctors, at least in the permissive will of God? It’s because people don’t believe and He doesn’t always want them to die until they have every chance to believe. And He permits things in this world to happen on a natural level, in order to bring us to a spiritual understanding. God’s method of salvation and healing is always through faith in what Jesus did. It’s looking back at the cross, it’s always in the past. For example, do you know why we are healthy? We’ve been given a gift of health because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins on the cross. He took the “stripes” so that we could be healthy. Jesus gave you His healthy body and He took your unhealthy body. He made an exchange.

The Greek word katallasso means an “exchange” or “reconciliation,” and it was made at the cross. Jesus gave you His blessing and took your curses. He gave you His sinlessness and took your sins. There was a total exchange made at the cross. So how do we receive His salvation? How do we come to manifest it? Salvation is only through faith in Jesus Christ, not our own works. You’re not going to keep that body healthy by your wisdom about how many chemicals and how many herbs you can put into it. Your body is healthy because Jesus gave you health at the cross. If you think that by your works you can keep that body healthy, you’re in for a rude awakening because it doesn’t matter how many chemicals and herbs you put into it, you will fail in your witchcraft.

That’s what the Bible says medicine and drugs are (Galatians 5:20; Revelation 9:21; Revelation 18:23). The Greek word is pharmakeia and it’s where our word “pharmaceuticals” comes from. No, God’s salvation will not be by works. God’s salvation is free. If it’s not free, it’s not grace! It’s unmerited favor and that means you cannot earn it. But you do have to earn all that money you pay for those supplements. It comes hard by the sweat of the brow, but God’s salvation is all free and that’s why it’s through faith and not through works. Salvation for the body, salvation for the soul and salvation for the spirit comes through your faith; it’s free. If it costs anything, that’s not God’s method.

God’s salvation is also past tense, so it cannot be accomplished through your works. See, you were healed. (1Pe.2:24) Who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed. If you were healed, then you are healed. If you are healed, then you cannot be looking for healing through any works of man. If you are looking for healing, you don’t believe that you were healed. It’s so simple! All the deliverance of God was done at the cross and, if you continue in your works trying to deliver yourself, you’re proving that you don’t believe the Bible because the Bible says it was done.

God’s salvation is free for the spirit, for the soul and for the body. There’s nothing but failure in our own attempts to save ourselves. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to save your soul or whether you are trying to save your body. It’s ultimately going to end in failure and God will make sure that it ends in failure. He’s not going to let you save yourself. He’s going to make sure that all of your efforts to make yourself healthy, to make yourself saved from sin or to deliver yourself from the curse, whatever it might be, He’s going to make sure it fails. Not only do you have the devil against you when you try by your own works to provide your own salvation, you have God against you on that count! All we need is faith in the promises. It’s free.

(Rom.13:11) And this, knowing the season, that already it is time for you to awake out of sleep: for now is salvation nearer to us than when we [first] believed. Did you notice that? In other words, “The manifestation of salvation is closer to us now than when we first believed.” If you say, “I thought we were saved,” yes, you were saved by faith, but we do not receive it by manifestation when we first believe. People who don’t understand that are in a dangerous position and they’re in an ignorant church, too. They should probably get out of there and start reading their Bible for themselves. (Rom.13:12) The night is far spent, and the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

We’ve been given authority to do this because of what Jesus accomplished at the cross. The only thing that can stop us is unbelief. Salvation is putting on the “armor of light” and the next verse explains it this way: (Rom.13:13) Let us walk becomingly, as in the day; not in revelling and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy. (14) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof]. See, “putting on the Lord Jesus Christ” is what he calls walking, according to verse 13. The closer you get to walking like that, the closer you are getting to salvation. We are here to conquer sin! We are here to overcome! There are no promises to people who do not overcome.

The promises of Revelation chapters 2 and 3 are to the overcomers, and Jesus said, (Joh.16:33) ... In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. He has already overcome! The devil, flesh and sin have all been conquered at the cross and all we have to do is believe we have received His salvation and walk in it. Some people think that they don’t have to overcome. They think, “Every time I sin, I can just ask for forgiveness and be forgiven,” but that’s being an unprofitable servant. We can overcome sin because the power has been given and the sacrifice is there. (Heb.10:14) For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.

(1Co.1:18) For the word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God. Some Bibles have a footnote on this one that reads, “For the word of the cross is to them that are perishing foolishness; but unto us who are being saved it is the power of God.” That’s the version that should be in the text because that’s the one that has the numeric pattern; the other one has no numeric pattern. We are “being saved” by faith and we are “being saved” by manifestation. It’s important for us to understand that we are being saved. (2Co.2:15) For we are a sweet savor of Christ unto God, in them that are being saved, and in them that are perishing.... Most Bible versions have “are saved” and “them that perish,” but the Nestle’s Text, which is made up of the three most ancient manuscripts, has “are being saved” and “them that are perishing.” =

(2Co.2:16) to the one a savor from death unto death; to the other a savor from life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? Did you know that you can be in the process of “being saved,” but then you can end up by being “perishing”? The Bible talks about those who walk in their willfulness until they are twice-dead and plucked-up by the roots. (Jud.12) These are they who are hidden rocks in your love-feasts when they feast with you, ~~shepherds~~ (Has no numeric pattern) that without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn leaves without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. They started out in regeneration and ended up in degeneration.

See, you can reverse the process. Some people don’t think that’s possible, but, (Rom.8:12) So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh: (13) for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. If you walk after the flesh, you must die. Jesus came to give us life, but you go right back to death. You go right back to the old prison that you came out of. He came to set the captives free (Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18), but you would rather be bound! So let’s continue in the faith and believe what God has provided for us in Christ!

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Endure to Manifest Salvation (2)

(audio)

David Eells 6/5/24

Let’s study more on how we manifest salvation and with God’s grace, I hope to encourage you to keep enduring in your faith to see the fruit.

The Bible teaches a progressive manifestation of salvation. (1Ti.6:11) But thou, O man of God (so he’s talking to believers here), flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. (12) Fight the good fight of the faith (We must fight! If you don’t fight, you lose! You must run the race.), lay hold on the life eternal.... We have eternal life by faith, but when you have something by faith, you don’t yet see it manifested. We as in (Rom.4:17) calleth the things that are not, as though they were… and if you endure in that faith, ultimately you see the manifestation of the fruit.

For example, if you ask God to heal you and you claim that “by His stripes” you are healed, you are going to be sick until it has manifested. Salvation comes the same way. You must endure in your faith, claiming your right as a child of God over sin and as you keep on enduring in that faith, the fruit will be manifested. (1Ti.6:12) … lay hold on the life eternal, whereunto thou wast called.... You were called to lay hold on life eternal and if you think that “calling” is out there to the world, you are wrong! This invitation is to God’s children. The Greek word in that text for “call” is kaleo and it means “an invitation.” We have been invited to partake of the body and blood of Christ, but that doesn’t mean you are going to do it!

(1Ti.6:12) …, lay hold on the life eternal, whereunto thou wast called, and didst confess the good confession in the sight of many witnesses. But see, beginning is not ending, is it? You can start a race and then you can lay down on the sidelines, but we must run the race! We have no choice! We have been called to inherit eternal life, but that doesn’t mean we are going to make it, unless we stand by faith in the promises of God.

And your faith needs to stand in the Word of God and not in somebody’s theology or somebody’s brilliant ideas. (Jud.3) Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation (by faith), I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints. The only way you are going to do that is to get it from the Bible and not from a modern theologian.

(2Ti.3:14) But abide thou in the things which thou hast learned (Paul is talking about what he, himself, has taught Timothy.) and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. (15) And that from a babe thou hast known the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. The sacred writings are able to make you wise unto salvation; nobody else’s writings can do that. Even good teachers don’t have this power, except to the extent that they show you the sacred writings. Words of truth are the supernatural power of God.

You know, I never went to an altar when I was young. Before I ever heard a preacher, I was saved just through reading the Bible. Somebody challenged me to read the Bible and it changed my life; these Words are supernatural. (Joh.6:68) Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And those “words of eternal life” are able to make you wise unto the manifestation of salvation. God wants to finish this work and God is able to manifestly complete salvation in you. “Salvation,” or soteria, is deliverance from sin, and the curse of sin and of death. Many preachers today say you will never attain to the manifestation of salvation, but God is able to do it in you.

(Heb.7:25) Wherefore also he is able to save to the uttermost.... The Greek word for “uttermost” is “completely.” He is talking to Christians here, people who are saved by faith, and he’s saying, “Listen, God is able to save you completely!” (Heb.7:25) Wherefore also he is able to save to the uttermost them that draw near unto God through him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Jesus “ever liveth to make intercession” for us and you must draw near to God through Him. We go to God in the name of Jesus Christ and what He accomplished for us on the cross. You can come boldly before the Throne of Grace to receive help in time of need because of the name of Jesus Christ. We know Jesus’ name means His “nature, character and authority.”

And God is able to complete this work in those who believe it, but He is waiting for you to draw near unto God through Jesus Christ and believe it is an accomplished work. So now you ask, “Well, David, do you mean I must believe salvation is an accomplished work, but believe it is not an accomplished work?” Yes. It is very important that you understand you haven’t manifested salvation yet, so that you will (Php.3:14) Press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. It is very important that you exercise faith. Faith (Rom.4:17) ... calleth the things that are not, as though they were. You are reaching out for a gift of God. (2Pe.1:10) Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble. Give diligence to make your calling and election sure. Then you will manifest the fruit of salvation, 30, 60, and 100 fold.

You know you are called. You can feel the invitation of God in your heart to partake of Christ and you have partaken of Christ, but do you know if you are elect? (Mat.22:14) For many are called, but few chosen. You are chosen, you are elect, only if you endure in your faith to bear fruit. The Lord called all Israel out of Egypt, but they were not all chosen because many of them rebelled against God and they would not walk by faith in the trials in the wilderness.

(Jud.5) Now I desire to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. We see that they started out believing because they came out of Egypt, but then they fell into unbelief when they went through the trials in the wilderness. When we are going through trials, we need to have our faith in God. We need to know that a sovereign God has a purpose in designing these trials that surround our life. There is a goal to be reached for and our purpose for being here is to reach that goal.

Let’s look at the parable of the talents. (Mat.22:14) For it is as when a man, going into another country, called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. (15) And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey. (16) Straightway he that received the five talents went and traded with them, and made other five talents. (17) In like manner he also that received the two gained other two. (18) But he that received the one went away and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. There is a goal for each person to meet and that goal is to bring forth, to manifest, the fruit of what God has put in us. You are to bring forth Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

There are many people who have received a “talent,” but they have done nothing with it. It has brought forth no fruit in their life. God put us here, like planting a seed in the earth, and we’re supposed to bear fruit, yet some people think, “All I have to do is just hold on to what I have.” Well, just holding on to what they have is called being an “unprofitable servant”! God’s plan is to bring forth Christ in us and He put us here for that purpose. He has already given us every power that we need and all of it comes through faith. (2Pe.1:3) Seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue.

If you didn’t step into the Kingdom but two years ago, that was God’s plan because Jesus said, (Joh.6:44) No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him.... Don’t panic and think, “Oh, my! I’ve started in the middle of my life and I needed my whole life!” No, you need exactly the amount of time God put you in the Kingdom, to do what God has given you to do, so don’t worry about that, but do something with what He has given you. You can do it because Jesus made it possible. That is the Gospel! That is the Good News! It doesn’t take a long, long time to bear fruit. Remember that faith is accounted as righteousness. If you die anywhere along this road upward and you are walking on this road with Christ, your faith is counted as righteousness. But, you have to be on the road and you have to be in the race.

The Good News is that faith is accounted as righteousness, until you attain righteousness. Did you know that even a “baby” Christian can be doing what God sent them to do? Look at the natural parable. A baby learning to walk gets up and falls, gets up and falls, but each time they walk a little farther. That’s the way our life is, too. A “baby” Christian is learning to walk more and more by faith, even though they might not be able to endure to the end of a trial. They fall and then they get up again but they walk a little farther the next time before they fall, so they’re bearing fruit, even as a baby. You can’t say that they’re lost. But if they just sit on the ground and don’t try to get up again because of discouragement and unbelief, they never grow.

There are many who have been with the Lord for 40 or so years, but they haven’t grown. They’ve done nothing with what God has given them. The “talent” that we’ve been given is the seed of God and that seed brings forth the life of God. He has given each of us the “talent” or ability to be what Jesus is, and as different members of the body of Christ, we take care of different parts of Christ. We have different parts of the body to manifest and we’re only called to bring forth what God has put in. He is the sower who sows the Word in our heart but we must cooperate and read it. He is the One Who makes it possible and through faith we will mature and bring forth the fruit.

We’ve been given authority over all the power of the enemy. (Luk.10:19) Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. The devil has no power over us, if we believe the Gospel. He only takes his power when he deceives us into believing he has power. We have been given authority over all the power of the enemy. It says “enemy” there, not just “devil.” This means all of your enemies, including the flesh. (Eph.6:17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And we have been given the authority to use God’s Word as a two-edged sword. (Heb.4:12) For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. There’s one edge for us and one edge for the devil, but in order for the sword of the Word to be effective, it has to be according to the Word that was first delivered unto the saints. We have to hold fast with faith in the true Word.

You have to be diligent to make your calling and election sure. (2Pe.1:10) Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence (meaning “careful or persistent work or effort”) to make your calling and election sure.... Now let me point out to you where many Bible versions have continued an error: (2Pe.1:5) Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith.... There should not be a comma after “diligence.” The comma belongs after “faith”! The correct translation is, “Adding on your part all diligence in your faith, supply virtue....” We can do that; we can be diligent in our faith because faith is the foundational gift from God.

And when we read these Scriptures in the original language, we see clearly that each fruit of the Spirit is inside the previous one. Notice: (2Pe.1:5) Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence in your faith, supply virtue; and in [your] virtue knowledge; (6) and in [your] knowledge self-control; and in [your] self-control patience; and in [your] patience godliness; (7) and in [your] godliness brotherly kindness; and in [your] brotherly kindness love.

However, there’s a mistranslation of this in the King James: (2Pe.1:5 KJV) And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; (6 KJV) And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; (7 KJV) And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. The error here is that you have to add each fruit of the Spirit to the previous one, but when you look at it correctly, everything is in faith. Each fruit of the Spirit is in the previous one and the first one is faith, and faith is a gift from God! You don’t add anything to what God has done! All you need is faith in what God has done!

Here’s another confirmation that all the fruits of the Spirit are found in faith: (Phm.6) That the fellowship (Meaning “the communication” or “the sharing.”) of thy faith may become effectual, in the knowledge of every good thing which is in you, unto Christ. When you realize that all the fruits of the Spirit are in your faith, then the fellowship, or communication, or sharing of your faith becomes effectual to produce the intended result, which is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” All you need is faith! Peter said to give “diligence in your faith” to manifest the gift that God has given you. Everything God has given you is in faith. All of the fruit of the Spirit is in faith. If you exercise the faith of God, all these things will be manifested.

The “talent,” the seed of God, is in faith. When God gave you the Spirit of Christ, He gave you the ability to walk as Christ walked, but you need to be diligent in using the faith that God gave you to (1Ti.6:12) Fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on the life eternal, whereunto thou wast called,… Now, you could just sit there and not use your sword, but the Bible says, (Jer.48:10) Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord negligently; and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood. We have to do something with our faith.

Every day you have a battle to fight and your enemies are the flesh and demonic spirits. You can’t just sit back and do nothing! If you don’t fight, you lose! If you don’t fight, you are not bearing fruit! You must fight! We have to pick up our sword and fight! “Diligence” means to take the faith that God gave you and use it! Fight with it and you will win! In fact, Peter says that diligence in your faith is how you make your election sure. (2Pe.1:10) Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble.

This next verse is another one that would probably get you called a “heretic” if you got up in front of most churches and read it to them. (2Pe.1:11) For thus (or “in this way”) shall be richly supplied unto you (speaking to Christians) the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now you are seeing manifested salvation! When you are entering into Christ and you are entering into salvation, you are entering into the Kingdom of God! And when you manifestly enter into the Kingdom, you leave sin behind because there is no sin in God’s Kingdom. You see the progressiveness of your salvation here. You cannot separate “diligence in your faith” from salvation. And remember that faith is accounted as righteousness, so don’t become worried, or anxious because that just defeats the purpose. God wants you to walk by faith in what He has given you as a free gift. It’s already yours!

Jesus said in (Joh.16:33) These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. He also said in (Joh.19:30) ... It is finished....” We conquered the devil at the cross. We conquered sin and the curse at the cross. You will win! Take the Word of God and use it on the devil like Jesus did when He was tempted in the wilderness. The devil can’t stand before the Word of God! Plunder the devil’s kingdom! Jesus said in (Luk.11:23) He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. Everybody who does not gather or plunder of the devil’s kingdom is going to scatter.

You make your election sure by walking in these things. You can do it! Don’t say you can’t! If you say you can’t, it’s because you don’t believe the Gospel. We’re here to prove who it is who truly believes. (Php.4:13) I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me. Be careful or you will prove yourself not to be a believer! It will be revealed who the believers are and it is not all of the called. It is the elect who are the believers because they are the overcomers who bear fruit to be chosen or elect.

We need this knowledge, which is the “sword” in our hands. (Eph.6:10) Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. (11) Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12) For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places]. (13) Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. (14) Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, (15) and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (16) withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil [one]. (17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

We’re to take the “sword of the Spirit,” but some people are sitting on their sword. You are responsible to take it! Whether the preacher gives it to you or not, you are responsible to take it. If you don’t take the sword and fight with it, you will not win. Taking the sword of the Spirit will bring you “unto salvation.” (1Pe.2:2) As newborn babes, long for the spiritual milk which is without guile (or “without deception”), that ye may grow thereby unto salvation. Some translations leave out “unto salvation” and that is a major problem. The Bible talks a lot about progressive salvation, yet most churches teach only instantaneous salvation. You have to understand about progressive salvation or it will destroy your motivation. You begin to think, “This is great! It’s all finished! All I have to do is sit down and wait to fly away.” No, now you must walk into what was provided for you.

When you were baptized, by faith the old man died and you were united with Christ in the likeness of His death. The water symbolized that the old man was put to death by the Word. That was your act of faith. But what if you go on in your life after baptism and you don’t ever put to death the old man with the “washing of water with the word” as in (Eph 5:26)? Suppose you just reckon it accomplished when you were baptized and you don’t take the sword of the Word and put to death the old man. Will you ever actually manifest the salvation that God has given you? No! Baptism is an act of faith and it as in (Rom.4:17) ... Calleth the things that are not, as though they were. It says, “Now the old man is dead! Now I am delivered from the power of sin! Now I am delivered from the power of darkness! Now Jesus lives in me!”

As you walk out your faith the rest of your Christian life, you need to put the old man to death. Don’t let him live to say what he wants to say and do what he wants to do. You stick the sword of the Word in him and tell him, “No! Take that! You’re dead! Dead men can’t talk! Dead men can’t walk! You’re dead!” You walk out your baptism and let the water, which is the Word of God, put to death the old man. You keep pushing off that old man into that water so he drowns. He will die!

God gave me a vision of that at the beginning of my Christian walk. I was going down an old dusty, dirty road and I had this old man on my back, piggyback. And I came up to this lake and jumped in, but that old man tried to climb up onto my head. Well, I just kept stiff-arming him and pushing him off, and pretty soon he drowned. And God showed me, “That’s your life!” So you jump into that water and you stay in that water. The old man is allergic to that water and you just keep pushing him off while you are in the water and it will kill him. It’s God’s plan. The act of faith without the works that follow it is incomplete. (Jas.2:20) But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren? Baptism is an act of faith and the work that follows it is that now you have to use the Word to put the old man to death. You walk it out using the faith in what Jesus did on the cross. That’s our progressive salvation.

Complete salvation is the redemption of our body. In (Rom.8:23) And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for [our] adoption, [to wit,] the redemption of our body. (24) For in hope were we saved.... The Greek word “hope” means “a favorable and confident expectation; a forward look with assurance.” We need to understand the difference between “hope” and “faith.” “Hope” looks toward the future and “faith” looks at the past. “Faith” says, “It is done” because of what happened on the cross. “Hope” is looking to the future to see it accomplished and “hope” is firmly expecting it to be accomplished.

(Rom.8:25) But if we hope for that which we see not, [then] do we with patience wait for it. We are patiently waiting for what we received by faith at the beginning, patiently waiting for it to come to pass. We must patiently go through these trials of our faith. (Jas.1:3) Faith worketh patience. (4) And let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing. We have to be patient to see it come to pass, while hoping for something we do not see yet. We are hoping for this salvation to be manifested, to be completed. We have faith that it is complete and we have hope to see it come to pass.

The Bible teaches that our spirit is born-again when we repent and receive the Spirit of Christ. So what does the Bible say about the soul? This is something that I wish every Christian would come to understand: (1Pe.1:21) Who through him (which is Christ) are believers in God, that raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God. (22) Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth.... When Peter uses the word “seeing,” he means with the eye of faith, “seeing” in the Spirit.” He wants you to see this by faith.

(1Pe.1:22) Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth (Your spirit is simply purified by repentance, but your soul is purified by obeying the truth.) unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently: (23) having been begotten again.... This is the Greek word gennao and it’s the same word used in John 3:5. It means “born again.” You must be born again. (23) Having been begotten (born) again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth. When your spirit is born again, that’s the very first knowledge you have of being a child of God. Every Christian is born again in spirit, but being born again in soul is a progressive thing through your obedience. And you are able to be obedient because of your faith.

The “seed” God puts in you to give you rebirth is incorruptible. When you have received that seed, you are not corruptible, and when that seed is in you, you don’t sin. Then that seed progressively takes over your life and your soul, until your whole soul is born of God. God’s purpose is to replace your soul with Christ’s Soul, and that means to put the Word of God in your life and in your heart. The Word of God is Christ and when you are born of Christ, that’s incorruptible seed! In your obedience to the truth, your soul is born of God. The first part of salvation, being born again of spirit, is very simple, but being born again of soul is bearing the fruit of Jesus Christ. Born again of soul is manifesting the fruit of Jesus Christ and it is letting the Word live through you.

Continuing (1Pe.1:24) For, All flesh is as grass, And all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower falleth: (25) But the word of the Lord abideth forever. The flesh has to die, but the Word of God has to be manifested in our life and, so, being born again takes on a larger meaning, larger ideas, larger understanding. You have to keep on walking and standing in Christ for your soul to be born again. When the Bible talks about bearing fruit, it’s talking about bearing fruit in the soul. You don’t have anything to do with bearing fruit in the spirit. Christ did that! If He didn’t do that, then Christ does not dwell in your spirit because He will not dwell in an unclean temple.

When your spirit is clean, He said in (Eze.36:26) A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. (27) And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep mine ordinances, and do them. (28) And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. That was a promise of the New Covenant. But notice that He promised us a new heart, which shows you that the heart is not the spirit because He made two promises there. The soul is where you bear fruit and the person who doesn’t bear fruit is an unprofitable servant.

Now continuing with being born-again, (Joh.3:1) Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: (2) the same came unto him by night, and said to him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that thou doest, except God be with him. (3) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (4) Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? (5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Many people say, “That’s talking about the ‘water’ of natural birth.” Well, they must be thinking like Nicodemus that Jesus was saying, “You have to go back into your mother’s womb.” That wasn’t what Jesus was saying. Notice Jesus said, “Except one,” and that’s somebody who has already been born the first time. See, we have to be born of water and the Spirit, and that is the washing of water with the Word of God and the Spirit of God. We must be born again of that, and it doesn’t stop at our spirit. In fact, it doesn’t stop until we are Christlike, until we have a soul and a body like His. But you have to agree with God in this total process, from beginning to end, and the only way you can stay in agreement with God is by faith. You must take up the sword and fight the good fight of faith, and (1Ti.6:19) ... lay hold on the life which is life indeed.

Other Scriptures that talk about the latter end of your work on earth are: (1Pe.1:5) Who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. By the way, “time” was not in the original. There is no numeric pattern for “in the last time.” The correct translation is “in the last” because this isn’t “the last time” he’s talking about. Peter is talking about your life here, about the finishing of the product in you, which is “ready to be revealed” at the end of God’s work in you. His salvation is going to be manifested in people through their faith. (1Pe.1:6) Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold trials, (7) that the proof of your faith, [being] more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ: “

The revelation of Jesus Christ” here is talking about is the revelation of Jesus Christ in you! This is not talking about His coming in the sky. Everything that you’re going through is so that Christ may be revealed in you. (1Pe.1:8) whom not having seen ye love; on whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory: (9) receiving the end of your faith, [even] the salvation of [your] souls. Salvation is not the beginning of your faith; it’s the end of your faith. We go through all these trials down here by faith. We are guarded through this faith that we have, unto a salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of our old life.

And we go through all of this in order for Christ to be revealed in us and so that we receive the salvation of our souls. This is what we are here for, to be saved in our souls. God’s purpose is to have a new spirit in us, so that the Holy Spirit can move through our spirit, to manifest Christ in our souls through our obedience to the Holy Spirit. That’s the whole purpose of God. (Rom.8:29) For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Christ was the firstborn among many brethren. God is bringing forth sons of God on the earth today!

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Endure to Manifest Salvation (3)

Sonship Manifests Jesus

(audio)

David Eells (6/12/24)

We’ve been studying salvation and we’ve learned that the salvation of our spirit happens instantly when we repent and receive Jesus. We’ve also learned that the salvation of our soul happens to a greater and greater extent as we walk according to the Word and it’s the gift of faith from God that enables us to do that. It’s important for each of us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) because we’re each given only a certain amount of time to bear fruit and time is running out.

Now let’s look a little deeper at what it means to manifest salvation in your soul, which is your mind, will and emotions. (Pro.29:21) He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child Shall have him become a son at the last. The Hebrews, Greeks and Romans, during Biblical times, all had the custom of adult adoption. (Gen.15:2) And Abram said, O Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? If they had no other heirs, then they would adopt a beloved servant of theirs. Or, even when they did have an heir, if they really loved a servant of theirs, they would adopt that servant and make him a son. It was a fairly common custom among many of the other cultures throughout the ancient world, too.

Oftentimes, the Bible teaches lessons that run in parallel with the traditions of men and Jesus always gave parables about the natural things, so that people could understand the supernatural things. In this case, the Scripture is talking about the adoption of sons and our text says that a person can “delicately bring up his servant from a child.” That means “child” and“ servant” are synonymous because the next step in our text is this “Shall have him become a son at the last.” A son is neither a child nor a servant. So our goal is to become a son in the image of God’s Son.

When I noticed this in the Scriptures, I began to delve into the customs surrounding the adoption of servants and I discovered that there were three main parts to this tradition. First, the master would give the revelation of sonship to the servant. He would tell his servant that he was a son and Scripture does that with us. Scripture tells us that we are sons by faith. The adoption has not happened yet, but we have been told that we are sons and we are to accept that by faith. The only part that has actually been manifested, when you are told you are a son, is in your spirit. You have sonship in your spirit.

The second part of the tradition was that the master would make it public that this servant was a son. The Bible talks about it this way: (Rom.8:19) For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God. Our adoption is made public when people see Christ in us. It’s made public when it’s manifested in your soul. We go from spirit to soul because Christ has come in our spirit, but He wants to come in our soul. He wants to manifest Himself in our thinking and He wants to manifest Himself in our actions. That’s where it’s manifested in faith, until you receive a new body.

The third part of the tradition was the formal adoption of the servant. (Rom.8:23) And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for [our] adoption, [to wit], the redemption of our body. The adoption is manifested in the body and it’s when you have become the manifestation of what God has always called you to be from the beginning. It’s when you are manifested sons, (Col.1:27) ... which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Here on this earth, our responsibility is to walk by faith in Jesus Christ in order to see His sonship manifested in spirit and in soul, before body.

We have nothing to do with the body. The redeemed body is going to come later and it will come to those who are faithful in bearing fruit in the area of the soul. The manifestation of sonship in spirit is instantly accomplished when your spirit manifests the Spirit of Christ. The progressive manifestation of sonship in soul comes to pass as you walk in your natural body more and more as Christ walked. It’s not out of our own ability that we can do this, but it’s through God’s ability. He promises that He will work in us. (Php.1:6) Being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it (That is, “bring it to completion.”) until the day of Jesus Christ.

Paul said in (Php.3:14) I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. You have to see a goal. If you think that you have already passed that goal, then it’s not going to make you strive for “the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” So you have to see a goal and the goal is the manifestation of Christ in you. This is the purpose of why we are here. And when you take a closer look at this manifestation of sonship in our soul, you find the Bible speaks of progressive salvation.

(Rom.8:12) So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh: (13) for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. These two verses are synonymous because putting to death the deeds of the body or, in other words, denying yourself, denying the “old man,” is bearing your cross. When you’re bearing your cross, you’re being led by the Spirit and to be led by the Spirit is to manifest sonship.

It’s very important that we study the Word of God because the Word of God is the seed that brings forth Christ and the Word of God also renews our mind so that we can walk with the Spirit. (Rom.12:2) And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. The natural, carnal mind cannot walk with the Spirit. (Amo.3:3) Shall two walk together, except they have agreed? The Spirit is foolishness to the carnal mind. (1Co.1:18) For the word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God. So when we come into agreement with God, then we can walk in the Spirit.

Our capacity to walk hand-in-hand with Jesus as He walked, our capacity to walk in the Spirit, is directly related to how much of the Word we are agreeing with. That’s because, if you’re not agreeing with God, you’re certainly not going to listen to Him and you are not going to obey Him. And when these principles of the Word are involved in a situation or circumstance that you’re in, you’re not going to be obedient to them, if you’re disagreeing with them. How do we come to recognize, and come to know the voice of the Spirit? We become familiar with this Word; that’s why we’ve been given the Word. Many people think that the Word of the New Testament is a New Testament Law, like the Old Testament was an Old Testament Law. No, we were given the New Testament in order to “renew” our mind so that we can walk in the Spirit.

Living according to the New Testament is to walk in the Spirit; it’s to walk with Christ and abide in Him. The New Testament gives us familiarity with the Spirit, so that we can walk with Him. How do you know what voice speaks to you, unless you are familiar with the person of that voice through their own words, through their own nature, through their own character? When you study the Word, you begin to know the voice of the Spirit and you can see where people go astray of Him. You can see, too, why they go astray because you can see error more clearly, the more familiar you become with the Word. We need to have fellowship with God through the Word, so that we can be “led by the Spirit” to God and be called “sons of God.”

And Paul goes on to say, (Rom.8:15) For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear.... Those people under the Old Covenant did not have the Holy Spirit and they were in bondage to the Law. (Joh.7:39) But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive: for the Spirit was not yet [given]; because Jesus was not yet glorified. When they kept the Law, they had to do it by their own strength and by their own ability, but that wasn’t possible. (Jas.2:10) For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one [point], he is become guilty of all. And if we’re trying to keep the Law of the Old Testament, then we have made ourselves bondservants. (Joh.8:35) And the bondservant abideth not in the house for ever: the son abideth forever.

The Holy Spirit’s job is to bring us to adoption. (Rom.8:15) For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Holy Spirit is called “the spirit of adoption” because His job is to manifest the sonship of Christ in us. Jesus said, (Joh.16:14) He shall glorify me: for he shall take of mine, and shall declare [it] unto you. Our faith is what makes it possible for the Holy Spirit to manifest Jesus in us. You must be calling (Rom.4:17) the things that are not, as though they were. You must accept sonship now, if it’s ever to be manifested. The Holy Spirit moves through our faith and He brings things to pass because of our faith, but He doesn’t have to do anything, if you don’t have faith. There are no promises for you in this Word, if you don’t have faith.

(1Jn.5:4) For whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. The Holy Spirit is to bring us to the adoption of sonship and the adoption is the end of our faith, not the beginning of our faith. (1Pe.1:9) Receiving the end of your faith, [even] the salvation of [your] souls. God manifests the adoption because of the salvation of the soul, which is when the soul bears fruit 30-, 60- or 100-fold. We are sons of God by faith. We are adopted by faith. Gal 3:26 For ye are all sons of God, through faith in Christ Jesus.

And it’s a wonderful thing that God reckons our faith as righteousness (Romans 4:3,5,9,11,22,24; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23) because that means a baby Christian can enter into the Kingdom. Otherwise, no one who has not yet manifested sonship would have hope or a chance. (Jas.2:17) Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. Faith must be walked in. (18) And I by my works will show thee [my] faith. Folks, there are plenty of people who say they have faith, but it’s not real faith because they are not walking in it. They’re only acknowledging in their mind that they have faith. You cannot stand still in faith. Real faith moves; real faith has action. Without action, faith is “dead,” or incomplete.

(Rom.8:16) The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God. Notice, it doesn’t say “sons.” That’s because Paul is talking here about manifestation. (2Ti.2:15) Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth. We have to be careful in “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV) and since he’s talking about manifestation, then we can say that all those who are walking by faith are at least children of God by manifestation. (1Jn.3:2) Beloved, now are we children of God (Not “sons of God,” as the KJV says.), and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We need to understand that “what we shall be” is Christ! (1Co.13:12) For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known.

We are going to see Him face-to-face! God’s purpose in Christ is to bring about His life in us, so that manifestly we are sons of God. (1Jn.3:2) Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested (shines forth from us), we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is (In the mirror). (Rom.8:16) The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: (17) and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if (Notice this “if”. We are children, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ only if we also suffer with Him.) “if” so be that we suffer with [him,] that we may be also glorified with [him].

Suffering is what happens when you are led by the Spirit because your flesh always wants to go the opposite way. (1Pe.4:1) Forasmuch then as Christ suffered in the flesh, arm ye yourselves also with the same mind; for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin. Why is that? It’s because when you suffer in the flesh, it means that you are going against the flesh and you are walking in the Spirit. You have to suffer with Christ, in order to be glorified with Christ. In order for the Spirit to grow in you, you have to suffer the death of self, the death of the old man. Walking in the Spirit is suffering the death of self. (Rom.8:18) For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward. (19) For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God. The Greek word for “revealing” there comes from apokalupto and it actually means “unveiling.”

Creation is waiting for the unveiling, or manifestation, of the sons of God. The sons of God are hidden to the world and the reason they are hidden to the world is that they are not yet acting in agreement with the Son, Jesus Christ. We know that the full adoption does not happen until we receive our new body and it says that a little further down in the Scriptures, but we also know that the manifestation of Sonship in Christ was true in spirit and soul before He received a new body. Jesus did His works in this earth as a manifested Son in spirit and in soul before He received His new body. Creation is waiting for the manifestation of sons of God in spirit and in soul, even while they are walking in their body of flesh.

Paul said, (2Co.10:3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. And that is the truth. One Jesus or one Paul or one Peter can do much more than 10,000 carnal Christians. The creation needs the manifestation of sons so that the creation itself will be delivered. (Rom.8:20) For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope (21) that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. We have the authority in Christ to bring deliverance to creation. I’ve prayed for my animals and I’ve seen God heal them. I’ve prayed over my grass and I’ve seen God heal it where there was blight. Those are just a couple of examples, but if we can already see it in little ways, just think how it would be if God’s children come to understand that the inheritance has been given to us!

We’ve been given authority over all the power of the enemy. And what’s the “power” of the enemy? The power of the enemy is the curse, but we have been given authority over the curse! (Act.10:38) Even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, the works of corruption. And since the creation is under the bondage of corruption because of the fall of man, now God is reversing the process. This time God is going to save man and use man to bring about the deliverance of the creation, so the creation is waiting for man to be saved manifestly. All of creation is waiting for man to come into what God has provided.

The creation never would have been delivered unto corruption had it not been for man and now God is reversing the process through the Spiritual man, Jesus Christ. (Rom.8:22) For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. (23) And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for [our] adoption, [to wit], the redemption of our body. I believe this redemption of the body that Paul’s talking about here is a new body because Christ is to be manifested in us first spirit, then soul and then body. The fullness of adoption happens when you get the new body. He’s talking about the new creation of Christ.

We don’t have anything to do with the new body at this moment, but we can deliver our body of flesh from the bondage of corruption. This body that we walk in is part of the natural creation, so we have authority to deliver this body from corruption while we walk in Jesus Christ. Of course, we have no authority to deliver this body while we walk in willful sin (Hebrews 10:26-27). (Rom.8:24) For in hope were we saved: but hope that is seen is not hope: for who hopeth for that which he seeth? (25) But if we hope for that which we see not, [then] do we with patience wait for it. We are patiently waiting for the full manifestation, which we received by faith and which we received in hope.

Do you know what “hope” is? “Hope” is a “firm expectation.” We are expecting to see it, but a lot of the Church doesn’t expect to ever see this. They are quite content to just accept what little they have right now, but that’s not God’s plan and it’s not His purpose. His purpose is to manifest sons and the manifestation of sonship is going to deliver all of creation from this bondage of corruption that creation is groaning under. We are sons through faith now. At this point, we have manifested sonship in our spirit and we are manifesting sonship in our soul. And we will have manifested sonship in our body at the adoption. So what we’re saying about sonship is exactly the same thing we’re saying about salvation. Sonship in your spirit is instantaneous, but then sonship in your soul is progressive. Manifestly, we are children or servants, but we want to grow to be sons.

There are important differences between servants and sons, and between children and sons. A child doesn’t have the same capacity to serve as does a full-grown son, but a servant may serve for reasons other than a son serves. If you are a hired servant, you serve for gain. If you are a bondservant, you serve because you must. A true son doesn’t serve for either one of those reasons. A true son serves for love. So a son serves his father for one reason, to promote their Father’s Kingdom, while servants serve for other reasons.

You see, God wants a different relationship with us. The relationship we had when we started with Him is not the one He plans for us. We came to Him as carnal children and we’re somewhere between there and where we are supposed to be. But God takes us from where we are and He wants to bring us to where He is! People need to realize that we’re here to manifest sonship! We’re here for a purpose! We’re here to run a race! We’re here to bear the fruit of Jesus Christ, 30-, 60- and 100-fold. People who miss that point will never bear fruit and will remain servants.

If you remember, the Galatian Church was rebuked by Paul because they allowed the Jews to drag them back under the Law, back from being sons to being servants. Even though the Galatians started out by faith in Jesus Christ, they went back under the Law. He said to them, (Gal.3:3) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now perfected in the flesh? (4) Did ye suffer so many things in vain? if it be indeed in vain. (5) He therefore that supplieth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, [doeth he it] by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? In other words, what God does for us, He does it because of our faith and not because of the works of the Law. Everything that God does from here until the end, He is doing because of our faith.

Faith is when you (Rom.4:17) calleth the things that are not, as though they were. In other words, you are believing (present tense) that you have received (past tense) something, simply on the grounds that God says you have it and not on the grounds that you see it or that you hear it or that you feel it. You are believing strictly on the grounds that the Bible says He has given it to you and, therefore, it’s yours. Jesus said, (Mar.11:24 NENT) All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye received them, and ye shall have them. The answer will be manifested, but first you must believe you have received. You must accept it by faith and then it will be manifested. That’s the Gospel.

The Gospel is free and from the most ignorant baby Christian on up, you can receive God’s blessings because you receive through your faith and not according to your ability. Paul tells us, (Gal.3:26) For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. He’s trying to convince the Galatians of this because the Galatians came out from under sonship, as you are going to see in just a minute. They went from being sons of God to being servants of God when they put themselves back under the Law.

(Gal.5:4) Ye are severed from Christ.... If you are severed from Christ, then you are severed from sonship because He is sonship! His life in you is sonship. (4) Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified (or “made righteous”) by the law; ye are fallen away from grace. (5) For we through the Spirit by faith wait for the hope of righteousness. Righteousness is Jesus Christ! How sad it is that so many Christians don’t understand what righteousness is! How sad that they are so willing to settle just for being forgiven. If a person stays in that position and does not walk in the Spirit he will be an unprofitable servant! We are running a race against the time that God has given us here and we have to bear fruit within that time. If you stay an unprofitable servant for very long, you will not manifest the fruit of the Spirit, which is the reason you are here.

Jesus said that the ones who will make it will bear fruit 30-, 60- and 100- fold. (Mat.13:18) Hear then ye the parable of the sower. Now Jesus explains what this parable means: (19) When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the evil one, and snatcheth away that which hath been sown in his heart. This is he that was sown by the way side. (20) And he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that heareth the word, and straightway with joy receiveth it; (21) yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while; and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway he stumbleth. (22) And he that was sown among the thorns, this is he that heareth the word; and the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. (23) And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

So the other three out of the four people He mentioned there didn’t make it! This should exhort us to go forward and to use the time that we have. (Col.4:5) Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. The Bible says to redeem the time and we must do that! We have to do that! There’s nothing else more important in this world and nothing else is important in this world. We have been put here, sown as a seed in this earth, which is this body, in order to bear the fruit of Christ 30-, 60- and 100-fold. And if we give good ground to that seed sown, we will manifest Christ.

Let’s back up to what Paul told the Galatians: (Gal.3:26) For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. (27) For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ. Now, how does this line up with what he said in Romans? (Rom.13:12) The night is far spent, and the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. (13) Let us walk becomingly, as in the day; not in revelling and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy. (14) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof]. So we see that putting on Christ is putting on righteousness and Paul tells you to do that.

However, here he also says that if you have been baptized into Christ, you did put on Christ. In other words, by faith when you were baptized your old man died and now Christ lives in you. You put Him on by faith, but (Jas.2:17) Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. A person who walks on past their baptism should be walking in death-to-self through (Eph.5:26) ... the washing of water with the word because that’s what baptism is. It’s the water of baptism that puts to death the old man and gives life to the new man. The water of baptism represents the same water as the Word. After baptism, the Word manifests baptism. The Word puts to death the old man and it gives life to the new man; the Word causes you to put on Christ. Baptism is an act of faith that says, “I have received it all! It is mine! The old man is dead and the new man lives, and that new man is Jesus! I am now a son of God!” That’s what you profess at baptism; that’s what you believe at baptism. You put on Christ when you are baptized.

Going on in (Gal.4:1) But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he differeth nothing from a bondservant.... There it is! A “child” is a “servant.” We saw that Proverbs says the same thing. (Pro.29:21) He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child Shall have him become a son at the last. (Gal.4:1) But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he differeth nothing from a bondservant though he is lord of all. So as long as the heir is still a child, he lives like a bondservant, even though he is lord of all! And we know that the Galatians had fallen back to being children because Paul goes on to say, (Gal.4:19) My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you. See, the problem was that they were “severed from Christ” because of their seeking to be justified by the Law.

The Bible says that if you go back under the Law, you are cut off from Christ. Christ being formed in you is a matter of accepting it by faith from the very beginning at the time of your baptism and then continuing to walk in that faith. The Bible says we stand in Christ by faith; otherwise, we, too, will be broken off. By their unbelief, the Galatians were broken off after they were children of God. (Rom.11:19) Thou wilt say then, Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. (20) Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear: (21) for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee.

(22) Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God’s goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. (23) And they also, if they continue not in their unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. The Galatians had gotten out from under faith. There is no justification in the New Testament for the Law. If you are seeking to be justified or accepted by God through the Law, you are cut off from Christ and there is no hope without repentance. Paul was telling those Galatians, “Don’t listen to these Jews! If you think that you’re going to be justified by keeping days and seasons and months and all the Law, then you’re cut off from Christ! You’re children again; you’re servants again.”

It’s not just the Law of the Old Testament that cuts people off from Christ; it can be the “laws” that your church makes up or it can be the “laws” that you might make up of yourself. Anything that causes you to follow another spirit, instead of the Spirit of Christ, separates you from Christ. We were put here to follow the Spirit of Christ. Rules and regulations that are not Scriptural rules and regulations cause you to go down a legalistic road and that prevents you from being able to hear the voice of the Spirit. A good example to look at from Old Testament Law is tithing. If you listen to the voice of the Spirit, He is certainly going to make a “giver” out of you, but He’s going to have you give to things that you might not ordinarily give to and the percentage most often will be greater because you are following the Spirit.

God will always return what you sow. (Luk.6:38) Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom. For with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again. And God promises us, (2Co.9:6) He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. So, in this example, the Law separates you from Christ because the Law says one thing about your money, but the Spirit of God tells you something else in the New Testament. The Old Testament Law tells you to bring your tithe into the storehouse, which was in the middle of the Temple. The Spirit tells you that now the storehouse is the people of God because the people of God are His Temple.

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Endure to Manifest Salvation (4)

Sonship Manifests Jesus

(audio)

David Eells (6/19/24)

I’m going to pick up where we left off in our last teaching about manifesting sonship. I left off talking about how putting ourselves under law will separate us from Christ.

Paul tells us another way that we can be separated from Christ: (Gal.4:3) So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the rudiments (This is the Greek word stoicheion and it means “principles.”) of the world. If you follow the principles of the world, you can’t follow Christ. The principles of the world make you a child, a servant, and the Galatians were following the principles of the world. There are many ways you can follow the principles of the world. One common way is to profess “God and country,” but what does the Bible say? It’s not God and country! It’s not God and anything else! It’s God. Period. God may lead you to obey the rulers of this land, but your allegiance is not to America; your allegiance is to God. And, certainly, you should not pledge allegiance to America.

You should not pledge in the first place! Look at what it says here in (Mat.5:34) but I say unto you, swear not at all; neither by the heaven, for it is the throne of God; (35) nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. … (37) But let your speech be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: and whatsoever is more than these is of the evil [one]. Our allegiance is to God! The rudiments of the world, the principles of the world, separate you from Christ.

Unless you understand that we are not to war the way the world wars, you may go to war for man and for the kingdom of the devil, and not realize that you’re working for them. Jesus told us in, (Mat.5:39) But I say unto you, resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. Christians walk a different path than the world. One reason that we walk so contrary to the world is that the world was created to crucify us. They were created to come against us and they have a different spirit than ours. We cannot put ourselves on the cross, but the world certainly can. And, if you deny yourself by resisting not him that is evil, as Jesus told you to do, your old self will die. But the spirit of patriotism is just one of many principles of the world that will separate you from following the Holy Spirit. Patriotism has killed many from all nations. It is respect of persons. It is prejudice. Religions of the world also have killed many.

Another principle of the world Paul says will cut us off from the Spirit is in (Gal.4:9) But now that ye have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how turn ye back again to the weak and beggarly rudiments, whereunto ye desire to be in bondage over again? (10) Ye observe days, and months, and seasons, and years. (11) I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain.

So the revival that the Galatians had of coming into Christ could have been for nothing because they were going back into bondage to these principles of the Law. They had turned from following the Spirit, from accepting God’s righteousness through faith, and turned from accepting sonship through faith. If we are in bondage to anything, we’re not free to follow the Lord.

God gave us His Word to transform our minds, to renew our minds, so that we could walk in freedom as Christ walked in freedom. He gave us His Word so that we can do the will of the Father. (Joh.8:32) And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Our faith in the truth will cause us to walk in freedom, but the Galatians didn’t have Christ formed in them anymore. It’s not possible to have Christ formed in you when you’re not walking in faith.

Anyone who is not walking by faith in the Spirit is in danger of not having Christ formed in them. This is warfare! The devil is out to deceive us. He wants to get us off of the road of grace and truth, and hung up into bondages such as legalism or bondage to self. Paul said, (1Co.9:27) But I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected. If you’re serving your body, you’re not serving Christ; and if you’re not serving Christ, then He’s not your Lord! It’s very simple.

We are here to increasingly make Christ Lord in every area of our life; that’s what it is to bear fruit and manifest sonship. If these Galatians had not been corrected, they would have been unprofitable servants because they no longer were walking by faith in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of adoption and His job is to bring us to the adoption. We have that adoption by faith and we will have it by manifestation, if we walk by faith.

Paul prayed, (Eph.3:14) For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father, …(16) that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man; (17) that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.... The purpose of his prayer was that they would be strengthened by the Spirit, so that Christ could dwell in their hearts through faith.

The only way Christ can dwell in your heart is through faith. The only way He can manifest there is through faith. The Spirit strengthens you because of your faith to bring forth Christ in your heart. It’s not going to be because of your own willpower or of your eagerness, but it will be because of your faith. The Holy Spirit will empower you to walk as Christ walked because of your faith which we see in (Rom.4:17) calleth the things that are not, as though they were. (Eph.3:17) That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end (or “to the manifestation”) that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, (18) may be strong to apprehend.... If your Bible says “comprehend,” that’s totally wrong. There’s no foundation for that in the ancient manuscripts or the numeric pattern because it doesn’t matter if you understand it.

The Greek word there for “apprehend” is katalambano and it means “to take eagerly; to seize; to possess.” See, the end result is not that you just comprehend, but that you grasp it. It has to be yours. (Rom.4:17)… to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, (18) may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, (19) and to know the love of Christ (I.e., All of Christ) which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fulness of God. He says that you can apprehend all of what Christ is! He says you can apprehend the breadth, the length, the height and the depth and to know the love of Christ. What a tremendous promise!

I was never offered this hope of the Gospel when I was in religion. This was always beyond my reach; this was not possible. The preachers were constantly telling me the opposite of the Gospel: “You are always going to be in bondage to sin, so just accept your forgiveness by faith.” Well, you can accept your forgiveness and never bear fruit. Accepting your forgiveness is a means to an end and the end is the manifestation of Christ in you.

If you stop with forgiveness, you’ve lost it all, but many people are quite content to stop with forgiveness, even though that’s not the Gospel; that’s not the Good News. If forgiveness was all we needed, we would never have needed the New Testament because they received forgiveness through the blood of bulls and goats in the Old Testament. But the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin. It couldn’t destroy the nature of sin; it didn’t have that power.

The New Testament has come to take away sin and to replace it with Christ, the breadth and the length and the height and the depth of Christ. The New Testament has come to destroy all the nature of sin and replace it with all of Christ and His love. If this is not your goal, if you can’t see this goal by faith, then you can’t have it! Faith has to see something as yours before it can grasp it, before it can be manifested, so you have to believe that this is possible.

This is why Jesus died for you. He died in order that you could have Christ, that you could have the reconciliation, the exchange. This should motivate you to go on “and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fulness of God.” To be full of God is the end result and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, being filled with the Spirit, makes this possible.

There are many Pentecostals who mistakenly believe that the end result is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but that’s not true. The Holy Spirit was given to you so that you may receive power. Paul said, “that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man.” That’s the power to bring to pass the fullness of God in you, so you’re not saved just because you have the Holy Spirit. Some people are confused about that. You’re not saved because you have the Holy Spirit; you’re saved because you follow the Holy Spirit. (Rom.8:14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

An “unprofitable servant” may have the Holy Spirit, but they will not walk with Him, they will not obey Him. A person who walks in faith will be motivated and empowered to obey the Holy Spirit. And the more you read and hear the Word, the more the Word motivates you to obey Him. Rom 10:17 So belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

The true Word motivates you to be more like Christ. The true Word always motivates you to exercise faith, so that the Holy Spirit can empower you to be more like Christ, but the word of the false prophets always causes you to trust in man and rest in the flesh. According to Jesus, the Holy Spirit is bound until you loose Him to live through you by your faith. Jesus said, “Be it unto you according to your faith” and “As you have believed so shall it be unto you.” It was said of Jesus in Mar 6:5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief.

So we bind God because of unbelief. (Mat.18:18) Verily I say unto you, what things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Jesus meant that we bind and loose the good and the evil; it’s true both ways. That’s why it’s so important that we become empowered because of our faith. And Paul said the end result was, “unto all the fulness of God.” God offers this promise and at the end of this age, the promise is going to be manifested because the Word that Paul preached will be believed in that day. (1Th.1:10) When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed (because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day.

(11) To which end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfil every desire of goodness and every work of faith, with power; (12) that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. There are going to be some people who are going to manifest this fullness of God, not because of the power of man, but because of the faith of God working through man and bringing forth the works of God. It’s His grace all the way!

Here’s another example: (Eph.4:11) And he gave some [to be] apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; (12) for the perfecting of the saints (“Perfecting” is the Greek word katartizo and it means “to strengthen, to complete, to make one what he ought to be.” This is “sonship,” the same thing we’re talking about. And He went on to say>), unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ:

(13) till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man (or, a “perfect man”), unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. Did you know that God was offering you that? Religion does not give you that, but that’s what the Bible says, “unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ,” so that you can walk as He walked.

If you don’t believe this, then you’re not able to exercise faith in something that God offers to you. Christ came to destroy the works of the devil. (1Jn.3:8) He that doeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. To this end was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

The blood of bulls and goats in the Old Testament could not take away sin, but the blood of Christ takes away sin. Those who lived during the time of the Old Testament had forgiveness, but they didn’t have the blood of Christ. Jesus died to take away the nature of sin and to give you the nature of God. (Joh.1:14) And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.

The nature of God cannot be received outside of the Scriptures because Christ was the Word made flesh. (Amo.3:3) Shall two walk together, except they have agreed? You must agree with the Scriptures. How can you follow the voice of the Spirit, if you don’t know Him? The Scriptures were given so that you may personally know the Holy Spirit and so that you can follow His voice. (Rom.8:14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

(Eph.4:14) That we may be no longer children (So you can be sons.), tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men (This refers to the lies of religious men.), in craftiness, after the wiles of error; (15) but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, [even] Christ. We’re growing up into Christ and sonship is growing up into Him in all things as the head or, in other words, letting Him be your Lord in all things.

(2Jn.7) For many deceivers are gone forth into the world.... Just as in Jesus’ day that was true, it’s true in our day. Most of what we’re calling “Christianity” are people who have been deceived into accepting much less than what the Bible offers. (2Jn.7) For many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even they that confess not that Jesus Christ cometh in the flesh. John is talking about Christ coming in the natural body of our flesh in which we now live. Christ will be manifested in a corporate body of believers and He does that progressively as you mature in Christ.

The deceivers don’t believe that (Col.1:27) ... Christ in you, the hope of glory is possible. They don’t believe that Christ will be manifested in us, but we just read “unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” and “filled unto all the fulness of God.” Now, they’ll admit that “Jesus Christ came in the flesh,” but not that, “He is coming in the flesh,” although Jesus Himself said that He was going to come as a baby that was born to a woman.

(Joh.16:19) Jesus perceived that they were desirous to ask him, and he said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves concerning this, that I said, A little while, and ye behold me not, and again a little while, and ye shall see me? (20) Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. (21) A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world. (22) And ye therefore now have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you.

Christ is the fruit that is being born unto us. In the Parable of the Sower, the Greek word there for the “seed” that was sown is sperma, which is the Word. (Mat.13:23) And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. A seed can only bring forth after its own kind. The seed which has been sown in us is the Word of God and, if you receive this Word into your heart and into your thinking, it will bring forth the fruit of God, Who is Christ.

Jesus said: (Mat.12:50) For whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother. How can we be the mother of Christ? It’s very simple! The seed of God has been spiritually sown in the womb of your heart and, if you give fertile ground to that seed, it will bring forth Christ. When Mary’s kinswoman, Elizabeth, prophesied to Mary in the Spirit of the Lord, she said, (Luk.1:45) And blessed [is] she that believed; for there shall be a fulfilment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord. What was that? (35) And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God.

It was spoken that Christ would be born to her, but only the people who believe are empowered to have the fruit of Christ. Mary bore the fruit of Christ because she believed the Word of God that was spoken to her and it’s the same today. Jesus said, “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father ... is my mother,” because if we believe the Word of God that has been spoken to us, that Word will bring forth fruit. And that fruit is Christ, because this Word is Christ. (Joh.1:14) And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.

Christ was the Word made flesh. The deceivers out there want you to stop at just accepting forgiveness. They don’t want you to reach out for Who Christ is and let Him be manifested in you through faith. But you are an unprofitable servant, if forgiveness is all that you’re accepting from God. By saying that forgiveness is all we can receive, the deceivers are also saying that Christ will not come to be manifested in us. The mistranslation in the King James says “is come,” as though it were past tense, but John wasn’t talking about the birth of Christ to Mary.

(2Jn.7) For many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even they that confess not that Jesus Christ cometh in the flesh. (Numeric Pattern) (8) Look to yourselves, that ye lose not the things which we have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward. (9) Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son. Don’t be deceived! There are many religious people and they accept Jesus, but then they go on their own religious way. They don’t abide in the teachings of Christ because “they have not God”!

The Bible talks about those people as (2Ti.3:5) holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof. From these also turn away. So they appear to have a form of righteousness, but they deny the power to finish the work and we are to turn away from them. They may be accepted as “Christians” in our very loosely-called “Christian” society, but “Christian” means “Christ-like” and these people are not Christ-like. Being Christ-like is what we progressively enter into by faith. (2Jn.9) Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son.

You may have been taught that when you came into Christianity, you received the Son into your heart. But we read there is more in (Eph.3:16) that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man; (17) that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith....

God’s Spirit strengthens you because of your faith, so that Christ can dwell in your heart to enable you to think, act and walk as Christ did because He came to be our example. Christ came to be baptized and to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and to lead us in His steps. (1Pe.2:21) For hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps.

When you are born again, you receive the Spirit of Christ as a free gift from God. (Gal.4:6) And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Then the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in your born-again spirit to empower you. Your spirit becomes like the cleaned-up Holy of Holies. If you remember, the Old Testament Temple was three-fold. There was the Holy of Holies where God dwelt, the Holy Place and the Outer Court, all of which correspond to your spirit, your soul and your body. Christ seeks to possess your soul by reaching in through your spirit. Satan seeks to possess your soul by reaching in through your body. Christ is able to possess your soul through your spirit because of your faith and not because of your works.

Again, (Eph.3:16) That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man; (17) that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, (18) may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, (19) and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fulness of God.

Those people who accept Christ, but don’t believe that “Christ cometh in the flesh,” are not abiding in the teachings and John says that they don’t have God! You can be born again in your spirit but never bear fruit in your soul and then you are what the Bible calls an “unprofitable servant cast forth into outer darkness.” (Mat.25:30) And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

The soul, which is our mind, will and emotions, is where we must bear fruit, and we bear fruit as we follow the Holy Spirit. (Rom.8:14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Gal.3:26) For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. And a true son of God will receive manifestation of their faith in their works. It’s not our works; it’s God’s works through us. (Jas.2:18) … I by my works will show thee my faith. These were the works that came through James because of God’s faith and power in him to do them.

The works of the Spirit are what we do when Christ lives in our soul. When the disciples asked Jesus, (Joh.6:28) ... What must we do, that we may work the works of God? (29) Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. That’s all He said. So if we believe on Him Whom God hath sent, if we believe the Word, then can we be empowered to do God’s works.

Many apostate religions teach that God’s love is unconditional, but the Bible doesn’t say that. God’s love for us is dependent upon our love for His Son. (Joh.14:21) He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me (Notice that your obedience proves you love Him.): and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father (that’s conditional), and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him.

… (23) Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my word: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. If you keep the commandments, you will have the manifestation of both the Father and the Son in you because they are of like nature.

Jesus said, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father,” because He was the express image of the Father. (Heb.1:3) Who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, And so Jesus said, “The works that you see Me do, they are the works of My Father Who dwelleth in Me.”

Well, where does this “unconditional love of God” doctrine come from? Some deceived preachers try to justify their unconditional greasy grace theology with, (Eph.1:4) Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love. But if they are not abiding “in Him” and therefore are not ”holy” this doesn’t fit. God does not dwell in time like we do; He knows the end from the beginning and, in fact, He declares the end from the beginning. (Isa.48:3) I have declared the former things from of old; yea, they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them: suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. Before they come to pass, He speaks it, and then it comes to pass.

The reason you are in Christ right now was not your idea. (Joh.6:44) No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day. Do you think it was your decision? No! Jesus said in (Joh.15:16) Ye did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. He drew you by the Spirit. Let’s face it, it was never our will to do anything but our will. You did decide to follow Jesus, but He put that in you. (Php.2:13) For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. This is free salvation.

You need to understand it’s truly by grace. If you chose Him first, it wouldn’t be grace. God chose you first and He drew you to Him, and He put a hunger in you for righteousness. If He didn’t put it there, then you put it there. If you put it there, then you were good enough and it’s not grace! It doesn’t work that way. God does everything by faith and He loves by faith. (Eph.1:4) Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love. This is not unconditional love; He loved you because He knew you before the foundation of the world. He knew you as a finished product. For example, when a potter sits down at a potter’s wheel and they already have a mental picture of what they’re going to create, and they know they can do it, then they’re seeing it by faith. They’re just bringing to pass what they already saw from the beginning. God is doing that.

The Bible says God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world and that’s before Adam ever fell. God is not in “Plan B”; He’s still in “Plan A” and there never was a “Plan B”! This is God’s plan. He chose you in Him before the foundation of the world and He loved you. (Rom.9:11) For the children being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, (12) it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. (13) Even as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. So it doesn’t have to do with your goodness or your ability, it has to do with His election. God chose you to follow Him.

In the Old Testament, when God chose Israel, He chose the smallest of the nations. (Deu.7:7) The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all peoples: (8) but because the Lord loveth you, and because he would keep the oath which he sware unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. He chose them, He revealed to them His laws and He said out of His own mouth, (Psa.147:20) He hath not dealt so with any nation; And as for his ordinances, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord. So God loves by faith and we are coming into the manifestation of that love, but it’s not unconditional.

(Joh.15:10) If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. (14) Ye are my friends, if ye do the things which I command you. We just read it! Their doctrine is just a doctrine of men. It’s not what the Word says and we are to say only what God says. (1Pe.4:11) If any man speaketh, [speaking] as it were oracles of God; if any man ministereth, ministering as of the strength which God supplieth: that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, whose is the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. What He said was, if you obeyed Him and kept His commandments, then He and the Father would love you.

Did He love you before the foundation of the world? Did He love you while you were yet a sinner? Yes! He loved you by faith and now that you’re keeping His commandments, His love is being manifested. God doesn’t love sin and do you know what you were before you came to Christ? Sin! That’s all you ever were! You did your own thing and the best you could do was choose which sin you wanted to do, but it was still self-will; it was still your own ways. (Isa.53:6) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way. It doesn’t matter how good you are in the world, if you are going your own way. God chose us to be servants of Jesus Christ and that’s a great privilege!

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Endure to Manifest Salvation (5)

(audio)

David Eells (7/3/24)

Let’s talk about how our faith transforms us as we endure to manifest salvation. Some would say, David, I know this, but many must be reminded in the midst of their trials, of the good news that they forget so easily.

Understand that you can keep God’s commandments because of grace and not because of your own ability or lack thereof. You can obey Him, because of the reconciliation Jesus made at the cross. He took your sins and He put them on the cross, and He gave you His righteousness. We are to reckon it done by faith and that’s why it’s called the Good News! Paul said in (Gal.2:20) It is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that [life] which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, [the faith] which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. Paul was living by faith. He was confessing what the Bible said about him was true, that his old man was now dead. He was confessing that he died at his baptism and that when he came up out of the water, it was Jesus Who now lived in him.

Faith is what empowers you to be obedient to the Word of God and empowers you to see yourself the way the Bible tells you to see yourself. Our problem is that we walk by sight and, if you walk by sight like the world does, that’s all you’re going to get. We need to see the way Peter says to see and that is by faith. (2Pe.1:3) Seeing that his divine power hath granted (past tense) unto us all things that pertain unto life (God’s life) and godliness, through the knowledge of him.... At the cross, Jesus gave you everything you need. It’s already yours and you have to accept it by faith. You have to believe that the divine power given to you is everything you need for His life and godliness.

The Bible says that reconciliation was accomplished on the cross. It’s a waste of time to not believe what the Bible says is already yours. God is not schizophrenic! He doesn’t say one thing in His Word and then do another. He wants you to be (Php.1:6) ... confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ. You see, it’s His work in you, through faith in what Jesus gave to you on the cross, but remember (Jas.2:17) Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. Some people have “faith” that is not faith. What they’re calling “faith” is only mentally acknowledging something. We want faith and faith according to (Rom.4:17) calleth the things that are not, as though they were. Faith brings the manifestation we need. If you want more of God’s provision, He wants you to have it. Faith does what Jesus said in (Mar.11:24) NENT Therefore I say unto you, All things whatever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye received them, and ye shall have them.

The condition here is faith. It was designed to be so simple that a child can receive it, but worldly wisdom doesn’t make sense and will block you from receiving it. God made it this way, in order that only those people who received faith could receive the promise and faith is a gift of God so ask for it. (Eph.2:8) For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; (9) not of works (Meaning your works.), that no man should glory. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works (This second works is God’s works.), which God afore prepared that we should walk in them. See, there’s a difference between your works and God’s works through you. (Php.2:13) For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.

People like to teach the “unconditional love of God,” so you may never have heard that God hates anybody, but God hates all those whose works are evil. (Rom.9:13) Even as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. (Psa.5:5) The arrogant shall not stand in thy sight: Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. (11:5) The Lord trieth the righteous; But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. There are many verses like that in the Bible.

God loves goodness; He does not love sin! God is in the process of creating sons and there must be Christ-likeness born in you. You manifest sonship as you grow in sanctification, which is separation from the world unto God. And if you obey His commandments, you will be separated from the world. (Mat.10:34) Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. And this is to separate the wicked from the righteous.

When you’re separated from the world, your works are God’s works. God’s desire is to manifest sonship in order to have fellowship with you. God’s the One doing this. (Eph.1:5) Having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. So, by faith, we believe that God is the One in (Col.1:13) who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love. And have no fear; just believe! The only difference between the person who’s chosen and the person who’s not chosen is faith, so believe!

People worry, “I wonder if I am one of the elect?” Well, believe that you are one of the elect and take steps toward God! The Bible says in (2Pe.1:10) Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble: (11) for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Did you know that you can’t worry and have faith at the same time? If you’re anxious, then you’re not having faith. Stop worrying about what you have not done; exercise faith in what Christ has done and you will do what He wants. You have no ability to be anything but what you are, unless something from the outside reaches in and changes you. The Holy Spirit reaches in and changes your heart through faith, as you believe what the Bible says you have been given. It’s very simple and it’s free. It’s not by your works; otherwise, you have earned it and that’s not grace.

Let’s go to (1Jn.3:1) Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God (The KJV says “sons of God,” but the Greek word there is teknon, which means “children.”); and [such] we are. For this cause the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (2) Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested (That’s Christ being manifested in us.), we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is. (3) And every one that hath this hope [set] on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. If Christ is manifested, we will be like Him; that’s what the Bible says.

The KJV translators put “when He shall appear,” thinking that this is a physical coming. The Received Text, the Nestle’s Text and the Numeric Bible all say, “if He shall be manifested,” because this is not talking about His coming in the air. This is talking about His manifestation in us. And what does it mean to “see Him even as He is”? The Bible teaches us in (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image.... You have to see the image in the mirror as an accomplished fact before you can be transformed. For Christ to be manifested in you, you have to see Him as He is, not the Jesus men have made Him.

When you look in the Word, you become familiar with the face of Jesus. That’s your face. (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. By faith, you accept that as your gift from God. It’s not because you’re able to do that because none of us is able; and not because you’re worthy because none of us is worthy, but because it’s been given to you through the reconciliation, meaning the exchange of His life for your sinful life.. The “glory” is the righteousness of Christ, the truth of Christ, His being, His presence, but you have to behold Him in the mirror and not some other Christ. We want the Jesus of the Bible; if it’s not this Jesus, then you’re going to be manifesting the wrong image.

Paul warned us about receiving another “Christ” and another spirit: (Gal.1:6) I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel; (7) which is not another [gospel] only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. (8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema (accursed). (9) As we have said before, so say I now again, if any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema. (10) For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? or am I striving to please men? if I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ.

Notice, John says in (1Jn.3:3) And every one that hath this hope [set] on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.... How can we purify ourselves? You do it through the promises in the Word of God. (Eph.6:14) Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, (15) and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (16) withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. (17) And take the helmet of salvation.... This is the knowledge that you have been delivered, you have been saved and set free from the curse of sin. It’s the knowledge of what Jesus accomplished for you on the cross.

(Eph.6:17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. You are to use faith and the Word against the old man, the flesh, the devil and the world. (2Co.7:1) Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit.... You see, “these promises” are the sword with which you purify yourself. (1) … let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Now that’s a good promise! The Bible says to stand and fight! Take up the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit and use them against your enemies.

Now let’s go to (Rom.12:2) And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. So, you have to learn to think the way God tells you to think. This is repentance. Man fell away from God because of the way he thought and God says not to add to, nor take away from, His Words or the curses of the Book are going to be upon you. (Rev.22:18) I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book: (19) and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.

The way out from under the curse is to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Change your mind; your thinking is wrong! We have to think the way God tells us to think. (Rom.6:11) Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. I.e., Consider it done because of the reconciliation that Jesus made. At the cross, you were made free from sin. If you don’t think like that, you can’t walk away from it and you will never be able to stop sinning! I’ve heard a lot of people say, “I just can’t!” Of course you can’t because you don’t believe that God gave you the power to do it! In the early Church, they were called “believers.” Believers in the Gospel! What was the Gospel? “You have been set free from sin, by the power of God, because of what Jesus did for you!”

A true believer is going to say, “I can!” (Php.4:13) I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me. Our attitude has to change about our ability. Folks, our ability is nothing, but God’s ability through us because we believe is total. Jesus gave you authority. (Mat.18:18) Verily I say unto you, what things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. You can change the circumstances around you, if you believe what this Bible tells you to believe. It will change everything, if you think about yourself the way the Bible tells you to think about yourself. “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” In other words God says, “Think the way I tell you to think.”

If you speak, speak as an oracle of God, which means to speak in agreement with God. This is very important for the manifestation of sonship. (1Pe.4:11) If any man speaketh, [speaking] as it were oracles of God; if any man ministereth, [ministering] as of the strength which God supplieth: that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, whose is the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. The Greek word for “oracle” is logion and it means “an utterance (of God); a divine utterance.” You don’t take away from His Words and you don’t add to them; otherwise, you have to live under the curse.

Paul said Christ is coming to be glorified in a group of people. (2Th.1:10) When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed (because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day. Jesus is going to be glorified in those people because they are going to believe what the Bible says.

(2Th.1:11) To which end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfil every desire of goodness and [every] work of faith, with power; (12) that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you.... The Greek word for “name” is onoma and it means “all that a ‘name’ implies, of authority, character, rank, majesty, power, excellence, etc., of everything that the ‘name’ covers.”

Paul is praying that the very nature and character of Christ would be glorified in you. (2Th.1:12) That the name (onoma) of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Sonship will be manifested because you believe what the Word says. The mind of the natural man is contrary to what the Bible says. (Rom.8:6) For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace: (7) because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be.

When you read the Bible, you have to repent. “Repent” is the Greek word metanoeo and it means “to think differently” or “to change your mind.” Your thinking has been wrong but when you read the Bible and accept what it says, it will change you and it will deliver you. Jesus told us in (Joh.8:32) and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Exercise faith in what the Bible says and you will be set free. Religion does nothing! Religion is just man’s ideas about God. Accept God’s own ideas about God! Why take someone else’s opinion?

Back to (2Th.1:12) that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and ye in him,… Where and how do you receive the “glory” that Paul mentions? Religion teaches that you get the “glory” in the next life, but that’s not what the Bible says. I have been reading the Bible diligently for a long time and you can’t find in the Bible even one instance where God comes and then changes the soul.

Most Christians believe that when God comes, He’s going to take away your old dirty soul and give you a new one. But the Word says only that God’s going to give you a new body. In (Rom.8:23) And not only so, but our selves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for [our] adoption, [to wit,] the redemption of our body.

(24) For in hope were we saved: but hope that is seen is not hope: for who hopeth for that which he seeth? (25) But if we hope for that which we see not, [then] do we with patience wait for it. (Eph.1:12) To the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ: (13) in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,— in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, (14) which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of [God’s] own possession, unto the praise of his glory. We receive the glory here and we receive it by bearing fruit here. Here is where we bear the fruit of Christ.

Jesus said the 30-, 60- and 100-fold fruit that the righteous would bear has to be born on Earth. He doesn’t give it to you in Heaven; you get it here. This is our one chance. We’re running the race here. To those who are faithful in that race and bear fruit, He will give a new body, but He didn’t say He would give you a new soul in the next life. If you believe that, “One day God will come and change me,” then where is the motivation for you to bear fruit? That lie makes it very easy for the people who just want to be satisfied with where they are and then they sit down and stop running the race. Jesus gave you the gift of Himself, freely! Believe that you have the ability of Christ and that His life is in you. The Gospel can be very simple, but it’s not acceptable to the carnal, fleshly mind. The Gospel is made so that a child can receive it and children trust their father.

The apostle Paul said in (Col.3:3) For ye died.... He’s speaking to people who are somewhere along the process. (3) For ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (4) When Christ, [who is] our life, shall be manifested (and that is in us), then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory. And again this “glory” comes as we walk by faith and not sight as in (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory,… Again, the glory is manifested here.

And what does he mean by, “from glory to glory”? This is the three different bodies that people are given as a reward for the fruit or glory born by them in this life. (1Co 15:38) but God giveth it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own. ..(41) There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory. (49) And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

We come into Christlikeness, traveling through those three glories. We go from star glory, to moon glory, to sun glory. If you die or leave this earth as a star glory, you receive a star glory body and star glory is when you are self-righteous. In other words you are not doing things by nature but by religion. A star has its individual glory shining from it, and there are many, many stars, just as we are separated because of self-righteous denominations when we first come to Christ. Self-righteousness shows star glory.

But moon glory is when we become dead to self and become one in unity with each other and only reflect the light of the sun/Son. The moon is dead and does not have its own glory, like the stars, who are separated. This death to self makes us capable of becoming one with each other. Sun glory is then possible.

Rom 6:4-7 We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death (moon glory): that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father (Son glory), so we also might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death (moon glory), we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection (Son glory); 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him (moon glory), that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin; 7 for he that hath died is justified from sin.

If you are looking at Jesus in the mirror by faith, you will go through these three stages, from glory to glory. So, whatever stage you leave this earth that is the body you will have, among other heavenly benefits. Paul is saying, When Christ, Who is our life, shall be manifested in us, then shall we also with Him be manifested in glory.” Praise be to God!

Let us see that God is speaking of fruit and glory born in this life and not the next life. (2Co.4: 11) For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. Mortal flesh is only on earth and is not the new body, so God’s purpose is that the life of Jesus would be manifested in this body through the suffering of death to self. The life of Jesus is resurrection life and that’s sun glory. You go through death to self and you come to resurrection life. This is what Paul is talking about, the glory of Christ is the righteousness of Christ. We put on Christ by putting on His righteousness!

We put on the robes that the Bride wears. (Rev.19:8) And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And as we manifest Christ through faith in what God has given us, the biggest temptation we have is to look in the mirror and see ourselves. We are told in (Jas.1:22) But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves. (23) For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror. If you see your natural face in the mirror, you will be a “hearer” of the Word, but not a “doer” of the Word. The devil will condemn you for your past sins and you will have no faith.

How are we “doers”? Let’s read in (2Pe.1:5) Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence in your faith, supply virtue; and in [your] virtue knowledge; (6) and in [your] knowledge self-control; and in [your] self-control patience; and in [your] patience godliness; (7) and in [your] godliness brotherly kindness; and in [your] brotherly kindness love. (8) For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful unto the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (9) For he that lacketh these things is blind, seeing only what is near, having forgotten the cleansing from his old sins. (10) Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble: (11) for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

He’s saying, if you lack any of these attributes of Christ, it’s because you are near-sighted. Don’t you remember you were cleansed from your old sins? That means the old man is dead! Or, in other words, Peter is saying that if you are lacking these attributes, it’s because you see yourself when you look in the mirror. You can’t do these things, unless you look in the mirror and see Christ, which is faith. Jesus said in (Luk.6:40) The disciple is not above his teacher: but every one when he is perfected shall be as his teacher. “Perfected” means “matured.” You have to believe that when you are matured, you will walk like He walked, talk like He talked and think like He thought. You have to see it in the mirror by faith so you can have it.

Contrary to popular opinion, there’s a difference of reward concerning sonship? Many have been taught that everybody gets the same reward, but that’s contrary to the Scriptures. This motivates each of us to be a “doer” and not just a “hearer” of the Word. (Joh.8:31) Jesus therefore said to those Jews that had believed him, If ye abide in my word, [then] are ye truly my disciples. We can see here that if we believe Jesus as the scripture hath said we are now a true disciple? It’s not those whom we have loosely called “Christians” who are going to enter into the Kingdom. It’s “disciples” who are going to enter into the Kingdom and a disciple is a mathetes, a “learner” and a “follower” of the Word.

It says in (Joh.8:32) And ye shall know the truth.... It’s disciples who would know the truth and disciples are those who abide in His Word. (Joh.8:32) And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Only disciples get set free. Does this give you an understanding of why not all Christians get set free? (Joh.8:33) They answered unto him, We are Abraham’s seed, and have never yet been in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? (34) Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Every one that committeth sin is the bondservant of sin. (35) And the bondservant abideth not in the house for ever: the son abideth forever. We see here that Sonship is the full manifestation of eternal life; a bondservant has not eternal life.

If you ask, “But what if I am a son by faith?” Yes, sonship is two-fold. First of all, it’s imputed by faith and, second of all, it’s manifested as we walk in that faith. And, if we abide in that faith and walk in that faith, sonship will progressively manifest in us. We abide in the faith that we’ve been made free from sin, but everyone who continues to walk in sin is the bondservant of sin and the bondservant doesn’t abide in the house forever. Paul said the same thing about the bondservant.

(Gal.4:30) Howbeit what saith the scripture? Cast out the handmaid (bondservant) and her son: for the son of the handmaid shall not inherit with the son of the freewoman. (31) Wherefore, brethren, we are not children of a handmaid, but of the freewoman. If you are a son, then be a son by faith. And if you’re walking in that faith as a disciple, you will be manifesting Christ. If you walk by faith in Him, you will do the mighty works of God. Don’t try to attain to Christ by your works because that puts you under the Law and turns you back into a servant.

Let me prove to you that “the bondservant abideth not in the house forever.” If you remember in the Parable of the Marriage Feast, many were bidden to the feast. In (Mat.22:11) But when the king came in to behold the guests, he saw there a man who had not on a wedding-garment. The wedding garments are “white” robes as in Rev 3:4-5, 18, 7:13-14, 19:14. We read of the Bride’s wedding garments: (Rev.19:8) And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And in (Rom.13:14) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof]. So Jesus told us of a man who didn’t have on this wedding garment! He obviously was a Christian of sorts or he wouldn’t have made it into the marriage feast.

The king saw this man, (Mat.22:12) and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding-garment? And he was speechless. (He obviously thought he had a right to be there.) (13) Then the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him out into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. (14) For many are called, but few chosen. Notice, he was called. But only the “chosen” got to stay. The merely “called” came, but they didn’t get to stay or, in other words, they didn’t have eternal life. This man without the wedding garment was called a Christian, but he didn’t have eternal life.

When you walk in faith, you’re able to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, but this man wasn’t walking in faith and he wasn’t putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, so he was broken off as a branch. (Rom.11:19) Thou wilt say then, Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. (20) Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear: (21) for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee. So, he was called, but he was broken off and not chosen or elect!

Another example that you can be called but not be chosen is in the Parable of the Talents. (Mat.25:14) For it is as when a man, going into another country, called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. (15) And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey. So these are definitely servants of God who were given the talents. He gave them these talents and the Lord did not return until they brought forth fruit from these talents. The servant who received the five talents brought forth five more and the servant who received the two talents brought forth two more, and their Lord said they were good servants.

But the servant who hid his one talent in the earth and didn’t bring forth fruit from what his Lord gave him was an unprofitable servant. (Mat.25:26) But his lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not scatter; (27) thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back mine own with interest. (28) Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath the ten talents. (29) For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away. “Hath” and “hath not” here is talking about fruit of that which was given by God. The servant with the five talents brought forth five more; he brought forth fruit of what God gave him. But the servant who “hath not” is going to lose “even that which he hath.”

This is talking about those we’ve been loosely calling “Christians.” If they don’t bring forth fruit of what God gives them, they will lose what they have. You are responsible to do something with what God gives you, whether it’s “two talents” or whether it’s “five talents.” The man with the “one talent” was just a servant; he was not a son because he did nothing with his one talent.

He was called but not chosen and his talent was taken away from him and given to the profitable servant with the 10 talents. This is exactly what God is going to do with us. God’s hope is to adopt His servants and make them sons, but every servant will not bear fruit and will not become a son. By faith, the adoption happened 2000 years ago and, manifestly, it’s when you bear Christ as 30-, 60- or 100-fold fruit. The adoption is fully manifested when God gives you the new body, but in spirit and in soul, it’s manifested while you are here on this earth.

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Endure to Manifest Salvation (6)

(audio)

David Eells (7/14/24)

I’m going to pick up where we left off in our last teaching about how our faith transforms us. I mentioned just briefly about the rewards. There’s a difference of reward concerning sonship. Many have been taught that everybody gets the same reward, but that’s contrary to the Scriptures. There’s a difference of reward because every servant will not become a son. They may have been called, but they will not be chosen.

Let’s start in (Eze.46:16) Thus saith the Lord God: If the prince.... The “prince” was the High Priest in the Old Testament and it says in (Heb.4:14) Having then a great high priest, who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Jesus Christ is our High Priest. (Eze.46:16) Thus saith the Lord God: If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, it is his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance. (17) But if he give of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty.... The “year of liberty” is the Marriage Feast. The “year of liberty” to the Jews was when the land went back to the original owner and when the servants were set free.

As it says in (Lev.27:21) But the field, when it goeth out in the jubilee, shall be holy unto the Lord, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest’s. (25:54) And if he be not redeemed by these [means,] then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, he, and his children with him. Those who were in bondage were set free and we have come to a debt jubilee in NESARA/GESARA. All of this earth is going back to its original owner and those servants who are manifesting sonship are going to be set free and be joint heirs with Jesus. (Eze.46:17) But if he give of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty (So if God gives this gift to an unprofitable servant, he’s going to keep it only until the year of liberty.); then it shall return to the prince; but as for his inheritance, it shall be for his sons.

See, He’s going to take the talent away from the unprofitable servant who has the one talent and He’s going to give it to His sons! His sons get the inheritance of all those other servants because the other servants didn’t walk in faith and they didn’t manifest Christ. The sons get the whole inheritance. We see this in (Eze.46:18) Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession; he shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession. We are joint-heirs with Christ! We receive the same inheritance He receives!

God does what He says He’s going to do. And a person who doesn’t manifest fruit from the gift given to them by the Lord will have their gift taken away and given to those who have chosen sonship and are bearing fruit. There’s a difference of reward for what we have loosely called “Christians.” First of all, there was the servant with the two talents and the servant with the five talents. That’s a difference right there, but both of those people brought forth everything that they could bring forth and that’s what God put in.

God has given you knowledge and understanding, and He’s going to hold you responsible to do something with it. (Luk.12:48) ... And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required: and to whom they commit much, of him will they ask the more. God expects you to do something with what He gives you. It’s not a heavy burden that He puts upon you. (Mat.11:28) Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. He said, “my burden is light,” because knowledge is the way to fruit. If you don’t know what His promises are, then you can’t set your faith on them and you certainly can’t have them.

It says in (2Pe.1:3) Seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue; (4) whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust. We see here the profitable servants become sons having been set free by the divine nature. See, you have to know what to reach out for. Some people are going to use the excuse, “Well, the preachers didn’t teach me!” Or, “The preachers lied to me!” But Jesus said, (Joh.7:17) If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from myself. In other words, “If you do the will of the Father, you’re going to know the teaching.” No one can stop you from getting the truth, if you really want to know God, because He will make sure that it gets through to you.

Those who stay in apostate religion, don’t really seek for truth, and risk being cast out and losing their inheritance. (Pro.2:16) To deliver thee from the strange woman (This is the Harlot, Babylon.), Even from the foreigner that flattereth with her words; (17) That forsaketh the friend of her youth (Jesus Christ), And forgetteth the covenant of her God: (18) For her house inclineth unto death, And her paths unto the dead. And then He goes on to warn these people in (21) For the upright shall dwell in the land, And the perfect shall remain in it. (22) But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, And the treacherous shall be rooted out of it. Remember the wedding guest who didn’t have the wedding garment on? He came to the marriage feast but then he didn’t get to stay. It’s important to understand this because it really motivates you.

The Lord says in (Isa.65:8) Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sake, that I may not destroy them all. He is talking about the apostate people of God. He’s saying that there’s a remnant of something good in their midst and that’s why He’s not going to destroy them all. (Isa.65:9) And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains; and my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. (Notice the servant doesn’t inherit the land but dwells there for a while.)

(10) And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor (This represents tribulation. The root word for “Achor” means “to afflict” or “trouble.”) a place for herds to lie down in for my people that have sought me. (11) But ye that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain (speaking of His Kingdom), that prepare a table for Fortune (These people are lusting after, and paying attention to the things of the world, prosperity.), and that fill up mingled wine unto Destiny; (12) I will destine you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter; because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but ye did that which was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delighted not. A brother, who is a friend of mine, asked, “Lord, what is going to happen to the carnal Christian?” And these were the Scriptures God gave him.

Another warning follows just a few verses later in (Isa.65:17) For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. So after God has created a new heaven and a new earth, (20) There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. We saw previously that a “child” and “servant” are the same.

(Pro 29:21) He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child Shall have him become a son at the last. Here we saw that the “bondservant of sin” and the “child” are the same. The servant is someone who hasn’t entered into sonship, either through faith or through manifestation. And Isaiah says, “the sinner being a hundred years old.” Well, 100 is a tenth of the millennium, a tenth of 1000, and a lot of people under the Law are just doing business with God. They say, “I give God my 10 percent,” like the Israelites did in the Old Testament. But Jesus said we must renounce ownership of 100% to be a disciple.

But Paul said in (Gal.5:4) Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law; ye are fallen away from grace. We are free from the Law, we are free to follow the Spirit and, if we follow the Spirit, we will surpass anything that the Law says. Again, remember that the guest without the wedding garment was in the wedding feast and he did get to stay for a little while, but then he was cast out. I believe that’s what this is talking about: (Isa.65:17) For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. (18) But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem (the Bride) a rejoicing, and her people a joy. (19) And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and there shall be heard in her no more the voice of weeping and the voice of crying.

(20) There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. These bondservants of sin, who chose to remain children instead of believing and entering into sonship, will not be able to enter into the New Jerusalem Bride as it says in (Rev.21:27) And there shall in no wise enter into it anything unclean, or he that maketh an abomination and a lie: but only they that are written in the Lamb’s book of life. and (22:15) Without are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and every one that loveth and maketh a lie. These people will be cast forth from the city.

There’s a big difference of reward between those who do serve God and those who profess God but don’t serve God. Everyone who has not believed on the only begotten Son of God is already judged, but the judgment is going to be in the “separating.” We see this in (Mat.13:24) Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field: (25) but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares (which has small useless fruit) also among the wheat, and went away. (26) But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. (27) And the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares?

(28) And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this. And the servants say unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? (29) But he saith, Nay; lest haply while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them. (30) Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn. We’re entering into the Kingdom right now and the separating the sheep from the goats is happening.

We know that we are sons of God through faith, but the Bible also teaches, (1Jn.3:2) Beloved, now are we children of God (The Greek word there is teknon or “child” and not huios, which is the word for “son.”) and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is. (3) And every one that hath this hope [set] on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Wow! That’s a promise, isn’t it? The Lord commanded us that, (Mat.5:48) Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. You know, it would have been ludicrous for Him to make a command like that, if He hadn’t given us the power to bring it to pass!

Now see what Jesus said in (Joh.19:30) When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up his spirit. And in (16:33) These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. “Be of good cheer ... it is finished ... I’ve overcome the world.” We are privileged to enter in by faith to what Jesus has already done. (Heb.4:3) For we who have believed do enter into that rest; even as he hath said, As I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

The only thing that remains is for us to put our trust in God and enter into those works by faith. (Joh.6:28) They said therefore unto him, What must we do, that we may work the works of God? (29) Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. We must do the works of God, which is made possible when we, “believe on him whom he hath sent.” That’s the Gospel! We just have to believe that what Jesus accomplished on the cross is ours! It’s our gift and it covers it all!

What Jesus bought and paid for is that we would be sons of God, not just sons by faith, but sons by manifestation. (1Pe.1:15) But like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; (16) because it is written, Ye shall be holy; for I am holy. (22) Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently: (23) having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth. You are progressively being saved in your soul through your obedience to the truth.

You can read this message of progressive salvation over and over in the Scriptures, but as the Bible also says, you have to be able to see your goal before you can reach it. (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. We see the goal by faith! If you can see in the Scriptures what it is that God has provided for you, then you can reach out your faith to it and you will manifest the sonship that Jesus paid for you to have. Jesus is the progenitor of the new creation man. He’s the Father of the sons of God. (This is not to be confused with the erroneous and dangerous Manifestation of the Sons of God or Joel’s Army movements, which arose from the Latter Rain movement of the late 1940s and are still being promoted today by apostate leaders.)

Throughout the Scriptures, we see a parallel with the adoption traditions of the Hebrews, Greeks and Romans. As it says in (Pro.29:21) He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child Shall have him become a son at the last. They all had a tradition of adopting their servants and making them sons. A fictional example is the story of Ben Hur by Lew Wallace. Briefly, Ben Hur is sentenced to be a galley slave, but after he saves the life of the warship’s commander, Arrius, he adopts Ben Hur and makes him a free citizen. Ben Hur becomes the heir of Arrius, who is a leader in the Roman government and, through his inheritance, Ben Hur gains the power and authority that he wants. Can you see that this is what God is doing with us?

God used the traditions of those cultures, or else He created the traditions of those cultures, so that we would understand what He was saying when He said He adopted servants and made them sons. Paul says this in (Rom.8:16) The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: (17) and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified with [him]. We can see where we are, but we also have to see where we are going. (Psa.119:105) Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And light unto my path. Without the Word to show you where you are going, you have nothing to exercise faith in. God is showing us in the Scriptures that we are going toward sonship, which is why the Bible commands us to see Jesus in the mirror.

Most of the church says, “No, that’s not possible!” But that’s what the Bible commands us to do, whether they like it or believe it, or not! It’s the Good News; it’s the Gospel that we are to accept from the first moment of our salvation. From the very beginning, by faith we receive everything that God has provided for us, even before we see it manifested. That’s why we say, “We are saved.” People don’t realize what they are saying when they say, “I’m saved.” They don’t understand that the Greek word soteria, which is the word translated as “saved,” incorporates total deliverance from the curse of sin and of death. Total deliverance! When people say, “I’m saved,” they’re saying a word by faith. It’s a deception to believe that you are saved by manifestation because then you have no reason to walk it out. We’re told in (Php.2:12) So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. We are progressively saved by working out our salvation.

We were baptized and then, as we let the water of the Word put to death the old man, that baptism is increasingly manifested in our life as we walk on with God. Baptism is an act of faith. God has given us the goal of sonship through faith in Jesus Christ. We accept it as a free gift and, as we keep on confessing sonship in the face of trials, troubles and tribulations, we will see the manifestation of sonship in us. It will be just as automatic as planting a natural seed in the ground. That seed comes up, it produces a plant and the plant bears fruit, according to the type of plant it is. God’s seeds are just like that, too. You plant them in good soil hearts and they’re going to come up, and they are going to bear the fruit of God.

Now it says in (Rom.8:14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. What is it that keeps us from being led by the Spirit? Staying a child is to remain a servant and that will keep you from being led by the Spirit. (Gal.4:1) But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he differeth nothing from a bondservant though he is lord of all; (2) but is under guardians and stewards until the day appointed of the father. The manifestation of sonship is coming in the lives of those people who will give up being children or servants.

Children or servants are in bondage as it says in (Gal.4:3) So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the rudiments of the world. What is it that causes us to stay in bondage to the rudiments or principles of the world and not bear fruit? Walking by the carnal senses will keep us in bondage to the flesh, to the devil and to the world. Our biggest problem is walking by sight, by hearing, and by feeling. (1Co.13:11) When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things. A son of God must give up walking by what is seen in the natural and start walking by the eyes of the Spirit.

And it says in (Heb.5:11) Of whom we have many things to say, and hard of interpretation, seeing ye are become dull of hearing. (12) For when by reason of the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need again that someone teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food. Notice that we’re looking at two different sets of rudiments. We have the rudiments or first principles of the world and the rudiments of the first principles of God, but you can’t stay in either one, if you’re going to mature to bear fruit. “Babes” are in these rudiments.

(Heb.5:13) For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. (14) But solid food is for fullgrown men (or “perfect men”), [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil. “Babes” are not experienced in the “word of righteousness” because they don’t have their “senses exercised” to discern good from evil. “Babes” in the Lord walk according to the first principles of the Lord and they speak what comes to their mind through their natural senses. They can’t experience the “word of righteousness” because they walk after their carnal mind. Their knowledge is not a knowledge of what Jesus meant when He said, (Mat.13:9) He that hath ears, let him hear, and (16) But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.

The people He was talking to all had physical eyes and ears, but Jesus was saying that the people who received His Word would be those who had spiritual eyes and ears. Your carnal mind is influenced by your natural senses and it assimilates the influences of your natural senses. That’s why people who walk after their natural senses can’t walk by faith. They can’t see the wonderful works of God! And they will never see the manifestation of Jesus, if they don’t walk by faith, because it’s just not possible. Often, people will have faith in one area, yet not in other areas. All of God’s promises are manifested through faith and that means faith must be in every area of our lives. We read in (1Jn.5:4) For whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith. Faith “is the victory” that overcomes the world. However, even babes can be justified by receiving sonship through faith. This means they are accounted righteous through faith, believing they have received.

“Babes” who walk by their natural senses, many times, do warfare that’s carnal, but (2Co.10:3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. This warfare must be accomplished, but it cannot be accomplished with your carnal senses! You are fighting an enemy that’s unseen and you have to fight him with the unseen. We have to “call the things that are not, as though they were.” (Rom.4:17) ... even God, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were. Did you know that the things that are made are not made out of things that appear? We read this in (Heb.11:1) Now faith is assurance of [things] hoped for, a conviction of things not seen. (2) For therein the elders had witness borne to them. (3) By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear.

The things that are seen are made out of faith! Sonship is made out of faith. So you can’t war in the flesh; you can’t war with the natural senses. We’re taught in (2Co.10:4) For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds), (5) casting down imaginations (or “reasonings”), and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Where do “reasonings” come from? Reasonings, or imaginations, come from what your carnal mind has assimilated through your natural senses or dead religion. But we’re told in, (Rom.12:2) And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. We’re commanded to repent!

Again, “repent” is the Greek word metanoeo and it means “change your mind.” We must change our mind! We must not receive into our mind what is put there by the carnal senses. We have to receive what is put there by the spiritual senses, by the hearing of God, by the seeing of God. You have to change your mind to have any hope of Christ manifesting Christ in you. I don’t say this to make anyone fear because sons of God are, first of all, sons of God through faith. You have to receive sonship through faith before you have it by manifestation and faith is accounted as righteousness. (Rom.4:5) But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness.

There are people who preach the manifestation of sonship, but they leave out the Grace of God. See, until righteousness is manifested in you, faith stands in its place. By faith, we are sons of God now! And we’re studying to know what a son of God looks like, so that when we look in the mirror, we can be transformed into the same image. Be careful that the Jesus in your mirror is the Jesus of the Bible. Paul warned us about those who received another Gospel, another spirit and another Jesus! (Gal.1:6) I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel; (7) which is not another [gospel] only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. (8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema. (9) As we have said before, so say I now again, if any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema.

Our Jesus has to look just like this Jesus! If not, you’ll be transformed into a “Jesus” that is not the Jesus of the Bible and that’s not the sonship of the Bible, either. I see it happen all the time! The fault here is people are somewhere in between assimilating through their natural senses and assimilating through their spiritual senses. We have to learn to see the way God teaches us to see and Jesus came to be our example of that. Now I’m sure a lot of people will say, “Well, yeah, that was just Jesus.” No, the Bible called Jesus a “sign.” (Isa.7:14) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Luk.11:30) For even as Jonah became a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. Jesus came to be our example, our pattern, in everything He did. Paul said, (1Co.11:1) Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ.

When Jesus was baptized, it was “to fulfil all righteousness.” (Mat.3:13) Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. (14) But John would have hindered him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? (15) But Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffereth him. In other words, “Here is what you need to do for the sake of righteousness.” He taught His disciples to do what He did. (1Jn.2:6) He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked, so obviously, it must be possible for us to do that. And what we have to learn from Jesus is the way He wants us to walk. (Joh.5:19) Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself.... This is the Sabbath rest of God!

There is a Sabbath! It says in (Heb.4:9) There remaineth therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God. (10) For he that is entered into his rest hath himself also rested from his works, as God did from his. The sabbath rest for the people of God is to cease from your works. (Heb.4:3) For we who have believed do enter into that rest.... If you believe the Word of God, it’s going to cause you to cease from your own struggling, cease from your own works, cease from trying to be a son of God and, instead, to accept “sonship” as your gift! The Word of God is designed so that when we believe it, if we really do believe it, we have to stop trying to deliver ourselves. (1Pe.2:24) ... by whose stripes ye were healed, and, if you believe that, then you have to stop trying to heal yourself. If you believe that, then you are healed.

All the rest of the Bible is designed the same way; it’s designed in the past tense. We have been made free from sin. (Rom.8:2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. See, you should never be anxious about your sin because the Bible says you’ve been made free from sin. (Col.1:13) Who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love. You have been made free from the power of darkness. Why is it always past tense? It’s past tense so that when you believe it, you can enter into the rest. You automatically have to cease from all of your self-works. It’s a privilege to do that; it’s not a law. This is our opportunity to keep a New Testament “Sabbath unto the Lord” by ceasing from our own works.

Jesus kept a New Testament sabbath! (Joh.5:19) Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself.... That seems strange, doesn’t it? He said, “The Son,” and do you know why He said that? It was because He wasn’t talking about just Himself. (Joh.5:19) Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner. Do you think He saw a vision of everything He was about to do? I don’t think so, but He did have a vision of what the Father was doing.

One of the places He got it from was in Isaiah’s prophecy about the anointing. (Isa.61:1) The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening [of the prison] to them that are bound; (2) to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; (3) to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. Jesus had a “vision”; He knew, He saw what the Father’s attitude was toward those who accepted His Word. He knew His responsibility and He knew His ability!

And what we have to do is get a “vision” of, “Where does my responsibility start and where does my ability start?” You know, folks, it’s big! It’s real big! (Mat.18:18) Verily I say unto you, what things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. That’s what Jesus said and He meant it! We are the ones who are loosing what’s coming into our lives. We sow a seed that brings forth a harvest in our lives. (Gal.6:7) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (8) For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life.

We’re creating our tomorrow right now! The Bible says, “What you bind on earth is bound in heaven, and what you loose on earth is loosed in heaven.” And did you know that we can bind the devil and we can bind God? That’s because God will not change His Word. (Mat.24:35) Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Psa.119:89) Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven. He will not go beyond the boundaries He has set. A good example of that is what Jesus experienced in His own hometown. In (Mat.13:54) And coming into his own country he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?

(55) Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas? (56) And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? (57) And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house. (58) And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Jesus Himself couldn’t do many mighty works because of their unbelief! They had bound God! By our faith we loose God and we bind the devil. And by our unbelief we loose the devil and we bind God.

Jesus did those things that He saw of His Father and He said, (Joh.14:9) ... he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.... Not because they were one and the same, but because He was the express image of the Father as it says in (Heb.1:3) Who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. What Jesus believed, the Father believed; what Jesus said, the Father said.

You know it says in, (1Pe.4:11) if any man speaketh, [speaking] as it were oracles of God; if any man ministereth, ministering as of the strength which God supplieth: that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, whose is the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Col.3:17) And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. That means everything that we do, we do to represent Him. We can’t do anything to represent ourselves. In word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. That is ceasing from your works. That is accepting a death-to-self, so that, (Gal.2:20) …it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.

This is what we must accept! It’s a radical, death-to-self walk. I’ve heard some groups preach, “You must die to self. You must crucify yourself.” But you have been crucified with Christ! We are privileged to have been crucified with Christ. (Rom.6:11) Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. If you don’t reckon yourself to be dead unto sin, then you will never become dead unto sin. If you don’t believe that He bore all your sins, past, present and future, at the cross, then they’ll never go away!

Jesus said that He only did those things that He saw of His Father. And we have to learn to do the things that we see of our Father, too, because He put these in the Bible for an example to us. If you see it in the world, that’s not a good enough reason to copy it. If you see it in religion, that’s certainly not a good enough reason to copy it. But He will honor His Word, if we do the things we see our Father doing! (Joh.5:19) Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner. (20) For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth (And you know, the same is still true for us.): and greater works than these will he show him, that ye may marvel.

He also said in, (Joh.14:12) Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father. So we know that Jesus is still talking to us. (Joh.5:21) For as the Father raiseth the dead and giveth them life, even so the Son also giveth life to whom he will. (22) For neither doth the Father judge any man, but he hath given all judgment unto the Son. By the way, it says in (Joh.20:23) Whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever [sins] ye retain, they are retained. “David, do you mean, God gave that authority to men?” Yes! The Pharisees rebuked Jesus because He had that authority and Jesus passed it on to His disciples, the sons of men.

(Joh.5:22) For neither doth the Father judge any man, but He hath given all judgment unto the Son; (23) that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father that sent him. (24) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life. We pass out of death and into life by hearing the Word! We have to hear the Word in the midst of the circumstances and situations that come against us! We have to hear the Word because, if you hear the Word, you won’t hear the flesh and you won’t hear the devil.

When you hear the Word, you experience a spiritual resurrection from the dead and you pass out of death and into life. As it says in (Eph.2:1) And you did he make alive, when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins. And (Col.2:13) And you, being dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, you, [I say,] did he make alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses. We were dead and all around us are people who are dead! (Joh.5:25) Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live. Notice: “and now is”. Jesus is not just talking about a physical resurrection of the dead but a spiritual one. He’s talking about passing out of death and into life because you hear the Word!

When we hear the voice of the Son of God, we come up out of our graves; we come into resurrection life. The Word is the seed that’s being sown by Him and that seed brings forth the fruit. The seed has all the power it needs to bring forth the fruit. All it needs is good earth for God to sow His Seed in and that’s about all the natural man is good for; he’s the dirt.

Next Jesus goes on to talk about the physical resurrection of the dead. He says in, (Joh.5:26) For as the Father hath life in himself, even so gave he to the Son also to have life in himself: (27) and he gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man. Notice, Jesus had to be a son of man in order to have the authority to execute judgment. Adam was given authority over the creation and now the “last Adam” has it. The Father gave this authority to the Son because the Son came down here in “the likeness of sinful flesh” and overcame, conquered and condemned sin in the flesh. We read this in (Rom.8:3) For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: (4) that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

(5) For they that are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. Jesus had the authority to judge because He overcame His flesh. (Rom.4:15) For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Do you know why the “old man” can’t judge? It’s because the old man is the one who’s done all the sinning in the first place! He’s guilty! (Rom.2:1) Wherefore thou art without excuse, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself.... If you judge others, you judge yourself. Our old man has no authority to judge, but the spiritual man in us has every authority to judge.

And in (1Co.2:14) Now the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged. (15) But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, and he himself is judged of no man. The spiritual man judges all things and he’s judged of no man because he has the mind of God. When the natural man is subject to the spiritual man there is no sin or its curse.

Back to (Joh.5:28) Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, (29) and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment. Do you know who’s going to be resurrected to life? Only those who have been resurrected spiritually in this life are going to have the resurrection of life. You have to wonder about all those people who say that the whole Church is going to be raptured out. Wait a minute! Look what it says in (Eze.18:4) Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. “The soul that sins, it shall die”; that’s the Word and the Word cannot ever be broken (John 7:23). And as we have seen those who attain to life will have star, moon and sun glory, bodies.

Therefore, if anybody’s going to fly away without dying, it’s going to be those who have overcome because the soul that sins must die. So what they’re talking about is not scripturally possible. We’re here to go through trials, troubles and tribulations, in order to receive resurrection life, which is His life. We must lose our life to gain our life as Jesus said. We are constantly faced with making decisions. “Am I going to accept the Word?” Or “Am I going to do things my way? If we choose our way, if we choose to do things the way of the world, we separate ourselves from God. If we choose to accept the Word and do things according to the Word, we manifest more and more sonship. It’s ludicrous to think that God would plant us here and pluck us up before we bear fruit! Nobody who wants a harvest picks the plant before it bears the fruit and nobody who wants a harvest pulls the seed out of the ground before it bears the plant. God doesn’t do that, either, because He wants a harvest.

The reason we study the Scriptures is so that we will have spiritual eyes and spiritual ears. Jesus said, (Joh.5:30) I can of myself do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is righteous; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. The Lord only did those things that He heard and saw of the Father. We want spiritual eyes and spiritual ears so that we’ll no longer be “babes,” but we’ll be able to experience the “word of righteousness.” (Heb.5:13) For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. The Scriptures are called the “word of righteousness” because justification is through faith in the Word.

“Justification” means “accounted righteous,” so when you speak faith and you walk by faith, God will count you as righteous, just as He did Abraham in (Gen.15:6) And he believed in the Lord; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness. He counted Abraham as righteous and it didn’t have anything to do with salvation. It had to do with the fact that Abraham believed what God said. That covers everything, not just what we normally think of as salvation. God said Abraham was righteous; He called Abraham His friend because he believed what He said. (Jas.2:23) And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God.

God reckons righteousness the same way today. There are a lot of God’s people who have no eyes or ears because they are not hearing what God says. (Joh.8:47) He that is of God heareth the words of God: for this cause ye hear them not, because ye are not of God. The righteous are those who hear what He says. Jesus was talking to religious people, those Jews who had believed Him (John 8:31), and He told them that! If we are, ultimately, the elect of God, we will find out. Do you know why? It’s because we are going to hear God’s Word! People who won’t listen to you when you try to gracefully give them the Word of God either aren’t being drawn by God at that time or they’re not children of God. “He that is of God hears the words of God.”

Jesus gave us this example. He didn’t do anything but what He heard and saw, and that’s what babes do, too. The problem is that sometimes babes are using the wrong eyes and ears, and so they are without experience of the Word of righteousness. Speaking faith, which is “calling those things that are not, as though they were” (Romans 4:17), is a Word of righteousness. God has done everything from the beginning this way. He didn’t create the world in any other way, but this way. It says in (Isa.46:9) Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me; (10) declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. God speaks the end from the beginning and it comes to pass. We are in training to be sons who do this.

Now He’s teaching us, as sons and daughters, to do the same thing, but you won’t be able to do that, if you’re paying attention to your natural eyes and your natural ears. You will always be inexperienced in the Word of righteousness. You will always be a babe, unless you begin to say the things the Bible says you should say. You will always be a babe, unless you begin to see the way the Bible commands you to see. And we need to be reminded of how the Scriptures tell us to see because it’s so easy to slip back to seeing in the natural. Do you know what happens when you walk in the natural? You become worried and anxious, you become troubled because you’re not seeing come to pass what’s in the Scriptures. You start thinking, “It will never come to pass.” Well, it will never come to pass, unless you have spiritual eyes.

You have to see the way God tells you to see. And He tells us, (2Pe.1:2) Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord (So, the more you know about God, the more grace and peace you’re going to have, but then he goes on.); (3) seeing.... You’re not going to have grace and peace without being able to see this! (2Pe.1:3) Seeing that his divine power hath granted (Notice this is past tense; it’s already done.) unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue. If you can see that His divine power has already granted us everything that pertains to life and godliness, you can have it! If you can’t see that, then you can’t have it! Grace comes from being able to see this way.

Jesus was always bold to speak things before they came to pass, and you’ve probably never seen a miracle that you didn’t speak first, before it came to pass. The biggest miracles that I’ve ever seen were bold statements of faith right out in front of everybody! Look at this in (Jos.10:12) Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; And thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon. (13) And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stayed in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.

(14) And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel. Joshua stopped the whole solar system! He spoke it right out in front of everybody. That sounds like something a fool would do, doesn’t it? But the Bible says that no one who puts their trust in Him will ever be put to shame. (Rom.10:11) For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be put to shame. If you’re going to see miracles, you may have to step out there and look like a fool.

I’m not talking about saying things that you don’t see; I’m talking about things that you do see. That “seeing” could be something that you see in the Word of God or it could be something that you’ve received in a dream or a vision from the Lord, or it could be a Word of knowledge or a Word of wisdom from the Lord. “Seeing” can come many ways and one foundational “seeing” is that God has already given you everything that pertains to life and godliness! He’s telling you this is what you must see, if you’re going to have it. You can’t be what Peter describes as near-sighted. First he lists all the Christ-like virtues: (2Pe.1:5) Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence in your faith, supply virtue; and in [your] virtue knowledge;

(6) and in [your] knowledge self-control; and in [your] self-control patience; and in [your] patience godliness; (7) and in [your] godliness brotherly kindness; and in [your] brotherly kindness love. (8) For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful unto the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then he tells you, (9) For he that lacketh these things is blind, seeing only what is near, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. So a near-sighted person is someone who sees with their natural eyes, not their spiritual eyes; and you can’t have these gifts, these virtues of Jesus Christ, if you’re near-sighted. (Jas.1:23) For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror. Someone who sees their natural face in the mirror becomes a hearer of the Word, but not a doer of the Word.

This is how we’re told to see, in (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. We have to see Jesus in the mirror by faith! We have to see Him with spiritual eyes and call the things that are not as though they were because the way that God does His work is through our faith. (1Co.1:26) For behold your calling, brethren, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called:] Notice that God is speaking of people here not “things”, which is not numeric in the following text.) (27) but God chose the foolish ~~things~~ of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak ~~things~~ of the world, that he might put to shame the ~~things~~ that are strong; (28) and the base ~~things~~ of the world, and the ~~things~~ that are despised, did God choose, yea and the ~~things~~ that are not, that he might bring to nought the ~~things~~ that are: (29) that no flesh should glory before God.

God chose the things that “are not” to bring to nothing the “things that are.” What are “the things that are”? It’s the curse! What are “the things that are not”? It’s what Jesus accomplished on the cross! He gave us sonship at the cross, but it is not yet manifested! (1Jn.3:2) Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is. If you don’t see Him as He is, you can’t be like Him. We study the Scriptures so that we get a vision of Christ and we see Him as He is. He had a vision of His Father; that’s why He did what He did. We study the Scriptures to get a vision of Christ so that we can do what He did, live what He lived, be what He was!

Of course, most of the Church says, “No! It’s not possible!” But those people say that because they are only counting upon their own strength and they don’t count upon the promise of the Word of God, which is backed up by God’s strength. If God says, (Mat.5:48) Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect, you can have faith in Him and He will do it in you. Now, I agree that “perfect” is different for every one of us. The Greek word here for “perfect” is teleios, which is the same word for “mature.” God is maturing each one of us to do a different job in His Kingdom, so we are not going to look alike. The Bible clearly states that we’re supposed to be growing into the fullness of Christ. In (Eph.4:13) Till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. That’s what we are supposed to reach; that’s God’s promise to us.

Now the bad report preachers are like the spies who went into the Promised Land and said, “Nope! We can’t take it! We just have to settle for where we are! We can’t overcome sin. We are always going to be sinners!” (Num.13:31) But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. (32) And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. (33) And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

They, and everyone who believed them, died of the plague in the wilderness. They didn’t go into the Promised Land because they brought a bad report! (Num.14:28) Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord, surely as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: (29) your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, that have murmured against me, (30) surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

That’s because Joshua and Caleb said, (Num.14:9) Only rebel not against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is removed from over them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not. They told the people, “Those giants are bread for us!” If they’re “bread” for you, that must mean you’re supposed to eat them and they’ll cause you to grow, right? Yes! That’s what it’s all about! In type, those “giants” are the natural man who dwells in the Land of Promise. The spiritual man has to go in there to kill that giant and take his house, which is this body of our flesh.

God bless you Saints! I suggest that you meditate on this teaching to give roots to it. It is very important.

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Endure to Manifest Salvation (7)

(audio)

David Eells (7/24/24)

I’m going to back up just a little bit where I spoke in part (6) about the promised land. Starting in (Num.14:28) Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord, surely as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: (If we believe and speak contrary to the Word we will not take our Promised Land.) (29) your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, that have murmured against me, (30) surely ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

That’s because Joshua and Caleb said in (Num.14:9) Only rebel not against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is removed from over them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not. They told the people, “Those giants are bread for us!” In type, those “giants” are the natural man who dwells in the Land of Promise. The spiritual man has to go in there to kill that giant and take his house, which is this body of our flesh.

And also in type, in the New Testament we are the “land.” It says in (Heb.6:7) For the land which hath drunk the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receiveth blessing from God: (8) but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned. We’re drinking the rain, which is the Word of God, and we do that to bring forth the fruit of God. But in that land there lives the carnal man, or “Canaanite,” who is the enemy that must be put to death. We are going to kill him and we’re going to live in his house instead! As the inner man is being renewed, the outer man is decaying as it says in (2Co.4:16) Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. If the inner man is not being renewed, the outer man is not decaying.

For example, the Bible promises us divine health and you can avoid a lot sicknesses just by denying them the ability to take authority over you. You tell that sickness, “No! I don’t permit it!” I’m not saying you can always deny it because you can’t. If you’ve been willfully disobedient, a chastening is going to come upon you (Hebrews 10:26-27), but you are still supposed to accept what the Word of God says if you want to ultimately come out from under the curse.

When judgment came upon the Israelites who sinned in the wilderness, God still told them to look at the serpent on the pole so that they would be healed. (Num.21:4) And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. (5) And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. This was the Manna, the Word which came down out of heaven.

(6) And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. (7) And the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. (8) And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live. (9) And Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon the standard: and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived.

Sometimes we think, “Well, I received this chastening because I’ve sinned, so I’m supposed to keep it.” No! You got it because you sinned, very possibly, but you’re still not supposed to keep it! You will keep it, as long as the chastening is upon you, but your job is to correct your thoughts and words, not to consider how long it’s going to take for God to chasten you out of your sin. That’s the wrong thinking! That’s not what the Bible tells us to do. We are to keep our eyes on the serpent on the pole. The way you should be thinking is, “My sin and my sickness were put upon Jesus who became sin and was cursed for me! I am delivered! I am set free from the power of darkness!” Jesus said in (Luk.10:19) Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. “I’ve given you authority over all the power of the enemy”; that’s what it says in the original manuscripts.

The King James has a mistranslation that reads, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” See, we have total authority over all the power of the enemy. Our authority is by faith in what Jesus did on the cross. It’s true that between the time you believe and the time the healing or other deliverance is manifested, God may give you a chastening, but that’s not what you’re supposed to be thinking about. I’ve had people tell me, “Well, I’m being chastened for this, and I’m being chastened for that.” And I say to them, “That’s fine, but you have to keep your eyes on the serpent on the pole.”

You know, the devil is a great deceiver and he’ll tell you that you’re never through being chastened. He’ll tell you, “You have no choice. You’re going to have to die with that.” No! That’s not what we’re commanded to see. This is what we believe and what we confess, in (1Pe.2:24) Who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed. He took our sins away! We don’t have to struggle with them. Jesus “bare our sins in his body” on the cross and that’s where our faith is supposed to be. We in (Rom.4:17) ... calleth the things that are not, as though they were, just as our father Abraham did. We also believe and confess Gal 3:13-14 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 that upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Look at what happened when the Israelites fought with the Amorites, who were ruling over the Promised Land. The name “Amorite” means “Prominence” and the carnal man has been the prominent ruler of our promised land. It says in (Jos.10:8) And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thy hands; there shall not a man of them stand before thee. And by the power of God, that’s when Joshua did the miracle of stopping the solar system so they could conquer the old man of the land. (Jos.10:5) Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped against Gibeon, and made war against it.

(12) Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; And thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon. (13) And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stayed in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. (14) And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel. God did that so the Israelites could be avenged of their enemies and He’ll go to extreme measures to enable you to be avenged of your enemies, too. But who is the enemy?

In type, there were five kings who ruled over the Promised Land and when we were lost in sin, the five “kings” that ruled over our Promised Land were the five senses. When you’re ruled by your carnal senses, your actions are based on what you feel, see and hear. But Jesus didn’t let His natural senses rule Him. You could slap Jesus on the cheek and He would turn the other one to you! He wasn’t moved by what He felt, saw or heard. And that’s the way sons are: sons are not moved by what they see, hear and feel with their natural senses; they’re moved by the Word of God. If we’re going to be sons, that’s the way we have to be moved.

Continuing in (Jos.10:16) And these five kings fled, and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. The cave in the earth at Makkedah represents our mouth because our mouth is a cave in our earthly flesh. (Jos.10:17) And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah. (18) And Joshua said, Roll great stones unto the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to keep them: (19) but stay not ye; pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the Lord your God hath delivered them into your hand. In other words, “Keep on putting to death the old man, but put great stones, representing the Word, at the mouth of the cave so that the five kings can’t come out.” If you allow the natural senses to speak out of your mouth, they’ll keep on ruling your land. Remember, if you add to the Word or take away from the Word, you’re still under the curse because you’re still ruled by the old man.

The Lord says in (Rev.22:18) I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book: (19) and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book. And so they rolled great rocks to close the mouth of the cave and we know that the Rock is the Word of God. (2Sa.22:2) And he said, the Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, even mine; (3) God, my rock, in him will I take refuge; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge; My Saviour, thou savest me from violence. Just like those rocks were to prevent these five kings from coming out, the Word of God should restrain you from speaking things that come to you through your natural senses and, instead, speak things that are in agreement with the Word.

Well, when the Israelites came back from pursuing their enemies, (Jos.10:22) Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring forth those five kings unto me out of the cave. (24) And it came to pass, when they brought forth those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the chiefs of the men of war that went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. I.e., They never permitted the kings to speak! (25) And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. (26) And afterward Joshua smote them, and put them to death, and hanged them on five trees.

(27) And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had hidden themselves, and laid great stones on the mouth of the cave, unto this very day. Notice, the senses of the earthly body were buried with the flesh; they went from the earth and back to the earth. It says in (Joh.3:6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. And so those five kings, the five senses, weren’t permitted to speak and they were hanged on a tree, which is what the Bible says about Jesus. When Jesus went to the cross, He put to death the five natural senses, in order that we could have our spiritual senses exercised to discern good from evil.

Now, “babes” don’t have their senses exercised to discern good from evil because it’s by using the Word of righteousness that we exercise our senses to discern good from evil. (Heb.5:13) For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. (14) But solid food is for fullgrown men, [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil. What does it mean to “experience” the Word of righteousness? It means that we’re not just “hearers” of the Word, but that we’ve become “doers” of the Word and you can’t be a “doer” of something, if you haven’t studied it.

Let’s read (Act.17:11) Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so. And (Php.2:12) So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. The washing of the water of the Word of God (Ephesians 5:26) will “exercise,” it will “fine-tune” our spiritual senses so that we will know good from evil. Jesus always spoke in agreement with the Word and He always saw things around Him through the eyes of the Spirit.

The same was true of David. When David was going to kill Goliath, he saw things totally different from all the other Israelites. All the other Israelites were looking at this giant, Goliath. He was all they could see and they were fearful! (1Sa.17:4) And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. (5) And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. (6) And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders. (7) And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head [weighed] six hundred shekels of iron: and his shield-bearer went before him.

(8) And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. (9) If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. (10) And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. (11) And when Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. They didn’t have any hope of running out there and conquering that giant, but that’s not what David saw. What he saw was somebody who had come against God and, therefore, his authority was taken away.

David saw that Goliath had no power. He saw what Joshua and Caleb saw: “They’re bread for us!” Our own giants are like that, too. They look so big, we think we just can’t conquer them! Remember my vision where I saw myself in a war to take the land from giants? In this battle, I had captured one of the enemies and, in order to prevent him from speaking, I was holding him in a neck lock while walking down a trail. The Lord revealed to me that this enemy was my carnal man. Then, as we walked around a bend, we saw a giant standing by a campfire and, although I knew he was a giant, he actually was no larger than me. That’s because a giant can be any enemy or obstacle that we perceive to be greater than us or our ability to take control of our life for God.

As we faced this giant, I momentarily released the neck lock and my enemy spoke to him. He said, “Bigger, bigger, bigger!” I knew that my enemy had the ability, by speaking, to make this giant much bigger, so I turned and karate-chopped him in the Adam’s apple to keep him from speaking further. Then I said, “No! Smaller, smaller, smaller!” You see, if you permit the carnal man to speak about any adverse situation, he has the ability to make it worse. The flesh walks by sight, not by faith. On the other hand, the spiritual man has authority to speak to giants such as sins, sicknesses, curses and needs to make them smaller and smaller, until they do not exist. And that’s it! If you make your giant bigger, he’s bigger. If you let the old man speak out of your mouth, that giant will get bigger. But if you let the spiritual man speak according to faith, you’ll say, “No! Smaller, smaller, smaller!” You’ll whittle that giant right on down to size until he just disappears. Praise the Lord!

That’s what David did. David was bold to speak according to what the spiritual man saw. (1Sa.17:37) And David said, God that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. (45) Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts.... And that’s what he was doing. When you come in the name, it’s because you accept the Word, you accept Christ as your head and you see things the way the Bible tells you to see things. David saw things Biblically! The rest of them were seeing by the flesh, by the carnal senses. (1Sa.17:45) … Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

David spoke bold faith. (46) This day will the Lord deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from off thee; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day unto the birds of the heavens, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, (47) and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand. (49) And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.

If you’ve ever used a sling, you know that’s a huge miracle because a sling is just about the most haphazard weapon out there. I practiced and practiced with one when I was a kid. And I got to where I could hit a barn and then I could hit a tree, but I’d never be able to hit any giant in the forehead without God! But God was with David for his bold confession. When you’re slinging that thing, you have to turn loose of the tab at just the right place in the arc for the stone to turn loose and hit its target. And a sling is really much more powerful than a sling shot; it will sink a rock into something. The leverage that a sling gives you is powerful, but turning it loose at just the right trajectory so that it hits your target, that’s a neat trick because you’re aiming and releasing the stone only by feel, and in this case by God.

But David hit Goliath right in the forehead! The forehead is where the Bible says the “mark of the beast” is because that’s the unrenewed mind of the beast. We go back a few verses to (1Sa.17:40) And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his wallet; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. Then in (49) And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone.... David took one stone out of the five stones that he picked up, which symbolized the five senses. The water had run over those stones until they were polished smooth and he picked up that one stone and hit that giant in the forehead. In type, David put to death “the mind of the flesh.” Then he went over there and finished the job. David cut off Goliath’s head with Goliath’s own sword and that’s what we have to do with our giant.

So which “stone” did David use? He had all of his senses polished. Which of the five senses did he use? First he saw correctly. He saw things totally different than any of the rest of those Israelites, including Saul. David had the eyes of the Lord! He had the eyes of the Word! The eyes of the dove. And if you keep putting that Word in your heart, you’ll have the eyes of the Lord and you’ll see things the way He sees things. You will be able to speak the way He speaks. David spoke for the Lord when he said, “I come to you in the name.” And we know the word “name” means “nature, character and authority.” He was saying, “I come to you in the nature, character and authority of the Lord.”

(1Sa.17:45) Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. What He spoke directed that stone. (46) This day will the Lord deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from off thee; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day unto the birds of the heavens, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.... He spoke it before it came to pass and then it came to pass.

Don’t be afraid to speak something before you see it, before it comes to pass. Our flesh trembles to speak it before it comes to pass, but that’s where you’re going to see the great miracles! Agree with the Word of God and speak the end from the beginning, as God has taught us to do. Rom 10:9-10 because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved: 10 for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Of course, the devil is going to tell you, “Oh, boy! If you say that and it doesn’t come to pass, you’re going to look like a fool.” But remember, (1Pe.2:6) Because it is contained in scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame. (Rom.10:11) For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be put to shame. (Joe.2:27) And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and there is none else; and my people shall never be put to shame. Never!

So when the devil tells you, “You are going to be put to shame,” you tell him, “No! You’re a liar because I trust in God.” Boldly confess as David did; “I’m not going to be put to shame.” “I will not serve this sin!” “I will not serve the devil!” “I will not be sick!” “I will not live under this curse!” We, first of all, need to make Jesus our head by agreeing with Him as it says in (Eph.4:15) But speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, even Christ. If we can do that, we can speak what we will and it will come to pass. (1Co.2:16) For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. When Jesus is our head, then we have the mind of Christ in us.

We are told in (1Jn.2:6) He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. That’s all Peter wanted; in (Mat.14:25) And in the fourth watch of the night he came unto them, walking upon the sea. (26) And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost; and they cried out for fear. (27) But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. (28) And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee upon the waters. (29) And he said, Come. And Peter went down from the boat, and walked upon the waters to come to Jesus. Jesus said, “Come,” and the only thing Peter was walking on was the Word of God.

The devil is always going to tell you, “Oh, you can’t do that” because you have this problem, or you have that problem, but you tell him, “You’re a liar!” And then you just proceed to do it! Your faith must be acted upon as it says in (Jas.2:26) For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. When you believe the Word, act on it! For example, if you believe that you were healed, then you can do what you would be able to do, if you were healed!

At one of our Bible studies, when a sister in the Lord was having back pain, I told her, “Bend over and touch your toes; you’re healed!” When she bent over and touched her toes, when she acted by faith, she was healed because she acted by faith. And again, when you move on something by faith, the devil will tell you, “You’re going to look like a fool.” No! That won’t happen when you believe you have received as it says in (Mar.11:24) Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

But don’t act on something because so-and-so is doing it or because you want to impress somebody, or for any other reason but faith because nothing will bring the manifestation to pass but faith. In other words, you want the manifestation because the Word says it’s yours and you believe what the Word says. And, by the way, you will never convince your whole mind to believe it. You may think because you have some contrary thoughts in there, that you’re not believing. If you don’t pay attention to those thoughts, you are not wavering. The devil will tell you, “Aha! See there, you have doubt!” But he put that thought there in the first place and, if you don’t accept that thought, then you’re not doubting. (Jas.1:14) But each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. The devil might give you a thought or your flesh might give you a thought, but you can reject it.

And you can act on the thoughts that come from God. (Jas.4:7) Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. You see, until our minds are totally renewed by the Word of God, we’re still going to have these thoughts coming to us, but we don’t have to accept them. We have the authority to say, “No!” It’s just that simple. Now a lot of people will think in their minds, “I’m healed, I’m healed, I’m healed!” But if it just stops right there and it doesn’t go any further, they may not see the manifestation of it. You have to act on your faith. Faith has to come out of your mouth, or faith has to be in your walk, but it has to be somewhere! There needs to be some form of action that goes with faith, before you will see it manifest. You may even have to do what Joshua did and boldly speak or take some other action, out in front of people. Some of the greatest miracles of God I’ve ever seen came through speaking bold faith right out in front of other people. Praise be to God!

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Endure to Manifest Salvation (8)

(audio)

David Eells (7/28/24)

I’m going to continue with how we endure in our faith to manifest salvation.

The Bible says you can write the Word on your own heart with your tongue. We can speak these things down into our hearts so that they come out of us naturally. Let’s look at this in (Psa.45:1) My heart overfloweth with a goodly matter; I speak the things which I have made touching the king: My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. “My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” And, just think about this, if you bridle the tongue, you turn the whole body as it says in (Jas.3:3) Now if we put the horses’ bridles into their mouths that they may obey us, we turn about their whole body also. (4) Behold, the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by rough winds, are yet turned about by a very small rudder, whither the impulse of the steersman willeth. (5) So the tongue also is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how much wood is kindled by how small a fire!

(6) And the tongue is a fire: the world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the wheel of nature, and is set on fire by hell. Have you ever seen a bridle? It goes through the horse’s mouth and it has what’s called a “bit” on it. The bit presses on the tongue and applies pressure to a horse’s sensitive mouth. That allows the rider to control the horse by means of the reins, which are attached to the bridle. A tongue is so tiny compared to the body, but if you bridle the tongue, it allows you to control the whole body, just like the small rudder of a ship turns the whole ship around. It all starts with the tongue! (Rom.10:10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

I tell you, if you confess with your mouth, you will start believing in your heart because you’ll be writing something upon your own heart with your own words. According to many studies over the years, if you really want to remember something, speak it as you read it and you’ll get a much higher percentage of recall because you’re forming auditory links in the memory pathways. Well, it’s a spiritual principle! Back in Louisiana, there was a local brother who couldn’t read, so we gave him an audio Bible. He would follow along in his Bible while he listened to the audio and I was amazed at how quickly he learned to read. He was so happy because the thing he wanted the most was to be able to read the Bible and God really honored that!

We should always speak in agreement with the Scriptures because “sweet” and “bitter waters” shouldn’t come out of the same fountain. Going back to (Jas.3:8) But the tongue can no man tame; [it is] a restless evil, [it is] full of deadly poison. (9) Therewith bless we the Lord and Father; and therewith curse we men, who are made after the likeness of God: (10) out of the same mouth cometh forth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. (11) Doth the fountain send forth from the same opening sweet [water] and bitter? (12) Can a fig tree, my brethren, yield olives, or a vine figs? Neither [can] salt water yield sweet. (So your own mouth can curse you and others. Speaking scripture or even agreeing with scripture blesses your soul.)

Do you remember what happened when the Israelites camped beside the bitter waters? It says in (Exo.15:23) And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. (24) And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? (25) And he cried unto the Lord; And the Lord showed him a tree, and he cast it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. I believe the “tree” is the cross and that we are able to speak the “sweet waters” because of what Jesus did. The “waters” were bitter but God made them sweet. Thank You, Lord!

We’re taught to think of leaven only in a negative way. And from the time we come out of “Egypt,” until the end of seven days when we come to the “rest,” we’re to partake of only the unleavened bread (Exodus 12:15-20). Let’s read what the Lord said in (Mat.16:6) And Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (11) How is it that ye do not perceive that I spake not to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (12) Then understood they that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. That means we are not to take any teaching into our lives, other than this teaching. As we can see here this teaching is the Unleavened Bread.

But there is a teaching that is supposed to leaven us: (Mat.13:33) Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened. The teaching that is supposed to “leaven” us is God’s Word because those three measures of meal in this parable represent the spirit, the soul and the body. God’s purpose is to completely regenerate our whole being, spirit, soul and body, through His Word. (1Th.5:23) And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. There are some groups that teach these promises are just spiritual and not physical, but they’re both as it says in (Psa.107:20) He sendeth his word, and healeth them, And delivereth them from their destructions. Obviously, healing can be both spiritual and physical, and our healing has been given to us from God, according to His Word. Only His Word is able to completely sanctify us in spirit, soul and body. Praise the Lord!

You know, the first sign that Jesus did was turning water into wine in Cana of Galilee. This is in (Joh.2:1) And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: (2) and Jesus also was bidden, and his disciples, to the marriage. (3) And when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. (4) And Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. (5) His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. (6) Now there were six waterpots of stone (Six is the number of man and the stone is hardened clay, which is what man is made out of.) set there after the Jews manner of purifying, containing two or three firkins apiece.

(Joh.2:7) Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. (The water is the Word of God.) And they filled them up to the brim. (8) And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the ruler of the feast. And they bare it. (9) And when the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and knew not whence it was (but the servants that had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast calleth the bridegroom, (10) and saith unto him, Every man setteth on first the good wine; and when men have drunk freely, then that which is worse: thou hast kept the good wine until now. (11) This beginning of his signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

What was the wine? It’s says in (Mat.26:27) And he took a cup, and gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; (28) for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many unto remission of sins. The wine was His blood and it says in (Lev.17:11) For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life. “The life of the flesh is in the blood.” This is showing us that if we fill our vessels with the Word of God, then God will turn that “water” into “wine,” or the “blood,” which is the nature of Jesus Christ! God is saying, “You fill your vessel with the Word and I’ll turn it into the nature of Jesus Christ” because a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Praise be to God!

If you keep being faithful to put the Word in your heart, the Word will be faithful to bring forth the fruit. The Word is the “seed” of the sower, as Jesus taught. (Mat.13:3) And he spake to them many things in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went forth to sow; (4) and as he sowed, some [seeds] fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured them: (5) and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth: and straightway they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth: (6) and when the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. (7) And others fell upon the thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked them: (8) and others fell upon the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Many people don’t know why they’re just stagnating and not growing in the Lord, but this is the reason. It’s because they’re not being diligent to keep putting the Word in their heart. Did you know that as wheat goes through the process of bearing seed, which is its fruit, the plant progressively dies to itself and the same thing is true for us? Jesus said, (Mat.16:25) For whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it. So you have to lose your life, but that’s not something you can do; it’s something that the Lord has already accomplished! Through faith, we accept the death of the old man as a gift.

And we need to know that, (2Co.4:11) ... we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. The life of Christ will be manifested in our mortal flesh. Well, what about those people who say, “The life of Christ comes after you die and go to Heaven.” That’s not what the Scripture says! It’s in our mortal flesh! We are always going to be delivered over to death, so that this can come to pass.

You go through trials, troubles and tribulations, as Paul said: (2Co.4:8) We are pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto despair; (9) pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed; (10) always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body. But you can go through trials and go through trials and you will go through them for nothing, if you don’t exercise faith in the midst of the trial. Every trial, every trouble that you go through, is an opportunity to bring forth spiritual seed as you manifest more of Christ. And Paul tells us we have to, (1Ti.6:12) Fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on the life eternal, whereunto thou wast called, and didst confess the good confession in the sight of many witnesses. Fight the good fight of the faith! Continue to agree with what the Word says and not with what your carnal senses are telling you.

If you don’t fight, you lose! Automatically. If you do not fight, you will lose, but the fight is the “good fight of the faith.” In the midst of your trial, you take out the Word of God, which is the “sword of the Spirit.” We are commanded in (Eph.6:10) Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. (11) Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12) For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places]. (It’s too easy in the trial to forget to fight with the demons behind it and not with the people they are using.) (13) Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. (14) Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

(15) and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (16) withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil [one]. (17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Some people’s spirits are totally defenseless because they don’t ever study the Word. We need to give a sword to our spirit! If you know what you can believe in the midst of a trial, then you can use that like a sword and you’ll win! You’ll win because nothing can stand up against God’s Word -- not the devil, not the world, not the flesh, nothing! And let this encourage you to know, (2Co.4:16) Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. (17) For our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory. God is going to use all these things that we go through so the Glory of God will be manifested in us. Praise be to God!

How is the glory of God manifested in us? It’s manifested as we behold the Lord in the mirror, as we’ve said. You continue to behold the Lord in the mirror! As you do that, you are going to be transformed into His image, from glory to glory, but this process he’s talking about in verses 16 and 17 won’t come to pass, unless you pay close attention to verse 18. (2Co.4:18) While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. In other words, you must not pay attention to the things that you see with your natural eyes, if you want to bear fruit, because with your natural eyes you can look only upon yourself. Your natural eyes see where you are, but God wants you to look at the face of Christ in the mirror and see where you are by faith!

That’s what He wants you to see and He wants you to accept that as a gift! At the end, everybody is going to throw their crowns at the Lord’s feet as it says in (Rev.4:10) The four and twenty elders shall fall down before him that sitteth on the throne, and shall worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and shall cast their crowns before the throne, saying, (11) Worthy art thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power: for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they were, and were created. Everybody is going to know that it wasn’t ever through our works and it wasn’t through our efforts; it was totally by His grace! (Eph.2:8) For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; (9) not of works, that no man should glory. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.

And by grace are you still saved through faith and that’s not of yourself; it’s a gift of God! It’s not of your works, lest any man should boast, for in Christ Jesus were we created for good works. It’s all faith! While you’re not exercising faith, this process is not going on! But while we look at the things which are not seen with the natural eye, while we look at the things that are our gift, which are the promises of the Word, this process will be going on. The putting to death of the old man, in order to bring to life the new man, will be happening automatically, like a seed growing up out of the earth. Study the promises of God. They are the power of God! (Rom.1:16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth....

And we read in (Col.3:3) For ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (4) When Christ, [who is] our life.... When you manifest sonship, what have you manifested? You’ve manifested (Col.1:27) ... Christ in you, the hope of glory. When you go astray from the Word, as the Galatians did, do you know what you’re going astray from? You are going astray from the manifestation of Christ! Paul told the Galatians, (Gal.4:19) My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you. In other words, they weren’t sons; they were children. They had gone astray from faith. They had withdrawn from grace and they were getting back into legalism. In this place, there was no hope of them ever manifesting Christ. We just received this dream of a person who fell away because of faction but it fits all falling away.

Marie Kelton -7/26/24

During the meeting, I had asked the father where a certain fallen person was with him. And then had an open vision, of a beautiful tree with leaves on it on a hill. I then saw a hand come from heaven, and shake the tree until there were no leaves on it. (It no longer could take in the light.) And then snap the tree from the trunk. And pull it up. The roots were still in the ground though.

Luke 13:6-9 And he spake this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none. And he said unto the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why doth it also cumber the ground? And he answering saith unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: and if it bear fruit thenceforth, well; but if not, thou shalt cut it down.

I wasn't sure if I was seeing clearly so the lord gave me another vision of the same tree with a rope being tied around it, being pulled up with the roots this time. I still wanted to be sure so the lord gave me a vision of him standing next to me with a little potted plant in his hand and he pulled the plant up from the pot showing the roots. And yet still I wasn't sure if I was seeing clearly. So the Lord gave me another vision of me sitting in my house sitting on my couch, having an open vision of the tree with the rope around the trunk being pulled from the ground with the roots showing.

Jude 1:12 These are they who are hidden rocks in your love-feasts when they feast with you, ~~shepherds~~ (Not numeric) that without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn leaves without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots.

The Lord then gave me another open vision during the meeting of 3 pieces of silver hitting the floor. I immediately, thought of the 30 pieces of silver that Judas betrayed Jesus for. (Those who betray the body of Christ to follow their lusts will be condemned) Matthew 27:3-5 Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood. But they said, What is that to us? see thou to it. And he cast down the pieces of silver into the sanctuary, and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.

Concerning those who cannot manifest Christ through law, he gave them the parable about the handmaid and the free woman: (Gal.4:21) Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? (22) For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the handmaid, and one by the freewoman. (23) Howbeit the [son] by the handmaid is born after the flesh; but the [son] by the freewoman [is born] through promise.

(24) Which things contain an allegory: for these [women] are two covenants; one from mount Sinai, bearing children unto bondage (through the law), which is Hagar. (25) Now this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia and answereth to the Jerusalem that now is: for she is in bondage with her children. (26) But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother. (So, in other words, he told them, “If you’re going to be children of the free woman, it’s going to be by faith; it’s going to be by grace. It won’t be through your own works and it won’t be through your own efforts because it can’t be by the Law.”)

We are commanded in (Col.3:5) Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; (6) for which things’ sake cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience: (7) wherein ye also once walked, when ye lived in these things; (8) but now do ye also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, railing, shameful speaking out of your mouth:

(9) lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings (You’re not going to be able to obey verses 5 through 8, unless you can see that you have put off the old man with his doings in verse 9.), (Col.3:10) and have put on the new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him that created him. Can you see that you’ve put on the new man? Can you see that all of your sin and your sinful nature has been put off and that it’s all dead?

Can you see by faith that you have put off the old man and you have put on the new man, Who is Jesus. (Gal.2:20) I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. “It’s no longer I that live, it’s Christ Who lives in me.”

Paul made a bold confession of faith and we need to be able to do the same thing. In order to become sons, we need to be able to see as he saw. God’s purpose in Christ was to make Him a seed Who would bring forth many, many sons through belief in that seed. That was His purpose! In the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-13; Mark 4:1-30; Luke 8:4-15), the word there for “seed” is actually the Greek word sperma. He sowed that seed in this old, dirty earth, and the fruit it’s bringing forth is Christ.

Now, religion can really puff you up, can’t it? It can make you so proud that you won’t be able to receive the things of God, for He resists the proud (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). Let’s go to (Col.2:16) Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a sabbath day: (17) which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s. (18) Let no man rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and worshipping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he hath seen (This speaks of seeing with your natural eyes and not in the spirit.), vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind. When your only understanding is letter and not spirit, all it does is puff up your natural, fleshly mind. It doesn’t give you the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ does not come from seeing only the letter because the letter kills the meaning of the Spirit that edifies your soul.

If we understand this, we won’t be puffed up by our natural man. We won’t be proud or self-righteous because of things we have seen or done in the flesh. Otherwise, our natural mind is going to take over and look at what God says is the penalty for doing this: (Col.2:19) and not holding fast the Head.... See, if you walk after natural sight, puffed up in your fleshly mind, you can’t “hold fast” the head.

This can only be done through faith and not through our works, for God empowers faith. There is no fruit in not agreeing with God as it says in (Amo.3:3) Shall two walk together, except they have agreed? We can’t walk hand-in-hand with Christ, unless we agree with the Spirit of His Word. If you only see with natural eyes, you will not agree with Christ; you will not walk with Him. You cannot walk in the Spirit and you cannot be a son of God. (Rom.8:14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

What you see with your natural eyes will lead you away from Christ so quickly. It will cause you to be anxious and worried, it will cause you to be fearful and it will keep you from walking by faith. The most important thing to us in all the world should not be “going to church”. The most important thing to us in all the world is getting the Word into our heart because the Word is the seed of God with which God creates Jesus Christ in us. The Word is what brings forth the fruit of Christ in us. Put the Word in your heart! Study the Word! You might say, “Well, David, I tried, but I got distracted”. Folks, this is not salvation by works! You can’t struggle to make yourself study the Word the way you are supposed to do it. You have to ask God for that gift. “For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God”.

From the very foundation of faith, it starts with God; it doesn’t start with you. Notice what it says in (Joh.15:16) Ye did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. “Ye did not choose me, but I chose you”. God chose us! We didn’t come to Christ because we chose Him.

We came to Christ because He drew us and then we chose Him! You don’t come to Christ unless He draws you as Jesus says in (Joh.6:44) No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him.... We need to pray that God will put in us the desire, a hunger and thirst, for the truth of the Word of God. Everybody who hungers and thirsts after the truth will not have to worry about being deceived. That’s not possible, if you truly hunger and thirst after the truth!

Without motivation to seek the truth, you have no hope because we are just what we are and that’s what we will always be, without the influence of God. God showed me the example of a dog. You can try to teach a dog how to do human things, but he has no hope of being anything but what he is. He can only do what he is. God would have to put another heart in that dog for him to be anything other than what he is. And that’s why there’s no use in condemning lost people because they can only be what they are and they will never be anything but what they are, unless something from the outside comes in and changes them. The faith that brings this to pass comes from God, so go to God.

Take time to pray, “Lord, help me! I am not digging into Your Word the way I see I should. I ask You to put it in my heart to do this and I thank You for it.” (Php.4:6) In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. When you pray with thanksgiving, that’s faith because you are thanking God for something you haven’t seen yet. Don’t be anxious; don’t worry about a thing! (Php.4:7) And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

We progressively grow as it says in (Eph.4:13) Till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: (14) that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error; (15) but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, even Christ. Paul is talking about how we are learning to follow the Head! We are not our own head; Christ is our Head and we’re the Bride if we submit to Him. Christ is the Head of the Church! He’s our Head and we have no right anymore to go our own way, do our own thing, think our own thoughts, or see what we want to see because Christ is the Head!

And did you know that the Lord is searching throughout the earth for a place where He can set His Head? It says in (Luk.9:57) And as they went on the way, a certain man said unto him, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. Just like Peter, he was speaking out of self-confidence, and we’ve all thought that way, too, haven’t we? (Luk.9:58) And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven [have] nests (The Greek word here is actually “abodes” or “abiding places.”); but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. What does He mean? Well, you’re probably thinking, “He’s looking for a house to lay His head down in.” No, the Bible teaches that He’s looking for a place, a “house,” to lay His Head on. He is not your Head, unless you follow Him. (Luk.9:59) And he said unto another, Follow me....

Notice that Jesus said, “If you do this, you are My disciple; if you don’t do this, you cannot be My disciple.” He always related in terms of discipleship (See, Matthew 10:37- 38,42; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23, 14:26-27, 33; John 1:43, 12:26; etc.). Today, we relate in terms of who is and who is not a “Christian,” but we really ought to go back to calling people “believers.” Remember, it was the pagans who first called the Christians, “Christians,” because they walked and talked like Christ, which is no longer true. Now it’s become just a pagan term because it’s so loosely applied that nobody knows what a true “Christian” is! “Believers” is a little different because “believers” says that you believe what the Word says. The Greek word for “disciple” is mathetes and it means “learner and follower.” So if you are a “learner and a follower” of Christ, then Christ is your Head.

If you’re going your own way, He’s not your Head! Jesus is looking for an abode, an “abiding place,” for His Head. Let me show you another place where “abode” is used. It says in (Joh.14:23) Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my word: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (This is the same word that is translated “nests” in Luke 9:58: “the birds of the heavens have nests.”) See, the Lord isn’t looking for a physical house to be His abode, but He is looking for a “house” on which to put His Head!

By the way, God is making His “abode” with you. Did you know that? (Joh.14:2) In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. The word there for “mansions” is just a different Greek word for “abodes.” You see, in the Father’s House there are many nice “abodes”; there are many “abiding places” for the Father, not for you. It’s the Father’s House, not your house. God’s House is made up of many buildings and they are all put together into a Holy Temple in the Lord as it says in (Eph.2:21) In whom each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; (22) in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit. We are those nice buildings that He dwells in! And we will have a nice abode to dwell in. Some will be closer to the throne than others.

And we read in (Rev.21:9) And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, who were laden with the seven last plagues; and he spake with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. (10) And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, (11) having the glory of God: her light was like unto a stone most precious, as it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal: (12) having a wall great and high; having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: (13) on the east were three gates; and on the north three gates; and on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. (14) And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. That New Jerusalem building and all the symbolism in it reflects the Bride.

Let me show you this again in (1Pe.2:4) Unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious, (5) ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (6) Because it is contained in scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame. The only type of building that has a “chief corner stone” is a pyramid. The head stone is the very top stone, but it’s also the chief corner stone because it’s where all four corners of the pyramid meet. (1Pe.2:7) For you therefore that believe is the preciousness: but for such as disbelieve, The stone which the builders rejected....

Did you know that the Great Pyramid was built by Enoch and his sons as a prophecy from God? Inside it, there is a timetable of history and for coming events. It also has many measurements encoded, such as the earth’s circumference and the distances between the earth and the moon. But the chief cornerstone was never laid! It was rejected by the builders. It was a prophecy of our Chief Corner Stone, Jesus! The Great Pyramid: Prophecy In Stone, by Noah W. Hutchings, is a book about the prophecies of the Great Pyramid. You see, the Great Pyramid wasn’t built when the other pyramids were built; it was built before the Flood. The other pyramids were built later by the Egyptians because they saw the properties that were in the Great Pyramid and they copied it. The Bible talks about the Great Pyramid in several places because it’s a prophecy about the Church and the “Chief Corner Stone.” According to archeologists, the Great Pyramid went through the flood and didn’t settle one 1/100th of an inch anywhere. It’s built on and socketed down into a solid rock. It’s amazing! Engineers are doubtful it could be built today, even with all our modern machinery.

Going on in (1Pe.2:7) For you therefore that believe is the preciousness: but for such as disbelieve, The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; (Notice: He is both head and corner.) (8) and, A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence; for they stumble at the word, being disobedient.... By the way, this word “disobedient” is the word apeitheia and it means both “unbelieving” and “disobedient.” The Greeks had the same word for “unbelieving” and “disobedient” because, if you are unbelieving, you will be disobedient and, if you’re disobedient, it’s because you are unbelieving. (1Pe.2:8) And, A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence; for they stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. (9) But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Jesus can only put His Head on a “house” that makes Him Head. Paul says in (Eph.5:23) For the husband is the head of the wife, and Christ also is the head of the church, [being] himself the Saviour of the body. When you submit to the Word, then He becomes your Head, like a wife is to make her husband the head in everything. (Eph.2:18) For through him we both have our access in one Spirit unto the Father. (19) So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God (Keep in mind it’s God’s House.), (20) being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone.... Jesus is the Chief Corner Stone of the Household of God and, if you won’t submit to Him, you can’t be in the House of God!

Submitting to Him is seeing the way He’s commanded you to see and hearing the way He’s commanded you to hear. (Eph.2:20) Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone; (21) in whom each several building.... The Greek says, “every building.” In other words, (21) in whom every building fitly framed together (So we see that the Household of God is made up of many buildings; or, “In my Father’s House, there are many mansions.”), groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; (22) in whom you also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit. Who is the building? It’s you! The Household of God is you! These mansions He’s putting into His House symbolize all those who will submit to the Head. Remember, Jesus said, “Follow Me.” If you follow Him, He has a place to put His Head.

Somebody who’s “not holding fast the head” is somebody who’s puffed up by their natural mind and the things they see with their natural eyes. You won’t have the Head of Christ, if you walk after your natural eyes and, if you don’t have the Head of Christ, you’re not one of the “buildings” being fitted into the building beneath Him. Now let’s read in (Luk.9:59) And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Here’s someone who says, “Me first,” so the Lord is not finding a “house” here upon which to put His Head. (60) But he said unto him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of God. (61) And another also said, I will follow thee, Lord; but first (“But first! But first!” Nothing else can be first!) suffer me to bid farewell to them that are at my house. (62) But Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

When you say, “Me first,” you’re looking back from the plow and when you look back at where you were, instead of where you’re going, you will walk a crooked walk. If you are starting to plow or disc a field you set your eyes straight ahead at a target on the other side. If you look back you will swerve off the path. Reckon yourself to be dead! Dead men don’t say, “Me first!” Dead men don’t talk back! If you’re dead, the only right you have is to obey your Master, the Lord. You don’t have any personal rights anymore.

Anyone who wants personal rights doesn’t want Jesus as their Head. It says in (Php.2:13) For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. We need to pray and ask the Lord to put this desire in us: “Lord, let me serve You,” because if we allow anything of the world to take priority over that, Jesus will not be our Head! It’s the same as when a woman doesn’t submit to her husband; she doesn’t have a head as it says in (1Co.11:3) But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. If we want to have our Head, then we have to submit to the chain of command, according to God’s order of government.

Now, as we’ve talked about earlier, we each have a “Promised Land” to conquer and, if we come into agreement with what God says, as Joshua and Caleb did, we will conquer our promised land. God has shown me several parallels about the Promised Land. For one, He’s shown me that the Promised Land is the natural life of the born again man. Let’s go to (Heb.6:4) For as touching those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, (5) and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, (6) and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. (7) For the land which hath drunk the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receiveth blessing from God: (8) but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned.

The Israelite is to rule in this land that’s been promised to him and the Canaanite is the old man, the man who must die. And in another way, God has shown me that the Promised Land is also all the promises of the Word. God told Joshua, (Jos.1:3) Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, to you have I given it, as I spake unto Moses. Every place where you stand on this Word, God will give it to you. (Jos.1:5) There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee; I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Nobody will be able to stand before you! If you stand on this Word, the old man, that carnal man, the Canaanite, will not be able to stand before you! He will not be able to resist you! Joshua and Caleb stood on the Word when they spoke in agreement with God. They didn’t say what they saw, what they felt and what they heard with their natural senses. They each conquered their Promised Land.

Those other spies brought the bad report when they said what they saw, what they felt and what they heard. They did not agree with God when they did that (Numbers 13 and 14). The only way you can take the Promised Land is to see what God says to see, hear what God says to hear and feel what God says to feel. This is walking by the Spirit. That’s why we have to renew our minds with the Word.

It’s quite natural to have the old mind and you are going against the ways of the whole world when you change your mind and repent, and say what the Bible says to say. But it says in (Isa.8:20) To the law and to the testimony! if they speak not according to this word, surely there is no morning for them. There will be no new light, no new day for anybody who doesn’t speak according to this Word. And (2Co.4:4) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn [upon them]. Our only hope is to agree with God!

You cannot come out from under the curse, if you don’t agree with God. (Rev.22:18) I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book: (19) and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book. In circumstances and situations, we’re always tempted to add to and take away from the Word. But when you disagree with the Word and you say what comes through your natural senses, you stay underneath the curse. But remember, Jesus gave us authority! (Mat.18:18) Verily I say unto you, what things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

When we agree with the Word, we’re going to bind the carnal man, the flesh! When we disagree with the Word, we loose him and we don’t carry on the process of death to the old man. So, look again here in (2Co.4:16) Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. (17) For our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; (18) while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. The process is only carried on by seeing that we’ve been delivered, we’ve been set free! The old man’s dead!

Let’s go to (Num.21:4) And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. Do you know how to become discouraged, anxious or troubled? You pay attention to the things that are and you don’t pay attention to what God has given you, which are the many promises in the Word. And it doesn’t ever stop with just discouragement, but next you begin to speak against the Lord. (Num.21:5) And the people spake against God.... And when you speak against God, the next step is God’s judgment. We sometimes live continually under the judgment and the chastenings of the Lord because we speak against God. We add to or take away from the Word and, in so doing, we don’t come out from under the curse.

Now, not everybody believes this but the Bible says that God sent the curse. We’ve been told the devil is behind it all, but if you read Deuteronomy 28, God says over and over, “Cursed shalt thou be....” (Deu.28:15) But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee. And then He details the curse from verse 16 all the way down through verse 68. But even though God sent the curse, He also sent Jesus to deliver us from the curse. So, here we are under the curse because of our sins and our rebellion against God, but Jesus came to deliver us from the curse through our faith in Him and subsequent submission to Him.

We came under the curse because we submitted to self and the devil, and God sent the curse to motivate us to repent. Jesus offers us the ability to turn around and go the other way because Jesus has already delivered us from the curse and His salvation is total. (Num.21:5) And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. (The manna from heaven; the Word.) (6) And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. (7) And the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord.... Well, they were walking only by the sight of their natural eyes and that caused them to speak against the Lord.

Why didn’t they see and hear the Word? God told them He was their “Jehovah-Jireh.” (Gen.22:14) And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh. As it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be provided. If that would have been foremost in their mind, they never would have become discouraged. And the quicker you see and hear that, the quicker the end result comes, which is God’s provision.

God told Joshua, (Jos.1:8) This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate thereon day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. He would have “good success” in doing what? Joshua would have good success in conquering the Promised Land. We’ll have good success conquering this Promised Land, if we don’t let anything but the Word of God come out of our mouth. The sooner we submit the sooner the answer comes. Psa 81:13-14 Oh that my people would hearken unto me, That Israel would walk in my ways! 14 I would soon subdue their enemies, And turn my hand against their adversaries.

The serpent bite just symbolizes any manifestation of the curse, such as a sickness, or oppressing spirits, or lack of any kind. The curse of sin and of death has bitten all of those who have disagreed with God. And, to the extent that we are disagreeing with God now, we live under the curse of sin and of death. Our hope of coming out from under the curse of sin and of death is to get our eyes on the promises we have in the Word and agree with God. And, of course, that’s exactly what God did here.

What was His cure? What’s an antidote for a snakebite? The antidote is to have a little bit of the poison in you, until your system builds up an immunity to it. You know, we didn’t choose to be sinners, did we? (Rom. 8:20) For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope (21) that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. The Lord subjected this creation to vanity. We all have a little bit of snakebite.

Nobody can get further away from sin than somebody who’s been in it. The elect angels desire to look into God’s grace and salvation. They’re curious about it because, since they’ve never been sinners, they’ve never needed it. We need it! We will be the creation that God wants after being delivered from sin. If God only wanted angels, He would have made us all angels! God didn’t want only angels; He wanted people who were sinners and who were redeemed by His grace through faith.

He wants sons who are saved through faith because then they appreciate God and they understand grace! Jesus taught this in (Luk.7:40) And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Teacher, say on. (41) A certain lender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred shillings, and the other fifty. (42) When they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him most?

(43) Simon answered and said, He, I suppose, to whom he forgave the most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. (44) And turning to the woman, he said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath wetted my feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. (45) Thou gavest me no kiss: but she, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. (46) My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but she hath anointed my feet with ointment. (47) Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. (48) And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. (49) And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that even forgiveth sins? (50) And he said unto the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

You know, we can love God more than the angels can because we’ve been forgiven of much. We understand grace. God sent Jesus to give us this grace and all we have to do is get our eyes on what Jesus accomplished for us at the cross. (Num.21:8) And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live. (9) And Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon the standard: and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived. We have to get our eyes on the serpent on the pole. Don’t be tempted to look at the world! Don’t be tempted to look at the “snakebite”! Don’t be tempted to look at the sin or the sickness or whatever the trial is that you’re going through.

It’s not introspection that’s going to save you. Popular psychology teaches “inner healing,” but it’s all straight from the devil because it’s introspection. God doesn’t tell you to inspect your sin! He doesn’t tell you to inspect your sickness! He doesn’t tell you to inspect the “snakebite”! He tells you to get your eyes on what He’s done for you; everything else causes unbelief. (2Co.5:21) Him who knew no sin he made [to be] sin on our be half; that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Jesus became sin for us. Everything that we were that was degenerate was put upon Him. The exchange has been made. Can you see your sin, your corruption, your sickness all put upon Him? This is what you are supposed to see and spiritual senses are the only way we can see according to the Word.

Praise be to God! Keep your eyes on Jesus, saints! Keep praising and thanking God for all that He’s accomplished for us! Hallelujah!

I Want To Capture You

Debbie Fenske 7/12/24

This worship night was a very special time of worship. Michael encouraged us to just give Jesus our all, to just give everything up. Nothing, and no one is more important than our closeness with Jesus, and our complete giving up of ourselves in love unto Him in worship, feeling His presence and His love holding us.

So, as I was worshiping Jesus with one of the worship songs, there was such a strong sense of His Spirit there, right up there in the midst of me and Sue, where Chuc and Matthew were. I could see Jesus looking out over all of us, so touched by our hearts in worship of Him, and so full of love for us.

Then Jesus said, “Will you let Me capture you? I want to capture you this night.”

After we finished the last song, Chuc kept strumming beautiful music on his guitar, and letting us know that he was receiving from the Lord that someone had a prophetic song to give. He spoke that out a few times. I finally felt that I should just begin singing out what I knew the Lord was wanting to say, with the worshipful tune Chuc was playing on His guitar. But only part of the word was sung.

“I want to capture you. Will you let Me capture you this night? You are mine and I want all of you. Let Me capture you. Let everything go and let Me capture you. This is My heart tonight.

Look only at Me. You must not let your weaknesses, and the thought that you are not yet good enough, hold you back any longer. For I see within you deeper than you see within yourself. I am not seeing your weaknesses. I see your heart. And I know the depth of your love. And I see and know your desire and heart of love towards Me, I see you allowing Me to have My way in you.

So this is a time of freedom as you let Me capture you. So I say again, let Me capture you this night. This is the night of My Capture.”

Then Winnie shared, as confirmation, this scripture that the Lord had put on her heart earlier before the meeting.

2Co 12:9-10 And he hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

The Lord also put this scripture in her mind today:

2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves;

Praise you Father for Your great love and mercy towards us. And that You love us with such a great love, and that You want all of us. Thank You that You, God, see in us the finished product. And by faith we see that too, Lord. Your glory in us. We want all of You, Jesus, and we want You to have all of us. So, yes, Lord. Capture us!

Do Diligence

Debbie Fenske – 6/21/24

I would like to give out this word that the Lord began speaking to me about 5:30 this evening. I felt some things I heard shared tonight by Chuc in his prayers during worship time, and I think also in some things David was saying, too, went along with this word.

“My people, do diligence. Diligence, diligence, My people. Allow every aspect of your life to be operated with diligence. Diligently listen for Me. Diligently listen to Me. Diligently know Me in My word and your times of worshiping Me. I long for the hearts that diligently worship Me, in praying to Me, and diligently doing warfare, letting go of every form of self-effort, trusting Me completely in every area of your life. Your life must be a sacrificial diligence in doing all that you know to do, by My grace. Ask Me. I will grace you with a diligent spirit and a diligent mind.

I see much effort. Add diligence in your efforts in walking with Me in every area of living and abiding in Me, My people, called to be in My Bride. Yes, this must needs go out to all those called to be, and desiring to be in My Bride. How close at hand is the time. Be My diligent Shulamite. I am calling for you. I am calling for more of you.”

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