The Kingdom's of God personal empowerment, availability to each
one on earth needs to be pursed by us all, each one of us.
for Jesus said, 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave
to sin.' John 8:34.
and one cannot serve two masters.
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for
light, and light for darkness. Isaiah 5:20
"Jesus died in his love for us, so that he could purify us for himself a
peculiar people,
zealous for good works, who show the power and love of
God to the world;
so he could free us from sin, to truly be our ruling
Lord and King in word and deed;
so we could be changed to be like Him, in
this life, by the way of the cross;
and so we could participate in the
divine nature, in union with Him and God,
in His Kingdom of Heaven, now on
earth, and then forever. "
All of these these wonderful promises require our personal repentance
to purity, and we can thus tenter the Kingdom of Heaven in this life
through repentance: fullfilling the good news that Jesus came to preach!
Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Matthew 4:17
Rouse
yourselves and keep awake, and strengthen and invigorate what remains and is
on the point of dying;
for I have not found a thing that you have done
meeting the requirements of My God or perfect in His sight. Revelation
3:2
So it all comes down to a personal choice of how you want to live:
1) as a selfish human in slavery to your
anger, pride, lusts, passions and pleasures with no lasting satisfaction,
or
2) would you rather be
dedicated to purpose of actions and words that are pure, true, noble, clean,
peaceful,
joyful,
beneficial to others around you, and full of love for your creator - while in
union with your creator in his Kingdom-
with him
loving and treasuring you in return, to your eternal satisfaction?
The gospel of repentance and remission of sins to the Kingdom,
with the missing cross, the Power of God, is:
1) God's peace to you.
Jesus Christ, the savior of all men, but specially those who believe his true
message, does not condemn us, but rather says peace and extends to us
forgiveness for whatever the past. If you seriously wish to please God,
whatever the price, he asks you to trust Christ to lead you to purity and then
heaven on earth; for the Kingdom of God is within you and does not come with
signs to be observed or visible display, in which is everlasting peace and
joy.
He God - Jesus Christ, he doesn't just forgive sin; he destroys it in
us - if we let him and trust him.
For this purpose the Son of God was
manifested, [manifested in us] that he might destroy the works of the devil. 1
John 3:8
We are thus to be led through repentance to the truth and the Kingdom of
Heaven by the teaching, purifying process of grace.
Grace, the
unmerited favor of God, is not instant and is not salvation, as widely
believed.
Grace is a teaching process of repentance from lusts to godly
living, bringing salvation to purity and seeing God.
Grace is correctly
defined by the Apostle Paul in Titus 2:11-14:
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all
men,
teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
we should
live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world,
looking for
that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior
Jesus Christ;
who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all
iniquity,
and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good
works. Titus 2:11-14
Fear not, little flock; for it is your
Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32
Having these
promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the
flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Cor 7:1 (The
task is to perfect holiness! But trust Christ to lead you perfectly!)
The Holy Way. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for
the redeemed;
the wayfaring men, yes, the simple ones and fools, shall not
err in it and lose their way. Isa 35:8
That he would grant unto us,
that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without
fear,
In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
Luke 1:74. (Perfect love expels all fear. 1 John 4:18)
He has given us
his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate
in the divine nature
and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil
desires. 2 Peter 1:4 (The reward for completion of the task.)
This is
the way, walk ye in it. Isaiah 30:21
2) Continue on the need of
Repentance to purity and union with Christ and God in the Kingdom while on
earth is:
You must seek FIRST his Kingdom and HIS righteousness, and all
else will be added. Mat 6:33
(You must make this your life's first priority- to obtain the Kingdom
and His righteousness within you,
and then all your material needs will
also be supplied by God.)
Also for at least an hour, on a daily
basis, in private, get quiet, and dwell in God's word and prayer think on the
name and character, role of Jesus
But as many as received
him, he gave to them power to become the sons of God, even to them that
believe on his name. John 1:12
John says receiving him or just belief on the name of Jesus gives us the
power to become sons of God, not be sons of God.
Because those who are
led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Rom 8:14
Why Silence? Be
still, and know that I am God; Psalm 46:10
Listen,Watch. Be quiet to
hear the Teacher, the living Word of God, Jesus.
To learn from Him, get
cleansed by Him, be led by Him, and come to know Him.
Faith Comes by
Hearing the Word of God -- Jesus will next be also speaking to YOU,
If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and
will sup with him, and he with me. Rev. 3:20
He does not talk to you just through the Bible. You also do have to hear
his voice, the Spirit.
The Bible refers to Bible verses as scriptures. The Bible refers to
the Word of the Lord or God as spoken or spirit.
The letter kills, the
Spirit give life. See Jesus Wants to Teach You Himself for details.
For everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and does them,
...
He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation
upon the rock; securely.. Luke 6:47-48
He can't make it any plainer: Come
to Me, listen to My words (not just the Bible), and do them.
Doing his
words, is to obey his spoken personal orders to us all.
If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.
My Father will love
him, and we will come to him and make our home with
him. John 14:22-23
Note the clear promises of a deeper walk with
God, Christ and his Holy spirit as a result our obedience to
God..
"Mary chose the good part, which cannot be taken." To learn at the feet
of Jesus. Luke 10:39-42
If you are quiet and listen, you can hear the
Holy Spirit convict, convince, and judge you. John 16:8
The words that
I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63
Therefore
consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more. Luke 8:18
Christ is the Light that enlightens all men and women in the world.
John 1:9
You need no teacher other than the anointing within you.1
John 2:27
The light, which light is the life in Christ, the spirt of
Christ, will also show you your condition, what is in your heart;
loving
it, the light will change you and purify you, as you repent, carrying your
cross.
Believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. John
12:36
He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; (love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, gentleness,.etc. Gal 5:22-23)
for without Me
you can do nothing. John 15:5. Unless you abide in me, you cannot produce
fruit. John 15:4
To produce fruit, is to possess God's love; then your
works are faith expressing itself through love. Gal 5:6
To abide in Christ
is to wait, listen, watch, and remain in his Light and Living Word, (not the
Bible).
But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the
light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Eph 5:13-14
Christ
in you, the hope of glory. Col 1:27
Jesus said, he who loves me, obeys
my commands, what you hear him tell you to do and so do thus Conduct your life
in obedience to what you already know, in obedience to God; and you will
not be condemned for what you don't know, but only condemned for what you know
and choose not to obey.
To us all Jesus said, As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous
therefore, and repent. Rev 3:19
This was John the Baptist's simple message of beginning repentance:
Repent: think differently; change your mind,
regretting your sins and changing your conduct. Matt
3:2
And thus be a doer, Share from your excess with those who are without the
necessities of life.
Be honest in all your dealings, never
exaggerating or overreaching anyone.
Don't
oppress people or frighten anyone, don't lie, don't want more, don't complain.
Luke 3:10-14
Other simple rules to start are: flee from sexual
immorality, don't take oaths (i.e. swear to tell the truth),
don't look
back, prize your time and the love of God above all.
Practice acts of LOVE and kindness energized through faith
Practice
giving to others (particularly the poor)
The only thing that counts is
faith expressing itself through love. Gal 5:6
Let us consider how we
may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:24
Above all, love each other deeply, for LOVE covers a multitude of
sins. 1 Peter 4:8
Furthermore Don't witness, teach, or preach, or do
anything until you are directly ordered. led to by the Holy Sprit
of Christ! One of the devil main strategy is to detour is from following after
God by our doing our own false things in our own will and strength
And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the
way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the
left. ..(Isa 30:21 KJV)
He did not want man to bear witness about him, because he knew what was
in their hearts. John 2:25
Until you are purified with the Spirit
speaking through you, your witnessing, teaching, and preaching will not reach
the holy part of each person, and your growth will be retarded or stopped.
(Teaching is why people can't hear, reach purity, and enter the Kingdom; they
are in spiritual captivity, because they are leading others into spiritual
captivity by teaching errors.)
Only be ready to tell someone if they
ask about your hope. 1 Pet 3:15
(But only if asked! Then you answer
because you have to be truthful.)
Don't do anything for God, until you
are told exactly what to do, and and told precisely when to do it.
(Don't even talk about God or Christ until you hear him authorize you to.
Instead give to, and love those, around you.)
If so ordered, do only that,
nothing more, nothing less; and return to your home, to silent waiting on the
Lord.
(And yes, the Lord commanded we publish this web site, with His
frequent corrections, additions, and specifications.)
Trust Him to lead
you to purity and the Kingdom of God within you.
Enjoy the good things
of this life with thanks and praise to our great and wonderful God.
Be
happy! You are showing your love for God by picking up your cross daily. He
will increase in you.
Be patient. It took the disciples over three
years, but you will be encouraged and thrilled by Him.
"Along the way,
you will be sifted and tested; passing, you will receive a significant
additional measure of His spirit.
Soon after, he will return in glory
for final judgment and lead you to paradise, another dimension, the Kingdom of
Heaven within and among you.
This is the power of his name and the
power of the cross to change us on this side of the grave and make us like
Him; he can be resurrected in us to be our true Lord, and we can enter his
glorious Kingdom, paradise. This Christ and gospel destroys sexual immorality,
impurity, debauchery, greed, hatred, lying, discord, jealousy, fits of rage,
selfish ambition, dissensions, envy, drunkenness; who have these cannot
inherit the Kingdom of God . You cannot please God continuing to live in the
flesh. You must let Christ change you through repentance and replace them with
the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Change occurs through the power of
the cross and the saving, changing grace of God, accessed by faith in the name
of Jesus Christ. When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and
glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of mine.
John 15:8
Belief in the true gospel and the cross, to realize the
promise, releases the power of God to purify you and make you one with Him.
The cross of Christ, which is the power of God, crucifies your sinful nature
and selfish will through repentance as follows:
seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, as 1st priority, is an
act of repentance and a cross to your selfish will
turning away from evil, as you understand it, is an act of repentance and
a cross to your selfish will
you don't want to sit quietly every day to
listen and watch, but if you do - it is a cross to your selfish will
if
any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup
with him, and he with me. Rev. 3:20
you don't want to obey his commands
that you hear, but if you repent- it is a cross to your selfish will
you don't want to forgive injustices done to you, but you repent and
forgive - a cross to your angry self
you don't want to admit and regret what the Light shows your condition to
be, but if you repent - it is a cross to your will
(In the Light, is where you get changed, where your peace increases, as
you repent. This is where you abide in Him.)
you don't want to give to
others from your excess, but if you repent from your selfishness and give- it
is a cross to your will
you don't want to defer (deny self) to others, rather than insist on your
way, but if you repent and defer - it is a cross to your will
Jesus said: except you repent, you shall all likewise perish. Luke 13:3,5
And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my
disciple. Luke 14:27
If any will come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23
Those who belong
to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and
desires. Gal 5:24
For we know that our old self was crucified
with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,
that we should
no longer be slaves to sin—Rom 6:6
For if we be dead with him, we shall
also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. 2 Tim
2:11-12
I am the Light of the world, whoever follows me shall not walk
in darkness, but will have the Light of Life. John 8:12
Rejoice, you
have found the narrow way that leads to Life that few find. Mat.
7:13
That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered
out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
in holiness
and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. Luke 1:74-5
He is the Rewarder of those Who Diligently Seek Him!
Heb.11:6
"True religion is the true rule and right way of serving
God. And religion is a pure stream of righteousness flowing from the image of
God, and is the life and power of God planted in the heart and mind by the law
of life. This brings the soul, mind, spirit, and body to be conformable to
God, the Father of spirits, and to Christ; so that they come to have
fellowship with the Father and the Son, and with all his holy angels and
saints. This religion is pure from above, undefiled before God, leads to visit
the fatherless, widows, and strangers, and keeps from the spots of the world.
This religion is above all the defiled, spotted religions in the world, that
keep not from defilements and spots, but leave their believers impure, below,
and spotted; whose fatherless, widows, and strangers beg up and down the
streets. " Georege Fox
Thus we were reminded of the Jewish Temple
guards who were told by the Pharisees to go and arrest Jesus, teaching there.
They returned without arresting him; and when questioned why, replied: Never
has a man talked as this man talks! -- No mere man has ever spoken as He
speaks. John 7:46.
If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching
comes from God or whether I speak on my own. John 7:17
Then the LORD said to Moses, Tell the Israelites this: You have seen for
yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven. Ex 20:22
Consider
carefully what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to
you—and even more. Mark 4:24-25
Therefore consider carefully how you
listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he
thinks he has will be taken from him. Luke 8:18
He replied, "My mother
and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice." Luke
8:21
Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of
words but saw no form; there was only a voice. Deu 4:12
The Spirit of
the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. 2 Sam 23:2
Paul
said: This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no
longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,
having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God,
because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their
heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to
work all uncleanness with greediness.
But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have
been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning
your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the
deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put
on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and
holiness. Eph 4:17-24
Man does not live on bread alone, but on every
word that comes from the mouth of God. Mat4:4
That we should be to the
praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom you also trusted,
after that you heard the word of truth, [the word of truth is not a book], the
gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that you believed, you were
sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. Eph 1:12-13
Blessed rather
are those who hear the word of God and obey it. Luke 11:28
Give ear, O
ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. Deu
32:1
But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are
drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them,
I announce to you today
that you shall surely perish. Deu 30:17-18
and after the earthquake a
fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small
voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle
and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to
him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 1 King 19:12-13
I
will hear what God the LORD will speak, For He will speak peace to His people
and to His saints Psa 85:8
All the kings of the earth shall praise
You, O LORD, when they hear the words of Your mouth. Psa 138:4
Now
therefore, listen to me, my children, For blessed are those who keep my ways.
Pro 8:32
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will
hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isa 30:21
Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make
an everlasting covenant with you Isa 55:3
But they refused to pay
attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears. They
made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the
words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier
prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry. Zec 7:11-12
While he
was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a
voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased. Hear Him!” Mat 17:5
For everyone who comes to Me and
listens to My words and does them, I will show you what he is like: He is like
a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid a foundation upon
the rock; and when a flood arose, the torrent broke against that house and
could not shake or move it, because it had been securely built or founded on a
rock. Luke 6:47-48 (listens to my words does not mean listen to someone
reading the Bible, it is listening to his live, spirit words.)
Most
assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will
hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. John 5:25 (We
are the dead of whom he is speaking. But when we hear, we will
live.)
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The
words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63
When
he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow
him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in
fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's
voice. John 10:4-5...And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them
also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock
and one shepherd. John 10:16 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they
follow Me. John 10:27
Then he said, The God of our fathers has chosen
you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of
His mouth. Acts 22:14
This is what we speak, not in words taught us by
human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in
spiritual words. 1 Cor 2:13
So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today,
if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts Hbr 3:7-8
See that
you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him
who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who
speaks from heaven Hbr 12:25
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:
if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will
sup with him, and he with me. Rev. 3:20
So call to mind the lessons you
received and heard; continually lay them to heart and obey them, and repent.
Rev 3:2-3
Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Mark 4:9
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
John 10:27
"There is a huge pitfall in Christianity: thinking the Bible is
all of the Word of God, and thinking all the commands in the Bible referencing
the Word of God, refer to the Bible; when the references really mean going to
God directly and listening to the Word of God speaking to you. If you don't
listen to the Voice of God, you will never grow; you will never know from what
to repent; you will never receive his changing, purifying grace; you will not
find God; and you will not have any reward in the Kingdom of God or Christ.
You can memorize the entire Bible, quoting chapter and verse, and it will gain
you nothing with God. It is easy to read the Bible. It often feels good to
read the Bible, as long as you discount all the requirements such as holiness,
perfection, and purity while ignoring the disqualifications of anger, lust,
immorality, impurity, greed, etc. The Bible wasn't even printed until 1516,
but the early church thrived for 300 plus years without it. Like many in the
early church, even if you can't read, you can be changed and purified to enter
the Kingdom of Heaven as a son of God forever - by listening to God's voice
and obeying it. For he calls us all to repentance, Christhood, and the Kingdom
of Heaven. The Bible is the recorded words of the saints as they were
moved by the Holy Spirit of God to write. Christ is the Word of God, not the
Bible. The Bible has His recorded words in them, but they are words
without spirit. Recorded words are the letter; not the spirit, which gives
life. When Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter and Paul spoke of the scriptures,
they used the word 'scriptures,' not the Word of God. The Bible refers to the
Word of God as spoken or spirit, which is living and active, Heb 4:12. "
For the word of God is living and active. Hebrews 4:12 but The
words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. John
6:63
So the Word of God, the Living Word, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Voice
of the Lord. is
Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to
dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow;
Any book, or words read from a book cannot divide soul and spirit,
but Christ, the Living Word of God does.
it judges the thoughts and
attitudes of the
heart.
And
out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations:
Rev
19:15
This scripture speaks of Jesus. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood,
and his name is the Word of God. Rev. 19:13
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God. Eph 6:17
So, the sword of the spirit is not just the Bible, it is alsothe spoken
words from the mouth by the Spirit of Christ, the Word of God as revealed by
our reading the Bible and dwelling on it......
(Acts 7:55 KJV) But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up
stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the
right hand of God, 56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son
of man standing on the right hand of God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. John 1:1
(To believe the Bible is the sole Word, is to mistake references in the
Bible to the Word as the Bible instead of His voice -
a critical difference in understanding of what God expects from you or
how to please God.)
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among
us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the
Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (This is clearly not the Bible, it
is Christ, the Word of God.)
"Hear this! Understand, the Bible is not the sole Word of God, for the
many scriptures that refer to the Word of God are not referring to the
Bible, but rather to the voice of God or the Lord - his words from him, the
living spirit Word - otherwise you are looking to the wrong source of growth -
a book, instead of God's spirit, who desires to speak and teach you outside of
the Bible. "
(Col 1:9 KJV) For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do
not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the
knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
(Col 1:10 KJV) That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all
pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge
of God;
(Col 1:11 KJV) Strengthened with all might, according to his
glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
"It is not just the Bible but the living word, the Holy Spirit who
will teach you all things. John 14:26. He desires to teach you individual,
personal things about yourself, and how he wants you to live, how he wants you
to improve, what he wants you to deny - as well as encourage you, tell you of
his love for you, and open up the scriptures to you, including the mysteries.
If you limit yourself to reading the Bible, you will only get crumbs beneath
the table. "
Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that
comes from the mouth of God. Mat4:4
(There is no full, real deep spirutal life without hearing
personally the words from the mouth of God.)
But we have to listen for
the voice of the Holy Spirit, the full Word of God, to hear.
"The
Bible is good and has many truths within, and it is good for understanding
right vs. wrong, good for understanding what God requires from us, good for
identifying His promises that result from seeking Him, and good for building
our hope to attain His promises; but it alone does not teach you, convict you,
tell you what to repent from, encourage you, convince you of righteousness,
purify you, tell you how to live, speak to you in exact language you
understand, speak to your specific condition, show you the secrets of your
heart, give you personalized commands, judge you, tell you it loves you, or
take you to paradise - which the Spirit of God, Jesus, who is the Word of God,
does. "
The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Cor 3:6
So Jesus, and his Spirit, are also the Word of God, not the Bible!
Thinking the Bible to be the sole Word of God is a dangerous invention of man
and the devil.
Jesus himself distinguished between the scriptures (the
Bible) and the Word, when addressing the Bible scholars and Bible students of
his day, the Pharisees, in John as below:
You have neither heard the Father's voice nor seen his form.
But you
do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not
believe.
You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal
life; and these are they which testify of Me. John 5:37-39
Here Jesus clearly states a difference between the word and scriptures,
(the bible)
And the Word from his Voice that abides, (lives), in you is
clearly better than scriptures.
Paul said, The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.
Rom 10:8
Clearly, the Bible is not in our heart and mouth; it is the spirit
of God, the Word of God.
The Word of God is Spirit: Spirit of God, or Holy
Spirit, or Spirit of Christ within each of us, where it lives or abides.
Furthermore, Jesus is not happy: You search the scriptures, for in
them you think you have eternal life
But you are not willing to come to me
that you may have life. John 5:39-40
He is telling people that they
substitute studying the Bible for coming directly to him; the Bible only
testifies about him.
And they think studying the Bible to find
eternal life, but the full way to eternal life is to go directly to
him.
The words we hear are words of eternal life, not the sole words we read
or hear read from of the Bible.
The words that I speak to you are spirit,
and they are life. John 6:63
So, to have eternal life, we have to listen to the Voice of the Lord and
obey his spoken words with spirit to us.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and
the life. The Bible only testifies of the way, the truth, and the Life.
If we want the way, or truth, or life; we have to go to him.
He wants
us to seek Him, not seek knowledge about him from the Bible.
The way to
seek to God is to go to him, listen to him, and treasure the words we hear him
speak to us.
We have made learning scriptures a rival to learning directly
from God by Coming to Him.
But scriptures are not wrong; it is the way we
do falsely idolize scriptures that is wrong.
Come to
me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matt
11:28-29
For everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words, (Listen to
Him speak to you) Luke 6:47-8
You have neither heard the Father's voice
nor seen his form. John 5:37
To hear the Father's voice is to hear him
speak words.
But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him
you do not believe. John 5:38
Jesus says that hearing the voice is very important to having his Word
abide in us.
If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples. You will
know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:31-32
The Bible is not the Word to abide in and is not truth. Jesus is the
Truth. Words spoken by God with Spirit are truth.
Jesus told us in his
prayer to the Father: Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. John
17:17
He said that the Father's words are truth; words we hear from the
Father's voice, or Jesus' voice, or the Spirit of Truth.
..so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by
Him, as the truth is in Jesus Eph 4:20-21
I will send to you from the
Father, the Spirit of truth. John 15:26. The Holy Spirit will teach you all
things. John 14:26
If we abide in Christ's word,[the spirit], we are his true disciples and
we will know the truth.
Words from the Bible are too often without spirit
When the Spirit of God speaks to us, it speaks to our exact condition
and exactly what we need to know.
This is how we seek God. We seek to hear his voice and then treasure what
we hear, and obey what he tells us to do.
Reading and studying the
Bible alone now is not fully seeking God, or abiding in Him.
Reading the
Bible alone is rather a work of the flesh
The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. John
6:63
The Bible wasn't even printed until 1516, but the early Church thrived
until 320 AD.
Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the
mouth of God. Mat4:4
This is indisputably not just the Bible. We are to live on words that
come from the mouth of God! NOT soley the Bible.
And we need words from the mouth of God,
daily. We need our daily bread from heaven - words from his
mouth.
Jesus said, I am the bread of life: he that comes to me shall never
hunger. John 6:35. Listen and live.
whoever continues to feed on Me shall live through and because of Me.
John 6:57
Give us this day our daily bread - including the words that Jesus speaks
to us.
Stop toiling and doing and producing for the food that perishes and
decomposes,
but strive and work and produce rather for the food which
endures unto life eternal. John 6:27
The voice of the Lord told me,
"The world hides in the Bible." The world hides from God in the Bible.
Reading the Bible alone too often is a false substitute having God
teach you, to examine your heart, convict you, and cleanse you.
Dwell on Christ.. if you seek me.. (Prov 8:17 KJV) I love them that
love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
(Psa 119:2 KJV) Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and
that seek him with the whole heart.
(Psa 119:10 KJV) With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me
not wander from thy commandments.
(Psa 119:34 KJV) Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law;
yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
(Psa 119:145 KJV) I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O
LORD: I will keep thy statutes.
(Jer 3:10 KJV) And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah
hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the
LORD.
(Jer 24:7 KJV) And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am
the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall
return unto me with their whole heart.
The world hides from Christ, the Living Word because he judges the
thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
It hides from Christ the Light, who brings to light what is hidden in
darkness exposes the motives of men's hearts. 1 Cor 4:5
How sad that we many persons still do think we are seeking God soley
by reading the Bible, but He sees us as still hiding from Him.
"I say this to your shame. Though you have great knowledge of the
scriptures
and profess them, you don't possess of whom they speak." (voice
of the Lord)
You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have
eternal life, and these are they which testify of Me. John 5:39
But you are not willing to come to me that you may have life. John
5:39-40
The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. John
6:6
But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent,
Him you do not believe. John 5:38
"When we hear his voice and keep his words, then his word abides in us.
It lives in us, and controls us.
As his words live in us and control us,
we are set free from sin, and we obtain eternal life. We possess Jesus.
He
who feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood dwells continually in Me, and I in
him. John 6:56
Just as the living Father sent Me and I live by
(through, because of) the Father,
even so whoever continues to feed on Me
shall live through and because of Me.
He who takes this Bread for his food
shall live forever. John 6:57-8
This is how to possess of whom the
scriptures speak, to possess Jesus.
And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as
great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of
the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the
fat of rams. (1 Sam 15:22 KJV)
If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples. You will know
the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:31-2
So if the Son liberates you, then you are really and unquestionably
free. John 8:36
To be set free, is to be released from captivity. To be released from
slavery. To be freed from sin.
And sin includes rage, lust, sexual immorality, greed, envy, lying,
passions, pleasures, etc., Gal 5:19-23, Eph 5:5
Jesus came so he could
destroy the devil and his works [sin] in us - if we go to him.
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, [in us] that he might
destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8
As Paul confirms: But now since you have been set free from sin and have
become the slaves of God,
you have your present reward in holiness and its
end is eternal life. Rom 6:22
As John confirms: Whoever abides in Him does not sin.
Whoever sins
has neither seen Him nor known Him. 1 John 3:6
Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him;
and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. 1 John 3:
Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice. John 18:37
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
unless it abides in the vine,
neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
John 15:4
He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; (love, peace, joy,
patience, kindness,... Gal 5:22-23)
for without Me you can do
nothing. John 15:5. Works without God's Love in us count for nothing. 1
Cor 13:3
To produce fruit, is to possess God's love; then your works are faith
expressing itself through love. Gal 5:6
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a withered branch.... into
the fire. John 15:6
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,
and it shall be done unto you. John 15:7
Abiding in Christ and his personal words
to us is the key to success as a Christian. Our personal Studying the Bible
is only the begining to tells us what we must achieve and
avoid.
To know the truth, you have to be taught by Jesus himself, personally,
about himself. His living words must abide in you.
To abide in Christ, is to abide in his Light, in his presence, in his
living word, (not only read the Bible).
But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light:
for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Eph 5:13-14
To abide is
"to remain." We go to him and quietly sit waiting on him; and then we listen
for him to speak to us and watch for what he shows us. To abide in Him and be
taught by Him, you must listen.
To listen you must be quiet, not forming
thoughts, not talking, not reading the Bible.
Pray the Lord's prayer, and then be quiet to listen and abide and learn.
Do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because
of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need
before you ask him. Mat 6:7-8. Think on the name of Jesus Christ, but not as a
repeated mantra, and then stop thought as best you can. When you find you mind
wandering, return to thinking on the name of Jesus Christ.
Listen and
Watch and Wait.
No ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on
behalf of those who wait for him. Isa 64:4
Let your mercy and
loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, in proportion to our waiting and hoping
for you. Ps 33:22
Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord. Psalm
27:14
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles; Isaiah 40:31
"Paul further
reminds us that he was not taught by man, but through direct revelation by
Jesus Christ. Do not seek Jesus and truth through the Bible; rather listen to
the Teacher within you, the only teacher you need, who will guide you into all
truth by abiding in Him, 1 John 2:27, to become free of sin. Do not make
it your ambition to be a Bible expert; rather make it your ambition to be
taught by the living Word of God who opens the scriptures with understandings
to all truth, makes manifest all of the secrets of your heart, and destroys
the sin that lurks in your members, thereby truly enthroning Christ as Lord
and King in your heart to rule you in word and deed.
The Holy Spirit
can reveal understandings in any language; but for centuries Bible Colleges
have taught from Hebrew, Greek, and Latin Biblical texts, desperately trying
to understand the true meaning of the scriptures. If the Holy Spirit were
helping in Bible study, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin would not be needed, proving
Jesus does not teach you while reading the Bible. Jesus didn't criticize the
Pharisees for the way they were searching the scriptures; he criticized them
for spending time searching the scriptures instead of coming to him. You have
to go to your closet, get quiet, and listen.
Be still, and know that I
am God. Psalm 46:10
Be silent, oh all flesh before the Lord. Zech 2:13
There are many men and women, having heard and believed the true
gospel of Christ on the web site, who are hearing Christ speak to and teach
them personally, while benefiting from his changing grace.
But to hear
his voice, you must go to him without pride of being righteous or just.
You must go to him as a humble sinner, even if you are 'saved.'
But the tax collector, standing at a distance, would not even lift up his
eyes to heaven, but kept striking his breast,
saying, O God, be favorable
(be gracious, be merciful) to me, the especially wicked sinner that I am!
I
tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.
For everyone who exalts himself, will be humbled, and everyone who
humbles himself will be exalted. Luke 18:9-14
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they
shall be filled. Mat 5:6
Jesus said, For everyone who comes to Me and
listens to My words and does them, I will show you what he is like: He is like
a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid a foundation upon
the rock; and when a flood arose, the torrent broke against that house and
could not shake or move it, because it had been securely built or founded on a
rock. Luke 6:47-48
Go daily now to some place that is quiet, private and be firstly
quiet. Stop reading, talking, and praying. Try to quiet your mind.
Listen to God alone.
Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10
The first time I heard God speak to me he told me to
sit still and to be quiet for 30 minutes and when i obeyed him then he spoke
to me some more.
Think on the name of Jesus Christ, but not over and over like a mantra.
His name is the power to become a son of God.
Listen and watch. When you find you mind wandering, come back to think on
the name of Jesus Christ.
When he next commands you, obey. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten:
be zealous therefore, and repent. Rev 3:19
Christ the Light, shows you the conditions of your heart; loving the
Light, you repent and it purifies you. He instructs you personally
also.
Now personally do this for twice a day, 30 minutes each at least.
As he draws you closer, you may even increase your time.
From this
sure foundation he builds true faith and hope which purifies you.
Keep
doing this and you will eventually be purified, for him to appear, and you to
be in his arms, in the Kingdom.
Jesus said, He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that
loves me:
and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will
love him and show myself to him. John 14:21
He is not talking about the Ten Commandments; he is talking about what
you hear him command you to repent from.
If you keep repenting and obeying
them, he will appear to you, you will see God.
Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
Unto them
that look for him, shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Heb 9:28
He didn't say, them of a special generation sometime; he said
them. See the Return of Jesus for more.
Judas said to him, (not
Iscariot), Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us, and not unto the
world?
Jesus answered Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my
teaching.
My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our
home with him. John 14:22-23
If you obey his teachings, what you hear, not just the words from the
Bible; it wasn't even printed until 1516.
If you repent and obey his
teachings to you that you hear, Christ and the Father return to you to
establish their home.
And their home is a Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven,
the Kingdom of God and Christ, established in your heart.
The kingdom of God does not come with signs to be observed or with
visible display, Nor will people say,
Look! Here! or, See, there! For
behold, the kingdom of God is within you and among you. Luke 17:20-21
God is nearby and in him we live and move and have our being. (Acts
17:27-28)
The Kingdom is a spiritual dimension, where we walk by the Light of God.
We see the world no more.
Jesus said, As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous
therefore, and repent. Rev 3:19
Studying the Bible rather too often for man y poersons
increases their mere knowledge and therefore
increases their pride,
While getting quiet to listen for and obey Holy Spirit will
eventually destroy your pride.
Paul said: This I say, therefore, and
testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the
Gentiles walk,
in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being
alienated from the life of God,
because of the ignorance that is in them,
because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have
given
themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
But you have not so learned Christ,
if indeed you have heard Him and have
been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:
that you put off, concerning
your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the
deceitful lusts,
and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you
put on the new man,
which was created according to God, in true
righteousness and holiness. Eph 4:17-24.
Are you beginning to see that it is critical
to hear, and be taught the truth, by Jesus himself?
Jesus said, When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of
them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they
will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because
they do not recognize a stranger's voice.John 10:4-5
Jesus said, And
other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring,
and
they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. John
10:16
While on earth, he only preached to the Jews. But the Gentiles after his
death heard him, and hear him today, his voice.
We can hear him because Christ is the Light that enlightens all men and
women in the world. John 1:9
Do you not yourselves realize and know that Jesus Christ is in you. 2 Cor
13:5
But the anointing which you have received of him abides in you,
and
you do not need not any man to teach you:
but as the same anointing
teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie,
and even as it has
taught you, you shall abide in him. 1 John 2:27
Believe in the light, that you may be the children of light.John
12:36
Jesus said, Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man
hear my voice, and open the door,
I will come in to him, and will sup with
him, and he with me. Rev. 3:20
Jesus said, Most assuredly, I say to
you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the
Son of God; and those who hear will live. John 5:25. We are the dead of whom
he is speaking. But when we hear, we will live.
At judgment, Jesus
said he would reject many who called him Lord and had even performed miracles
in his name
by telling them plainly: 'I never knew you. Away from me, you
evildoers [they still sin]! Mat 7:21-23
Until we hear his voice, obey his voice, abide in his Him, and are
purified by him; we still sin and he doesn't know us.
The foolish virgins
without oil in their lamps, said: Lord, Lord, open to us. (without abiding in
Him, his Light and Word)
Replying, Jesus said: Verily I say unto you, I
know you not. Without abiding in Him, he doesn't know us.
Jesus knows
listeners: My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. John
10:27
If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples. You will know
the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:31-32
I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. John 8:34
You cannot continue to be a slave to sin and serve God, or even expect
his approval. Rom 8:8
Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”
Jesus answered,
“You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born,
and for this
cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.
Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” John 18:37
And people of
the truth, who were born after he died, can still hear his voice. He still
speaks to us, if we will listen.
Jesus said, Consider carefully what
you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.
Mark 4:24-5
Jesus replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear
God's word and put it into practice." Luke 8:21
Jesus said, Blessed
rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it. Luke 11:28
Jesus said, Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has
will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be
taken from him. Luke 8:18
Jesus said, So call to mind the lessons you
received and heard; continually lay them to heart and obey them, and repent.
Rev 3:2-3
Paul said, So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God. Rom 10:17
Jesus said, Then will the righteous (those
who are upright and in right standing with God) shine forth like the sun in
the kingdom of their Father. Let him who has ears [to hear] be listening, and
let him consider and perceive and understand by hearing. Mat 13:43
Notice how the above scriptures have entirely different meanings,
depending on what you believe the Word to be.
Can you see how it is
possible to completely misinterpret the critical instructions he has given us,
all based on what is the Word of God?
More scriptures
supporting listening to the voice of Christ or God:
Choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
that you may love the LORD your God,
that you may obey His voice, and that
you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days. Deut
30:19-20
Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth,
the words of my mouth. Deut 32:1
But if your heart turns away so that
you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve
them,
I announce to you today that you shall surely perish. Deut 30:17-18
This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him! Mat
17:5
Samuel said, Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings
and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is
better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 1 Sam 15:22
So blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gate,
watching at the posts of my door.
For whoever finds me finds life and
obtains favor from the LORD. Prov 8:34
So then faith comes by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God. Rom 10:17
If the Word of God is the
Bible, then all the early Christians had no faith, because the Bible wasn't
printed until 1516.
Just by Peter speaking, the Holy Spirit fell on
his listeners; (Acts 11:15), because the Apostles spoke the word of God from
spirit.
And when you really hear Christ speaking to you, your faith will grow by
leaps and bounds.
The Lords' voice is kind, gentle, pure, easily
understood, easily accepted, peaceable, complete, always morally correct,
encouraging - never with even a hint of sarcasm, bitterness, or condemnation -
never incomplete leaving you guessing what he wants; instead His words are
full of love itself - his spirit of Love - for he is Love. His voice will
always be the same voice too. There are many other voices to hear; but they
are bitter, sarcastic, condemning, taunting, questioning - the Lord's voice is
not so. To distinguish the voice of the Lord vs. those of deceit is to rightly
divide the word of Truth. Everything from Him will also be moral as tested
with scripture from the Bible. He said, "To know what the Bible says is wrong
is worthy; all my great men knew the scriptures."
That we should be to
the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom you also
trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, [the word of truth is not a
book], the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that you believed, you
were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise. Eph 1:12-13. This is to hear God
[the word of truth] tell you, in whom you believed, the good news of
your coming salvation. If you think the word of truth is the Bible, then you
think you have found eternal life searching the scriptures; but your faith is
incorrectly in the Bible as the word of truth. This scripture speaks of the
interim reward of seeking; like when you hear the Lord say to you, "I have
placed before you an open door which no one can shut," Rev 3:8, and when you
receive a measure of his Spirit.
Today, if you hear his voice from
heaven, do not harden your hearts. Hebrews 4:7
See to it that you do
not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who
warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who
warns us from heaven? Hebrews 12:25
For the grace of God that brings
salvation has appeared to all men,
teaching us that, denying ungodliness
and worldly lusts,
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this
present world, Titus 2:11-12
This is the basis of repentance and change, to
be personally taught by grace what to deny and how to live.
But what
does it (scripture) say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in
your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming. Rom 10:8 The
Spirit is in your mouth and your heart, not scriptures. When Paul said this,
the New Testament didn't even exist.
For if you live according to the
flesh (the sinful nature), you will surely die. But if through the power of
the Spirit you are putting to death (making extinct, deadening) the deeds
prompted by the body, you shall live forever.
Because those who are led by
the Spirit of God are sons of God. Rom 8:13-14
To be led is to hear the voice of Christ with direct orders as to what to
do and when to do it. He doesn't leave you to guess about a feeling, a call,
an opinion, a burden, a desire, or a "door opening" to walk through. The Word
is Christ within you, the Light that enlightens all men, patiently waiting to
teach and reveal himself to you, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory;
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom;
that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Col 1:27-8.
The seed is the Word of God. And that [seed] which fell among thorns
are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and
riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to PERFECTION. But that
on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard
the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. Luke 8:14-15
If the Bible is the sole Word of God, then where are all the people with
it's evident fruit?
There are millions of people studying the Bible every day. But,
unfortunately for all, the Bible is not the sole Word of God; and that is why
no many of them bring forth fruit to perfection.
But if you listen for the Living Word of God, you can produce fruit to
perfection.
If the same millions of persons were listening directly to the
voice of the Lord, the true Word of God, we would be living in a different
world, full of purified, peculiar people zealous for producing good works, who
would show the power and love of God to the world. Like the early church did
in Jerusalem, having favour with all the people.
Instead, we have
unspeakable scandals from priests and with the Bible-expert leaders (Haggard,
Baker, Swaggert, etc.) of our faith; and the world ridicules the hypocrisy of
a powerless, fruitless Christianity. Even many Buddhists and Hindus exhibit
more fruit than today's Christians. There is obviously something missing in
Christianity today - the Light, the real Word of God, repentance, the cross of
Christ, fruit, true grace, the promise of freedom from captivity. This
happened because we substituted studying the Bible for listening to the words
that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life, John 6:63; we didn't listen
to God.
So if the Son liberates you, then you are really and
unquestionably free. John 8:36. Here is the reason Jesus said he was sent to
the world:
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.'
2 Tim 3:16-17.
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is
perfect. Mat 5:48
The only way you are ever going to be perfect is to abide in Jesus;
whoever continues to feed on Me shall live through and because of Me. John
6:57
Let his Word and Light search your heart and show its defects to you;
you repent, and He change you by grace - one defect at a time.
You
might be thinking, what is this guy talking about: I am a believer! But, where
is the evidence of your belief?
Where is your fruit that Jesus said proves you are a true follower of
his?
When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified,
and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine. John
15:8
The fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, joy, self-control, kindness,
faith, goodness, and gentleness ;
this involves ridding yourself of sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery; greed, hatred, discord, jealousy,
fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy;
drunkenness, orgies, and the like. Gal 5:19-23.
You can be sure: No
immoral, impure or greedy person..has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ
and of God. Eph 5:5
If we are not seeking to produce fruit, our belief and faith is dead. As
James said, faith without works is dead. Jam 2:17-18
This kind of change is only available by grace from the Holy Spirit to
put to death the misdeeds of the body,
while abiding in Christ the Word
and Light.
Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the
knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. 1 Cor 15:34
So kill
(deaden, deprive of power) the evil desire lurking in your members: sexual
vice, impurity, sensual appetites, unholy desires, and all greed and
covetousness, for that is idolatry (the deifying of self and other created
things instead of God). Col 3:5.
And he spoke a parable unto
them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall
be as his master. Luke 6:39-40
The Amplified Bible gives us a further understanding of this scripture
about being perfect - and being authorized.
A pupil is not superior to his teacher,
but everyone completely trained
(readjusted, restored, set to rights, perfected) will be like his teacher.
Luke 6:40
You need to be restored, to the state of Adam before the fall;
restored to the divine spiritual image of God.
You need to be completely
trained, trained by the Teacher. The Bible is not the Teacher.
Then you
need to be set to rights by the Teacher, Christ. This is to be authorized to
teach.
Teaching without being perfected, readjusted, restored, and set to
rights is estimating oneself to be superior to Jesus.
According to Jesus, unperfected, unauthorized teachers are estimating
themselves to be above Jesus.
Such unauthorized persons think that since
they know so much, that they don't need Him to teach and authorize them first.
This is a common, but disastrous error, one of which you do not want to
hear him remind you at judgment.
You may say: my preacher or professor will completely train me; he is a
teacher. But Paul in Ephesians says:
And His gifts were some to be apostles
(special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some
evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors
(shepherds of His flock) and teachers.
His intention was the
perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), the
work of ministering toward building up Christ's body (the church),
until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of
the knowledge of the Son of God, that at really mature manhood (the
completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of
Christ's own perfection), the measure of the stature of the fullness of the
Christ and the completeness found in Him. Ephesians 4:11-13
Was your preacher or teacher appointed by gift from the Holy Spirit? Is
your college teacher or minister perfected in the standard height of Christ's
own perfection? Does he have the fullness and completeness of Christ? Of
course he doesn't. But the purpose of a teacher or preacher or pastor is to
perfect the saints. How can someone unperfected perfect anyone? So he is an
unauthorized teacher too. So you can't be authorized or perfected by your
professor or preacher. And if you teach or preach to anyone before being
completely trained by Him, perfected by Him, and authorized by Him, you are
estimating yourself to be superior to Christ and will incur condemnation. Such
authorization comes from him directly and specifically; you hear him say: you
are now a teacher, or: preach repentance with remission of sins. (And, yes:
after being taught and changed for years while silent, we heard those exact
words.) It is not a door opening, a feeling, an inspiration, a "call," a
burden, etc.
If you are preaching or teaching religion before being
perfected and specifically led, authorized by Christ, to be able to hear, you
must stop. Every word you preach or teach that is not totally correct puts
condemnation on you, and until perfected and authorized your teachings will
not be true.
If you get quiet and listen in humility, He will tell you things
about Himself. He will encourage you. He is kindness. He, the Word and Light,
will tell or show you things about yourself; some will be things that are
ugly. But since he is your friend, you know that he is showing them to you for
your own good. So you listen and watch. And you don't run; stand before the
Son of Man. And you repent of what he shows you. And sometimes he gives you
commands. You are hearing the Word of God, the living Word. And hopefully you
will obey his commands and show him you love him by being obedient. To
hear and obey is to receive Christ. Keep pen and paper nearby when listening
and watching. Stop and write down you hear or see. Then go right back to
listening and watching. Review them periodically, and keep repenting. You will
start changing; not as fast as you want to, but you will change. You will
become more patient, less easily angered, kinder, more settled, more focused
in life. Your desires for the things of the world will begin to melt away. As
you follow his commands, your progress will accelerate. When you see your
changes, still conscious of your decreasing failures, you will know, with
gratitude, that he is changing you by grace - it is working! Your faith is
increasing, because you hear the Word of God and because you are becoming more
sure of what you hope for and more certain of Christ making changes in you,
even though you don't yet see Him.
Many persons from "good Bible-believing, Bible-loving churches,"
today say you can't hear God's voice any more.
They even falsely say that is why we have the Bible, because God's voice
cannot be heard any more. I say they can't hear God's voice because, like the
Pharisees above, they are so busy reading scriptures they think guarantee them
eternal life, that they are not listening. The Bible seekers say that since
you can't hear his voice anymore, then the Bible is his sole record left for
us. They say since it is impossible to hear his voice any more, you must study
the Bible; don't waste you time trying to hear the Lord. They say studying the
Bible, (their Word of God), is how to grow as a Christian. They say you must
meditate on their Word to be taught by the Spirit; but that is like walking
into a classroom and demanding the teacher answer all your questions, which
rather limits the teacher's ability to teach you what he knows you need to
know. So, rather than arrogantly demanding the teacher to follow your lead,
just humbly listen for his teaching, allowing God to lead you and set the
agenda.
They say the Bible is a closed book; that there are no more
revelations to come, and then absurdly state if you were to write down what
you hear Christ say to you, you are guilty and cursed for adding words to the
Bible, for it says so in Revelations:
For I testify unto every man that hears the words of the prophecy of
this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the
plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the
words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the
book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written
in this book. Rev 22:18-9
The book referred to above is the Book of Revelations, not the Bible. The
warning is to not add to or delete from the prophecy of the Book of
Revelations. When John wrote the Book of Revelations, 2000 years ago, the
various letters and books of the Bibles had not even been selected for
inclusion, much less assembled together, and the Bible was not even printed
until 1516. These people have condemned Peter, Paul, Mark, Matthew, Luke,
John, Jude, and James for adding words to the Torah, much of the Old
Testament, which was the Bible then in use at the time that John wrote the
Book of Revelations. These modern Pharisees are classic blind guides who
strain gnats while swallowing camels. They worship the Bible as the Word of
God, instead of worshiping the Living Word of God, Christ. Even the Bible
speaks of scriptures and Word of God differently. They are denying God still
speaks. They say Bible is the final word of God, and a closed book; they say
he no longer speaks. They perish for lack of knowledge. They are stone deaf
and totally blind. The Bible is the letter. The letter kills, the Spirit gives
life. Those who believe the Bible is the source of truth, making it their
source of Jesus, making it their God, have made the Bible an idol. "Woe be to
them, for they have coupled an external form between the love of God to man,"
(from the voice of the Lord). For more on how the Bible is worshiped, instead
of Christ, read the astute testimony of the 18 year old Christian martyr,
James Parnell.
As long as we live in our selfish nature, we are unruly
and incapable of being ruled, controlled, or led by a Lord or King.
So, if we want Jesus to be our Lord and King, we must first put to death
the selfish, sinful nature by repentance to purity.
By listening, Jesus leads us out of the world, one step at a time,
showing us from what to repent,
and teaching us how to live soberly,
righteously, and godly in this present world.
This is the Missing Cross of Christ, the power of God missing in the
sects today; the power that leads to purity and holiness.
For without holiness, no one will see God. Heb. 12:14
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with
its passions and desires. Gal 5:24
The end result is purity and then the return of Christ in his glory with
his Kingdom of everlasting peace and joy.
For the grace of God that brings
salvation has appeared to all men,
teaching us that, denying ungodliness
and worldly lusts,
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this
present world,
looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of
the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;
who gave himself for us, that
he might redeem us from all iniquity,
and purify unto himself a peculiar
people, zealous of good works. Titus 2:11-14
When he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 1
John 3:2-3
And after being purified, along with the glorious appearing of Christ, to
enter paradise; the Kingdom of Heaven within and among us; our consciousness
and sight being translated to the spiritual dimension, to live in union with
Christ and God in their presence, while walking on earth by the light of God,
as children of the light. For God is not far from each one of us and hopes
that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him; for in him
we live and move and have our being, (Acts 17:27-28). The pages on this web
site show the way out of darkness to light. And they show how thousands in the
past have already secured the Kingdom of Heaven to become children of the
light.
The message of the cross is foolishness to those who
are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Cor
1:18. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even
weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is
destruction, whose God is their belly, [lusts, passions, pleasures] and whose
glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. Phil 3:18-19. And the true
gospel, the name of Jesus, and the cross are all the power of God to purify
you through repentance with God's changing grace.
And anyone who does not
carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27
If any
will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and
follow me. Luke 9:23
For we know that our old self was crucified
with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,
that we
should no longer be slaves to sin—Rom 6:6
Jesus said, If your hand causes
you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with
two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot
causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled
than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to
sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one
eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell. Mark 9:42-47.
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you
the kingdom. Luke 12:32
That he would grant unto us, that we being
delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
In
holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. Luke 1:74.
(Perfect love expels all fear. 1 John 4:18)
Acts 4:31After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was
shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of
God boldly. (These people spoke the Word of God from the Holy Spirit within
them.)
Acts 5:19-20 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the
prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the
temple to the people all the words of this life.
Acts 6:2 So the Twelve
gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to
neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on
tables.
Acts 6:7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in
Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to
the faith.
Acts 8:14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria
had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.
Acts
8:28 When they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter
and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan
villages
Acts 11:1 The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard
that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.
Acts 12:24 But the
word of God continued to increase and spread.
Acts 13:5When they
arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues.
John was with them as their helper.
Acts 13:7who was an attendant of
the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for
Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.
Acts
13:46Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of
God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of
eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
Acts 13:44On the next
Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.
Acts 13:48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored
the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
Acts 15:35-36 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they
and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord. Some time later Paul
said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns
where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are
doing."
Acts 17:13 When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was
preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds
and stirring them up.
Acts 18:11 So Paul stayed for a year and a
half, teaching them the word of God.
Acts 19:10 This went on for
two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia
heard the word of the Lord.
Acts 19:20 In this way the word of
the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
Acts 20:32 "Now I
commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and
give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Acts
22:14 And he said, The God of our forefathers has destined and appointed
you to come progressively to know His will [to perceive, to recognize more
strongly and clearly, and to become better and more intimately acquainted with
His will], and to see the Righteous One (Jesus Christ, the Messiah), and to
hear a voice from His own mouth and a message from His own lips.
Romans 10:8 But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is
in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are
proclaiming
1 Corinthians 14:36 Did the word of God originate
with you? Or are you the only people it has
reached?
Yes, God speaks through the
Living Word, Christ. But the Bible alone is not the whole Living Word,
Christ is.
He is the Rewarder of those Who Diligently Seek Him!
Heb.11:6