The Third Day - Des Walter

Life is a journey and everyone is on the road somewhere. The problem is that many do not know where they came from, nor do they know where they are going. It is not simply a journey from the cradle to the grave, but a journey of discovery. Of course if we have no clear sense of direction then we can hardly expect to arrive at any particular destination. This means that for most the journey of "life" has no real meaning. Such an attitude indicates they have no sense of God in their lives, nor any concept of his plan and purpose for man.
Our whole reason for being is wrapped up in God. Can you imagine a God who puts millions of people on the earth but has no real purpose in view? This would have to be the height of stupidity and certainly not the actions of the Creator of heaven and earth. Man was created in the image and likeness of God, and it is his purpose to manifest his glory through man on the earth. The journey of life is therefore designed to bring man to the realization of his true identity and raise a consciousness within him of the divinity that was imparted to him in creation.
God gave to Israel a parable concerning this journey in the form of the Tabernacle. It consisted of three main areas that conform to the direction our life’s journey is to take. Each area depicts an area of growth and development towards the goal of being ONE with the Father. The outer court represents the first step towards our ultimate goal in searching for a way to heal the estrangement and separation we feel towards our Father in heaven. We look for a sacrifice that will restore our fellowship with God and anything else we feel may bring us closer to him. Then we seek for a spiritual experience that will give us access to the Holy place where at least we can touch spiritual things and embrace some spiritual gift.
However God has issued to us today the greatest invitation that has ever been given to mankind. We have been invited to come WITH BOLDNESS INTO THE MOST HOLY PLACE, by the blood of Jesus, by a NEW and a LIVING WAY that he has opened for us through the veil that has separated man from God down through the ages. The reason behind this invitation is that God is raising up a people who will demonstrate the fullness of the Godhead BODILY, not in part as in the past, but in fullness. The goal on our journey is the MOST HOLY PLACE, which is located in the innermost part of our being. To get there we must pass through the outer court (the flesh) and through the Holy Place which is the SOUL, and discover that God is not up in the sky but there in the very center of our being. This is where we discover who we are, for the "I" that we are, is actually the "I AM." As we reach our goal we find all our religious traditions and doctrines of men, which have kept us from discovering TRUTH have been swept away as our true Spiritual Guide the Holy Spirit leads as home.

PENETRATING THE DARKNESSAs the light of God dispels the darkness of our ignorance we discover the reality of our nature is DIVINE, even as it was in the beginning. Now we no longer look up in the sky waiting for the man Jesus to return and become KING, because we know he is KING ALREADY. Our life now comes under his control and in our renewed consciousness we know that we LIVE and MOVE and have our being in him. The work the Spirit began in us is now being finished as we find the "I" of self, that we thought was a separate entity from God, being raised to the "I AM" which I am in Christ.
As we approach the coming millennium many Christians are prophesying doom and gloom with wars and strife of every kind. However I see the most exciting time ahead as the Sons of God become manifest having discovered their true identity in the I AM and are now fitted to become the Saviors of the world. Thus the groaning creation will find its salvation in a people, who like Paul are living as Christ. This is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, "In thee and THY SEED shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Beloved we are the "seed" of Abraham through CHRIST.
Thus we are lifted out of the selfish concepts of our religious beliefs, where all we were interested in was getting our sins forgiven and escaping the flames of hell. How infantile is such an attitude, when compared to the reality, that we are being conformed to the image of his SON Jesus Christ, and becoming the vessels in which the glory of the Lord will be displayed to the world. In this is the will and purpose of the CREATOR fulfilled, as the MAN created in his likeness and image manifests the glory of the FATHER our heavenly Father glorified.

The Day of the Lord.Theologians have argued over the meaning of the word "DAY" in the account of creation. Peter explains, "Be not ignorant of this one thing, that ONE DAY is with the Lord as a THOUSAND YEARS, and a thousand years as ONE DAY." 2 Peter 3:8 The truth is that God does not function in TIME at all, such as we do. God functions in ETERNITY, where TIME as we know it does not exist. Most Christians live either in the PAST or in the FUTURE. They keep harking back to great times in the past, when God did something for them. Or they say, "Won’t it be wonderful when we all get to heaven, or when Christ returns from the sky at the end of the age! So their hope is either centered in a past experience or in the future. For them there is very little for the "now."Even the Christian calendar emphasizes this same thing. At Christmas we remember the Birth of Christ in Bethlehem with great celebration. However, we know almost nothing of the next thirty years, until he appears at the river Jordan. Then we follow him to the Cross-where he dies and is buried, and raised from the dead on the third day. Again this is a time of great contemplation and rejoicing that we call EASTER, when we celebrate his resurrection. We follow him then to the Mount of Olives where he ascends out of the midst of the disciples.
At that point we loose sight of him, and we do not know where he is gone. All celebrations are over, so we must wait for Christmas when we bring him back as a baby again, and celebrate his birth all over again. This is the revolving cycle of the Church’s calendar.
Beloved the PAST is gone and we cannot bring it back, and the future is not ours, for it has no reality for us at this moment. The only moment you can do business with God is N-O-W. The only moment you can trust him is N-O-W. The only point at which TIME and ETERNITY ever meet is in the N-O-W. If you do not trust God NOW nothing in the past or the future can make any difference. NOW is the time of acceptance behold NOW is the day of salvation. If Jesus Christ is not Lord in your life NOW then he is not Lord at all.
As we come to the end of this millennium we enter the THIRD DAY from Christ, and the SEVENTH day from Adam, in which God finished creating the MAN who would manifest his glory, and sanctified all of creation, setting it apart for himself. Thus we are in the DAY OF THE LORD mentioned in the book of Revelation, where it says, "John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day." I was taught that the Lord’s day is SUNDAY, but this is far from the truth. The day of the Lord is the day when man ceases to live out of a sense of separation from God, and discovers Christ not only dwells within, but that he is living his life out from the Most Holy Place of our being.
This is a time of spiritual awakening of epic proportions, when the Body of Christ is rising out of its mortality and death, through the process of Resurrection. These have heard the voice of the Son of God and have been raised from the dead in the perfection of the Christ, who is their life. Their whole purpose in living is to declare the image of God, in loving, blessing and redeeming all mankind through the ministry of reconciliation, until all creation has been released from its bondage.
Jesus said, "Destroy this temple and in THREE DAYS I will raise it up." This he spoke of the Temple which is his body." Jn 2:19. We are now living in the THIRD DAY from Christ. The Prophet Isaiah spoke of this day when he said," Arise, shine for thy light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon thee. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people, but the LORD SHALL ARISE UPON THEE AND HIS GLORY SHALL BE SEEN UPON THEE." Isa 60:1-2.
So this day for some will be a day of darkness, but for others it will be a day of light and revelation, which will turn the night into the brightness of day. We are reminded that in the days of creation in Genesis, that the DAY always began in the evening. "And the evening and the morning were the First Day." For Israel the Sabbath began at sundown on the previous day. So it is obvious that at this time some will enter the dawn of a NEW DAY of divine realization, while others will enter a time of darkness bringing with it a sense of impending doom.
To look today about us with NATURAL EYES, one could only consider this to be a time of great conflict when fear is filling the hearts of many people. There are wars and rumors of wars, with political and economic collapse in many parts of the world. There are floods and famine and other disasters in many countries. In view of these things many Christians consider this is a time of great darkness and unrest. On the other hand for those upon whom the SON OF RIGHTEOUSNESS has risen, and their consciousness of the "I" has been raised to the "I AM," this is the glorious THIRD DAY or the DAY OF THE LORD.
The people, who claim to be Christians today, are in fact a mixture, and this is the day when the Lord is going to purify HIS Church. Among those who belong to a Church today, are many whose righteousness does not even equal that of the Pharisees, or those who are in the world. I believe this to be the result of the "Gospel" that has been presented to the people. The people have been told, that as a result of Adam’s sin in the garden, God has placed all men under the curse of death, and this will result finally in being cast into an eternal burning hell. The only escape from such a judgment is to receive Christ as Savior and have our sins forgiven, and then we can go to heaven. The alternatives in this spurious Gospel is HEAVEN or a BURNING HELL.
Today we have a large number of people who have responded to the preacher’s appeal and "asked Christ into their heart" but their motivation is to escape HELL FIRE. In this response there is absolutely nothing for God. When Israel left Egypt under the mighty hand of God, there were many Egyptians who joined their ranks, who were called "A MIXED MULTITUDE." These were convinced Israel’s God was greater than the Gods of Egypt, so decided to join what appeared to them to be the winning side, and leave Egypt. But they did not come out through the Passover Lamb. These people became a snare and a problem for the children of Israel. The Church today is also a MIXED MULTITUDE and this is the day when God is dealing with this mixture.
Do not misunderstand the purpose of this purging, for it is not an arbitrary culling of the flock of those who did not do everything right, or were not baptized using the right words. Nor is it that God does not love those who have just joined the group for questionable reasons. But God is calling OUT a people UNTO HIS NAME. "You who were sometimes alienated end enemies in your mind by wicked works yet now has he reconciled in the Body of his flesh through death, to present you HOLY AND UNBLAMEABLE AND UNREPROVABLE IN HIS SIGHT." Col:21-22. "Therefore if any man be IN CHRIST, he is a NEW CREATION."
God is not just looking for those who want "to go to heaven," but those in whom the mind of Christ has been activated, and their consciousness has been raised to behold the CHRIST dwelling within, expressing himself as "I AM." There will be no revelation of the true Sons of God until there is a purging of his people, and a falling away of those who at this point in time have not been touched by the Spirit of revelation. These will not be cast away nor will they be lost, but will find their place when God has prepared his "Called out ones."
There are so many Christians today who are bound by carnal doctrines and false concepts of God, which will not allow them to see GOD DWELLING IN EVERY MAN. Their "God" is up in the sky and though they pray, he is powerless to do anything for them, because that "god" is just a figment of their imagination. The true God says, "Ye are the temple of the LIVING God, as he has said, I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK IN THEM, AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE." 2 Cor 6:16.
The greatest problem Christians face in the earth today is not the devil, but ignorance. The prophet Hosea said, "My people are destroyed for their lack of knowledge." In this day the Lord is rooting out every plant (thought) that my heavenly Father has not planted. All the false doctrines and concepts that are the product of the carnal mind of man must be taken away. Only then will the confusion and false images we have developed in our imagination be rooted out and then we can enter into REALITY.
God is LIGHT and in him is no darkness at all. Light represents understanding, and darkness represents ignorance for us today. We must therefore dwell in the LIGHT that is TRUTH, being taught by the Holy Spirit. We cannot know TRUTH apart from revelation by the Spirit of God. All Truth is a manifestation of God, because he is the GOD OF TRUTH. Truth will take us beyond the boundaries of the physical into the realm of the Spirit, where we touch the reality of all things.
Man did not originate from the physical world but came from God so therefore we are essentially creatures of SPIRIT, who live in a body. Our mortality is a consciousness that declares that the reality of our being is to be found in the BODY. Once we are aware we are Spirit having come from God, we no longer consider we are mortal creatures.
It follows, that if our origin is God we must be Spirit, for God is Spirit and so the divine nature must be inherent within us. This truth is revealed to us in Jesus Christ who although he was born of a woman yet he could say, "I and my Father are one." Jn 10:30. When he asked the disciples who they thought he was, Peter answered, "Thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God." Matt 16:16. Jesus told him, that knowledge came from the Father in heaven and could not be discovered through the mind of man.
So in this day we must discover this type of knowing which reveals to us the hidden things of God. The Apostle John tells us, "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth IN HIM, and HE IN GOD." 1 Jn 4:15. This confession of the identity of Jesus Christ implies surrender and obedience, and not mere lip service. When it is genuine this confession is proof of our fellowship with God.
There are several words used in the GREEK language that speak of different levels of knowing. "Ginosko" means to know by experience. Consider how long it takes for us to learn by experience the art of driving a car. This is only one issue, so gaining knowledge this way would limit us to knowing only those things that may appeal to us in the first place. This word is used in such scriptures as :- Jn 8:21, Jn 8:32 & Rom 10:19.
Another Greek word for knowledge is "EIDO" which refers to a higher knowledge that is FROM ABOVE. We do not have to experience this knowledge in order to know it; all that is needed is for the Spirit to BREATHE it into us. This is what Paul speaks about when he says, "That the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened that you may KNOW"...through the Spirit of revelation. Eph 1:18, also 1 Jn 2:20.
Then there is the Greek word SUNEIDO, meaning a knowledge that is absolute. This is when we know that we know. It is the knowledge gained by experience together with revelation knowledge whereby we become united with the TRUTH as revealed by the Spirit of God. "For it is GOD that works in you both to WILL and to DO of his good pleasure." Phil 2:13. "Suneido" is found in 1 Cor 4:4 and 2 Pet 3:17.
We have to accept the fact that the "natural man" cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, and neither can he know them. The mind of man can search out many things but when it comes to spiritual issues, it has no capacity to know them, for they can only be spiritually discerned. Man’s persistence in trusting his own intelligence in order to know God has kept him in the dark, and so hidden from him the life giving power of the Spirit of God. Saul of Tarsus was convinced in his mind that Christianity was anti God, and so set his heart to destroy it. Here is the proof that the natural or soulish man has no capacity to know or understand God.
It was not until Saul had a spiritual experience over which he had no control, that he received information his natural mind could never have known. This knowledge came to him in the form of LIGHT, which illuminated TRUTH in him. He saw the one his natural mind considered to be an imposter, and put to death as a common criminal, now standing ALIVE in the Spiritual world of his own being, and he was speaking directly to him. The voice that transformed his life said, "Saul Saul, why are you persecuting ME?" Saul responded by asking, "WHO ART THOU LORD?" The answer to that question had not yet entered into his understanding, but the VOICE coming from within provided all the answers he needed
In the WORDS he heard within, Saul discovered the one he now called LORD was the one he was trying to destroy. Saul had yet to discover how the LORD he believed to be DEAD, was actually alive. His subjection to the Lordship of Christ having now been accomplished he replies, "LORD what do you want me to do?" No amount of human reasoning could have had this result in his life, because humanly speaking; he believed he knew the TRUTH about the lowly Nazarene. All true conversion involves these same elements of illumination that results in the over riding of the natural mind and therefore the will. No human source can ever discover what is TRUTH.

THE VEILIt is obvious that the veil in the Tabernacle and Temple, represent for us a VEIL OF IGNORANCE. Physically, the veil was simply a heavy curtain and from a strength point of view, could easily be brushed aside by any man. For this reason, the veil itself had no power to restrict entry to the Most Holy Place where God dwelt. If we wanted to keep people out of a place we would use a very strong barrier of wood or even steel and stronger locks to make the barrier impregnable.
Could it be that God never had any real desire to exclude man from his presence at all? After all, I am sure God could have devised a far better barrier if this was indeed his purpose. What then does this VEIL actually represent for us in the pattern of the Tabernacle. Under the Old Covenant, the High Priest was the only man who was given the right to enter into the Holy of Holies, and then only once a year. Therefore we know that God’s presence was not designed to be a total exclusion zone for man. Now the High Priest of the Old Testament was himself a TYPE of one that was to come, which is Jesus Christ. Every year on the Day of Atonement, there had to be a sacrifice made for the sins of the people as well as for the High Priest, before he could enter into the Most Holy Place.
BUT THIS MAN, Jesus Christ, after he had made one sacrifice for sins forever, not only entered into the Most Holy Place, BUT HE SAT DOWN ON THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD!! Heb 10:12-13. This is a most instructive statement and we need to understand what the Spirit is saying to us today. For the first time God allowed someone to share the secret place of his divine presence. Not just as a fleeting visit, but to remain there on a permanent basis, in a relationship which was not even for shadowed under the Old Covenant. To sit in the presence of God implies equality with God that was never before revealed. On the "RIGHT HAND" of God, suggests the place of authority, and so the scripture adds, "From that time there is an expectation that all enemies of the seated one will become subjected to him." Heb 10:13.
Now we are discovering the reality of this THIRD DAY into which we are moving. For some 6000 years of history man has believed he had been evicted from the Garden of Eden and thus from the presence of God. However 2000 years ago there came a MAN born of a woman who declared he came down from HEAVEN. He said, "No man has ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven, even the SON OF MAN WHICH IS IN HEAVEN." Jn 3:13. His name is JESUS.
He confounded the people of his day by claiming that he existed BEFORE ABRAHAM. Such a concept today still causes consternation, whenever it is mentioned that ALL mankind has existed since the day God said, "Let us make MAN in our image and after our likeness." No, I am not suggesting we existed in the form we have today, for having come out of GOD we must originally have been SPIRIT. Now if you have ears to hear listen to what the spirit is saying to us today.
God only created ONE SON, not two or a thousand, ONLY ONE, and he is referred to as the ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD. Then where did all the other sons come from, for are we not called, "THE SONS OF GOD?" 1 Jn 3:2. The answer is that every other SON was created IN THAT ONE SON. Paul declares this truth in Eph 2:10. "We were CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS." Beloved you were IN CHRIST in the very beginning, as SPIRIT waiting for the moment of our manifestation as the dwelling place of God on the earth.
Christ, who was called the WORD or LOGOS by John, was in the beginning with GOD and WAS GOD. Just think about it for a moment, we began existence IN CHRIST who is the same substance as the FATHER, who IS SPIRIT. This is the THIRD DAY beloved, the day of RESURRECTION, when the CHRIST came forth triumphant over hell and death. He could say, "I am he that LIVETH and was dead, and behold I AM ALIVE FOR EVERMORE, AMEN, and have the keys of hell and death." Rev 1:18. This is the THIRD DAY for us also, who WERE RAISED IN HIM ON THAT RESURRECTION DAY.
Now this only begotten Son was told he had dominion over all the works of God’s hands, and there is no mention of any ENEMY. But let us pursue this amazing truth a little further. God said to him, "Be fruitful and replenish or fill the earth." Now most Christians today believe this simply involved Adam and Eve having children and they then have children etc etc. So we have these childish questions about where Cain’s wife came from? I want to tell you, God’s plan and purpose went far beyond any natural conception. Here is the TRUTH behind this plan of God to FILL THE EARTH. James tells us,
"Of his own will begat he us with the WORD OF TRUTH, that we should be a kind of FIRST-FRUITS of his creatures, or of the HIMSELF KIND." Jas 1:18.
Take careful notice of what James is saying. He says we have been BEGOTTEN BY THE WORD OF TRUTH! It was TRUTH beloved that birthed us IN CHRIST. The darkness of our ignorance was swallowed up in the knowledge or LIGHT of the TRUTH, birthing us into a new understanding of our identity IN CHRIST. These "IN CHRIST" people are the ones God has purposed to use to fill the earth. Not a sinner saved by grace, or those who repent of their sin and ask Christ into their hearts, this is not what God had in mind. It is those who do not look back to Adam the man of dust as being their origin, but to the CHRIST OF GOD in whom they were created and begotten.
Paul tells us quite plainly, " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings IN HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST. According as he has CHOSEN US IN CHRIST before the disruption of the world, that we should be HOLY AND WITHOUT BLAME before him in love. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by JESUS CHRIST TO HIMSELF according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has made us ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED." Eph 1:3-6.
The TRUTH is, that we were CREATED IN CHRIST, BLESSED IN CHRIST, and CHOSEN IN CHRIST, and made totally acceptable to God IN CHRIST. That little phrase "IN CHRIST" is the key to the whole purpose and plan of God in this age and in the ages to come. Paul presents the GOSPEL quite differently to Peter who ministered to the CIRCUMCISION, which is ISRAEL. Paul ministered to the GENTILES or the UNCIRCUMCISION, who were not at Mt Sinai when the LAW was given to Israel
Speaking about redemption or Salvation he simply says, "IF ANY MAN BE IN CHRIST HE IS A NEW CREATION." 2 Cor 5:17. He says, "IN ADAM all DIE, but IN CHRIST shall ALL BE MADE ALIVE. I want you to notice carefully that it is not BECAUSE of Christ or THROUGH CHRIST, but I-N C-H-R-I-S-T. Here we have the contrast between two different ideas concerning our ORIGIN and IDENTITY.
We have been taught right from Sunday School days, that we came from Adam the man of DUST, who sinned in the garden. Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." The problem is that Bible teachers interpret S-I-N as being transgression of the Law. But the Greek word for sin is HARMATIA, which has nothing to do with LAW, but is a sporting term, which means, MISSING THE MARK.
If an archer shoots an arrow and misses the bull’s eye, you do not call him a criminal as having broken some LAW. He failed to hit the mark. However under the Hebrew concept of the LAW GOD in the Old Testament many sins were punishable by death, and this concept has infiltrated the so-called "Gospel" many Churches preach.
The TRUE concept of Sin as revealed in the New Testament under the NEW COVENANT is MISSING THE MARK. The "Mark" is the MEASURE OF THE STATURE OF CHRIST. Any thought, word or deed that does not meet the standard of CHRIST is called MISSING THE MARK. It is not a legal question but one of maturity. When a child spills food we do not treat it as a federal offence, but help them to try again and we encourage them to do better. Here is the attitude of Jesus towards the woman taken in adultery. Jn 8.
The THIRD DAY has nothing to do with LAW or the Old Covenant. Jesus said, "I am casting out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, AND THE THIRD DAY I AM PERFECTED." Sickness is not a REALITY except to those who are still living out of the Adamic mind. For if Christ is my LIFE, HOW CAN I BE SICK? Likewise "demons" have no reality but are the product of the carnal mind. However, because these things have been the plague of mankind through their ignorance of truth God HAS GRACIOUSLY MINISTERED TO THEIR AFFLICTION.
NOW as we come to the THIRD DAY we are discovering that there is not very much healing taking place in the Church, as in the days of the Pentecostal revival or the Charismatic renewal. In every Church we find sickness and other problems everywhere. Has God forgotten his people? NO, but he is causing us to GROW UP and not remain as babes. Remember, Jesus said, "On the THIRD DAY he would be PERFECTED." This day beloved is the day of our PERFECTING.
In the early New Testament Church the saints were told they would lay hands on the sick and they would recover, and they DID. They were told if any body was sick they could call for the elders of the Church who would pray for them and they would be healed. That was the ORDER for the first TWO DAYS, but this is the THIRD day. This is the reason why so many today among God’s people have cancer and heart attacks, and are dying of so many maladies.
Many Bible teachers and Church leaders are depriving God’s people of their inheritance in Christ by denying them access to the TRUTH, because it is contrary to their theology which keeps the people totally dependant upon them. The third day is the day of our liberation from all bondage to men, and the issues that are the product of the carnal mind
You may be shocked to know that JESUS NEVER HEALED ANYONE. Healing is counteracting the virus or bacteria that is affecting the human body, causing sickness. In the case of the man with the withered arm tell me what medical intervention took place in his "healing?" What did Jesus DO to the arm or the man? The answer is nothing. Jesus simply SAID something, "STRETCH FORTH YOUR ARM," and immediately he stretched out his arm. Can we honestly call that healing, as we understand healing today? NO.
A man lay at the pool of Bethesda for 38years, hoping one day to be made whole. Jesus came to him and said, "Wilt thou be made whole?" The man answered, "Sir I have no man when the waters are springing up, to throw me in." Jesus said to him, "RISE, TAKE UP THY BED AND WALK." Jesus never rebuked any bacteria or disease causing germs, but simply said, take up your bed and go home. Can you see what I am trying to say? Jesus never healed anyone, but what he did was to SPEAK A WORD into their SPIRIT that caused the body to respond.
If CHRIST is your LIFE and dwells within you, you do not need to find someone to pray for you to be healed. Paul said "if that SAME SPIRIT of him that raised Jesus from the dead dwell IN YOU, he shall quicken or make alive your mortal body by HIS SPIRIT THAT DWELLS IN YOU." Rom 8:11. Jesus himself said, "If any man thirst (has a need) let him COME TO ME AND DRINK, (he dwells within you) and out of his INNERMOST BEING (the MOST HOLY PLACE WITHIN YOU) shall flow rivers of L-I-F-E." Jn 7:37-38.
On the THIRD DAY I shall be perfected. This word means to be totally complete or WHOLE. Can you imagine any thing that you may have need of that could not be supplied by the indwelling Christ who made all things. In Christ’s ministry healing was simply the voice of authority that spoke into the spirit commanding them to do what they could not believe themselves they were capable of doing. Much of the "healings" we have witnessed in the past I believe were psychosomatic. However as the darkness of the Adamic mind regained its authority the problem often returned in a week or two, or was transferred to another part of the body.
The medical profession recognizes that a very large proportion of sickness is psychosomatic, or has its basis in the MIND, that in turn produces the affect in the body. This is not confined to those who do not claim to know Christ, but applies equally to those who claim to be Christians. The mind is very powerful and its effect can be either positive or negative. For this reason our transformation under the hand of God requires our MIND to be RENEWED by the Holy Spirit. The carnal mind has no capacity to embrace the reality of our IDENTITY and ORIGIN.
For this reason Paul instructs us (that is you and me) to, "Let this MIND be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Who being in the form of God thought it not a thing to be grasped at, to be equal with God? But made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Phil 2:5-9
The renewing of the mind is not simply changing our mind about certain facts. It is not just believing different or new doctrines, but THE MIND OF CHRIST. It is a mind that is birthed in the realm of heaven or Spirit, and is certainly a part of being BORN FROM ABOVE, that Jesus spoke about. It is programmed by SPIRIT and not by mortal humanity.
The MIND together with the EMOTIONS and the WILL form the basis not only of what we know as knowledge, but also control the reasoning behind our actions, and the way in which we interpret and live LIFE itself. The difference between the SOULISH MAN and the SPIRITUAL MAN is the difference between the ADAMIC MIND, and the MIND OF CHRIST.
In this THIRD DAY the RENEWED MIND rejoices in the fulfilling of the will and purpose of God in the MAN that was created in the beginning. God said, "Let us make MAN IN OUR IMAGE and AFTER OUR LIKENESS, and let them have DOMINION.." The religious mind today mimics the Pharisees of Jesus Day; calling it blasphemy that A MAN (for that is what JESUS WAS, flesh and blood) could claim that I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE. Many preachers have told me it is heresy to suggest WE ARE GODS! Well beloved if Jesus said that is what we are, then I am going to believe HIM. Jn 10:30-38.
The natural mind is so immersed in the LAW of the Old Testament involving S-I-N and its consequences, that GRACE is not allowed to function in reality. What did the Psalmist mean when he said, "I have said YE ARE GODS and all of you are children of the MOST HIGH GOD.”? Psalm 82 :6 Did he mean what the natural mind THINKS he is saying, that now we do not have ONE GOD, but thousands of Gods? That is childish thinking.
GOD IS SPIRIT and the only origin from which all LIFE comes. If that SAME SPIRIT that raised Christ from the dead DWELLS IN ME, then GOD MUST DWELL IN ME. If GOD DWELLS IN ME then the Psalmist was correct when he stated, "I SAID YE ARE GODS." Can you separate my spirit from me? NO a thousand times NO! Then how can anyone argue with me that "I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE.”? Only the ignorant carnal mind would run the streets shouting, "I AM GOD." Because what people are looking at is simply the BODY and GOD IS NOT A MAN WITH A BODY!! The GOD in me is invisible to all except those who have spiritual vision, and there is no need to tell them God dwells in me.
Does this mean that I TAKE THE PLACE OF GOD? Absolutely NOT, for GOD remains GOD in me in you in all of creation and he changes NOT. Tell me, if I were born of a PRINCE would I not be a PRINCE? What did Prince Charles have to do to become a PRINCE? The answer is NOTHING, because he is BORN OF ROYALTY.
I AM BORN OF GOD, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS therefore I MUST BE in the reality of my being, (that is SPIRIT) WHAT EVER MY FATHER IS, and that is GOD. However we are predestined to be conformed to the IMAGE OF HIS SON, who was born of a woman. So through the renewing of our mind we also will bear the IMAGE OF THE HEAVENLY, in these bodies of ours, and in this we will manifest the Glory of God.
Jesus as the pattern son never ONCE told anyone that HE IS GOD!! His only claim before man was that he was a SON OF GOD. Yet IN HIM dwelt all the fullness of the GOD HEAD BODILY. The mind of Christ caused him to make himself of no reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross.
Just because there are people with darkened minds that read these truths and make a fool of themselves by telling everyone they are GOD, does not make these things untrue. I believe there are thousands of people today telling everyone they are Christians and been baptized in the Spirit, who have never touched reality in God. Of these, many who have cast out demons and prophesied and done many wonderful works, will hear the LORD say, "I NEVER KNEW YOU, depart from me ye workers of iniquity." Matt 7:21-23.
Religious people do not get upset with those people, nor do they suggest we do not tell people about salvation and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, because it may be dangerous, and they might get the wrong idea. Beloved, Judgment is beginning at the house of God, and we will see many fall by the wayside as the Lord sorts out the MIXED MULTITUDE, who will not be a part of those who are being CALLED OUT from the darkness and death of the carnal mind.
It is the TRUTH that will MAKE US FREE. So few of God’s people have ever understood what is the plan and purpose of God for us today. Orthodox theology has devised its own agenda, then attributing it to God. It says we should accept Christ as our Savior and go to Church, read our Bible, and wait for the MAN JESUS to come from the sky and lift us off planet earth, while God pours terrible judgments upon those left behind.
No wonder God’s people live with the fear of death and impending doom, being subject to every disaster, sickness, plague or ungodly behavior that besets mankind. Christian marriages are disintegrating, their children often caught up in drugs, alcohol and promiscuous behavior. Society no longer looks to the Church as having the answer to mankind’s need, and so heathen religions are growing even in Australia at an alarming rate.
Jesus prayed, "THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE, AS THOU FATHER ART IN ME, AND I IN THEE, THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US, THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE THAT THOU HAST SENT ME. AND THE GLORY WHICH THOU HAST GIVEN ME I HAVE GIVEN THEM, THAT THEY MAY BE ONE, (IN THE SAME WAY) AS WE ARE ONE. I IN THEM AND THOU IN ME, THAT THEY MAY BE PERFECT IN ONE, AND THAT THE WORLD MAY KNOW THAT THOU HAST SENT ME, AND HAST LOVED THEM, AS THOU HAST LOVED ME.
FATHER I WILL THAT THEY ALSO THAT THOU HAST GIVEN ME, BE WITH ME WHERE I AM, SO THAT THEY MAY BEHOLD MY GLORY WHICH THOU HAST GIVEN ME, FOR THOU HAST LOVED ME BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.
I suggest you read those verses again thoughtfully, for here is the heart of God revealed concerning us today. This is exactly what is happening today in the world. First of all he prayed that we all might be ONE, not just with one another but also with HIM. Christendom has never seen unity in 2000 years of history. Even in the New Testament Church, in Corinth the people were divided following different leaders.
It is fair to say the Church is the most divided community on the earth. It is divided by doctrines, methodology and moral stances particularly. Each Church believes it has the Truth, which is the reason they have to exist. The world economy has grown rich through the millions of dollars spent on the building of Cathedrals, Temples, Church buildings, and other construction work associated with Church enterprises. Even in third world countries today we can see the Church spending vast amounts of money on buildings that are simply monuments representing the ego of their leaders.
Jesus never built a building nor did he ask his disciples to do so. When Jesus was shown the Temple in Jerusalem by the disciples, he said, "There shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Matt 24:2. When asked by the Jews for his authority to clean out the Temple, he said, "DESTROY THIS TEMPLE, and in three days I will raise it up." However he was not speaking of any material temple, but he spoke of the TEMPLE WHICH IS HIS BODY." John 2:19-21.
The Father’s heart for his people is that they be ONE. In the natural this would have to be the impossible dream. I have not yet seen ONENESS even within individual Churches, let alone between Churches. O yes, they do have "combined meetings" at times but this falls far short of the union Jesus spoke about. The big question is, "How can God’s people become O-N-E?"
Far from encouraging oneness, the Churches actually divide Christians by making DOCTRINE the basis of fellowship. The Apostle John said the basis of fellowship was the sharing of that which they had HEARD, and SEEN, and their hands had handled of the WORD OF LIFE. Those are the things that we declare unto you, so that you also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the FATHER and with HIS SON JESUS CHRIST.
How rare would such fellowship be today when Christians came together to share with one another the things they had SEEN and HEARD and touched concerning Jesus Christ in their own personal lives. Jesus said, "If two or three are gathered together IN MY NAME, I AM THERE in your midst." Matt 18:20. What a contrast this is to a hundred or a thousand people coming together to follow an order of service and listen to a man preach a sermon. Where is the personal participation of God’s people sharing together their own personal experiences with Christ, and what he has been saying to them in their daily lives. We have lost almost completely the true concept of FELLOWSHIP.
The majority has failed to touch reality in God in their daily lives, so they really have nothing from God to share with anyone else. With such a person it is not possible to FELLOWSHIP. Why is it that when you meet a another Christian, so often they will talk about their job their family or the weather, but the conversation usually ends when you mention Christ? My own mother in the latter years of her life asked me why Christian people who called in for a visit, would talk about anything but spiritual things?
In this THIRD DAY, CHRIST is calling a people UNTO HIMSELF as Jacob prophesied many years ago, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until SHILOH come, AND UNTO HIM SHALL THE GATHERING OF THE PEOPLE BE." Gen 49:10. So here is the first key as we seek for that oneness for which Jesus prayed, that CHRIST must be the center that brings and holds us together, and not doctrines, or formulas.
However there is a far more vital issue involved in the unity of Gods people today, and that is not just having CHRIST as a symbol in the center, but that each one must be IN CHRIST. This is the dynamic that makes us O-N-E. CHRIST is not a PERSON or it would be impossible for us to be IN HIM. CHRIST is the ANOINTING, whose task it is to bring the INVISIBLE GOD (Spirit) into this world and make him visible.
In Jesus Christ the anointing produced the miracles he did, and displayed the likeness and image of God in flesh and blood. Nicodemus said he knew Jesus had come from God, because of the things he could do. Within the anointing is our identity and sense of origin, which breaks the power of the Adamic consciousness linking us to the earth. Every person IN CHRIST has the SAME SPIRIT and therefore the same FATHER, which makes us all brothers and sisters. Here is the dynamic of the UNITY and ONENESS that Jesus sought for us.
We are talking about FAMILY, but not just any family, for this is the FAMILY OF GOD. The BOND that binds us together in God’s family is far greater than any earthly tie for it is SPIRITUAL and cannot be broken. The magnitude of this bond is so great that to enter into it is referred to as a NEW BIRTH. Paul expresses it this way, "As we have borne the IMAGE of the EARTHLY, (through physical birth) we shall also bear the IMAGE OF THE HEAVENLY (through a spiritual birth).
I can testify that I have had the privilege of meeting many of my brothers and sisters in Christ even in foreign lands where I could not even speak their language but the spiritual bond made us one. I did not have to inquire what doctrines they believed nor were they concerned about mine, for we were ONE IN CHRIST and nothing was more important. The tragedy is that having been in a variety of Churches and fellowships over many years of ministry I meet so many who have not yet been birthed into that household of God. These can only relate of the earthly plane.
The family of God is still scattered through the religious world, but there is a trumpet call from Zion that is being heard by those whose ears have been opened. Like the silver trumpet call in Israel, it is calling a people OUT UNTO THE LORD. This is a spiritual gathering, and is happening all over the world. For those who respond there is a glorious oneness that is developing, with a love that surpasses all other love, which is testifying to the world that they are of God. BY THIS, (LOVE) Jesus said, all men would know that you are my disciples.
Finally, Jesus prayed that we might be WHERE HE IS to behold his glory. As the light of God fills our hearts and minds, the veil is lifted revealing the MOST HOLY PLACE OF OUR BEING. Seated on the Throne of his glory is the CHRIST OF GOD. These are Paul’s words, "BUT WE ALL WITH UNVEILED FACE BEHOLDING AS IN A MIRROR, THE GLORY OF THE LORD, ARE BEING CHANGED INTO THE SAME IMAGE FROM GLORY TO GLORY EVEN AS BY THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD." 2 Cor 3:18.
Beloved we are not waiting for the Day of the Lord to arrive, I tell you IT IS HERE NOW. Open your heart now and hear the voice of the Son of God speaking from within your being, calling you unto HIMSELF.
What does it mean to be called OUT unto the LORD? Do we have to separate ourselves from everyone who does not believe as we do? The answer is NO. In fact there is really nothing you can do to achieve the kind of separation God has in mind. It all happens from within, as LIGHT and understanding illuminates the CHRIST dwelling within. In a mystical way our perceptions change, and our knowledge become aligned with the Holy Spirit is saying. Our outlook on life and the future changes, as we begin to see things from God’s point of view. We no longer fear the future or become depressed with world events, as we walk in the LIGHT of a DAY THAT HAS NO NIGHT.
Paul speaks about the CROSS, by which we are crucified unto the world and the world is crucified unto us. We find we no longer are a part of the thing the Bible calls the WORLD or COSMOS, and so we find ourselves on the outside, and unable to fit in with the religious world we used to be a part of. Notice I never mentioned doctrines as the basis of the separation. IT IS A SPIRITUAL THING and is not caused by our own intellect. Even in families there can be an estrangement, even though the natural family bond is not broken. People say, "You are different, but cannot explain exactly how."
Why was Jesus despised and rejected of men, and a man of sorrows? Because he was ONE WITH THE FATHER. Why did even the disciples not understand some of the things he did and said? For the same reason as many today who have experienced this being CALLED OUT. Paul explained that if any man be IN CHRIST and therefore ONE WITH THE FATHER, they are A NEW CREATION, for the OLD IS PASSING AWAY AND ALL THINGS ARE BECOMING NEW." The NEW CREATION belongs to the realm of HEAVEN or SPIRIT, while the OLD CREATION is at home in the sphere of EARTH.
In the closing chapters of the book of the UNVEILING OF JESUS CHRIST, the Apostle John wrote these words as he saw this CALLED OUT PEOPLE,
"COMING DOWN FROM GOD out of heaven, prepared as a BRIDE adorned for her husband. And a great VOICE out of Heaven (Spirit realm) saying, Behold the tabernacle of God IS WITH MEN, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be WITH THEM and be their GOD. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more DEATH, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be no more pain, for the former things HAVE PASSED AWAY. And he that sat on the THRONE said, BEHOLD I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW." Rev 21:2-5
Beloved, I want you to know we are entering THIS THIRD DAY, which according to Jesus is the DAY OF OUR PERFECTING. We are being adorned as a BRIDE in preparation for the consummation of our UNION with CHRIST. That preparation is separating us from everything else except that which is compatible with our beloved. Even in our marriage service we vow to forsake all others and everything that is not compatible with this union, to cleave unto our beloved.
Jesus said, "IN THAT DAY you will know that I AM IN MY FATHER, AND YOU ARE IN ME, AND I AM IN YOU." Jn 14:20. No more will we worship the Christ of God in some ethereal heaven up in the sky, but his glory will be revealed in HIS HOLY TEMPLE, which is our body. This TREASURE beloved, we have in these earthen vessels that the Excellency of the power MAY BE OF GOD AND NOT OF US. 2 Cor 4:7.
May you be blessed as you allow the WORD to become FLESH!