For many Christians, prayer has simply been telling God what we would like him to do in certain circumstances. But this was never the intention behind our communication with God, because He is God and we are his children. However, many Christians have never understood the basis on which we approach God. First of all, we have created a problem because we have not understood our relationship with God, and so have lost our true identity. There is no way that we can cause God to change his mind about anything. So spending time telling him what to do is a complete waste of time.Proverbs 19:21 says, “There are many thoughts and ideas in a man's heart; but the counsel of the Lord abides for ever.” Man may have his mind full of plans about what he considers he should be doing for God, but in the end it is the WILL and PURPOSE of God that will prevail. This is a very important thing for us to understand.
So prayer was never intended to be a tool to try and persuade God to do our will. Once we recognize this, much of the time we spend praying can be filled in more productive ways. I remember back in the days before I understood these things, the prayer meetings was always a boring time, listening to people praying for missionaries around the world, telling God what to do for each one. It was often a great effort to stay awake in those meetings. Then we had those very special “All Night of Prayer Meetings,” which were intended to really get God’s attention, and the people’s spirituality was gauged on those who attended. In one Church where I was ministering they had planned to have one of these “All Night” prayer meetings so I asked the Pastor what was it that they were going to pray for. I was told that they were going to ask God to correct a certain situation that had developed in their country. I said to the Pastor, do you consider it to be right for us to tell God what to do, or would it not be better if we sat quietly in God’s presence, and asked him if there was not something that we could be doing to correct the problem.
If we go back to the creation of man we discover that God gave man dominion over the birds of the air, the animal kingdom and the fish of the sea, as well as over all the works of God’s hands. The word dominion means, “The right to rule,” and so we are the ones that are to bring this world under the control of the King Jesus Christ, so it can function as the Kingdom of God. Because God gave man dominion over the earth, we are responsible for what happens down here.
Psalm 115:16. “The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD'S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.”
Because that is so, God cannot affect the earth without our permission for God has never rescinded our dominion over the earth. But because man has forgotten his true identity he no longer believes he has dominion to rule on the earth, so he lives subject to his circumstances, and the limitation his natural mind put upon him. It is interesting that when things go wrong here on the earth, the first one we blame is God.
The natural or carnal mind has so distorted our vision that we have become subject to all the circumstances that occur in our lives. Moses stood before the sea as the Egyptian army closed in behind Israel intending to destroy them, and the people said, “Moses, do something,” so he turns his eyes heavenward and says, “Lord we have a problem here, please do something!” God said to Moses, “Why do you stand there crying unto me, WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR HAND?” Moses said I have the Rod you gave me to release Israel from Pharaoh. “Well stretch it out over the sea,” and immediately a path was opened through the sea for Israel to cross.
What Moses did, saved the nation and finally brought destruction to their enemies who were never seen again. Did God come down from heaven and deliver Israel?? No, God had a man there who discovered he was equipped to do all that was necessary to fulfil the will and purpose of God in every situation. Mankind is the “Body” through which God can accomplish everything on this earth, if we can only believe it. This is a classic example of how God functions on the earth today.Did not Jesus say, John 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 my Father.”
Of course we believe every word that Jesus spoke but to be able to actually do what he said requires much more than whatever “Believing” involves. We speak with great joy about the miracles Jesus did and how he stopped the storm out on the lake, and how he fed 5000 people with just a few sandwiches and two little fish. Beloved it is time to wake up and get out of the dream world, and realize that Christ has never left the earth.
He said, John 14:19 “Yet a little while, and the world sees me no more; but YOU WILL SEE ME, and because I live, (in you) you shall live also. At that day (when you SEE ME) you shall know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” Stop looking up into the sky hoping to see Jesus coming back, for the will and the purpose of God is not to have just ONE MAN on the earth to restore earth to its pristine glory, hear what the Apostle John had to say: -,
Revelation 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, “Thou art worthy to take the book (of the life of the Lamb, which is OUR LIFE) and to open the seals thereof and release us from all limitation to do your perfect will. You were slain on the cross to set us free from our mortality and HAVE redeemed us to God by your eternal life (blood) out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made us unto our God KINGS and PRIESTS and we DO reign on this earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels (messengers) round about the throne and the beasts and the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.”
Have you discovered the purpose that you are to fulfil, for which God has put you on this earth? The scriptures remind us that, “Without a VISION the people perish or dwell carelessly.” The disciples came to Jesus one day and asked him to teach them, not how to pray because they knew how to pray as that was an integral part of Jewish life, but what to pray for. Prayer acknowledges our desperate need for divine assistance, wisdom, and direction for us to fulfil God’s will on this earth regarding the work of the ministry in which we are to be involved.
Remember how, many people joined Jesus as the result of a simple request he made to them…… “Follow me.” In everything he said, he carried an authority that caused the people to respond, but he never wearied of doing his Father’s will. The disciples listened to the Sermon on the Mount, that changed many of the religious concepts and traditions, which caused them to feel unsure of where this ministry would lead them.
In truth Jesus did not preach sermons, or give a set of rules to follow, but he started a movement that was gathering momentum. He was not starting some new organization but began to introduce a completely new way of LIVING. The frightening thing that shocked the disciples, was that it was obvious this new life was intended to spread far beyond the bounds of Judaism, and in fact seemed set to transform the whole world, regardless of colour, religion or language.
What he preached was totally relevant to all the peoples of the world, and removed traditional barriers that had up to that time, remained secure. Judaism had managed to survive even while Israel was under the control of Rome, including the priesthood and the religious authority of the High Priest and the Sanhedrin. In fact they abused the liberty that was given to the priesthood in such a subtle way that they used it to establish their financial empire right in the Temple itself. This would have remained hidden except Jesus saw through their duplicity and cast the moneychangers out, and shut down their dishonest network that fleeced the people.
Jesus Christ set up an authority that could not be overthrown, yet it was not a dictatorship, and there was no army in support of his movement. All this was established while Rome governed Judea under the hand of the cruel and ruthless King Herod who would stop at nothing to keep the people under control. History records that during this time hundreds of people were crucified and the authorities forbad the bodies to be taken down from the crosses but left them to rot, filling the atmosphere with the stench of death. This was their way of filling the hearts of the people with fear to foster obedience to the Roman regime
Jesus began his ministry by introducing an authority on the earth such as had never been seen or understood before. He told the people that a Kingdom was already established but it was IN A PEOPLE and not something exterior to them. The King had already been born in Bethlehem and was establishing his credentials right at that time. King Herod under the Roman Authority did his best to destroy the King who was born in Bethlehem but he could not find him. Who would think of looking for a King that was born in a manger where they fed animals? Normally a King would be born in a palace, but this King represented a Government that was not of this world, so he was not tied to the culture or the ethics of the world in which he was born. It was necessary for him to establish the constitution of his Kingdom, because it was different to anything that had previously been set up on this earth. Israel was the first and only constituted nation on the earth that was established as a THEOCRACY under divine authority, for God was their King. However, even though they accepted the obligation of circumcision in their flesh, as a distinguishing mark that separated them from the other nations, the hearts of the people had never been circumcised. So their obedience to the King was never really established.
The time came when Israel revolted against the divine authority that ruled them, even though they never voted for God to be their King. Therefore they had no constitutional right to dethrone him, but the eldership of Israel sent a delegation to Samuel requesting a change of Government. They wanted a KING LIKE ALL THE OTHER NATIONS, who they could elect and if they were not satisfied with his leadership they could dispose of him and choose another. All this is recorded in 1 Samuel 8:4-7
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said; Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
In order to understand what is happening here let us look back to the creation of man in Gen 1:26, when God spoke the man into existence in the likeness and image of God. Man was given DOMINION over the birds of the air, the fish of the sea and the animal kingdom, but was never given dominion over M-A-N-K-I-N-D. The creator who spoke MAN into existence in the likeness and image of God, only ever-created ONE SON and that was Christ Jesus. However, every other man who has ever lived or will live on this earth was INCORPORATED IN THAT ONE SON. Paul expresses it in Eph, 2:10,
“You are God’s workmanship (speaking of our body that was FORMED in our mother’s womb) but, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS, the ONE SON, unto good works (distinguished, upright and honorable) which GOD BEFORE ORDAINED that we should walk, live and express in our lives on the earth.”
The creator’s purpose was that ALL MEN would live on this earth as a CORPORATE EXPRESSION OF THAT ONE SON, who said,“I only SAY what I hear my Father say, and I only DO what I see my Father do.” This is the obedient SON in whom all of mankind has been incorporated in Creation. Citizenship in the Kingdom of God is granted, dependant upon total obedience to the King, JESUS CHRIST. For man to live as Jesus Christ lived on this earth under the constitution of the Kingdom of God, he must live under the authority of the King, and subject to the Father. Jesus himself demonstrated his submission to the Father from his birth in Bethlehem 2000 years ago.
In Abraham, God was providing another opportunity for man to conform to the Kingdom constitution, and function under divine authority. He was told to count the stars, and even though he was 90 years old, and Sarah had never conceived a child, God told him that his SEED would be as the STARS OF HEAVEN, both in quality and quantity. Abraham responded to the word of the Lord in faith establishing it in his heart without question. This response was accepted by the Lord who credited Abraham as being RIGHTEOUS. In this, there is a beautiful picture of the birthing of another people, who would achieve what Adam failed to accomplish.
It was Sarai who suggested they use Hagar as a surrogate mother, as her natural mind could not conceive that she could produce such a child as God had promised. Abraham’s humanity gets involved as he seeks to fulfil the divine word using human means, as he impregnates Hagar with his natural seed. Abraham birthed a son, even though he did not seek the Lord for the details as to how the child was to be conceived. Sarai developed an attitude towards Hagar after she conceived and scorned her driving her away even while she was bearing Abraham’s child.
Genesis 16:7 And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” And she said, “I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.” And the angel of the LORD said unto her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” And the angel of the LORD said unto her, “I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.” And the angel of the LORD said unto her, “Behold, you are with child, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.” And she called the name of the LORD that spoke unto her, “God, you see me” for she said, “And have I also looked upon him that sees me?”
As we view all these events recorded here, we see behind the scenes that God is working out his will and purpose, even though those involved did not always know what the outcome would be. Abraham yielded to Sarai’s plan to produce the promised child, but had an insight beyond that of his wife, to see a seed as the stars of heaven for multitude that would expand to include the entire human race. For this reason the nation of Israel birthed through Abraham never would satisfy God’s promise to him, that his seed would be as the stars of heaven which as we know today are countless.
But here is the beginning of the fulfilment of God’s promise that does not seem to fit the will and purpose of God for we are looking at a seed through Hagar and Egyptian slave girl. However God sent his messenger to return Hagar to Sarai for the child had to be born there to fulfil God’s purpose. This was Abraham’s son regardless of whatever other issues were involved. Hagar followed the direction of the Angel, receiving the promises that were given to her regarding the child, and returned and submitted to Sarai. The Angel said to her, “I will multiply your seed exceedingly that it shall not be numbered for multitude, and then he named the child ISHMAEL which means “God shall hear.”
Hagar was told that Ishmael would be a Wild Man, or a wild ass, so never elect him as a King for he will cause strife and division.. Eventually the child Ishmael was born and Abraham was delighted, believing that this one was destined to be his own son and heir. But God had other plans that were as yet unfulfilled in the life of Abraham. God made it clear to Abraham that Ishmael was not to be his son and heir as promised by the Lord. Ishmael had the right Father but his mother was not the one that God had intended.
This raises a very interesting issue, for ADAM in the beginning was told to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. In creation man came forth as SPIRIT and it was to this spirit man that the direction to be fruitful and multiply was given. Spirit has no gender, but is both MALE and FEMALE, functioning together as one giving the man the ability to bring forth out of himself. We are told that the MAN was created in the likeness and image of God who also was able to bring forth out of himself his SON and HEIR.
For those with ears to hear let us pursue this important matter a little further. Please note: -
When we speak about reproduction we need to remember that the command to be fruitful was not given to ADAM and EVE but to ADAM who was a SPIRIT MAN. Therefore this reproduction is to be spiritual and not physical.
Genesis 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof, and the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman (ISHAW) because she was taken out of Man (ISH).
This event is an allegory, because SPIRIT is MALE and FEMALE functioning as ONE and therefore cannot be divided. There is no such thing as half a spirit as SPIRIT IS SPIRIT and is indivisible. But because this is so important for us to understand, we are given this allegory that reveals the role that the MALE and the FEMALE have formulated today in this world of duality. In God’s world of spirit there are no men and women only the children, or sons of God, all of whom are SPIRIT, being male and female. So there is a big difference between the fulfilment of God’s direction given to Adam in the Garden, and those of mankind who were all birthed using EVE as the mother from which mankind has come.
Most Christians would deny that God included all of mankind in his request for all of us to be birthed BY THE SPIRIT, in order to be a part of the Body of Christ on the earth. Every member of the Body of Christ must be BORN OF THE SPIRIT. Jesus told Nicodemus you must be BORN AGAIN, or BORN FROM ABOVE, or you will not be able to see the Kingdom of God.
Paul said to the saints in Corinth, “Do I have to travail in pain again until Christ is birthed in you.” He saw his ministry as birthing the Christ first of all in himself, and then in others until the world is filled with, “The GOD KIND OF PEOPLE.” James 1:18, “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 GOD KIND OF PEOPLE.”
The Lord is speaking to his people today concerning fruitfulness. Did he not speak about the VINE that represented him, and the branches that represent us? The fruit does not appear on the VINE but on the branches, so he continued saying, John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me or separated from me you can do NOTHING.” Now let us relate these truths to Abraham in his situation. Remember that the spirit is male and female functioning as ONE, so Abraham and Sarai using the allegory were ONE, BUT they did not abide as one to produce his son and heir, but used a substitute female to bring forth the conception.
This is why Ishmael was not allowed to remain in Abraham’s house, from the point of view of the allegory. How was the son and heir finally produced? Only when Abraham and Sarah (the Princess) functioned together as ONE did conception take place between a 90-year-old woman who had been barren all her life and a 100-year-old man. In the same way, we cannot bring forth the Christ unless we also as the “Woman” are united as ONE with CHRIST who is spirit. For this reason it was not just a woman and a man or an EGG AND A SPERM that produced the child of promise, but the spirit of God. How do I know, because Isaac, Abraham’s son is recognized as Christ in Matt 1:1.
So how are we to see Ishmael in the light of these things? He becomes a wild man who is against everyone and everyone is against him. Do not elect him as a King because he will never unite anyone, his nature is divisive and antagonistic. As we view the Church not critically but generally, we find that it also has set man against man and nation against nation, color against color, and Christian against Christian and the Church against the heathen. Christians quote the verse, 2 Corinthians 6:17 “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
Christians interpret this verse, saying that we should have nothing to do with unbelievers, or those who do not agree with us. This is part of the deception into which God’s people have fallen in this our day.
Jesus failed completely if we are not to have anything to do with UNBELIEVERS. He made the statement that we were not to be UNEQUALLY YOKED TOGETHER as in marriage, unless both parties agree about the direction their lives would take, for they are to become ONE FLESH. Marriage is impossible if the man and his wife have totally different goals in life, and this is not a spiritual issue as much as it is natural. We are not speaking about doctrines but simply the course of our life. Two people in business cannot function together if they are not agreed concerning what they want to achieve and how that is to be achieved. That is not a religious issue but is very down to earth and natural. Imagine two oxen pulling a cart where the one ox was a large strong beast, but it is bound to a small inferior Ox. Such a combination would never be able to do what the driver sought to achieve in moving the load.
Amos the prophet said in Ch. 3:3, “How can two walk together except they be agreed”? How many people who were healed being touched by Jesus were Christians?? Was the mad man of the Gadarenes, a Christian, because if not, Jesus had no right to touch him or associate with him according to the religious concepts of many today. Jesus showed compassion for 5000 people and fed them and had a meal with them, was that all right? Jesus chose Judas as a disciple, but was he a believer?? I do not think that the voice the Church is following today is the voice of the CHRIST. Very few people belonging to heathenism are being added to the Christ today, for they are considered to be OUTCAST FROM GOD. The Church has no power to change the world, or stop the killing or the riots that are destroying so many countries today.
What is behind this situation that is worldwide today, remembering that Jesus said, “Without me you can do nothing.” We have therefore proceeded to do what Abraham did and we looked for a woman who could fill the role, allowing us to bring forth children. It is quite legal even today to use a surrogate mother to produce a child for a couple who cannot conceive on their own.
Today the Church is struggling to produce ”Fruit” of itself, therefore it has resorted to programs and activities that are the product of the carnal mind.. Therefore what we see produced is usually not an ISAAC but an ISHMAEL. Many Christians have MARRIED THE CHURCH in the world, because they are unable to produce spiritual children for God.
However, God has declared that out of your inner being we would bring forth the Christ, for the seed of God is within every man. Christianity has spread around the world .through converts many of whom were not birthed by the spirit. But Without being born of the spirit we cannot see the Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ never came to establish Christianity, but to see the KINGDOM OF GOD functioning on this earth. The Church in the world has continued to divide the peoples of the world in every country, kindred, tribe and tongue, even providing the basis of many of the wars to this very day. The hardest thing to overcome in every country where I minister each year, is the division and separation between the Churches, with each one believing they are more correct than the others. But a house that is divided cannot stand, so the impact that the Church has on the world is minimal. Even the heathen laugh at the lack of agreement and cohesion that there is between the Churches. But in the Kingdom message there are no divisions because there is only ONE HEAD and ONE AUTHORITY, which is Jesus Christ the KING.
The Church has done very little to establish the Kingdom of God on this earth, even though we pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on this earth as it is being done in heaven.” That is what Jesus Christ the KING came to do, but the Church decided that it was more important to fill the Churches with people, so they declared that Jesus came to save the world by dying on the Cross for their sins, so they could go to heaven. Religion has focused the attention of God’s people on HEAVEN as their eternal inheritance, although that is not what the Bible teaches. Psalm 115:16 declares that, “The Heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth has been given to the children of men.” In the “Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that the “Meek shall inherit the earth.” The church in the world today is big business.
The greatest deception that affected man in the Garden of Eden was when Eve was deceived into believing that they would not die, if they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Instead of believing what God said, she believed that to eat the fruit of that tree would open their eyes and they would become as Gods. This was based upon the concept that the Knowledge of good and evil was part of the divine mind. However, as the Apostle John listened to the revelation of Jesus Christ looking into the reality of the Church, as he comes to the last of the seven Churches, which relates to the Church of today this is what he said: -
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodicea’s write; These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; (Jesus Christ) “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot: I would rather that you were either cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. (This means to reject with extreme disgust, for what you do is neither my will, nor do you deliberately oppose me, you are neither one thing nor the other.) Because you say, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, and you do not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy of me,
1. Gold tried in the fire, that thou may be possess true riches.
2. White raiment, that you may be clothed, and the shame of your nakedness do not appear.
3. And anoint your eyes with eye-salve that you may see (into the reality of things). As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
The counsel given to correct the situation, is to seek the Lord for the GOLD that is tried in the fire. Gold always speaks of divinity and in this case we are to seek after the PURE GOLD that is tried in the fire, which has been tested and proven to be pure. This represents Christ crucified, buried and risen from the dead, and now glorified at the right hand of the Father.
The true riches of this world are all spiritual, and can only be found in Jesus Christ. He came to establish two things, Justice and Righteousness, which are so often missing from God’s people today. Is it “JUST,” for many Christians to be starving today in this world while the Church is building more and better buildings costing millions of dollars? Is this justice in the eyes of the Lord? Is it righteous for a Christian in business to cheat and lie to increase his wealth? How often do we see leadership in the Church that lacks in righteousness, bringing disgrace to the name of the Lord? Perhaps these are some of the reasons why in so many cases people are turning away from the Church. But the problem goes much deeper than this.
From the time that the Church in Jerusalem was established the expression of the love of God began to diminish. It was not long before division appeared and was brought out into the open, between Peter who represented the Church in Jerusalem and the Apostle Paul who was apprehended of the Lord on the road to Damascus. The Church decided that Paul should not be allowed to minister and establish other churches without getting permission from the Church in Jerusalem. After all Peter walked and talked with Jesus during most of his ministry on this earth while Paul was at that time seeking to kill Christians. So the question of Authority and doctrine became an issue. Unlike Peter, Paul received his teaching by the Spirit, during two and a half years in the Arabian Desert, in which he was divinely taught the Kingdom message that was directed towards the Gentile people where he established the ECCLESIA or the Church. These are the “Called out ones,” that are called out to teach the constitution of the Kingdom of God to the people.
Jesus Christ came unto his own, that is to Israel, who were intended to be the manifestation of the Kingdom of God on the earth, but their failure to walk in the ways of God disqualified them from fulfilling that function. Jesus made the declaration in Matthew 21:43, Therefore say I unto you, “The Kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof,” which referred to the Gentiles. Israel could never demonstrate the constitution of the Kingdom of God because they remained under the Law of commandments, which is not the issue in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is established upon pure obedience, not to a written LAW, but to the VOICE OF THE KING.
The elders in Jerusalem had already disrupted Paul’s ministry by demanding that the people who responded to the Gospel to the Gentiles must keep the Law also. This issue continues to be the stumbling block for the Church until this day. Peter and Paul represent two different Gospels as they are designed for different peoples. One is the Gospel to the CIRCUMCISION, which was given to Peter, and the Gospel to the UNCIRCUMCISION was given to Paul. Galatians 2:7 But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, the Apostle Paul and (the gospel) of the circumcision was committed unto Peter, (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles.)
It was not that one was to be better than the other for the same sacrifice at Calvary was to be effective for both the Jews and the Gentiles. If we trace history back we come to Abraham who actually birthed the Christ in Isaac. Matthew 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Most Christians find it hard to accept these things but we need to understand that all of mankind was created to bring forth the Son of God including you and I today. God said to Adam, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” James 1:18 also reminds us of this wonderful expectation we must all have. “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits or an original of the God kind of people.” We have all been IN CHRIST from creation; therefore we were in him when he was birthed into this world through the Virgin Mary.
It was after the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his ascension, and return as the spirit on the day of Pentecost that Jesus was able to share many things with the disciples. Acts 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, Jesus commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. What is the Promise of the Father that the disciples were told to wait in Jerusalem until it was fulfilled in them? There are many promises that the Father has made but there is a specific promise that to me lies right at the foundation of our redemption. It is found in Gen 3:15. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
God is speaking to the serpent that represents the carnal mind, making a promise that there would be a natural enmity between the woman who was taken out of Adam, and the Serpent who represents the Natural or carnal mind. Both of these will become productive, producing children and there will be the same enmity between the offspring as well. Finally the promise is that the seed issuing from the woman, that represents Jesus Christ born of the Virgin in Bethlehem, and all those who have been born of the Spirit will crush the “Head” of the serpent, but the serpent will in the process bruise his heel in the hope of limiting the activity of the Christ ones.
They shall walk in the power and strength of the Lord. The carnal mind having been dealt a deathblow, now allows the MIND OF CHRIST to function in them, thus releasing the spiritual weapons of our warfare, which are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. Once the Spirit and the mind agree as one, God’s people are invincible. John 14:20 “At that day (Pentecost) you shall know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” It is no longer I that live but Christ that lives in me, and he is LORD.
The word in the Greek language that is translated Church is “Ekklesia” which in Strong’s Concordance means, a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly of the people forming a council for the purpose of deliberating. If we go back to the history of the days of the Roman Empire, who knew and used the Ecclesia to control the many countries that they had conquered, we get a very clear view of how it functioned. The Roman authorities called out a people from the population to form such an Ecclesia.
This company had nothing to do with religion but was appointed to form a council to establish the Roman constitution over the people on that country. Rome would send a delegation to this group instructing them on the Roman rules of Government that would control that country from now on. They were given certain authority that would allow them to see that the people acted according to the rules and regulations, and so were responsible to establish the Roman authority over that country. The idea behind this arrangement was that over time the people would become familiar with the form of Roman Government and so would become good Roman citizens.
This is what the true Church was intended to do in the world. We have been given the constitution of the Kingdom of God, and the Ecclesia or Church is intended to establish that constitution bringing the world under the dominion of the KING Jesus Christ.
However, instead of the Church fulfilling its true function as the Ecclesia, we have spent our energy and time building a religious structure that has divided the world instead of unifying it under the KING. We are the SALT of the earth designed to have a dynamic effect upon society, but if our salt has lost its savor, how can it be seasoned.
When Jesus sent out his disciples he told them to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and heal the sick. Today there are just as many sick in the Church as there are outside. There are no sick people who are citizens of the Kingdom of God. When God released Israel from Egypt about two and a half million people walked out of Egypt, the greatest military power of its time, and they never had a sword or a spear. It is recorded that there was not one sick amongst them. The Church is powerless to stop aggression, depression, marriage break ups, abuse of children, or any other crime. Those in the world often fare better than Christians and many times are more righteous than those in the Church.
Why are these things so, for it is evident that there are forces at work in the religious world that are exercising a control that is keeping many of God’s people blind, to the things of the spirit, and DEAF to the voice of God, thus cutting them off from eating of the tree of LIFE. The Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos as a prisoner, was given a wonderful insight to the hidden powers that have affected humanity all over the world. In Revelation 17 one of the messengers from God shared with him what was happening behind the scene in the world. John was shown a WOMAN who is referred to, as the great whore that sits upon many waters. She is a HARLOT who has cast her spell over the peoples on the earth. Then we discover that the KINGS of the earth, referring to God’s people all of whom are KINGS and PRIESTS unto God, have been seduced by her. They seem to be the target of this woman whose effect upon them is likened to drunkenness, where these kings cannot function coherently, and their thoughts and function are seriously affected. We are speaking here about God’s people being brought under the spell of this woman causing them to think and act out of character, for a child of God.
In the next scene, John sees this same woman in a wilderness now riding upon a scarlet colored beast, which she is guiding and directing. The beast does not refer to a literal animal, but to mankind who is under the control of the carnal mind that can only manifest the animal aspect of man. The Woman is dressed in purple and scarlet which are the colors of Kingship and authority, as well as being adorned with Gold, precious stones and pearls. So the woman (which was taken out of Adam in Gen 2) who functions as a Living Soul, under the authority of the CARNAL MIND, .now has a vehicle through which to carry out her mission. The beast is the collective company of those who still function under the Carnal Mind, and have committed fornication with the WOMAN bringing them under the spell of her intoxicating influence.
Many people who love the Lord and are found on Sunday morning in praise and worship in Church, subscribing to Christ’s authority mentally, but are unaware of the insidious influence of this WOMAN. The reason that is given for her ability to manipulate God’s people is because they have been made “DRUNK,” through the wine of her fornication which is “Using your body for an illegal purpose.” Remember that Paul declares that “Your BODY IS THE TEMPLE OF GOD and does not belong to you. Spiritual fornication is therefore using our BODY for any purpose that is not sanctioned by God. The purpose behind everything she seeks to do is to trick us into activity that is not part of the will and purpose of God, and therefore is illegal for us. The power of EVIL in this world is totally dependent upon a person functioning out of their natural of carnal MIND.
Everyone of us create our own world, and depending on which mind we function out of it will be either filled with beauty, love, joy and peace, or sin, wickedness, murder, sickness, pain and sorrow followed by death. Both are looking at the same world so how can this be. One person is using the MIND of their true identity which is Christ and they see GOD”S WORLD which was created in the beginning, and on completion God looked at everything and said, “It is very good.” Man was created spirit and that spirit is CHRIST and Paul makes a plea to all people, “Let this mind dwell in you which was also IN CHRIST JESUS.”
The function of that mind enables one to do everything Jesus did including raising the dead. That is the only mind that can activate true spiritual worship in us. The natural or carnal mind is subject to manipulation by the serpent as Eve discovered in the Garden of Eden. The “Beast” in Rev 17 is just another figure to represent the same power that is generated in MAN. It is just as true today as it was in the Garden of Eden that the Serpent or carnal mind is more subtle than all the beasts of the field.
In Rev 13 and 17 God is unmasking the great adversary of both God and the Truth in the world. Revelation 17:13 “These have one MIND and (think the same things) and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.” Do not be concerned about some “devil” chasing you, for the great enemy of God is not to be found outside of you but is within, it is your natural or carnal MIND.
Romans 8:5 “For they that function out of the flesh (Consciousness) do MIND or become involved with the things of the flesh; but they that function out of a Spirit (Consciousness), are only concerned with the things of the Spirit. Because the CARNAL MIND IS AN ENEMY OF GOD, for it is not subject to the law of God, but is set in opposition to God.”
One of the last things Jesus did before he ascended, was to OPEN THE SPIRITUAL MINDS of the disciples so they could understand the scriptures. In the Garden of Eden all the enemy had to do to destroy Adam’s place and privileges was to get Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and his task was complete. That foreign knowledge reprogrammed Adam’s mind in a flash, making God his enemy, and introducing a sin consciousness that he had not known before. Apart from a NEW MIND SET, nothing else had changed in reality. That NEW PARADIME has infected the NATURAL MIND of all humanity from that time on, so people automatically believe they are sinners. This makes God to be their enemy, and produces the illusion, that we have an enemy outside of us who constantly harasses us, messing up everything God does.
NONE OF WHICH IS TRUE!
Man was created as spirit with only ONE MIND, and that mind is the mind of our TRUE SPIRITUAL IDENTITY which is CHRIST. Remember that Jesus Christ said, “I and my Father are ONE,” so the mind of Christ is in total agreement with GOD. Therefore that MIND of Christ thinks like God, and believes like God, and everything it believes is TRUTH. However, the Mind of Christ in many people is not the mind that controls their thoughts and actions. It is the mind of the natural or Carnal man that has been deceived by the serpent that decides what we believe, and what we do. Why do most people believe that they are sinners and that God is angry with them? Because that is what most preachers tell the congregation every Sunday, and multitudes of books will tell you the same thing.
But we are today under the New Covenant that God has made with all of humanity, which says, “YOUR SINS AND INIQUITIES I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” The Bible says, “God so loved the world.” We live our lives out of a state of being that is determined by our consciousness. According to which Mind we use so we will develop either a sin consciousness believing we are sinners and God is angry with us, or the Mind of Christ, which will tell us that we are the children of God and are greatly loved. Only then I can believe that “I can do ALL THINGS through Christ who is my strength. This allows me to live in a Christ consciousness that is filled with Love, Joy and Peace.
The Apostle exhorts us not to be conformed to this world, but to be TRANSFORMED by the RENEWING OF OUR MIND, (by the spirit) that you might prove that which is good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. Rom 12:2
Finally Jesus revealed the true basis of our relationship with God in John 14:20. Speaking about the DAY of PENTECOST when he returned not as JESUS THE MAN, to WALK WITH the disciples, but in his true spiritual identity TO DWELL IN THEM. This is what he said: -
At that day, you shall know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I (Christ) am in you.
No longer is Christ identified as a man called Jesus who was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth. That man DIED on Calvary BUT was raised as the true expression of the New Creation Man, which we are also becoming in him. Now Christ has returned on the day of Pentecost to take up residence within all those who have been BORN OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD. These are the people who are empowered to DO what Jesus did to become an expression in this world, of the same Christ who healed the sick, gave sight to the blind and raised the dead.
The NEW BIRTH is a birthing by the spirit, and: -
If that same spirit that raised Christ from the Dead DWELL IN YOU, then he will make alive your mortal body, by that same spirit that dwells in you.
May the Lord give you understanding of these things.
Des Walter April 2008
So prayer was never intended to be a tool to try and persuade God to do our will. Once we recognize this, much of the time we spend praying can be filled in more productive ways. I remember back in the days before I understood these things, the prayer meetings was always a boring time, listening to people praying for missionaries around the world, telling God what to do for each one. It was often a great effort to stay awake in those meetings. Then we had those very special “All Night of Prayer Meetings,” which were intended to really get God’s attention, and the people’s spirituality was gauged on those who attended. In one Church where I was ministering they had planned to have one of these “All Night” prayer meetings so I asked the Pastor what was it that they were going to pray for. I was told that they were going to ask God to correct a certain situation that had developed in their country. I said to the Pastor, do you consider it to be right for us to tell God what to do, or would it not be better if we sat quietly in God’s presence, and asked him if there was not something that we could be doing to correct the problem.
If we go back to the creation of man we discover that God gave man dominion over the birds of the air, the animal kingdom and the fish of the sea, as well as over all the works of God’s hands. The word dominion means, “The right to rule,” and so we are the ones that are to bring this world under the control of the King Jesus Christ, so it can function as the Kingdom of God. Because God gave man dominion over the earth, we are responsible for what happens down here.
Psalm 115:16. “The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD'S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.”
Because that is so, God cannot affect the earth without our permission for God has never rescinded our dominion over the earth. But because man has forgotten his true identity he no longer believes he has dominion to rule on the earth, so he lives subject to his circumstances, and the limitation his natural mind put upon him. It is interesting that when things go wrong here on the earth, the first one we blame is God.
The natural or carnal mind has so distorted our vision that we have become subject to all the circumstances that occur in our lives. Moses stood before the sea as the Egyptian army closed in behind Israel intending to destroy them, and the people said, “Moses, do something,” so he turns his eyes heavenward and says, “Lord we have a problem here, please do something!” God said to Moses, “Why do you stand there crying unto me, WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR HAND?” Moses said I have the Rod you gave me to release Israel from Pharaoh. “Well stretch it out over the sea,” and immediately a path was opened through the sea for Israel to cross.
What Moses did, saved the nation and finally brought destruction to their enemies who were never seen again. Did God come down from heaven and deliver Israel?? No, God had a man there who discovered he was equipped to do all that was necessary to fulfil the will and purpose of God in every situation. Mankind is the “Body” through which God can accomplish everything on this earth, if we can only believe it. This is a classic example of how God functions on the earth today.Did not Jesus say, John 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 my Father.”
Of course we believe every word that Jesus spoke but to be able to actually do what he said requires much more than whatever “Believing” involves. We speak with great joy about the miracles Jesus did and how he stopped the storm out on the lake, and how he fed 5000 people with just a few sandwiches and two little fish. Beloved it is time to wake up and get out of the dream world, and realize that Christ has never left the earth.
He said, John 14:19 “Yet a little while, and the world sees me no more; but YOU WILL SEE ME, and because I live, (in you) you shall live also. At that day (when you SEE ME) you shall know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” Stop looking up into the sky hoping to see Jesus coming back, for the will and the purpose of God is not to have just ONE MAN on the earth to restore earth to its pristine glory, hear what the Apostle John had to say: -,
Revelation 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, “Thou art worthy to take the book (of the life of the Lamb, which is OUR LIFE) and to open the seals thereof and release us from all limitation to do your perfect will. You were slain on the cross to set us free from our mortality and HAVE redeemed us to God by your eternal life (blood) out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made us unto our God KINGS and PRIESTS and we DO reign on this earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels (messengers) round about the throne and the beasts and the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.”
Have you discovered the purpose that you are to fulfil, for which God has put you on this earth? The scriptures remind us that, “Without a VISION the people perish or dwell carelessly.” The disciples came to Jesus one day and asked him to teach them, not how to pray because they knew how to pray as that was an integral part of Jewish life, but what to pray for. Prayer acknowledges our desperate need for divine assistance, wisdom, and direction for us to fulfil God’s will on this earth regarding the work of the ministry in which we are to be involved.
Remember how, many people joined Jesus as the result of a simple request he made to them…… “Follow me.” In everything he said, he carried an authority that caused the people to respond, but he never wearied of doing his Father’s will. The disciples listened to the Sermon on the Mount, that changed many of the religious concepts and traditions, which caused them to feel unsure of where this ministry would lead them.
In truth Jesus did not preach sermons, or give a set of rules to follow, but he started a movement that was gathering momentum. He was not starting some new organization but began to introduce a completely new way of LIVING. The frightening thing that shocked the disciples, was that it was obvious this new life was intended to spread far beyond the bounds of Judaism, and in fact seemed set to transform the whole world, regardless of colour, religion or language.
What he preached was totally relevant to all the peoples of the world, and removed traditional barriers that had up to that time, remained secure. Judaism had managed to survive even while Israel was under the control of Rome, including the priesthood and the religious authority of the High Priest and the Sanhedrin. In fact they abused the liberty that was given to the priesthood in such a subtle way that they used it to establish their financial empire right in the Temple itself. This would have remained hidden except Jesus saw through their duplicity and cast the moneychangers out, and shut down their dishonest network that fleeced the people.
Jesus Christ set up an authority that could not be overthrown, yet it was not a dictatorship, and there was no army in support of his movement. All this was established while Rome governed Judea under the hand of the cruel and ruthless King Herod who would stop at nothing to keep the people under control. History records that during this time hundreds of people were crucified and the authorities forbad the bodies to be taken down from the crosses but left them to rot, filling the atmosphere with the stench of death. This was their way of filling the hearts of the people with fear to foster obedience to the Roman regime
Jesus began his ministry by introducing an authority on the earth such as had never been seen or understood before. He told the people that a Kingdom was already established but it was IN A PEOPLE and not something exterior to them. The King had already been born in Bethlehem and was establishing his credentials right at that time. King Herod under the Roman Authority did his best to destroy the King who was born in Bethlehem but he could not find him. Who would think of looking for a King that was born in a manger where they fed animals? Normally a King would be born in a palace, but this King represented a Government that was not of this world, so he was not tied to the culture or the ethics of the world in which he was born. It was necessary for him to establish the constitution of his Kingdom, because it was different to anything that had previously been set up on this earth. Israel was the first and only constituted nation on the earth that was established as a THEOCRACY under divine authority, for God was their King. However, even though they accepted the obligation of circumcision in their flesh, as a distinguishing mark that separated them from the other nations, the hearts of the people had never been circumcised. So their obedience to the King was never really established.
The time came when Israel revolted against the divine authority that ruled them, even though they never voted for God to be their King. Therefore they had no constitutional right to dethrone him, but the eldership of Israel sent a delegation to Samuel requesting a change of Government. They wanted a KING LIKE ALL THE OTHER NATIONS, who they could elect and if they were not satisfied with his leadership they could dispose of him and choose another. All this is recorded in 1 Samuel 8:4-7
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said; Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
In order to understand what is happening here let us look back to the creation of man in Gen 1:26, when God spoke the man into existence in the likeness and image of God. Man was given DOMINION over the birds of the air, the fish of the sea and the animal kingdom, but was never given dominion over M-A-N-K-I-N-D. The creator who spoke MAN into existence in the likeness and image of God, only ever-created ONE SON and that was Christ Jesus. However, every other man who has ever lived or will live on this earth was INCORPORATED IN THAT ONE SON. Paul expresses it in Eph, 2:10,
“You are God’s workmanship (speaking of our body that was FORMED in our mother’s womb) but, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS, the ONE SON, unto good works (distinguished, upright and honorable) which GOD BEFORE ORDAINED that we should walk, live and express in our lives on the earth.”
The creator’s purpose was that ALL MEN would live on this earth as a CORPORATE EXPRESSION OF THAT ONE SON, who said,“I only SAY what I hear my Father say, and I only DO what I see my Father do.” This is the obedient SON in whom all of mankind has been incorporated in Creation. Citizenship in the Kingdom of God is granted, dependant upon total obedience to the King, JESUS CHRIST. For man to live as Jesus Christ lived on this earth under the constitution of the Kingdom of God, he must live under the authority of the King, and subject to the Father. Jesus himself demonstrated his submission to the Father from his birth in Bethlehem 2000 years ago.
In Abraham, God was providing another opportunity for man to conform to the Kingdom constitution, and function under divine authority. He was told to count the stars, and even though he was 90 years old, and Sarah had never conceived a child, God told him that his SEED would be as the STARS OF HEAVEN, both in quality and quantity. Abraham responded to the word of the Lord in faith establishing it in his heart without question. This response was accepted by the Lord who credited Abraham as being RIGHTEOUS. In this, there is a beautiful picture of the birthing of another people, who would achieve what Adam failed to accomplish.
It was Sarai who suggested they use Hagar as a surrogate mother, as her natural mind could not conceive that she could produce such a child as God had promised. Abraham’s humanity gets involved as he seeks to fulfil the divine word using human means, as he impregnates Hagar with his natural seed. Abraham birthed a son, even though he did not seek the Lord for the details as to how the child was to be conceived. Sarai developed an attitude towards Hagar after she conceived and scorned her driving her away even while she was bearing Abraham’s child.
Genesis 16:7 And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” And she said, “I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.” And the angel of the LORD said unto her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” And the angel of the LORD said unto her, “I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.” And the angel of the LORD said unto her, “Behold, you are with child, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.” And she called the name of the LORD that spoke unto her, “God, you see me” for she said, “And have I also looked upon him that sees me?”
As we view all these events recorded here, we see behind the scenes that God is working out his will and purpose, even though those involved did not always know what the outcome would be. Abraham yielded to Sarai’s plan to produce the promised child, but had an insight beyond that of his wife, to see a seed as the stars of heaven for multitude that would expand to include the entire human race. For this reason the nation of Israel birthed through Abraham never would satisfy God’s promise to him, that his seed would be as the stars of heaven which as we know today are countless.
But here is the beginning of the fulfilment of God’s promise that does not seem to fit the will and purpose of God for we are looking at a seed through Hagar and Egyptian slave girl. However God sent his messenger to return Hagar to Sarai for the child had to be born there to fulfil God’s purpose. This was Abraham’s son regardless of whatever other issues were involved. Hagar followed the direction of the Angel, receiving the promises that were given to her regarding the child, and returned and submitted to Sarai. The Angel said to her, “I will multiply your seed exceedingly that it shall not be numbered for multitude, and then he named the child ISHMAEL which means “God shall hear.”
Hagar was told that Ishmael would be a Wild Man, or a wild ass, so never elect him as a King for he will cause strife and division.. Eventually the child Ishmael was born and Abraham was delighted, believing that this one was destined to be his own son and heir. But God had other plans that were as yet unfulfilled in the life of Abraham. God made it clear to Abraham that Ishmael was not to be his son and heir as promised by the Lord. Ishmael had the right Father but his mother was not the one that God had intended.
This raises a very interesting issue, for ADAM in the beginning was told to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. In creation man came forth as SPIRIT and it was to this spirit man that the direction to be fruitful and multiply was given. Spirit has no gender, but is both MALE and FEMALE, functioning together as one giving the man the ability to bring forth out of himself. We are told that the MAN was created in the likeness and image of God who also was able to bring forth out of himself his SON and HEIR.
For those with ears to hear let us pursue this important matter a little further. Please note: -
When we speak about reproduction we need to remember that the command to be fruitful was not given to ADAM and EVE but to ADAM who was a SPIRIT MAN. Therefore this reproduction is to be spiritual and not physical.
Genesis 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof, and the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman (ISHAW) because she was taken out of Man (ISH).
This event is an allegory, because SPIRIT is MALE and FEMALE functioning as ONE and therefore cannot be divided. There is no such thing as half a spirit as SPIRIT IS SPIRIT and is indivisible. But because this is so important for us to understand, we are given this allegory that reveals the role that the MALE and the FEMALE have formulated today in this world of duality. In God’s world of spirit there are no men and women only the children, or sons of God, all of whom are SPIRIT, being male and female. So there is a big difference between the fulfilment of God’s direction given to Adam in the Garden, and those of mankind who were all birthed using EVE as the mother from which mankind has come.
Most Christians would deny that God included all of mankind in his request for all of us to be birthed BY THE SPIRIT, in order to be a part of the Body of Christ on the earth. Every member of the Body of Christ must be BORN OF THE SPIRIT. Jesus told Nicodemus you must be BORN AGAIN, or BORN FROM ABOVE, or you will not be able to see the Kingdom of God.
Paul said to the saints in Corinth, “Do I have to travail in pain again until Christ is birthed in you.” He saw his ministry as birthing the Christ first of all in himself, and then in others until the world is filled with, “The GOD KIND OF PEOPLE.” James 1:18, “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 GOD KIND OF PEOPLE.”
The Lord is speaking to his people today concerning fruitfulness. Did he not speak about the VINE that represented him, and the branches that represent us? The fruit does not appear on the VINE but on the branches, so he continued saying, John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me or separated from me you can do NOTHING.” Now let us relate these truths to Abraham in his situation. Remember that the spirit is male and female functioning as ONE, so Abraham and Sarai using the allegory were ONE, BUT they did not abide as one to produce his son and heir, but used a substitute female to bring forth the conception.
This is why Ishmael was not allowed to remain in Abraham’s house, from the point of view of the allegory. How was the son and heir finally produced? Only when Abraham and Sarah (the Princess) functioned together as ONE did conception take place between a 90-year-old woman who had been barren all her life and a 100-year-old man. In the same way, we cannot bring forth the Christ unless we also as the “Woman” are united as ONE with CHRIST who is spirit. For this reason it was not just a woman and a man or an EGG AND A SPERM that produced the child of promise, but the spirit of God. How do I know, because Isaac, Abraham’s son is recognized as Christ in Matt 1:1.
So how are we to see Ishmael in the light of these things? He becomes a wild man who is against everyone and everyone is against him. Do not elect him as a King because he will never unite anyone, his nature is divisive and antagonistic. As we view the Church not critically but generally, we find that it also has set man against man and nation against nation, color against color, and Christian against Christian and the Church against the heathen. Christians quote the verse, 2 Corinthians 6:17 “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
Christians interpret this verse, saying that we should have nothing to do with unbelievers, or those who do not agree with us. This is part of the deception into which God’s people have fallen in this our day.
Jesus failed completely if we are not to have anything to do with UNBELIEVERS. He made the statement that we were not to be UNEQUALLY YOKED TOGETHER as in marriage, unless both parties agree about the direction their lives would take, for they are to become ONE FLESH. Marriage is impossible if the man and his wife have totally different goals in life, and this is not a spiritual issue as much as it is natural. We are not speaking about doctrines but simply the course of our life. Two people in business cannot function together if they are not agreed concerning what they want to achieve and how that is to be achieved. That is not a religious issue but is very down to earth and natural. Imagine two oxen pulling a cart where the one ox was a large strong beast, but it is bound to a small inferior Ox. Such a combination would never be able to do what the driver sought to achieve in moving the load.
Amos the prophet said in Ch. 3:3, “How can two walk together except they be agreed”? How many people who were healed being touched by Jesus were Christians?? Was the mad man of the Gadarenes, a Christian, because if not, Jesus had no right to touch him or associate with him according to the religious concepts of many today. Jesus showed compassion for 5000 people and fed them and had a meal with them, was that all right? Jesus chose Judas as a disciple, but was he a believer?? I do not think that the voice the Church is following today is the voice of the CHRIST. Very few people belonging to heathenism are being added to the Christ today, for they are considered to be OUTCAST FROM GOD. The Church has no power to change the world, or stop the killing or the riots that are destroying so many countries today.
What is behind this situation that is worldwide today, remembering that Jesus said, “Without me you can do nothing.” We have therefore proceeded to do what Abraham did and we looked for a woman who could fill the role, allowing us to bring forth children. It is quite legal even today to use a surrogate mother to produce a child for a couple who cannot conceive on their own.
Today the Church is struggling to produce ”Fruit” of itself, therefore it has resorted to programs and activities that are the product of the carnal mind.. Therefore what we see produced is usually not an ISAAC but an ISHMAEL. Many Christians have MARRIED THE CHURCH in the world, because they are unable to produce spiritual children for God.
However, God has declared that out of your inner being we would bring forth the Christ, for the seed of God is within every man. Christianity has spread around the world .through converts many of whom were not birthed by the spirit. But Without being born of the spirit we cannot see the Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ never came to establish Christianity, but to see the KINGDOM OF GOD functioning on this earth. The Church in the world has continued to divide the peoples of the world in every country, kindred, tribe and tongue, even providing the basis of many of the wars to this very day. The hardest thing to overcome in every country where I minister each year, is the division and separation between the Churches, with each one believing they are more correct than the others. But a house that is divided cannot stand, so the impact that the Church has on the world is minimal. Even the heathen laugh at the lack of agreement and cohesion that there is between the Churches. But in the Kingdom message there are no divisions because there is only ONE HEAD and ONE AUTHORITY, which is Jesus Christ the KING.
The Church has done very little to establish the Kingdom of God on this earth, even though we pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on this earth as it is being done in heaven.” That is what Jesus Christ the KING came to do, but the Church decided that it was more important to fill the Churches with people, so they declared that Jesus came to save the world by dying on the Cross for their sins, so they could go to heaven. Religion has focused the attention of God’s people on HEAVEN as their eternal inheritance, although that is not what the Bible teaches. Psalm 115:16 declares that, “The Heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth has been given to the children of men.” In the “Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that the “Meek shall inherit the earth.” The church in the world today is big business.
The greatest deception that affected man in the Garden of Eden was when Eve was deceived into believing that they would not die, if they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Instead of believing what God said, she believed that to eat the fruit of that tree would open their eyes and they would become as Gods. This was based upon the concept that the Knowledge of good and evil was part of the divine mind. However, as the Apostle John listened to the revelation of Jesus Christ looking into the reality of the Church, as he comes to the last of the seven Churches, which relates to the Church of today this is what he said: -
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodicea’s write; These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; (Jesus Christ) “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot: I would rather that you were either cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. (This means to reject with extreme disgust, for what you do is neither my will, nor do you deliberately oppose me, you are neither one thing nor the other.) Because you say, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, and you do not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy of me,
1. Gold tried in the fire, that thou may be possess true riches.
2. White raiment, that you may be clothed, and the shame of your nakedness do not appear.
3. And anoint your eyes with eye-salve that you may see (into the reality of things). As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
The counsel given to correct the situation, is to seek the Lord for the GOLD that is tried in the fire. Gold always speaks of divinity and in this case we are to seek after the PURE GOLD that is tried in the fire, which has been tested and proven to be pure. This represents Christ crucified, buried and risen from the dead, and now glorified at the right hand of the Father.
The true riches of this world are all spiritual, and can only be found in Jesus Christ. He came to establish two things, Justice and Righteousness, which are so often missing from God’s people today. Is it “JUST,” for many Christians to be starving today in this world while the Church is building more and better buildings costing millions of dollars? Is this justice in the eyes of the Lord? Is it righteous for a Christian in business to cheat and lie to increase his wealth? How often do we see leadership in the Church that lacks in righteousness, bringing disgrace to the name of the Lord? Perhaps these are some of the reasons why in so many cases people are turning away from the Church. But the problem goes much deeper than this.
From the time that the Church in Jerusalem was established the expression of the love of God began to diminish. It was not long before division appeared and was brought out into the open, between Peter who represented the Church in Jerusalem and the Apostle Paul who was apprehended of the Lord on the road to Damascus. The Church decided that Paul should not be allowed to minister and establish other churches without getting permission from the Church in Jerusalem. After all Peter walked and talked with Jesus during most of his ministry on this earth while Paul was at that time seeking to kill Christians. So the question of Authority and doctrine became an issue. Unlike Peter, Paul received his teaching by the Spirit, during two and a half years in the Arabian Desert, in which he was divinely taught the Kingdom message that was directed towards the Gentile people where he established the ECCLESIA or the Church. These are the “Called out ones,” that are called out to teach the constitution of the Kingdom of God to the people.
Jesus Christ came unto his own, that is to Israel, who were intended to be the manifestation of the Kingdom of God on the earth, but their failure to walk in the ways of God disqualified them from fulfilling that function. Jesus made the declaration in Matthew 21:43, Therefore say I unto you, “The Kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof,” which referred to the Gentiles. Israel could never demonstrate the constitution of the Kingdom of God because they remained under the Law of commandments, which is not the issue in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is established upon pure obedience, not to a written LAW, but to the VOICE OF THE KING.
The elders in Jerusalem had already disrupted Paul’s ministry by demanding that the people who responded to the Gospel to the Gentiles must keep the Law also. This issue continues to be the stumbling block for the Church until this day. Peter and Paul represent two different Gospels as they are designed for different peoples. One is the Gospel to the CIRCUMCISION, which was given to Peter, and the Gospel to the UNCIRCUMCISION was given to Paul. Galatians 2:7 But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, the Apostle Paul and (the gospel) of the circumcision was committed unto Peter, (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles.)
It was not that one was to be better than the other for the same sacrifice at Calvary was to be effective for both the Jews and the Gentiles. If we trace history back we come to Abraham who actually birthed the Christ in Isaac. Matthew 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Most Christians find it hard to accept these things but we need to understand that all of mankind was created to bring forth the Son of God including you and I today. God said to Adam, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” James 1:18 also reminds us of this wonderful expectation we must all have. “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits or an original of the God kind of people.” We have all been IN CHRIST from creation; therefore we were in him when he was birthed into this world through the Virgin Mary.
It was after the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his ascension, and return as the spirit on the day of Pentecost that Jesus was able to share many things with the disciples. Acts 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, Jesus commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. What is the Promise of the Father that the disciples were told to wait in Jerusalem until it was fulfilled in them? There are many promises that the Father has made but there is a specific promise that to me lies right at the foundation of our redemption. It is found in Gen 3:15. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
God is speaking to the serpent that represents the carnal mind, making a promise that there would be a natural enmity between the woman who was taken out of Adam, and the Serpent who represents the Natural or carnal mind. Both of these will become productive, producing children and there will be the same enmity between the offspring as well. Finally the promise is that the seed issuing from the woman, that represents Jesus Christ born of the Virgin in Bethlehem, and all those who have been born of the Spirit will crush the “Head” of the serpent, but the serpent will in the process bruise his heel in the hope of limiting the activity of the Christ ones.
They shall walk in the power and strength of the Lord. The carnal mind having been dealt a deathblow, now allows the MIND OF CHRIST to function in them, thus releasing the spiritual weapons of our warfare, which are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. Once the Spirit and the mind agree as one, God’s people are invincible. John 14:20 “At that day (Pentecost) you shall know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” It is no longer I that live but Christ that lives in me, and he is LORD.
The word in the Greek language that is translated Church is “Ekklesia” which in Strong’s Concordance means, a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly of the people forming a council for the purpose of deliberating. If we go back to the history of the days of the Roman Empire, who knew and used the Ecclesia to control the many countries that they had conquered, we get a very clear view of how it functioned. The Roman authorities called out a people from the population to form such an Ecclesia.
This company had nothing to do with religion but was appointed to form a council to establish the Roman constitution over the people on that country. Rome would send a delegation to this group instructing them on the Roman rules of Government that would control that country from now on. They were given certain authority that would allow them to see that the people acted according to the rules and regulations, and so were responsible to establish the Roman authority over that country. The idea behind this arrangement was that over time the people would become familiar with the form of Roman Government and so would become good Roman citizens.
This is what the true Church was intended to do in the world. We have been given the constitution of the Kingdom of God, and the Ecclesia or Church is intended to establish that constitution bringing the world under the dominion of the KING Jesus Christ.
However, instead of the Church fulfilling its true function as the Ecclesia, we have spent our energy and time building a religious structure that has divided the world instead of unifying it under the KING. We are the SALT of the earth designed to have a dynamic effect upon society, but if our salt has lost its savor, how can it be seasoned.
When Jesus sent out his disciples he told them to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and heal the sick. Today there are just as many sick in the Church as there are outside. There are no sick people who are citizens of the Kingdom of God. When God released Israel from Egypt about two and a half million people walked out of Egypt, the greatest military power of its time, and they never had a sword or a spear. It is recorded that there was not one sick amongst them. The Church is powerless to stop aggression, depression, marriage break ups, abuse of children, or any other crime. Those in the world often fare better than Christians and many times are more righteous than those in the Church.
Why are these things so, for it is evident that there are forces at work in the religious world that are exercising a control that is keeping many of God’s people blind, to the things of the spirit, and DEAF to the voice of God, thus cutting them off from eating of the tree of LIFE. The Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos as a prisoner, was given a wonderful insight to the hidden powers that have affected humanity all over the world. In Revelation 17 one of the messengers from God shared with him what was happening behind the scene in the world. John was shown a WOMAN who is referred to, as the great whore that sits upon many waters. She is a HARLOT who has cast her spell over the peoples on the earth. Then we discover that the KINGS of the earth, referring to God’s people all of whom are KINGS and PRIESTS unto God, have been seduced by her. They seem to be the target of this woman whose effect upon them is likened to drunkenness, where these kings cannot function coherently, and their thoughts and function are seriously affected. We are speaking here about God’s people being brought under the spell of this woman causing them to think and act out of character, for a child of God.
In the next scene, John sees this same woman in a wilderness now riding upon a scarlet colored beast, which she is guiding and directing. The beast does not refer to a literal animal, but to mankind who is under the control of the carnal mind that can only manifest the animal aspect of man. The Woman is dressed in purple and scarlet which are the colors of Kingship and authority, as well as being adorned with Gold, precious stones and pearls. So the woman (which was taken out of Adam in Gen 2) who functions as a Living Soul, under the authority of the CARNAL MIND, .now has a vehicle through which to carry out her mission. The beast is the collective company of those who still function under the Carnal Mind, and have committed fornication with the WOMAN bringing them under the spell of her intoxicating influence.
Many people who love the Lord and are found on Sunday morning in praise and worship in Church, subscribing to Christ’s authority mentally, but are unaware of the insidious influence of this WOMAN. The reason that is given for her ability to manipulate God’s people is because they have been made “DRUNK,” through the wine of her fornication which is “Using your body for an illegal purpose.” Remember that Paul declares that “Your BODY IS THE TEMPLE OF GOD and does not belong to you. Spiritual fornication is therefore using our BODY for any purpose that is not sanctioned by God. The purpose behind everything she seeks to do is to trick us into activity that is not part of the will and purpose of God, and therefore is illegal for us. The power of EVIL in this world is totally dependent upon a person functioning out of their natural of carnal MIND.
Everyone of us create our own world, and depending on which mind we function out of it will be either filled with beauty, love, joy and peace, or sin, wickedness, murder, sickness, pain and sorrow followed by death. Both are looking at the same world so how can this be. One person is using the MIND of their true identity which is Christ and they see GOD”S WORLD which was created in the beginning, and on completion God looked at everything and said, “It is very good.” Man was created spirit and that spirit is CHRIST and Paul makes a plea to all people, “Let this mind dwell in you which was also IN CHRIST JESUS.”
The function of that mind enables one to do everything Jesus did including raising the dead. That is the only mind that can activate true spiritual worship in us. The natural or carnal mind is subject to manipulation by the serpent as Eve discovered in the Garden of Eden. The “Beast” in Rev 17 is just another figure to represent the same power that is generated in MAN. It is just as true today as it was in the Garden of Eden that the Serpent or carnal mind is more subtle than all the beasts of the field.
In Rev 13 and 17 God is unmasking the great adversary of both God and the Truth in the world. Revelation 17:13 “These have one MIND and (think the same things) and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.” Do not be concerned about some “devil” chasing you, for the great enemy of God is not to be found outside of you but is within, it is your natural or carnal MIND.
Romans 8:5 “For they that function out of the flesh (Consciousness) do MIND or become involved with the things of the flesh; but they that function out of a Spirit (Consciousness), are only concerned with the things of the Spirit. Because the CARNAL MIND IS AN ENEMY OF GOD, for it is not subject to the law of God, but is set in opposition to God.”
One of the last things Jesus did before he ascended, was to OPEN THE SPIRITUAL MINDS of the disciples so they could understand the scriptures. In the Garden of Eden all the enemy had to do to destroy Adam’s place and privileges was to get Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and his task was complete. That foreign knowledge reprogrammed Adam’s mind in a flash, making God his enemy, and introducing a sin consciousness that he had not known before. Apart from a NEW MIND SET, nothing else had changed in reality. That NEW PARADIME has infected the NATURAL MIND of all humanity from that time on, so people automatically believe they are sinners. This makes God to be their enemy, and produces the illusion, that we have an enemy outside of us who constantly harasses us, messing up everything God does.
NONE OF WHICH IS TRUE!
Man was created as spirit with only ONE MIND, and that mind is the mind of our TRUE SPIRITUAL IDENTITY which is CHRIST. Remember that Jesus Christ said, “I and my Father are ONE,” so the mind of Christ is in total agreement with GOD. Therefore that MIND of Christ thinks like God, and believes like God, and everything it believes is TRUTH. However, the Mind of Christ in many people is not the mind that controls their thoughts and actions. It is the mind of the natural or Carnal man that has been deceived by the serpent that decides what we believe, and what we do. Why do most people believe that they are sinners and that God is angry with them? Because that is what most preachers tell the congregation every Sunday, and multitudes of books will tell you the same thing.
But we are today under the New Covenant that God has made with all of humanity, which says, “YOUR SINS AND INIQUITIES I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” The Bible says, “God so loved the world.” We live our lives out of a state of being that is determined by our consciousness. According to which Mind we use so we will develop either a sin consciousness believing we are sinners and God is angry with us, or the Mind of Christ, which will tell us that we are the children of God and are greatly loved. Only then I can believe that “I can do ALL THINGS through Christ who is my strength. This allows me to live in a Christ consciousness that is filled with Love, Joy and Peace.
The Apostle exhorts us not to be conformed to this world, but to be TRANSFORMED by the RENEWING OF OUR MIND, (by the spirit) that you might prove that which is good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. Rom 12:2
Finally Jesus revealed the true basis of our relationship with God in John 14:20. Speaking about the DAY of PENTECOST when he returned not as JESUS THE MAN, to WALK WITH the disciples, but in his true spiritual identity TO DWELL IN THEM. This is what he said: -
At that day, you shall know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I (Christ) am in you.
No longer is Christ identified as a man called Jesus who was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth. That man DIED on Calvary BUT was raised as the true expression of the New Creation Man, which we are also becoming in him. Now Christ has returned on the day of Pentecost to take up residence within all those who have been BORN OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD. These are the people who are empowered to DO what Jesus did to become an expression in this world, of the same Christ who healed the sick, gave sight to the blind and raised the dead.
The NEW BIRTH is a birthing by the spirit, and: -
If that same spirit that raised Christ from the Dead DWELL IN YOU, then he will make alive your mortal body, by that same spirit that dwells in you.
May the Lord give you understanding of these things.
Des Walter April 2008
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