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The Sons Are Free

Posted: May 25, 2011 in disciples life, teaching
Tags: Christian life, disciples, eternity, Kingdom teaching, radical disciples, salvation, sin

“The Sons Are Free” By John Piper
Matthew 17:22-27

And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; 23 and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved. 24 When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” 26 When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. 27 However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

There are three reasons why I chose this text for our consideration this morning.

First is because today is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week when we look forward to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. Jesus says in verses 22-23, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” So the text begins with a prophecy of the Lord about what will happen in that last week which we call Holy Week.

Second, there is a conversation between Jesus and Peter that teaches something wonderful about the freedom that we have as Christians. Verse 26 ends, “Then the sons are exempt (literally “free”).” I want us to see what this freedom is and what a great thing it is to have it.

Third, the passage includes a miracle in verse 27, namely, the coin in the fish’s mouth. This shows that Jesus is worthy of our worship and relates the freedom we have as Christians to the way God provides for his free children when they willingly act for love’s sake, not under the constraint of law. This applies to the financial challenge we face in the Gideon Venture and the Isaac Factor (see the previous three sermons). Or, more personally, it applies to God’s care for you in your situation as a free child of God. Not that God will always work a miracle to get you out of some scrape you’re in, but that he will work with omnipotent power to meet all your needs on the path of freedom and love.

So let’s start with the second of these reasons and then go to the third and then end with the first, the prophecy of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The Two-Drachma Tax

Verse 24: Jesus and his disciples are in Capernaum, Peter’s hometown (Mark 1:29). Some Jewish people, whose job was to collect the “two-drachma” temple tax, came to Peter and asked, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” This was not a Roman tax, but a Jewish tax for the upkeep of the temple. It was based loosely on Exodus 30:11-16. So these folks were not your unpatriotic tax collectors that we usually read about who collected for the Romans; they were the very patriotic supporters of the temple who expected Israelites throughout the homeland and beyond to take part in supporting the temple service. So this question (“Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?”) was probably a test to see how supportive Jesus would be of the temple service in Jerusalem. Rumors were already circulating that he said disloyal things about the temple.

Peter answered in verse 25, “Yes.” When he and Jesus were in the house away from the crowd, Jesus asked Peter (in verse 25b), “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” So Jesus is not going to let this go by without a lesson being taught.

He brings up a comparison – an analogy. There are kings on the earth who run their kingdoms with money raised from taxes. How are those taxes collected, Jesus asked, from the king’s own children or from the rest of the citizens and inhabitants? The analogy pictures God as the king and the temple service as the running of his kingdom and makes a comparison between some people who are the sons of the king and some who are not the sons of the king.
Who Are the Sons and How Are They Free?

Peter answers Jesus’ question in verse 26, “From strangers.” That is, kings collect taxes from the citizens and inhabitants that are not part of their family. That’s the right answer. So “Jesus said to him, ‘Then the sons are exempt (=free).'”

So what is the point Jesus is making? Who are the sons that are free and how are they free? Verse 27 gives us the decisive clue. Jesus says to Peter: “However [that is, even though the sons are free] . . . take that and give it to them for you and Me.” In other words, you are free, Peter, and I am free, but we will pay the two-drachma temple tax anyway.

So the comparisons are between the kings of the earth and God and between the king’s sons and Jesus with his disciples. Which raises a question: Who are the “strangers”? Who are the “citizens and inhabitants” that are not exempt – not free from the temple tax?

Keep in mind here: This temple tax has nothing to do with the Romans. This is a Jewish tax. So if Jesus makes a distinction between the sons who are free and another group who are not free, he is making a distinction within Israel – among two groups of Jews. This is what John the Baptist did before him. It is what Paul would do after him. John the Baptist called for Israel to repent and be a part of a new, true Israel, and not to boast, “We have Abraham as our father” (Matthew 3:9), as if mere Jewish descent made one a child of God. Then Paul said in Romans 9:6-8, “Not all Israel is Israel . .. It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God.”

So the answer is that the “strangers” – the “citizens and inhabitants” who are not free are the Jewish people who are rejecting Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus is the Son of God, and those who trust him and follow him are sons of God because of their attachment to Jesus. Matthew 16:15-16: “[Jesus] said to [the disciples], ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And speaking to his disciples he said, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God'” (Matthew 5:9).

It’s true that Israel was called the son of God in the Old Testament (Exodus 4:22). So how can Jesus now say that some Jews are sons of God and free, and some are not sons of God and not free? The answer is that “sonship” has a new, personal, individual meaning with Jesus. There was a corporate sonship before, but now there is a new, personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This new, personal, individual relationship of sonship through Jesus is what Jesus has in mind when he says, “the sons are free.”

With the coming of Jesus Christ – the one and only divine, eternal, uncreated Son of God – into the world, a new way of relating to God is made possible. Now there is the real, experienced, conscious union with Jesus Christ that no one had known before the coming of Christ.

It is described in Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” This term, “fellow heirs with Christ,” shows how our sonship is connected to Christ’s. We are sons along with Jesus Christ when we are in Christ. Not that we are divine, like him, but that we share his inheritance, just as we share his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).

That is what Jesus is pointing to here in Matthew 17:26, “The sons are exempt (free).” Those who are Jesus’ disciples are the true sons of God and are free from the temple tax, and those who reject him are not the true sons of God and are not free.

But that raises another question: Does this mean that God means for his temple to be supported by unbelievers? No. That is not the point. What, then, is the point?
Jesus the True Meeting Place with God

I think the point is twofold. One is that the temple is passing away and is going to be replaced by Jesus himself as the true meeting place with God; and the other is that Jesus does not say that the true children of God don’t pay the tax, but only that they are free not to. In fact, he sends Peter to pay it in verse 27.

The true children of God – the followers of Jesus – are free because Jesus himself is taking the place of the temple. “I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days” (Matthew 26:61). He was referring to his body. Jesus himself was the new meeting place with God. “Something greater than the temple is here” (Matthew 12:6). Place was giving way to Person. The sons are free because the sons are discovering that the age of the temple in Jerusalem is over. The age of coming to God through Jesus is here.

The other reason Jesus doesn’t mean that the temple is to be supported by unbelievers is that he sends the true children of God to support the temple, not because they have to support the temple, but because it might at times be good to for the sake of the gospel. Verse 27: “However, so that we do not offend them. . . . Take that and give it to them for you and Me.” In other words, you are free not to pay the tax, but pay it anyway for the sake of not putting an obstacle in the way of my message.

So here’s the main point of the passage: Those who trust and follow Jesus as the Son of God are the true children of God and are, therefore, free from the old system of temple worship with its “taxes.” This does not mean that we no longer care about the ministry of worship. It means we come to God through Jesus. And if there is, incidentally and culturally, a building involved, we are not forced or coerced to support that building. The sons are free.

The point of verse 27 (the payment of the “tax”) seems to be this: If you are a child of God, you decide how you will support a non-essential building (and all of them are now!) not by thinking of yourself as taxed by God, but by thinking of whether there are reasons the building will advance the cause of Jesus Christ – which is not building-oriented, but God-oriented, and kingdom-oriented, and ministry-oriented, and people-oriented.
A Miracle of Freedom and Provision

Now I turn very briefly to the miracle of the coin in the fish’s mouth and the introductory words of prophecy that Jesus’ death is just ahead.

Verse 27, again: “However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.” What’s the point of the miracle of the coin in the fish’s mouth?
Two things at least.

One is this: If Jesus is bringing the temple to an end for the true children of God, because “something greater than the temple is here” (Matthew 12:6), then it is fitting that he show that he is worthy of our worship. This miracle involves divine power and wisdom and knowledge. Someone had to be sure that a shekel (precisely worth four drachmas – two for Jesus and two for Peter) was dropped in the sea. Someone had to be sure that the fish scooped it up, but did not swallow it all the way. Someone had to be sure that the fish that scooped up the coin would be near where Peter drops his hook in the water. And Someone would have to be sure that the fish bites Peter’s hook, without swallowing the coin, and stays hooked till he gets the coin. When Jesus says that this is, in fact, all going to happen just as he says, he shows himself to be just what Peter confessed him to be: the Son of God worthy of worship and trust. You don’t have to go anywhere or pay anything to worship God. He has come to you. There he is. Here he is!

The other point of the miracle is that when you act in freedom and love -not under coercion or constraint – God himself works for you in ways you would never dream. It’s like the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus says to the disciples who have five loaves and two fish borrowed from a little boy, “You feed the five thousand.” When they set out to do that (just as when Peter sets out to pay the temple tax), God causes the five loaves and two fish to become enough to feed them all. And God causes a coin to be there in a fish’s mouth.

The point is not that God will always work a miracle to get you out of some scrape, but that he will do whatever he has to do to help you pursue the path of freedom and sacrificial love that may seem impossible to you.

So with regard to Education for Exultation, we could add “The Fish Factor” or “The Coin Component” to “The Gideon Venture” and “The Isaac Factor.” You are not bound to give, but love may compel you to give. And if it does, there will be a way -if God is in it, God will make a way. That’s the second point of the miracle. As Hudson Taylor said, “Depend upon it. God’s work, done in God’s way, will never lack for supplies” (www.gospelcom.net/chi/GLIMPSEF/Glimpses/glmps047.shtml, accessed 4/15/00).

“You might be luke-warm if…………………”

Posted: May 24, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Christian life, disciples, radical disciples, sin, Spirit led life

According to Francis Chan these are the 18 signs of a lukewarm Christian. OUCH!

1. Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians” do, so they go. Isaiah 29:13

2. Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so, After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right? 1 Chronicles 21:24, Luke 21:1-4

3. Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions (like church attendance and giving) than what God thinks of their hearts and lives. Luke 6:26, Revelation 3:1, Matthew 23:5-7 4.

4: Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it; they’re merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Lukewarm people don’t really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one. John 10:10, Romans 6:1-2.

5. Lukewarm people are moved by stories of people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for “extreme” Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call “radical” what Jesus expected of all His followers. James 1:22, James 4:17, Matthew 21:28-31

6. Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion. Matthew 10:32-33

7. Lukewarm people gauge their morality or “goodness” by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren’t as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street. Luke 18:11-12

8. Lukewarm people say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed, a part of their lives, their money, and their thoughts, but he isn’t allowed to control their lives. Luke 9:57-62

9. Lukewarm people love God, but they do not love Him all their heart, soul, and strength. They would be quick to assure you they try to love God that much, but that sort of total devotion isn’t really possible for the average person; its only for pastors and missionaries and radicals. Matthew 22:37-38

10. Lukewarm people love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves. Their love for others is typically focused on those who love them in return, like family, friends, and other people they know and connect with. There is a little love left over for those who cannot love them back, much less for those who intentionally slight them, who kids are better athletes than theirs, or with whom conversations are awkward or uncomfortable. Their love is highly conditional and very selective, and generally comes with strings attached. Matthew 5:43-47, Luke 14:12-14

11. Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money, and energy they are willing to give. Luke 18:21-25

12. Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today’s to-do list, this week’s schedule, and next month’s vacation. Rarely, if ever do they intently consider the life to come. Philippians 3:18-20

13. Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor. Matthew 25:34, 40, Isaiah 58:6-7

14. Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty. They want to do the bare minimum, to be “good enough” without requiring too much of them. 1 Chronicles 29:14, Matthew 13:44-46

15. Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them sacrificing and risking for God. Matthew 10:28

16. Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America.

17. Luke warm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don’t have to trust God if something unexpected happens-they have their savings account. They don’t need God to help them—they have their retirement plan in place. They don’t genuinely seek out what life God would have them live—they have life figured and mapped out. They don’t depend on God on a daily basis-their refrigerators are full and, for the most part, they are in good health. The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God. Luke 12:16-21

18. Lukewarm people probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren’t very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Matthew 23:25-28, Luke 14:34-35

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The Spirit-Led Are the Sons of God

Posted: May 22, 2011 in disciples life, teaching
Tags: disciples, Kingdom living, Kingdom teaching, radical disciples, Son ship, Spirit led life

“The Spirit-Led Are the Sons of God”
By John Piper

Romans 8:13-17

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs- heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

As we move from verse 13 to verses 14-17, there is a new theme that becomes dominant, and it is one of the most precious themes in the Bible. The theme is our sonship – that Christians are children of God. Nowhere in the book of Romans up till now have we been called sons or children of God. But now the words come thick and heavy and full of freedom and joy and love and hope.

Verse 14: “All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Verse 15: “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” Verse 16: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” Verse 17: “If children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ . . .”

So a theme that had not turned up anywhere before in Romans is now mentioned in every verse of this unit. It’s clearly the new focus, and it’s something that we need to see and savor as part of our glorious salvation. What Paul is doing here is telling us Christians about ourselves and who we are and who God is in relation to us. And he is telling us how we can know this about ourselves and what it implies about our experience.

So let’s simply take this unit one verse at a time and see what Paul has to teach us about the Holy Spirit and our adoption as children of God. We will take three verses and save verse 17, with its emphasis on our inheritance as heirs, for next week as a kind of transition to the next paragraph.
“Killing Sin by the Spirit” Explained by “Being Led by the Spirit”

First then, verse 14. It is given by Paul as the ground or the basis of verse 13. We spent three weeks on verse 13, “If you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Kill sin or it will be killing you. And we put a lot of emphasis on the words “by the Spirit.” “If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.” And you may remember I said at one point “by the Spirit” does not mean that the Spirit is a tool or a weapon that we wield. The Spirit is Person. We are in his hands, not he in ours! So killing sin “by the Spirit” means having a mindset through which the Holy Spirit works to free us from the power of sin. And that mindset is the mindset of faith in the blood-bought promises of God.

Now to confirm that we were on the right track when we said, the Spirit is not an instrument in our hands but we are an instrument in his hands, consider what Paul says in verse 14. He says, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” The “for” means that he is giving the basis and explanation for verse 13. So “put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit” in verse 13 is explained by “led by the Spirit” in verse 14, and “you will live” in verse 13 is explained by “you are the sons of God” in verse 14. Ponder those two pairs with me for a moment.

“If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (14) Because all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Paul restates “putting to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit” with the words, “you are led by the Spirit.” So here is our confirmation that we were on the right track last week: Doing something “by the Spirit” means being “led” to do it by the Spirit. He is not an instrument in our hands. We are an instrument in his hands. We are not leading him. He is leading us. He is not a mere responder to us. We are being moved and led by him.

So then what is it to be led by the Spirit in verse 14 in view of its relation to verse 13? It is to be moved by the Spirit to kill sin by trusting in the superior worth of our Father’s love. When you fight sin by trusting in Christ as superior to what sin offers, you are being led by the Spirit. Don’t take this verse out of its context and make it mean mainly, “If I am led to the right college I am a child of God.” Or: “If I am led to the right spouse, I am a child of God.” Or: “If I am led to the right job, I am a child of God.”

There is a sense in which the children of God will lean on the Spirit for guidance in all those areas. But that is not the focus of this text. This text says, Kill sin by the Spirit, because “all who are [THUS] led by the Spirit are the sons of God.” In other words, the evidence that we are the children of God is that the Holy Spirit confirms his presence by leading us into war with our sin. The children of God hate sin. The children of God have the values and priorities and preferences and tastes of their Father. They are chips off the old block, as it were.

And the reason they share these traits of God their Father is because they have his Spirit who leads them this way. He gives them the new tastes and new preferences and the new values and the new pleasures and the new sadness. And so the evidence of our sonship is: Do we fight sin in our lives, or do we feel blasé about sin in our lives?
The Promise of Life Is Rooted in Our Being Sons of God

Now notice the way the other pair of ideas in verses 13 and 14 relate. The first pair is “killing sin by the Spirit” explained by “being led by the Spirit.” The second pair is “you will live” in verse 13 and “you are sons of God” in verse 14. “If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (14) For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” What this shows is that the promise of life is rooted in our being sons of God.

You know that you have eternal life because you put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit. That’s verse 13. And you put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit because you are led by the Spirit. That’s the commandment between verses 13 and 14. And being led by the Spirit shows that you are a child of God. That’s verse 14. And so it is your status as a child of God that guarantees your eternal life. That’s the point of verse 17: “If children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” Heirs of what? Everlasting life and all the glory it contains.

So what verse 14 does is explain killing sin by the Spirit in terms of being led by the Spirit, and it explains “you will live” in terms being sons of God. And then it makes being led by the Spirit the evidence and demonstration that we are the sons of God. Which means that killing sin by the Spirit is the evidence of our sonship and therefore the path to everlasting life.

And Paul means for you to enjoy this. He is telling us these things for our joy and our triumph over the adversities and fears of life. This becomes really plain in verse 15.
How Does the Spirit of God Relate to Our Sonship?

Verse 15 comes in now to explain more fully how the Spirit of God relates to our sonship. He says, (v. 14) “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (15) For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!'” He is answering the question: Why does the leading of the Spirit prove that you are a son of God? And he is answering the question: How does the Spirit lead?

The reason the leading of the Spirit proves we are children of God is that it is “the Spirit of adoption.” It is the Spirit given to us to confirm a legal transaction carried out by the Father, namely, adoption. Listen to what F. F. Bruce says about this term “adoption as sons” in the Roman world of Paul’s day:

In the Roman world of the first century ad an adopted son was a son deliberately chosen by his adoptive father to perpetuate his name and inherit his estate; he was no whit inferior in status to a son born in the ordinary course of nature, and might well enjoy the father’s affection more fully and reproduce the father’s character more worthily.” (Quoted in John Stott, Romans, InterVarsity Press, 1994, p. 232)

There are dozens of children and young people and adults in this church who have been legally adopted. You are all loved by your parents with a deep, true, unshakable love just as much or more than if you had been born into your family. And that is the way it is with God. This reality of adoption is a massive, firm, legal reality. And it is a deep, strong, full-hearted emotional reality.

When the Holy Spirit is called in verse 15 the “Spirit of adoption” the meaning is the Spirit confirms and makes real to you this great legal transaction of adoption. If you have trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior and Treasure, then you are adopted. John 1:12, “To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” If you receive Christ, you are adopted.
The Spirit Leads by Stirring Up Family Affection

Now to seal this and confirm it and make it experientially real to you, God sends the Spirit into our hearts. Here is the way Paul says it in Galatians 4:5-6, “[Christ] redeemed those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!'” The Spirit is poured out into our hearts to confirm and make real our adoption.

How does he do that according to verse 15? He does it by replacing the fear of a slave toward a master with the love of a son toward a father. “You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” He is contrasting the fear of a slave with the affection of a son. The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to change our slavish fears toward God into confident, happy, peaceful affection for God as our father.

Now relate that to the leading of the Spirit in verse 14. This is the other question I said Paul is answering in verse 15: How does the Spirit lead? “All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” How does he lead? How does he move us and enable us to put to death the deeds of the body – to kill sin? Answer: “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons.” The Spirit does not lead by stirring up slavish fear. He leads by stirring up family affection. He does not get you to kill sin by making you a slave who acts out of fear. But by making you a son who acts out of faith and affection.

You can get a lot of external compliance with enslavement and fear. A Vietnamese man just told me last night that this was so. We asked if the people in Vietnam liked Communism. He said no, but then added, “They have the guns.” So if you have the guns you can enslave and create enough fear so that there is a lot of external compliance. But that is not what the Holy Spirit does to get us to kill sin.

How then does he shape our wills and lead us to put to death the deeds of the body? He does it by making real to us the truth of our adoption and the value of our Father in heaven. How does he do that? He does it by working in two directions: one by bringing God’s fatherly love to us, and the other by bringing our childlike affections for God.
The Spirit Leads by Bringing God’s Father Love to Us

We have already seen the first work of the Spirit in Romans 5:5. Recall how Paul said, “Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” This is a real, present experience, not just an idea or a future promise. It is something that happens in Christians: the love of God – that is, God’s love for his children – is poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. This is the Spirit of adoption making real to us the love of our Father. Applying it to us so that we know we are loved. It is an experience of divine love. That’s the first direction the Spirit works to make the truth of our acceptance and the value of our Father real to us. He pours out the love of the Father into our lives.
The Spirit Leads by Awakening Our Childlike Affections for God

The second direction that the Spirit works to lead us is by awakening our own childlike affections for our Father. This is what the last part of verse 15 and verse 16 are referring to. “You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ (16) The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”

The Spirit brings about a response in our hearts to the love of God that cries out, “Abba! Father!” The witness of the Holy Spirit that you are a child of God is not a testimony to a neutral heart with no affection for God’s fatherly love so that your neutral heart can draw the logical conclusion that it is a child of God and then try to muster up some appropriate affections. That is not the picture. No. The witness of the Holy Spirit that you are a child of God is the creation in you of affections for God. The testimony of the Holy Spirit IS the cry, “Abba! Father!”

And the reason Paul uses the word “cry” and the Aramaic word “Abba” is because both of them point to deep, affectionate, personal, authentic experience of God’s fatherly love. He didn’t say that the testimony of the Spirit was that we affirm doctrinally that God is father. The devil knows that doctrine. Doctrinal affirmations, as important as they are, don’t make children. What he said was that the testimony of the Spirit that we are God’s children is that from our hearts there rises an irrepressible cry – a cry, not a mere statement, a cry: “Abba! Father!”

We don’t infer logically the fatherhood of God from the testimony of the Spirit. We enjoy emotionally the Fatherhood of God by the testimony of the Spirit. The testimony of the Spirit is not a premise from which we deduce that we are children of God; it is a power by which we delight in being the children of God.
Don’t Wait for a Whisper – Look to Jesus!

If you want to know that you are a child of God, you don’t put your ear to the Holy Spirit and wait for a whisper; put your ear to the gospel and your eye to the cross of Christ and you pray that the Holy Spirit would enable you to see it and savor it for what it really is. Romans 5:8, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The testimony of the Spirit is that when we look at cross we cry, “Jesus, you are my Lord!” (1 Corinthians 12:3), and “God, you are my Father!” So look to Christ! Look to Christ!

Little Compromises

Posted: May 8, 2011 in disciples life, teaching
Tags: Kingdom living, radical disciples, Spirit led life

Little Compromises
by John O. Reid

“. . . that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.” —Deuteronomy 17:20
Contrary to popular belief, we live in one of the most difficult and dangerous ages in all of human history. Some would be willing to argue this, saying that civilization has come a long way and that mankind is not as cruel as the record of history shows that he once was.

Certainly living in the first century in the Roman Empire must have been difficult, they might say as an example, since we have the Bible’s account of the apostles living in constant danger—and most of them died horrible deaths!

That is true. From what the Bible shows, that constant danger promoted closeness to God; the apostles relied on God to keep them safe and provide deliverance for them at every turn. While we are not being hunted down for our religious beliefs, the danger we face today is far greater—spiritually—in that it does just the opposite: It promotes a slow separation from God. We know this kind of danger by the illustration of the frog in the water. The increase in temperature happens so slowly that the frog fails to realize that it is in trouble until it is too late to jump to safety.

What produces this danger for us, the called-out children of God? What is the signature attitude of the era that we live in? What failing among the majority of people will cause the loss of our freedoms and the downfall of our nation? It is compromising with the laws and principles of God.

We live in a nation that has largely compromised the character it once possessed. Just a minority uphold the Christian principles that underlay documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, which provided the foundation for America to become the envy of the world. Now, so many are willing to trade their hard-won freedoms for a little temporary security, essentially selling their birthright.

We face an analogous situation among the greater churches of God.

We live in a time when the majority of those with whom we once fellowshipped have compromised the beliefs they used to hold dear. Many of these people have joined worldly churches, or worse, losing faith altogether, have slipped back into the world. Some have contrived strange new doctrines to live by, and despite attending services among the scattered churches, too many have nearly lost their faith and zeal for this way of life.

In our church history, we can see how deadly even a little compromising with God’s ways is. It almost always leads to greater compromises until a person is so far from what has been revealed in Scripture that he has apostatized, cutting himself off from God. What a sad end after such a promising start!

Royal Compromise
God’s Word provides an example of compromise for us to learn from, if we are wise enough to heed it (Romans 15:4; I Corinthians 10:11). This example comes from the life of the wisest king ever to live, one whom God blessed with wisdom that no one could gainsay, who had wealth and ability no one had ever possessed before. God loved this man greatly—He even spoke directly to him more than once, and because of the man’s humble response, blessed him far beyond what he requested. This king, a man of peace and learning, was commissioned to build the most beautiful Temple to God in Jerusalem.

The man, of course, was Solomon, the son of David and Bathsheba.
To understand why Solomon’s compromises seemed so small and insignificant to him when he succumbed to them, we have to understand the situation of Solomon’s reign.

We could compare it to America today. As Psalm 18:43-44 suggests, David and his armies had essentially subjugated all of the world that mattered at the time. King David of Israel was “the head of the nations,” and faraway kings he did not even know trembled at the mention of his name. As the sole superpower in the region, wealth poured into Israel. When Solomon was made king upon David’s death, not a nation on the face of the earth would have considered attacking Israel. It was just too strong.

So, Solomon ruled the known world, and as time progressed and in that strength, he did not see the need to obey God fully in all that He had commanded the kings of Israel to do. In his power and wealth, he saw no problem with compromising just a little with God’s instruction. As we will see, Solomon failed completely in his old age, but the seeds of that failure were sown early in his reign.

II Chronicles 9:22-28 gives us a summary of his reign:

So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year. Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. So he reigned over all the kings from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. And they brought horses to Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.

This sounds like the perfect, storybook career until we notice God’s instruction to kings in Deuteronomy 17:14-20:

When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, “I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,” you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, “You shall not return that way again.” Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.

Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.

Was Solomon unaware of these instructions? Of course not. David, a man who knew God’s law intimately, would have been sure to instruct his son in them and have him write a copy of the law as commanded. Surely, Solomon could not have been ignorant of them. He, then, must have known it was wrong to import horses and chariots from Egypt, but because of his wealth and might, he must have considered this infraction too minor to take seriously.

Why did God not want Israel’s kings to import warhorses? Armored warhorses and the chariots they pulled can be compared to today’s tanks, which are devastating when fighting foot soldiers. A nation with this level of war materiel put their reliance on it as it made the army such a powerful fighting machine. Why should a nation trust an invisible God to fight its battles when it could see rank upon rank of seemingly invincible horses and chariots?

God wanted His people to rely on Him. Solomon knew this, since he wrote in Proverbs 21:31: “The horse is prepared for the day of battle: but deliverance is of the Lord.” The issue of importing horses may have seemed a small thing to Solomon, but it was important to God. From all indications, his compromise in this matter began his slow separation from God.

Many Wives Too
Compounding his compromise concerning warhorses, by the end of his reign, Solomon had a substantial harem:

But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites—from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. (I Kings 11:1-3)

As he began his reign, would Solomon have considered “multiply[ing] wives for himself,” especially to this extent? Probably not. When he was tender of heart, needing God to help him rule this great people and kingdom (see II Chronicles 1:7-12), he doubtless walked carefully, making sure he did what was commanded in everything. But once secure in knowledge, wealth, and power, he began to forget the God who had spoken to him, placed him in power, and given him all that he had.

Perhaps Solomon’s reasoning went something like this: “When I imported horses from Egypt, there were no adverse consequences, so what would be wrong with taking additional wives for political reasons?”

We do not normally see the results of sin immediately, yet they inevitably come. At some point, he learned this principle, writing in Ecclesiastes 8:11: “Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” In any case, knowing this did not help him, as I Kings 11:4-8 records:

For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

Wise Solomon fell victim to the same temptations that the rest of us so often face. He compromised on what he thought were small concerns—matters he probably considered well into the gray areas—to do things his way rather than God’s. The danger of such reasoning is that small compromises weaken character, and over time, they lead to major sins. For Solomon, the results were devastating. His experience is a warning of what will befall us if we follow his example of compromise.

The psalmist writes in Psalm 111:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and a good understanding have all they that do His commandments: His praise endures forever.” Solomon’s compromises gradually but inexorably distorted his understanding of God’s laws and ways. He slowly drifted away from God, so that when he was old, unbelievable as it seems, he allowed his wives to turn his heart from the God that had given him everything.

From the “minor” infraction of importing horses, Solomon eventually condoned and was at least an accessory to the sins of idolatry and outright murder, sins that he would never have considered committing at the beginning of his reign. For, at the end of his life, Solomon worshipped Ashtoreth, Milcom, Chemosh, and Molech, the last having rituals that called for children to be given to the fire of his altar. By giving his royal sanction to worshipping these pagan deities, he set a precedent that was followed by many of the kings of Israel and Judah after him.

A Righteous Example

We can see what a little bit of compromise cost this supposedly wise man, as well as how it affected future generations of Israelites. But what about those of us who live in a world that feels free to compromise at will? Has this society and the spiritual confusion among some of the churches of God caused us to ignore the laws, principles, and statutes that we see in God’s Word?

Josiah, who reigned not long before Judah’s Babylonian captivity, was one of the most righteous kings. II Kings 23:10-11 records how he dealt with the “insignificant” issue of horses and the more important matter of child sacrifice:

And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech. Then he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-Melech, the officer who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

All it took was to stand up for what God had revealed, and he used the power given to him to respond in obedience.

In these perilous times, it is of the utmost importance that we resist the urge to use our human reasoning to compromise with God’s law.

We must be particularly careful in what we perceive as the “smaller areas” of God’s Word. Why? Because Satan often makes his greatest inroads by getting us to relax in little things and gradually convincing us to do the same in more vital matters. If he can just get his foot in the door, he feels he has won a great victory and can make us slip away from God. Paul, however, exhorts us, “. . . nor give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27).

Once we compromise, the process of sin has commenced, and godly character, which is so precious to God, begins to erode, opening the way for sin on a larger scale. If a wise man like Solomon went from ignoring a seemingly obscure admonition to the flagrant breaking of many of God’s commandments, we, too, can certainly yield to the peril of compromise. We must learn to spot and avoid the little compromises that lead to big sins.

NATURAL SUPERNATURAL GROWTH

Posted: April 25, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Christian life, God's love, kingdom growth, Kingdom living, radical disciples, Spirit led life

In the kingdom we cannot build a life, a business or a ministry. We cannot build the kingdom of God. Everything of the kingdom of God must grow from a seed from God through a supernatural natural growth process. We must receive good seed in good soil and let the earth grow it. Indeed, this is a great mystery.

We will become what we hear and believe in our hearts. “As you believe, so be it unto you.” “Your faith has made you well.” “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” “With God all things are possible.” “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

Again, natural things are often pictures that can be used to show us spiritual things. Consider the natural growth process of a stalk of wheat that begins with a dormant seed. The seed placed in good soil sprouts and soon grows roots below ground and a small green blade breaks through above ground. The green blade grows and becomes a stalk. Then, a head begins to form on top. Next, the grain begins to grow in the head. The mature seeds in the head are seeds like the one that was planted. The seeds left alone will dry and eventually fall upon the ground and begin the process over again except there are a multiplied number of seeds.

A seed (word, thought, vision) planted in our heart-soil becomes a belief as it sprouts. The belief becomes a conviction as it grows a blade. A conviction becomes our attitude as it grows a head. Our attitudes become our actions as the full grain in the head becomes seeds (words & actions) sown into the world to sprout and grow into the natural world.

This is the supernatural natural process of bringing the desires and plans of God from heaven into the natural world. By this process, spiritual seed/word/vision from heaven becomes natural reality in the world. Through this growth process the world can be changed to become as it is in heaven.

Mark 4:26-32: And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

And He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.”

1 Corinthians 3:6: I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.

Psalm 127:1-2: Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.

The heart of man is God’s spiritual/natural interface. Spirit God and physical earth meet in the heart of man. Two realms meet heaven and earth connect in the heart of man.

The pure heart of man is like a fruitful garden. It receives spiritual seed from God and grows it into the natural world. (The earth yields crops by itself.)

The soil must be moistened and protected by the life giving brooding of the Holy Spirit.

The pure heart of man is God’s production center on earth that fills the world with God’s plan and rule. Only the pure heart of man is the wife of God capable of intimately relating to Him, receiving seed from Him and giving birth to God’s plan and rule into the earth. If we love God and intimately relate to Him, we will receive His seed and become pregnant with God’s plan. If, however, we love another god, its seeds will be planted in us.

Things in the world are changed through the process of the seed and natural growth. We cannot change our character and actions by trying hard. Trying to stop doing something we want to do, or trying to start doing something we do not want to do will not make permanent changes. We must change what we hear, what we think and what we believe. We must receive new seed that will grow and change who we are and what we want to do.

Luke 8:15: But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience (endurance).

Patience is required to reap a harvest. There is a space of time between the planting and the production. Our part is to patiently wait for the harvest and to care for the soil and the growing seedling or plant. There is nothing we can do to make the seed have life. God puts the life into the seed, and He causes it to sprout and grow. We can and must, however, provide the proper atmosphere, nutrients and care for the seed to grow to fruition.

This means holding on to the idea or vision even when we cannot see anything with our natural eye that indicates the idea is growing. The larger the idea or vision the longer the gestation period. A large work like a large animal or plant takes a much longer time. A chicken is birthed in only three weeks and is fully-grown in about twelve weeks. A human baby is birthed in nine months and takes about twenty years to be reach maturity. You can grow a radish in the garden in a few weeks; an oak tree will take many years. The vision may be lost if we abandon it. Many worthy works planted by God in the hearts of men have failed to come to fruition because they were prematurely abandoned. If a brood hen sitting on eggs leaves the nest even one day too soon, all the chicks in the eggs will be lost.

The seed planted in the soil dies and is reborn a living plant. This eliminates any potential of human effort adulterating the pure supernatural natural growth process. The temptation is to abandon God’s plan during the time of the death and rebirth transformation.

John 12:24: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.

Just as a natural gardener works to care for the soil keeping it loosened so that it does not become too hard for the seed to grow, we must keep our heart-soil tender by forgiving and receiving healing for all offenses that can press down and harden our heart. The soil must be kept moist and the temperature in the proper range by the presence of the Holy Spirit. We must keep the weeds of useless words (bad seeds) out of our soil. Useless, negative words or thoughts will grow weeds that rob nutrients from the good seed and prevent them from growing properly.

We must not only allow time for growth, we must also allow space. Seeds that are going to produce a large plant will require more space in the soil of our heart. Planting too many seeds in too small a space will cause them to grow improperly and bear little or no fruit. After the plants are up and growing, it may be necessary to remove some of them in order that there will be adequate space for growth. With some plants, it will be necessary to prune or trim the limbs to provide space on the plant for good fruit to grow.

Keeping the weeds out means taking every thought captive. We must remove the thoughts that would hinder the growth of the growing vision. Negative thoughts of doubt, worry, and fear will choke the vision. The enemy of the vision will always attempt to plant the seed that “you cannot do it”, or “you are just not capable enough to do whatever God has said.” He is exactly right. We cannot do it. We are not supposed to be able to do it. God does it! We must hear, believe, and obey what God tells us to do next. The earth brings forth the crop by itself.

Thinning the plants means that we may need to lay down some really good ideas in order to concentrate on the more important vision. Our heart-soil just is not big enough and enriched enough to bring forth all the good ideas in the world at one time. If there are too many ideas or visions in one heart, none of them will grow well.

Trimming and pruning branches means cutting off excessive or wild growth of the vision. Too many branches on a fruit tree may cause the fruit to be small and may cause disease because sunlight cannot enter. Branches that are too long or improperly shaped may break when the fruit nears maturity. We may need to limit parts of the idea or vision as it grows.

We are the manager of our garden. What we choose to hear and believe, what and how we think, are the seeds that will produce our life and affect change in the world. Bad thinking always produces bad life. Quality thinking always produces quality life. The difference between the man who tries hard but always accomplishes little in the kingdom and the man who is of much valuable service is what each hears and believes. In other words, how they manage their gardens.

All the seemingly unrelated negative events that consistently happen to the unproductive man are the product of bad seeds growing to fruition. All the seemingly unrelated doors of opportunity and blessings that consistently come to the productive man are the results of good seeds. Nothing happens until somebody believes something.

Remember “the earth yields crops by itself.” We cannot make growth, but we must care for the soil, thin and trim the plants, protect the seedling from a hostile environment and predators, pull the weeds, shoo off the birds, and above all, keep the soil moist with the presence of the Holy Spirit through prayer. Communing with God in prayer and meditating the word (thought, vision, seed) in the Holy Spirit is the process by which the natural growth and eventual harvest will come.

Prayer and meditation is speaking to and hearing God. Speaking to and hearing God does not only involve audible words. Communing with God also involves speaking and hearing by pictures and feelings. It is seeing and feeling what God is saying as well as praying visions and feelings to Him.

Prayer and meditation is experiencing in the spiritual realm what God desires to bring into the natural realm.

To intimately commune with God, one must come to a place of inner quiet where the thoughts and distractions of the world can be silenced. Close your eyes, quiet your soul, and seek to enter into the presence of the Father. Ask God what He wants to do with your life and wait quietly before Him. When you have a clear word, a vision from God, meditate it in your spiritual mind. Look at it. Understand it. Get to know it. See it happening. Feel how it feels. Then pray the vision back to God. With the vision in your spirit, go to Him and ask Him to give you the vision He has shown you. Daily continue praying this way. You will find that the vision will change some. It will become more detailed with a little more of this and a little less of that as God continues to clarify the vision in you.

You are now pregnant with the word from God. The vision is now alive within you. Allow yourself to become excited as you feel the first movements of the living vision within you. Original creation is beginning to be reshaped as the vision in the spiritual realm begins to impact the physical realm. All over the world things may begin to move or adjust in order to set the stage to bring about the vision that God has placed in your heart as a seed.

Next, begin to speak the vision out loud into the earth. Share it with those who can hear. Let your passion for the vision come forth as you speak it to others as God directs. You may need to begin writing it down or sketching it out on paper. Don’t be alarmed if the vision is a thousand times greater than you think possible. Remember it is God’s baby; He will bring it to birth.

Be faithful to pray the vision and be ready to take whatever next step the Lord shows you. Wait and watch for the opportunities and circumstances that in time will appear before you to birth the vision.

GOD’S PRODUCTION

Man is made in the image of God to have dominion in the earth. God blessed man to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it and to have dominion. It is God’s desire that the earth be ruled according to His heavenly plan and pattern. Man has the potential to grow the seed of God, or the seed of the enemy. Only man has the God-given position to rule in the earth. Only man has the potent heart-soil that is the interface between the spiritual realm and the natural realm.

Genesis 1:27-28: So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

After our hearts are seeded with the plan of God, we then become seeds sown into the world to bear fruit–to bring forth the plan of God on earth.

We are at the end of this age. The good news of the kingdom is being preached; the rule of God is coming forth on earth; and pure hearted sons of God are bringing forth the plan of God on our planet now. The sons of the wicked are being removed from the kingdom of God and cast into fire. They will repent and be purified or continue in the fiery judgment of God. Then, the pure hearted sons of God, bearing His plan, will shine forth on Planet Earth.

Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43: Another parable He put forth to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’

“He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares, you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

He (Jesus) answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

“Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The first soil is the heart of man in which the seed of God’s plan is sown. The second soil is the field of the world into which we are sown to produce God’s plan, which was sown into our heart. The field of the world is also sown with those who have had their hearts sown with a different, conflicting unfruitful seed.

We are to keep the tares (weeds) from growing in our heart-soil. However, the scene has changed in this parable. We are no longer looking at the soil of our heart but at the soil of the world. God, by his angels, will remove the tares from the world. They are allowed to grow together for a season. The tare is a plant in the kingdom that does not produce good fruit.

Thank God for the purifying fire we are coming through. Our hearts are being cleansed and healed to become good soil that will receive good seed and become fruitful producers in the kingdom of God.

We cannot change our lives by changing our actions. We must clear the land of our heart and plant the word (plan) of God. We must change what we hear and what we think. This will change our attitudes and actions, which will change our lives and destiny.

In the kingdom, we are not controlled by our circumstances. Christ living within us by the Holy Spirit is in control.

Jesus experienced the fullness of creative power from heaven flowing through Him. Few people if any since then, have fully experienced the creative power of the kingdom of heaven flowing through their lives into the world. Those who have come close have produced significant accomplishments with God.

Someone once said, “The man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument.” My own experience parallels that of every other man who has heard and employed this mystery. It is not possible to share with you the miraculous, overcoming experiences of my 75+ years of which over 55 years were spent seeking to serve the Lord. They would become other books of many pages. In this work, I have sought to provide the reader with the foundational core of truth and wisdom resulting from my experiencing God and His word. For illustration’s sake, let us take a brief peek at a small window of experience. By no means will we set the stage or give the background or complete story. We will only take a window peek for illustration.

In the late 1960s, after beginning to hear the mystery of “as you believe, so be it unto you,” I began to prosper and to be used in giving. Through a series of changes, I had left my first miraculously prosperous job experience to manage a very small, industrial instrument sales company. Everything about the small company was minimal and poor. There were two employees. One was a middle-aged, Native American lady who wore the same pillow-tick, sack dress most everyday, ate a whole onion for lunch each day, and had a teenage son who slept in a coffin. The other employee was a young, alcoholic man who had the top of his left ear bitten off in a bar fight. The previous owner/manager smoked cigars and spit on the floor. Total sales for the first month were about $11,000 at about 20% gross profit. That is about $2,200 before wages and overhead, which left nothing for me.

There was no doubt, however, that God had put me there for a purpose. At this season, my life was to be dedicated to giving money for the work of God in the world. God made it clear to me that this was what He desired to do with this business endeavor. As I prayed, God began to give me visions of how the place and the business could be cleaned up and rearranged. I would see the changes in my heart by the spirit. Later, I could see that what I had seen in the spirit, had come to pass and was functioning in the business.

I would ask God, “What do You want to do in sales this year?” I was usually shocked as He revealed to me an amount that seemed, to my mind, far too great for the business to accomplish. Yet, I had come to believe that God could do what He said. Therefore, I would take a piece of paper and draw a graph representing the increase God had said. At this point, I had no idea how this tremendous increase could occur. As I prayed, I would take that line on the graph to God and ask Him to give me that. I would meditate before Him the vision of that increase coming to pass. I let myself feel what it was like to actually experience the increase happening.

After only a few months, the Lord gave me the little company. I purchased it on time payments without any money. Suddenly, for the first time, I found myself totally responsible for a business and God began to reveal the vast unlimited potential of the situation. The whole world was a potential marketplace. All the products of the world were potential goods to be marketed. There was no one over me to say it could not be done. The only limitation was what God said, and what I believed.

I am convinced that most men have never really touched the potential of their lives. Most of us experience only the smallest fraction of what God would like to do with us. We have been so planted and trained with the limitations of natural thinking and dependency upon our natural selves that we have rarely touched the vast, unlimited, spiritual realm of ruling and reigning with God. God will do anything in and with our lives that He says and we believe.

As I continued to pray and meditate the vision before Him, God would give me creative ideas and specific instructions for the next step. One example of these ideas was the printing of a catalog. No distributor of industrial temperature and pressure instruments had ever printed their own catalog. All the distributors used the manufacturers’ printed material. We printed our own stock catalog, listing and describing all of the particular items that we carried in local inventory. We did all the photography, typesetting, and layout ourselves in our small office. It was a new experience; none of us had any experience in such procedures. There were some, who worked on the little, blue catalog, that were so proud of it that they did not want to give them away to customers! The idea worked and grew. The next catalog was the size of a telephone book and brought together a product mix that could not be had anywhere else.

Soon the Lord directed other divisions of the corporation and expansion into branch operations over the southwest United States market area that we served. We were among the first in our field to use toll-free, long distance (800) telephone service for incoming sales calls across the nation. In only three years, God’s little company had become a multi-million dollar corporation. We sought to employ only maturing Christians. Some actually got saved in the employment interview and went on to spend much of their working life serving the Lord in the company. Not only were significant amounts of money flowing through me personally into the work of God; but also, many of the employees regularly gave to churches and other ministries. Many were very thankful to have a place to work where Christian values and morals were the norm.

I was never qualified to do this work. I had only a high school and some Bible college education. My work experience had been mostly in route sales, selling milk or bread on a commission basis. I had worked exceptionally hard to earn commissions to provide for my five children. There was nothing in my background that said I could do this thing. But God said it and I believed it.

It takes courage to hear God and obey what He says. I can recall occasions when God would tell me something to do. Sometimes it did not seem to make much sense according to the facts, as we knew them at the time. It was even more difficult for some of my business associates to accept some of the actions. Later, some of them came to me and said something like, “How did you know these things were going to happen?” The seemingly unreasonable actions we had taken earlier all made perfect sense as new developments occurred; and, we were sitting in exactly the right place at the right time to benefit. I would simply reply, “I didn’t know. I was just obeying God.”

Everything God does in the kingdom begins as a seed planted in the heart of man and grows into the world through the natural supernatural growth process. The work of the kingdom of God on earth can be hindered by unbelief and doubt. The work of the kingdom cannot be stopped if the seed of God is planted in an obedient heart of faith and trust in God.

Intimately relating to God and faithfully serving Him in the world allows us to see and hear His plan in heaven by the Spirit and plants it in our hearts. The God-given enthusiasm for the plan causes us to begin to speak it forth into the world; and, eventually to see it come forth into the natural world by supernatural natural growth. This is the creative process of God that will bring forth the will of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Keep on Pursuing Love

It Will Never Fail,

Ron McGatlin

http://www.openheaven.com

basileia@earthlink.net

Called to be radical

Posted: April 22, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Bride of Christ, discipleship, kingdom growth, Kingdom living, radical christianity, radical disciples, Spirit led life

Being “radical” brings up images of an argumentative protester or even a violent terrorist, but a truly “radical” Christian should be someone who typifies the very “root” of who Jesus is, practicing what He taught.

Jesus said, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew 7:24

Simple statements like “love one another” were never intended to be feel good statements but direct “world changing” commands from Jesus to his followers. Words like “love your enemies”, and “do good to those that spitefully use you”, would be considered “radical” if actually practiced, even though they are believed by all Christians.

It would seem that like a professional athlete needs a “public relations” agent after a blunder that ruins his “public image”, in the same way the Christian church in America needs the ultimate agent, Jesus himself to change not only our image, but our practice as well. He is not someone who will “spin” things to our advantage, but someone who cares enough to change our very lives, our hearts and our behavior to become like Him.

Radical means “of or pertaining to the root of origin; reaching to the center, to the foundation, to the ultimate sources, to the principles.”

Radical Christianity calls us to examine the foundation of everything we call “Christian” in order to discern what is, and what is not, acceptable to Christ. Jesus is building His Church upon the foundation of Himself. We have the privilege of co-laboring together with Him, but we must follow His blueprint, not ours.

Everything in His Church is weighed, measured, and tested according to “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”. If it falls short or goes beyond THIS measure, the Lord will tear down what they have built.

Therefore let us all walk as humbled radical disciples of Yeshua, seeking to be and expression of the Fathers heart and not out of our owns hearts imagination of what we believe God the Father should be. In this manner let our minds, souls and spirit’s always be aligned to the Lord Jesus Christ, rooted in His teaching – His Word, infused with His Spirit and walking in His power and authority.

At times we may be called to walk in the wilderness for His honor, wade thru the valley of suffering for His praise and march up to the mountain tops of revelation for His glory. We are called by His name, therefore let us represent Him in truth according to all that He has taught us in His Word and continues to teach us with revelation brought forth by His Holy Spirit, that His Name may be lifted high above everything and anything found in this world, that we may be His glory manifested in this present world!

For Indeed we do serve an awesome God!!!

THE GREATEST MYSTERY

Posted: April 19, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Christian life, kingdom growth, Kingdom living, radical disciples, The Kingdom of God

There are great understandings from the Word of God. There is wisdom far beyond man’s ability to comprehend, thoughts that are much too great for our minds to think. There are mysteries too deep for our mentality to embrace, and revelations too high to fit into words. Yet, the Spirit of God relates to man’s spirit things hard to be understood and even harder to be spoken. Sometimes they are more felt in the depth of our inner being than understood by our mind. They are spiritual things communicated from the Spirit to the spirit in spiritual ways, comparing spiritual things to spiritual things.

There are deep, hidden mysteries of the wisdom of God that are only revealed through His Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:6-10,12-13: However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages of glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak not in words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

Sometimes the best we can do to communicate spiritual things in natural language is to speak of a parallel natural thing. Jesus taught the greatest concept of the Bible, the kingdom of God, from heaven, on earth, with many parables of natural things. The kingdom is the preeminent teaching in the Word of God. All other teachings and understandings in the Bible relate to and are in some way a part of the great concept of the kingdom of God / kingdom of heaven.

Within the kingdom there is one greatest of all kingdom principles, one greatest spiritual mystery law, one greatest of all kingdom concepts that saturates the entire kingdom and every other principle or law of the kingdom. It is the force that draws and holds the kingdom together, the glue that bonds the kingdom into unity. It is the motivation for every work in the kingdom. It is the power that causes all other kingdom principles to work. It is the root of righteousness, obedience, peace, and joy, the reason for the cross, the resurrection, and Pentecost. It causes purity, purpose, production, prosperity, contentment, and faithfulness. It causes men to become faithful servants and stewards. It can change a harlot or adulteress into a purified bride. It is the source of grace, mercy and forgiveness.

This greatest thing in the kingdom can easily be named, but cannot, with man’s words, be easily explained. It must be experienced and felt Spirit-to-spirit. The most passionate, intense, and pleasurable natural experience cannot equal it. We can see and say what it does. But what it is or why it is, goes beyond human natural understanding.

The greatest mystery law, principle, concept, understanding of the kingdom, the predominate force and most significant factor in the kingdom of God is THE LOVE OF GOD.

Without the love of God, there would be no salvation for mankind. Jesus would not have come to earth. There would be no cross, no resurrection, no indwelling Holy Spirit, no righteousness, no peace nor joy on earth, no forgiveness, no deliverance, no healing of the heart, no real reason for living, no relationship between man and the living God, and no drawing force establishing God’s kingdom on earth. Apart from the love of God, there is no kingdom of God from heaven on earth. Yet, who can describe what the love of God is?

John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Matthew 22:36-40: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

The number of those who really know the love of God in a personal, intimate experience is increasing. Many may be heard to voice a desire to know God and to know Him better. To know God is to know love. God is love. The spiritual union and intimacy of knowing (experiencing) the love of God is the greatest fulfillment in life. Earthly accomplishments and human desires all fade into the distance. Life’s highest highs pale in the rapture of experiencing God’s love. There is nothing one would not do, nothing one would not give, to please Him. The only fear is the fear of disappointing Him. The heart’s greatest desire is to hear His voice, to do His bidding, and to be pleasing in His sight.

The intense love between a man and a woman is a natural parallel to the love of God. In the Bible, the Song of Solomon is an expression of spiritual love in natural terms. Anyone who has truly been in love with someone knows to some degree the feelings of loving God. A man in love will do anything to be with the woman he loves. When they are apart, a deep aching and longing fills his chest. Only embracing her and pressing her against his chest will stop the ache and fill the longing. Her every characteristic, even her flaws, seem intensely beautiful and desirable to him. He will look deep into her eyes and say, “I will change the whole world for you. I will climb the highest mountain, defeat the fiercest enemy for you.” They kiss and she melts in his arms and replies, “I am yours forever. I will serve you with my whole heart; only, please, never leave me nor forsake me.” He promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

The world may have difficulty understanding why one in love with God will leave the activities and things of the world to be with Jesus. Religious people, with their rules and strife, may demand for the person in love with Jesus to be more involved with their religious activity. They may never understand why their ceremonies mean so little to the one who is personally experiencing the loving presence of God.

The love of God is love from God and love for God. The love of God flows toward us from God through Jesus. The Holy Spirit in us produces love from within us that flows toward God through Jesus and we feel intense love from Jesus, and we feel intense love for Jesus. We are passionately and desperately in love with Jesus.

LOVE PURIFIES

Jesus’ love motivates us to purity. Our desires are to be, to have, and to do according to His will. No other needs can drive us. He is all we need. His will and ways are always righteous obedience to the Father.

This greatest mystery of love can change harlotry to purity. The love of Jesus can change a rebellious, adulterous bride into a faithful, purified bride without spot or blemish. Jesus, by the love relationship, becomes one flesh with His bride and is manifest in her so that His life becomes flesh on the earth. As His presence appears within us and is revealed through us, we become as He is; we are purified.

Ephesians 5:25-27,29-32: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.

For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

1 John 4:7-9: Beloved let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

1 John 4:12b-13, 16,19: If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. We love Him because He first loved us.

Paramount Transformational Power

There is no power greater than the power of love. Nothing else can transform the world. No other power or force can overpower love. Nothing can neutralize the inherent power flowing within love. Every work of evil in man can be neutralized by love. Nothing can conquer love and there is nothing that love cannot conquer.

God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him. Every aspect of man’s life in the world can be transformed by love. Every burdensome weight and stressful oppression of man can be fully relieved by love. In a very practical and real way, the love of God in a person will transform his or her life. The love of God in a large number of people will transform areas of the world. The love of God in all people will transform the entire world. In a real and practical way, the world can be transformed into the kingdom of God.

It is impossible to abide in God and His love and not be a transforming agent in the world.

Unlove is the absence of God and His love. Life in the fallen world is based in unlove. Every aspect of natural man’s life in the fallen world is guided by the ways of unlove.

Mankind is designed to abide in God and His love, and God in him. Great emptiness characterizes the lives of people whose inherent need for God’s love is unfulfilled. The neediness in mankind can never be fulfilled without love. The desperate need for more and more of something to fill the emptiness leads to competition, greed, strife, fear, pride, and every negative, stressful, destructive force known to man. The entire world becomes filled with strife. War is everywhere and every person competes against others. All of the problems of the world stem from this basic lack in mankind.

Husbands and wives fight and divorce. Employees strive against and deceive employers. Employers exploit employees. People climb over one another in a competitive effort to attain a higher position. Customers strive with merchants and merchandisers take advantage of customers. Law enforcement fights with criminals in an attempt to enforce thousands of laws enacted in an attempt to control the deceit and violence of the people. The whole world becomes a battlefield. Everything in business and all of life revolves around trying to get more while giving the least possible to get it. Even the highest of charitable human motives are mixed with hypocritical values of “What’s in it for me?” All this and much more exist because of the lack of love abiding in mankind.

Do you see how God’s love in man can alleviate all need and stop all strife of the world? No more wars, no more crime and, eventually, no more sickness, no more disease. Some would say, “Yes, but it is not possible for man to love and live this way,” and they would almost be right. Until Jesus came, man had failed to abide with God in His love. Christ Jesus did what others did not do and lived as one with God in the Holy Spirit. The GOOD NEWS is that Christ Jesus can now live in people by the Holy Spirit. Thus, the potential now exists for all to have Christ’s life abiding within. Through Christ all can now abide in God and His love. We can now bring the paramount, transforming power of God’s love into practical reality in the world through Christ in us by the Holy Spirit. Christ in His people can destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3:8: For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

The greatest mystery of the kingdom of God is the transformational power of love. The world has already been greatly changed by the love of God expressed in the cross of Christ Jesus. No other person in all of our world’s history has had as great a transformational effect as Christ Jesus. Now, the LIFE OF JESUS is set to transform every area of life in the world. Through Christ Jesus living in them individuals are transformed. By LOVE, individuals filled with Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit, can transform families, businesses, schools, media, cities, nations and the world.

Keep on Pursuing Love
It Will Never Fail,

Ron McGatlin

http://www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net

UNIVERSAL LAWS

Posted: April 18, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Parents, teaching
Tags: God's love, kingdom growth, Kingdom teaching, radical disciples, Spirit led life, The Kingdom of God, worldly kingdom

GOD HAS ESTABLISHED UNCHANGING LAWS THAT GOVERN ALL OF HIS CREATION.

THE EFFECTS OF THESE LAWS ARE PREDICTABLE, DO NOT VARY, AND ARE THE SAME FOR EVERYONE.

ONLY GOD WHO MADE THE UNIVERSAL LAWS CAN CHANGE OR OVERRULE THEM.

Alignment with God’s Universal Laws causes an easy flow of successful life as we flow with the order and empowerment of God.

Misalignment with God’s Universal Laws causes a stressful, difficult fight as one attempts to succeed while hindered by much disorder and destruction apart from the flow of God.

Moving in the same direction as the flow of God’s universal design produces good life. Moving across or against the lines of God’s flow brings great disorder as strong forces of God’s universal laws attempt to realign us with the direction of His flow of life.

Men study the effects of the universal laws and refer to them as laws of science or nature. Laws less understood by man, and not definable as science or nature may be referred to as mysteries or mystery laws.

Secular education is the study of the effects of the universal laws. We call these studies physics, biology, botany, chemistry, psychology, etc. Men combine and arrange this knowledge into logical systems of study to accomplish specific goals or works. These systems of study may be called engineering, agriculture, medicine, electronics, etc.

If we are to succeed in life and walk in the kingdom of God lifestyle, we must with the universal laws of God. Our every endeavor must be aligned with and in accord with these laws of creation or it will result in failure. Being aligned with universal laws and in accord with God’s plan assures good success in our life experience.

Natural man seeks to achieve success by using his intellect to devise systems for working with the universal laws of God. To the degree that he is able to understand and align with these universal laws, he succeeds. However, because natural man’s understanding of the universal laws is always incomplete, especially the “mystery” laws, he never totally succeeds and is always searching.

The effects of universal laws are obvious; but, the laws, themselves, are spirit and cannot be seen. They originate in God, Who is Spirit, and emanate from Him as spiritual energy. In John 3:8, Jesus compares spiritual things to wind. You can hear and see its effects, but you cannot see the wind or tell where it comes from or where it goes. All true science researched to its deepest origin disappears into the spiritual and can be investigated no further by natural means. It becomes a mystery and can only be understood only by spiritual revelation from God. Things that appear supernatural may be very natural according to the mystery or spiritual laws.

An example of one of these mysteries is the seed. How the living pattern of an oak tree, with all its limbs, life systems, bark and leaf definitions and majestic shape, is stored up in the simple light-brown matter of an acorn, is more than intellect can fathom. Another example is found in the basic function of cell multiplication. A biology textbook might say something like, “The cells decide to divide and do so,” which simply means, “we don’t have the foggiest idea why cells divide and multiply”. Let’s look at the atom as another example. Energy somehow changes form and becomes matter. How does energy get changed into electrons, protons, and neutrons? Where did the energy come from and who gave the command for it to change its form?

Universal laws were spoken forth by and continue to emanate from the Spirit, Almighty God. All creation came into being and continues to exist by the intelligent design and released power of the one Spirit, triune God.

Hebrews 11:3: By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Colossians 1:16-19: For by Him (Jesus) all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might have preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell.

Hebrews 1:2-3: …has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, Whom He has appointed heir of all things, through Whom also He made the worlds; Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power…

Jesus fully understands the universal laws, including the mystery laws, and has complete power over them. We have potential access to Jesus, His understanding and power through the Holy Spirit. As Jesus lives in us and we are led by His Spirit, we can live as Christ lives in the world. Jesus demonstrated His authority over universal law as He raised the dead, healed the deformed, the sick and the blind with a word or a touch. How many laws of science and nature bowed to the Master as He walked on the churning sea, or with a word quieted the raging storm?

Jesus demonstrated His understanding of all things as He spoke forth fathomless, kingdom wisdom and the unraveling of mysteries in simple stories about ordinary things. The riches and the depths of wisdom are yet being revealed from these simple parables. Unlocking this wisdom and applying it in our lives can be very productive.

God, unlike natural man, has perfect understanding of all His universal laws. In Christ we have the potential to hear and obey the Spirit of God. Walking in the Spirit produces a life fully in alignment with the universal laws.

Universal laws are universal scientific realities of creation. For our understanding, they must be distinguished from the directive, instructional, behavioral laws given to man by the written or spoken Word of God. The instructional rules or laws are given to help us align with the universal laws of creation.

Rules or Instructional Law

If obeyed the instructional law will cause people to be aligned with His universal laws of creation, even if they don’t understand about the universal laws. Specific rules are for people who may not understand the greater principles of the universal laws. In the Old Testament, rules or instructional laws were given, which, if obeyed, caused the people to live more successfully.

For example, the Old Testament people of God were told not to eat the fat of the meat. They knew nothing of cholesterol or any of the other potential health hazards of eating fat. However, if they obeyed the instruction, they prospered. They were also told to rest the land every seventh year, which allowed it to replenish itself. Again, they may not have understood fully about fertilizers, etc. But, if they adhered to the instructional law, they were more prosperous. They were also instructed not to closely intermarry. They did not understand genetics, but God did.

Joshua 1:7: “Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.”

The instructions from God are not for the purpose of limiting His children’s fun or to prevent us from gaining wealth. On the contrary, His rules are keys for our success in life. They will bring us into alignment with the universal laws and enable us to really enjoy life. A life of obedience to God is a very exciting and prosperous adventure and is characterized by inner peace, real joy, and the fruits of righteousness.

In the New Testament, Jesus explains the instructions more clearly. He gives more in-depth understanding of the intent of the rules. He teaches principles which, if understood and obeyed, will bring us to real success and prosperity in all areas of life. He speaks of purity and righteousness that exceeds rule keeping, and flows naturally from a power source of inner love for God and man. He speaks clearly of a self-sacrificing lifestyle and a deeper level of commitment, which leads to abundant life. He also speaks clearly specifically commanding us to love one another, love our enemies and love God with all our heart. However, He also speaks plainly of the hatred of the world coming against us. He speaks these things plainly and directly.

Yet, the deep and great mysteries regarding the rule and dominion of earth are spoken figuratively and in parables that can only be received by spiritual revelation. The great understanding of how to flow and work with God’s universal laws, some of the most valuable instructions of the kingdom of God are veiled in symbolic language and appear as foolishness to the natural man.

By the gifts and leadership of the Holy Spirit, the spiritual man can receive the revelation of Christ Jesus and His kingdom principles, which will align him with universal laws and produce good success in his life.

Ephesians 1:17-19: ….that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the workings of His mighty power.

Receiving Jesus’ revelation of the kingdom of God can bring us practical keys of spiritual wisdom. These keys and principles can help us determine every situation in such a way that it will bring us into alignment with universal law that leads to an abundant, victorious, overcoming life. Few men, if any, have fully tapped into the revelation of kingdom living. However, all who have come close discover that all things are becoming possible to them and that victory is their normal way of life. They also become aware that they are misunderstood and misjudged by those who are not yet hearing and applying kingdom wisdom.

We are about to attempt to reach into and touch the ancient wisdom of God, the deeper, hidden mysteries of the kingdom of God. It is the knowledge of this wisdom that makes the difference between the extraordinary and the ordinary. Probably most of us have wondered at some time why some men achieve greater levels of accomplishment than we can even think while others, with equal or perhaps even greater natural ability, struggle desperately for very meager achievements. Not everyone will hear the kingdom wisdom that can transform their lives from the ordinary to the extraordinary and can bring them to levels of life they have not even dreamed of.

“He, who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Keep on Pursuing Love
It Will Never Fail,

Ron McGatlin

http://www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net

THE HEART-TREE (Continued) DEALING WITH THE BAD TREE

Posted: April 12, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
Tags: God's love, kingdom growth, Kingdom living, Kingdom teaching, radical disciples, worldly kingdom

THE HEART-TREE (Continued)

DEALING WITH THE BAD TREE

Most people in the world today are at some stage of this life-structure. It is the only life-structure available to those without God; and many Christians are, to some degree, in bondage to the bad heart-tree life-structure. We have not known fully the ministry of Jesus to set the captives free, give sight to the blind, proclaim the opening of the prison, set at liberty the bruised, and heal the brokenhearted.

We have tried to deal with bad actions by demanding that individuals simply stop doing the bad deeds. That is like getting a baseball bat and knocking the fruit off the tree. It may help for a while, but not for long. The tree is still there and will soon produce the same fruit again.

Then we became a bit wiser and decided we had to deal with the lust. Getting rid of the lust is like getting out a pruning saw and cutting off the limbs of the tree. It will help a little longer; but, eventually, the limbs will grow back because the trunk of need and rebellion is still standing.

Now, we get out our chain saw and cut down the trunk of the tree. We tell people to stop their rebellion and to control their fear and pride. It takes a little longer this time; but you guessed it. The tree will grow back from the root. Even when we tell them to dig out the root of bitterness by forgiving everyone from the heart, we are leaving them with a damaged heart. The gaping hole and torn soil left after extracting the root is open and fertile for the next seed of rejection that comes along. The seed of rejection will be planted in their heart-soil and will begin the process all over again. Until the soil of the heart is healed, the ministry is not finished. That is why Jesus said, I am come to heal the brokenhearted.

Luke 4:18-22 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to preach the acceptable (favorable) year of the Lord Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.

Matthew 3:10: And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matthew 15:13: But He answered and said, Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.

Isaiah 61:1b: He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound …

The ministry of Jesus to heal the broken heart is brought forth today by the Holy Spirit to heal the inner wounds in our spirits and souls. The soul includes the mind, will, and emotions. Jesus will heal the hurting memories in our mind, our shattered emotions, crushed will, and wounded spirit.
We appropriate the ministry of Jesus through prayer. In sincere prayer we begin to turn from the old life-structure and speak forth its cutting down, rooting out and healing of the heart-soil.

The first work of appropriating the ministry of Jesus by the Holy Spirit is recognition of our bad lifestyle and truly repenting. No longer blaming someone else, we must truly repent and turn from our actions.
Ask Jesus to help you remove the entire heart-tree from the roots to the fruit. In faith, speak the end of the life-structure in the name of Jesus.
Command all the powers of darkness to be gone from you in the name of Jesus.
Forgive everyone who may have had a part in planting the old life-structure.
Ask Jesus by the Holy Spirit to fill your heart with His love. Believe when you pray and you shall have it.

Isaiah 61:3-4: … to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.

We must then replant our heart-soil with the seeds that will produce a kingdom of God life-structure. The good heart-tree will grow as naturally as the bad one and will produce beautiful fruit in your life. All the love and affirmation needed is in the intimate presence of God. Come to Him with empty heart-soil and ask Him to plant His life-structure in your heart-soil.

The seeds of unconditional love, acceptance, mercy, grace, and forgiveness flowing through affirming attitude of God will plant the root system of the love of Jesus with all its beautiful tributary roots filling your heart.

GOD’S KINGDOM PATTERN

THE GOOD TRUNK

Always, without exception, the trunk of the tree that grows upon the root of the love of Jesus is SUBMISSION. A walk of obedience and submission to God and to authorities that He has set in place will naturally flow from hearts filled with the love of Jesus.

Remember that this is not something we can work up by striving within ourselves. It is planted in us and naturally grows from the seed of love. It is an easy yoke of freedom.
The trunk of our life-structure of submission and obedience is characterized by FAITH and HUMILITY. We know that we are loved. We know God loves us and that He is able to control those over us and around us so that His love will eventually flow through them as well. Therefore, since God loves me and those over me and around me love me, all my needs will be met. I don’t have to worry about taking care of myself by myself. It is easy for me to have faith, to trust and believe. So, I feel secure, confident, safe, self-assured, and considerate of others.
I also know that God has supplied my needs, not myself. So, I feel HUMBLE, thankful, and meek. This leads to a gentle, caring, and yielding attitude toward others. The central characteristic of the good heart-tree life-structure is a sense of ABUNDANCE, a feeling of having all we need and more. It doesn’t matter how much or how little we have, we feel no sense of lack, no driving wants or frustrating needs in our heart.

Psalm 23:1: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires (or wants) of your heart.

Philippians 4:19: And my God shall supply all your need (or lack) according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

THE GOOD LIMBS

The limbs of our life-structure grow out of the overflowing abundance of our life. Our desire is no longer to take from others, but to give to others from the overflowing rivers of living water from within. The limbs of our tree on which our life-fruit is to be borne are Desire to Give, Desire to Serve, Desire to Minister, and Desire to Build Others.

THE GOOD FRUIT AND THE SEED

The attitudes, words and actions of our life-structure are GOOD DEEDS and GOOD SEEDS. We are free to do what we want to do according to the desire of our hearts. All we do and say is giving in nature and brings blessing to those around us. Our work becomes fun as we let the love of God flow to others through the things we do.

The seeds we sow in the heart-soil of others around us are exactly the same that were sown into our own heart-soil. Love, acceptance, mercy, grace, and forgiveness are sown through an affirming attitude. The kingdom of God is reproduced in the hearts of our wives, husbands, children, and others.

Remember again that the wonderful life-structure of the good heart-tree is not something we can fake. And it is not something we can make happen by trying to do it. No amount of human effort or sacrifice can enable us to have faith, humility, a sense of abundance, desire to serve and give, intimacy with God, or good actions and deeds.

We must receive the seed of the resurrected life of Jesus the Christ. A tree grows from a seed. Natural growth will occur in our heart-soil when the seed is planted and maintained. There must be cleared, quality soil available in which to plant the seed. If another tree occupies the soil, there is no room for the new tree to grow. The new tree must be watered by the Spirit and fed by the Word.

THE GOOD BIRDS

Certain kinds of birds are attracted to the good fruit of the Good Heart-Tree. They are SPIRITS of enlightenment. Truth, wisdom, understanding and revelation come to dwell in the limbs of our Good Heart-tree. We are open to receive the light of God, which flows readily into our lives. We can hear and obey the direction of God for our lives. We are able to have intimate communication with God. His truth is revealed to us from His Word by His Spirit. We can hear and understand spiritual truth with clarity. Deeper reality from heaven is revealed to our open hearts. We have enlightened ability to discern truth from error.

Isaiah 11:2: The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

Ephesians 1:17-18a: … that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened …

1 John 5:6b, 4:6b: And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

NO WALLS

Not only are we open to the heavens and able to intimately relate to God, we also are able to intimately relate to others. We are open and transparent. There is no need for a wall of defense. We are able to give and receive love from others. Since we are giving and receiving love from others from the side, and relating to God openly from above, our lives are filled with life. There is no opportunity for loneliness, boredom, or depression to overpower and defeat us.

Ephesians 2:14: For He Himself is our peace, Who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of division …

1 Corinthians 13:13: And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

We may suffer persecution and enter into difficult times of darkness. Tests and trials may come, and we may again battle with the enemies of our soul. But, love will never fail. Hope, though it may grow dim, will never go out. And we will emerge from the battle with stronger faith, more filled with the light and life of God, more solidly convinced of His love, more prepared to manifest His glory and rule and reign with Him.
THE DOUBLE HEART TREE
James 1:8 …he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Have you ever felt that your life, since becoming a Christian, was much like a roller-coaster ride? If you haven’t, perhaps you have known someone that was on fire for God for a season and then was lower than dirt for a season. Then, they would get back up to the mountaintop for a while, just to slide back down again into the same old trash only sometimes worse than before. Unfortunately this is a much too common scenario among Christians. It certainly was a picture of my early years as a Christian.
There is a tendency among some Christians to accept this as normal, It is reality for us to meet challenges and sometimes feel less than living on the mountaintop. But it is not needful for Christians to fall back into the pit or the ways of the pit from which Jesus redeemed them. The enemy loves to use our backsliding to beat us with guilt and to punch holes in our faith. He tells us, See, your not saved; you’re a rotten, stinking sinner, a hypocrite; you can’t serve God.
We must be missing something somewhere. The roller-coaster Christians may have received Jesus as savior, committed their life to Him as much as they knew how, and followed the instructions from their church as best they could. In other words, they have planted the good seed in their heart and cared for it as best they could. And their good tree has experienced a good measure of growth. So, what is wrong? Why are they so double-minded and unstable?
The double-minded heart-tree is one in which the good heart-tree has found enough soil to begin to grow, but the bad heart-tree has not been cut down and uprooted.
These Christians may function in one tree for a period of time and then suddenly switch over to the other lifestyle. They may switch to the good tree on Sunday and back to the bad tree on Monday. Or they may live in the good tree Sunday through Friday and switch to the other on Saturday night. They will live all the way, one way or the other depending on which tree they are functioning in. This is not a blended mental condition. It is a sudden change from one set of life patterns to the other, much like changing channels on a TV set.
Sometimes they may be in the good tree for six months, a year, or longer and then suddenly shift back to the old structure and surprising everyone around them, including themselves. Some event or situation may trigger a seemingly automatic shift. The individual may not have made a conscious decision to change. It just happened before they realized what was going on. When they are in one tree, it is like the other one never existed. They may wonder, how in the world could I have thought that way? How could I have ever thought all that wild stuff was fun? Or How could I have thought all that church stuff was so great? They are unstable in all their ways and tossed about.
The answer is to get the bad heart-tree forever cut down, rooted out, and the soil healed in order that the good tree can take over the whole heart and flourish. When the old life-structure is gone, there is great freedom to walk continuously in the good heart-tree life-structure.
Keep on Pursuing Love
It Will Never Fail,

Ron McGatlin

http://www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net

PREPARING THE BRIDE

Posted: April 9, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching
Tags: Bride of Christ, Christian life, Kingdom teaching, radical christianity, radical disciples, Spirit led life

The mature church must become the body of Christ, a living organism, a network of spiritually-connected cells and parts, individuals emptied of self, filled with Christ. It must be without man’s leadership or man’s structure. There will be no human hierarchy in the Bride. One individual will not rule over another, but all will serve one another. Christ Jesus will spiritually rule within each individual and serve as overall Head of the church thereby establishing spiritual structure, not human. In the natural, the head rules a healthy body, life from the head sends signals to each individual part and every cell responds in obedience to the head. So it is in the Body of Christ.

Much of the church is sick; much like a person would be if any part failed to obey the head. The great apostasy of the past continues to affect the health of the body today. Men establish themselves as heads and develop hierarchical systems of church rule. This defection from the true Head is fostered by the enemy and is carried out by a spirit of antichrist, which opposes or replaces Christ as Head. Religious spirits in the church sustain spirits of spiritual blindness, darkness, deception, and delusion.

The enemy has effective tools for stirring men and causing them to have strong desires to rule. The enemy must work in and through the individual parts of the Body because he cannot affect the true Head.

Our purpose in this part of Kingdom Growth Guides is to expose the enemy’s schemes and plans to rule, and to help us recognize true patterns of God’s rule, which can produce the overcoming life, the kingdom of God lifestyle.

People are the church.

The church is sick because individuals are sick. The enemy’s plan is to cause strong needs or desires within the individuals. To accomplish this, he must prevent them from being in contact with the reality of the love of God.He uses negative life-experiences and deceiving spirits to blind individuals to God’s love and power. This causes each individual to become keenly aware of his own needs and to look only to himself to supply them. This self-focus becomes self-centeredness. Selfish thoughts and actions lead to fear, pride, greed, lust, and disobedience to the true Head.

Once a disobedient lifestyle is established, the enemy can bring much inner turmoil and outer conflict thereby causing increasing emotional wounds and spiritual deception. Spiritual darkness, deception, and delusion open the door for occult and other demonic influences. The inner turmoil will eventually produce negative behavior such as aggressiveness, defensiveness, or withdrawal, which can produce conflict, marital strife, racial strife, religious strife, and power struggles in the church as well as in the world.

The strife, turmoil, and conflict cause stress and deterioration of mental, emotional, and physical health. Often the individual will seek escape from the inner turmoil and stress. Many avenues are available that seem to offer some temporary escape, but often lead to more stress and turmoil. Drugs, alcohol, immorality, some kinds of music, sports, gaining wealth, entertainment, withdrawal, overworking, overeating, violence, and religion are some of the common escapes used. The buildup of stress often leads to increased conflict, strife, and more intense power struggles resulting in violence, beatings, murders, and suicides. Sickness and premature deaths then become normal in such a violent society.

Remember, the enemy’s purpose in all this is to cut us off from the knowledge and experience of the love of God. It is easy to see how difficult it will be for a child growing up in this violent culture to even imagine the love of God. Power and strength are seen as synonymous with “mean and violent.” God is often seen as only judgmental, and except the individual be healed in their heart, he cannot begin to know the love of God. The person is, therefore, locked into the bondage of the enemy, doomed to live and die in the torment of inner turmoil and stress. There is truly no rest for the wicked.

Most churchgoers feel that, if they can control their stress and in some way contain it; they are doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances. As someone once asked, “Why are you under the circumstances?”–Implying that there is potential life in Jesus that is over the circumstances. And it is really true. Jesus can totally remove our turmoil and stress not merely help us to live with distress until we die and are relieved of it in heaven someday. We are not talking about perfect circumstances, although they may improve in time. We are talking about living above them now in the real peace of God. As we live in real peace, we become a part of the solution instead of part of the problem. As our lifestyle changes, we stop affecting those around us for bad and start affecting them for good.

Until we can see Jesus the King as He really is, we do not have the power or motivation to move toward ultimate closeness with Him. When we see the true abundant love and magnificent glory of the King, we will decide to move toward Him.Once we experience the reality of the glorious peace and eternal joy found in the King’s presence, we will repent in order to enter intimately into His glorious presence.

Preaching the Cross, personal salvation, the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the indwelling Spirit of Christ are foundational building blocks of the overcoming life. Preaching the kingdom of God now establishes the goal or objective. Teaching God’s kingdom patterns and exposing the enemy’s schemes allow us to see where we are and what changes need to be made. Jesus the Anointed One is our source of power for change.

THE RESTORATION MINISTRY OF JESUS

Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

The restoration ministry of Jesus is the cleansing process that we must go through before we can walk into the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, purified Bride-of-Christ, kingdom-of-God lifestyle. It is the work of Jesus by His grace and power through the Holy Spirit. It is not of man “that any should boast.” Our part in helping one another is to bring forth the Word and the anointing of Christ by the Holy Spirit.

Christ Jesus destroys all the work of the enemy–the work the devil has done, and the work he is doing. Jesus repairs, renews, and rebuilds all the damage inflicted by the enemy. Jesus will establish righteousness, peace, and joy in those who seek Him with their whole heart. He will set free those in bondages created by the enemy. He will bring an end to mourning and a beginning to joy and praise.

1 John 3: 8b: For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

Isaiah 61: 1-4: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable (favorable) year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified, and they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.”

The enemy has inflicted much damage on individuals and, subsequently on the entire planet since Adam released him thousands of years ago in the garden. Primarily, he uses his powers of darkness to affect people and cause them to negatively affect others. If he can prevent someone from knowing and experiencing the love of God, he can devastate their life and cause them to wound many others.

Since Jesus defeated him, the only real power the enemy has is deception. He seeks to prevent us from knowing and believing the power we have over him in Christ. One of his favorite tricks is to make Christians believe he and his demons are not really around any more. He likes to disguise himself as an angel of light and works under cover as a “religious spirit.” This way he can influence Christians away from truth that will expose him. Undetected, he can move them toward a false doctrine that protects him. He can then fan the flames of natural differences to cause painful rejections among the people. Through this pain he can excite the flesh to anger, bitterness, and many negative works.

2 Corinthians 11:14-15:And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

1 Timothy 4:1b: … some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.

The enemy does not use a vast number of schemes. He doesn’t need very many. The ones he uses have been highly perfected over thousands of years of practice and work very effectively on unbelievers and uninformed Christians. His schemes are always designed to pervert the truth of God in order to divert man from the plan of God.

God’s kingdom patterns for life always lead to an abundant life of love, righteousness, peace, and joy. The enemy’s perversion of these patterns always produces unlove, evil, pain, affliction, and despair. Christians may be easily deceived and diverted to an alternate plan if they do not have a clear foundational understanding of God’s kingdom patterns. The best way to recognize a counterfeit is to thoroughly know the real thing. If the enemy cannot totally pervert, he will attempt to divert by drawing attention to some other less important matter.

The restoration ministry of Jesus always involves two processes. One is the tearing down of the old life-structure, and the other is the building of the new. In order to help us recognize and tear down the work of the enemy, and to help us avoid his schemes, it is important to uncover and expose his work and methods.

To begin rebuilding, we must renew our minds to God’s kingdom patterns of abundant life. The world system currently is highly affected by the enemy’s deception. Therefore, it is very easy to be trained in the devil’s perversions and diversions. One need only grow up in a modern, secular family, watch TV and movies, attend public schools and attend an institutional-type church to be grounded in the perversions and diversions of the enemy.

We must be retrained to recognize what is kingdom of God living and what is not kingdom of God living. Our understanding must be renewed to the Word of God. Kingdom-life patterns must be revealed to us. Also, we need to learn to recognize the enemy’s patterns for our lives and the schemes he uses to press us into his perverted ways.

Unfortunately, the institutional church does not often have the power to effectively answer the situation and sometimes fosters the deception by joining with the world system. Churchgoers often respond with hypocritical, legalistic attacks against people while allowing the same or other perversions to operate in their own lives. A Christian under conviction for their own hidden problem may attack others in whom they see the same problem. Such legalistic attacks further wound people and often drive them out for the enemy to further afflict.

Some of my readers at this point are agreeing, “Yeah! I’ve sure seen that over there or in that particular person.” One scheme of the enemy is to divert attention from our need to the problem of others. As the Spirit of God reveals God’s kingdom patterns, the enemy’s workings to pervert them will be uncovered.We must unmask ourselves as the Spirit of Jesus uncovers and exposes the enemy. We must agree with God about our own needs and be willing to allow our old life-structures to be cut down and uprooted in order that the new may grow and flourish in its place.

Matthew 3:10: “And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Matthew 15:13:“Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.”

Isaiah 61: 3b-4a: …that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified, and they shall rebuild the old ruins.

Keep on Pursuing Love
It Will Never Fail,

Ron McGatlin

http://www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net

Radical Disciples – A Remnant Revolution

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The Sons Are Free

“You might be luke-warm if…………………”

The Spirit-Led Are the Sons of God

Little Compromises

NATURAL SUPERNATURAL GROWTH

Called to be radical

THE GREATEST MYSTERY

UNIVERSAL LAWS

THE HEART-TREE (Continued) DEALING WITH THE BAD TREE

PREPARING THE BRIDE