Twelve Potential vs. Reality

Chapter Twelve

Potential vs. Reality

One of the definitions for potential is, “having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future.” According to the Collins English Dictionary;

“If you say that someone or something has potential, you mean that they have the necessary abilities or qualities to become successful or useful in the future… If you say that someone or something has potential for doing a particular thing, you mean that it is possible they may do it.”

Having the potential to become something does not mean that you automatically develop into that something. You can have the potential to become many things in life, but never develop into that which was possible. For example, a man or woman could have been born with incredible athletic or musical abilities but that does not mean that they will excel in either. If they lack the character qualities necessary to be successful in their area of possibility they will most likely never become what they could have been.

Peter tells us that God’s Divine power has given us everything we need (i.e. the potential) in regards to life and godliness through the “true knowledge,” or truth of Christ that, when applied, causes us to become partakers of the Divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). A follower of Christ (i.e. Christian) has been given the potential, or the “right to become the sons of God” which, as I said, is the right of access to the power of the Holy Spirit. This privilege, this potential in Christ is a right that can be denied, though, through rebellion and disobedience.

Peter then gives us a list of qualities that, when becoming ours in increasing measure, will keep us from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of Christ. These qualities are the potential that we have to be an overcomer in Christ, thereby qualifying us to receive the crown of life (Revelation 2:10-11).

Peter continues, saying;

“For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent [“to hasten, to exert oneself”] to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” (2 Peter 1:9-11/NASU)

Potential alone, which are the promises alone, are not enough to have the entrance into eternal life in Christ “abundantly supplied” to you and I. It is only through our diligence in putting these qualities into practice, working together with the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 6:1), that we will never stumble and fall away from Christ.

Not only will we never stumble but it is the only way that we will be qualified to reign and rule with Christ in the coming age. Jesus said to the church in Thyatira;

To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery’— just as I have received authority from my Father. (Revelation 2:26-27/NIV)

Jesus clearly states that the key to receiving His authority over the nations is in becoming an overcomer who does His will, “to the end.” In the same manner, the key to Jesus’ authority while on earth was His submission to the Father’s will.

When we stumble it is because we did not work together with the Holy Spirit. It is mankind’s fallen, independent spirit that fights against God’s will (i.e. the spirit of anti-Christ), thereby not allowing us to fully enter into our potential in Christ.

One of the definitions for charis (khar'-ece), the Greek word we interpret as “grace,” is “the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance). The divine influence upon the heart is the receiving of the potential in Christ granted to all who turn to Him through repentance. The reflection in the life, of His life, is the desired reality that can only occur as we walk in obedience. Sin and rebellion in the Christian’s heart are what cut off the flow of God’s life within us and, therefore, to the world.

Stained Garments

In His message written to the church in Sardis, the Lord warned them to wake up and strengthen the things that were about to die. They had not yet

completed their works. The Lord then told them to remember what they had received and to repent or they would not know at what time He would come to them. Many today within the church are in the same state of spiritual blindness. There were some who were considered to be worthy because they had not “soiled their clothes,” symbolizing their walk of purity with the Lord. They had not stained their garment of salvation.

Jesus then declared to them;

“He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:5-6/NASU)

This is an extremely serious statement that many have, unfortunately, erased from their book of truth. By not persevering in Christ, desiring to do His will to the end so as to become an overcomer, they had caused some heavenly ink written in their name to disappear (in Chapter Twenty Six, Disappearing Ink, we will discuss this further).

May we be encouraged to keep the faith, persevering in obedience to Christ so as not to shrink back in shame at His return which, I believe, is very close. Knowing the time is late, even the midnight hour, the Lord would encourage all of us to remain near Him. To the faithful among His children He declares;

“Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:10-13/NASU)

In the New Testament, James describes the difference between a hearer and a doer of the word of God. He exhorts us, saying;

“…get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” (James 1:21/NIV)

Being able to hear and understand the word of God is not the end itself, but rather the revealing of the way of life that a person who has turned to Christ must still choose whether or not he or she will obey. To obey is to be set free. To disobey after turning to Christ is to remain in bondage.

The word of God CAN save us, IF we hear and then DO what the Spirit is saying. This struggle is every Christian’s. Some sins are easier to overcome while others take longer, possibly even a lifetime.

The Word Of God’s Grace

In his farewell to the elders of the church in Ephesus, Paul warned them that after he left men who were “savage wolves” would come into their midst who would alter the truth. They would do this in an attempt to gain disciples for themselves;

“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:29-32/NIV)

The word of God’s grace is that which “can build you up” and give us our inheritance in Christ. The Greek for “build you up” is oikodomeo (oy-kodom-eh'-o). It’s defined as “to build a house, erect a building.” Metaphorically speaking it means, “to promote growth in Christian wisdom, affection, grace, virtue, holiness, blessedness.”

The Greek for the simple word “can” or, “is able” in other versions of the Bible, is even more significant. It is dunamai (doo'-nam-ahee) which is described as “to be able or possible, to have power.” In this passage of Scripture we understand that it is through the grace of God that we receive access to the power of God that is able to build us up in Christ thereby qualifying us to receive the eternal inheritance in Him.

The issue that I see presently within the church in America, and many other countries where we have exported our harlotries, is the lack of “true knowledge.” God’s people are not being taught the truth from our spiritual leaders pertaining to the matter of God’s building codes. Most have little understanding of the necessity of looking for themselves to have the way revealed in which we MUST go so as to stand firm until the end thereby gaining God’s approval and receive eternal life in Christ.

The truth regarding “the right [“power”] to become the sons of God” (John 1:12) has been removed by savage wolves who have been deceived by the devil. Their false gospel that has been readily accepted as truth by so many in the church who are too lazy to look for themselves will cause them to shipwreck their faith in the great falling away right before the return of Christ if they do not repent (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4).

The exhortation of Paul to, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved [“accepted, pleasing”], a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth [i.e. the gospel]” (2 Timothy 2:15/NIV) is, because of a false sense of security, not taken seriously. Many do not see or understand the need to diligently continue in obedience to Christ in order to be brought to completion, or “perfection” in Him.

The storm that has begun within our land, and our world, will test the integrity of what each of us has built. Only that which has been built up per the Holy Spirit’s guidance rather than the wisdom of men will be left standing.

When Paul and Silas went to the synagogue of the Jews in Berea they found those who looked in the Scriptures to see if what they were being taught was the truth;

“Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed…” (Acts 17:11-12/NASU)

Their eagerness to know the truth resulted in many believing in Jesus Christ, the Truth, as their Messiah. Their searching of the Scriptures “to see whether these things were so” revealed their heart’s desire to know the truth. Because of this they were not seduced and taken captive “through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)

It has been said that we must be careful to not measure the Scriptures by what the man says, but to measure the man by what the Scriptures say. In order to be considered as being “noble-minded” in God’s eyes we must, therefore, take the time to know and understand His word so as to measure properly.

Chapter Thirteen

Acting Wickedly Toward The Covenant

In chapter nine we read in Revelation 2:10-11 that, “He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.” The Greek for “hurt” is adikeo (ad-ee-keh'-o) which means “to hurt, damage, harm.” It’s also defined as “to act unjustly or wickedly, to sin; to wrong someone, to act wickedly toward him.” Interestingly, in the book of Daniel which goes handin-hand with Revelation in regards to prophesying about the last day events, he mentions certain people who “act wickedly toward the covenant. ” (Daniel 11:32/NASU)

In a very detailed account revealed to Daniel regarding future conflicts on earth, he is told of a continuous struggle that lasts for a period of years between a certain king of the North and a king of the South. At one point these two kings whose hearts, he says, are bent on evil will sit down together at a table and lie to each other. This sounds very similar to all of our modern day peace agreements which are always broken. They will never bring peace on earth because only Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, can and will eventually do that.

Daniel is then told the following scenario that will take place between these two kings;

“Then he [the king of the North] will return to his land with much plunder; but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and then return to his own land. At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but this last time it will not turn out the way it did before. For ships of Kittim will come against him; therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become enraged at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard [“respect, favor”] for those who forsake the holy covenant. Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary 72

fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation. By smooth words [“flattery, fine promises”] he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength [“to fasten upon, to be strong, to be firm, to be courageous, to conquer”] and take action.” Daniel 11:28-32/NASU)

The Hebrew for “forsake” is `azab (aw-zab'). It is defined as “to leave, to loose, to forsake, to let go, to depart from, to apostatize.” Those who “forsake the holy covenant” are those who through negligence in their Christian walks have loosed themselves from Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. That which through rebellion and disobedience has been loosed on earth is then loosed in heaven. The great falling away from the faith right before the return of Christ that Paul prophesied of will be by those who “forsake the holy covenant” in Christ.

The smooth words (flattery) of this king that he will use to “turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant” are the same manpleasing, demonic methodology of the “ear-tickling” preachers Paul referred to in his letter to Timothy;

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled [“desirous of hearing something pleasant”], they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4/NASU)

In his letter to the Romans, Paul would once again warn the church of these smooth-talking deceivers that would surely show up in their midst, just as they have today in the church;

“I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.” (Romans 16:17-18/NIV)

This is nothing new among God’s people. His indictment of the Israelites in Isaiah who were rebellious against Him included their desire for smooth words;

“For this is a rebellious people, false sons, sons who refuse to listen to the instruction of the Lord; Who say to the seers, ‘You must not see visions’; and to the prophets, ‘You must not prophesy to us what is right, speak to us pleasant words [“smoothness, flattery”], prophesy illusions.’” (Isaiah 30:9-10/NASU)

The Hebrew for “act wickedly” in Daniel, chapter eleven, is rasha‘ which means “to be wicked, act wickedly.” According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words;

“This verb is derived from the noun rasa‘. There is a similar root in Ethiopic and Arabic, with the respective meanings “to forget” and “to be loose.” This verb appears in 2 Chronicles 6:37: “Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly.”

This is the second definition within the Hebrew words in this passage in Daniel that refers to being loosed. From this we can see that those who can be swayed with smooth words, in particular during the great falling away from Christ at the end of this age, will be those who have acted wickedly toward their covenant with Christ. They have “hurt” their relationship with Christ by turning away from Him and will therefore be “hurt” by the second death. False doctrines have led them to falsely believe, in presumption, that they are secure even when walking in rebellion against Christ. Covenant breaking is still a serious offence.

In contrast, “the people who know their God will display strength [“to fasten upon, to be strong, to be firm, to be courageous, to conquer”] and take action.” They are the conquerors, the overcomers in Christ who will do great and mighty acts in the last days. The King James Version says; “but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” These are the “doers” of God’s word who will “take action” in the end and do great exploits.

To know God is “to perceive, to know by experience, to confess, to acknowledge.” As we learned earlier through Romans 1:28, those who suppressed the truth in unrighteousness, who knew God but did not honor Him as God in their life and had exchanged His glory and truth for a lie, were then given over to a depraved mind to do that which was sinful in God’s eyes. Paul said this took place because “they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God,” or “to acknowledge God any longer.”

Remember, to acknowledge in this passage is “to have, to hold fast, keep, own, possess.” To be given over is “to be given into the hands, or power, of another.” Because they did not think it worthwhile to keep God in their lives 74

through a diligent walk of obedience to His commands, they, like those in Daniel, chose to “act wickedly toward the covenant” thereby loosing themselves from their inheritance in Him (Jeremiah 17:4). By letting go of Christ and not repenting they were given into the power and control of Satan.

By their actions they have denied Jesus Christ from being their Lord (Titus 1:16). Because they did not confess Him before mankind through an exchanged life that they were given access to, revealing themselves as an overcomer, they were overcome by the spirit of antichrist (1 John 4:1-3).

The Power Of God And The Abilities Of Man

In the parable of the talents, Jesus spoke to His disciples about a man who was about to go on a long journey. He said;

“For it [the Kingdom of Heaven] is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.” (Matthew 25:14-15/NASU)

This man, referred to as the master, had entrusted what he owned to his slaves. Jesus said he gave to each of them according to their own ability. When he returned, they would be required to give an account of what they had been given to take care of. There are a couple of words to define in this passage that stood out to me.

The first word is the Greek for “entrusted” which is paradidomi (par-ad-id'o-mee). According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, it’s defined as “to give over into (one's) power or use; to deliver to one something to keep, use, take care of, manage.” The second Greek word is dunamis (doo'-nam-is) which is interpreted as “ability.” It just happens to be taken from dunamai (doo'-namahee) which is the Greek interpreted in Acts 20:32 as “can”, or “is able” which we spoke of in the previous chapter. Dunamis is described as “force, strength, ability, power.”

Through these words, I believe that Jesus is saying He has entrusted to each one of His servants abilities that, when combined with His available power, empower us to fulfill our God-given purpose and call. It’s not by human might or power but by His Spirit that we are able to do His will, as we work together, and become a good and faithful servant.

Within the rest of the parable Jesus shows us that it is these abilities given to us by Him that every Christian will give an account of. We will not be held accountable for what others have been given, but only for our usage of the abilities that we have received from Him.

The Bible tells us the first two servants took what they had received and gained more. Their master then said to them, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:19-23)

The third servant, Jesus said, dug a hole and hid his master’s talents in it. When it was his turn to explain what he had done with His master’s possessions entrusted to him the response was not in the least bit favorable. Jesus said;

“Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless [“useless, unprofitable, good for nothing”] servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” (Matthew 25:24-30/NIV)

Obviously, Jesus is referring to Himself in this parable. While He has been gone, He has entrusted His servants with His possessions. This parable should cause all Christ followers to take a serious look at our lives to determine what kind of servant we are.

To obediently work together with the Holy Spirit who gives us the strength to do what we have been called to do is to also be granted great authority in the age to come, and to enter into “the joy of your Master.” The writer of Hebrews refers to this joy, saying;

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1-3/NIV)

Jesus, who in this parable is referring to His followers, said the wicked, lazy servant who did nothing with that which he was entrusted with had it taken away from him and given to the one with many talents. As if this wasn’t enough, the “worthless slave” was then cast out into the outer darkness, “where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This same place of terrible suffering is described multiple times by Jesus (Matthew 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13). One of them is similar to the passage we have been looking at.

The disciples had asked Jesus about His return and the end of the age. During His discussion with them He again spoke of the faithful and wise servant and the wicked servant. Because the servant was faithful in giving food at the “proper time” to those with whom he had been given charge of, Jesus said;

“I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.” (Matthew 24:47/NIV)

The wicked servant who was not so attentive to his Christian walk, Jesus said, was not so fortunate;

“But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 24:48-51/NIV)

We dare not miss what Jesus warned His disciples of in these two passages. In the first one He clearly states that if His servants do nothing with what He has given them, that even what they have will be taken away and they will be cast out from His presence into a horrific place. The second is even more alarming. Jesus said that not only will the wicked servant be assigned a place with the hypocrites where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, but that they will be cut in pieces! This should place the fear of the Lord to keep our wandering hearts in check.

Where is the doctrine of eternal security in this!? All that doctrine of demons has done in the Body of Christ is to produce a whole lot of unprepared servants of Jesus who, with a false sense of security, will shrink back in shame at His coming.

Interestingly enough, according to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, one of the definitions for the Greek word we interpret in English as “wicked” in Matthew, chapter 25 where Jesus describes the lazy servant of Jesus is

“hurtful.” This is another description of those in the Body of Christ who have “acted wickedly toward the covenant” and will be hurt by the second death.

A Heart Condition

In the parable of the sower, Jesus describes various heart conditions, soil being the picture, of those who hear the word (seed) of His invitation to turn to Him in repentance and be saved. One of the heart types is compared to that of rocky soil. Jesus said;

“Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy [the same ones who received Him in John 1:12]; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.” (Luke 8:13/NASU)

Rocky soil Christians are those who believe for a while, but instead of trusting God during the time of temptation, looking to Him for strength to stand firm and thereby grow more deeply rooted in Christ through their access to the power of the Holy Spirit, they give in. In so doing they become a “shallow-root” Christian that cannot withstand the strong winds of opposition.

Every Christian, especially early on in their walk, has experienced this moment of defeat. It is not meant to condemn us but rather to reveal our need of dependence upon the Lord to be an overcomer, in particular in our area of weakness. Standing firm allows for the roots in Him to grow deeper, bringing us to a greater level of maturity and stability in Him. This is what trials are designed by God to do. Times of testing are the Divine method of growing up in Christ.

When we choose to obey, our hearts are strengthened, developing our trust in His faithfulness toward us. When we choose to not obey, we can be restored through repentance, learning in the process what to do, or not to do, when faced with our next trial or temptation.

Believers in Christ who continue in sin without repentance, after turning to Him, are those whom Paul describes in the great falling away from the faith that will take place right before His return (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12). They are the sons and daughters of destruction who exalted themselves rather than Christ, shipwrecking their faith. They chose to sit on the seat of His throne within them, making themselves lord. Their continuous rebellion against Christ’ lordship caused them to drift away from the love of the truth that could have saved them if they would have stood firm until the end (2 Thess. 2:10; Matthew 10:22, 24:13; Rev. 3:11).

They have the appearance of being godly but, by choice, have denied the power of God within them to be an overcomer. Because of this they are always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of truth which they

oppose vigorously. They have been given over to their corrupt mind. As far as the completion of their faith is concerned, they have been disqualified from the race of salvation and the prize of eternal life (2 Timothy 3:1-9, 1 Corinthians 9:27). This is the extreme danger in resisting and thereby grieving the Holy Spirit.

Chapter Fourteen

The Perfect Result

ccording to James, our trials are designed to produce endurance, which means, like a runner, to keep going in the race we have entered in Christ, with steadfastness of spirit. He says;A “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing [“proving”] of your faith produces endurance [“steadfastness, a patient enduring, a cheerful or hopeful endurance”]. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect [“complete, finished”] and complete [“complete in every part, entire, whole”], lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4/NASU)

As every runner knows, a good start does not guarantee a good finish. Endurance developed through training is necessary for completing the race. We must remain near the Lord, trusting Him during our times of proving so that our roots in Him will grow deep thereby enabling us to weather the storms of life and complete the course laid out before us.

As stated more than once already, as we obediently work together with the Holy Spirit, not receiving His grace toward us in vain (2 Corinthians 6:1), He will bring us to completion, or perfection in Himself, at His return. This is our hope of gaining His glory, of becoming His sons through hearing and doing the truth (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).

James goes on to say in his discussion of being a doer of the word, not just a hearer;

“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude [“to deceive by false reasoning”] themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was [2 Peter 1:9]. But one who looks intently 80

[“to look carefully into, inspect curiously”] at the perfect [same Greek word in James 1:2-4] law, the law of liberty, and abides by it [NKJV…and continues in it], not having become a forgetful [“negligence”] hearer but an effectual doer [KJV/NKJV – a doer of the work], this man will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:22-25/NASU)

The law of liberty, the law of freedom in Christ is the freedom to choose. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines liberty as; “The quality or state of being free, freedom from physical restraint, the power to do as one pleases, the power of choice.” The English by Oxford Dictionary defines it as; “The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views.”

A free nation, therefore, is one that allows for its citizens to freely make choices, within the boundaries of the laws that govern it. This is the picture of the Kingdom of God that has been expressed throughout history within free nations. Their fall is the other example of what occurs when a free people misuse and neglect their freedom. It is this same neglect of their freedom in Christ through which Christians can also fall away with an apostate heart.

One day, while teaching His disciples, Jesus made the following declaration to them regarding the connection between not doing what He says and the great falling away from Him among His followers;

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:21-27/NASU)

Per Jesus, the falling away from Him will occur among His disciples who have been given ears to hear His word, but do not do what He says. The quickly approaching storm of His righteous judgment will reveal the truth regarding the foundation of our faith. If we have given the Lord lip service

without obedience we will fall during the flood of His wrath, and as He said, great will be that fall.

After declaring the supremacy of Christ over angels, and of His authoritative word over theirs, the author of Hebrews says;

“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (Hebrews 2:1-3/NASU)

To “neglect” our salvation is, by definition, “to be careless of it, to make light of it.” The writer of Hebrews is warning us to be careful not to “drift away ” from what we have heard, believing that we are above judgment when we walk in careless neglect of the right to His salvation granted to those who have received Him. Freedom in Christ is not a free pass to continue in sin with an unrepentant heart.

Later in the book of Hebrews we are given an even stronger warning concerning our negligence in handling this great salvation we have been given the right to. It says in chapter ten;

“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received [again, these are those who received Him in John 1:12] the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled [which means “to treat with rudeness and insult, to treat with insulting neglect”] the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the

blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of

grace? For we know him who said, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ and again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:26-31/NIV)

We cannot say this warning is strictly for unbelievers. This passage clearly states the context of those who will receive this judgment as those who have “received the knowledge of the truth, ” making it their own, and are then disrespectfully treating the blood of the covenant that sanctified them (an unbeliever is never referred to as being sanctified in the Bible), and “insulted the Spirit of grace. ”

To make his point even clearer the writer of Hebrews says; “The Lord will judge his people. ” This warning is irrefutably directed toward those of us who

have turned to Christ, telling us to be careful how we respond to the words of God spoken to us through Jesus and the freedom we possess in Him.

The fear of the Lord is to keep us from drifting away from our secure place in Christ. The doctrine of demons remove this healthy guardrail of fear and respect, stating it can never happen, even when you continue in willful rebellion after receiving Christ.

The Law Of Liberty

Countries with oppressive governments do not allow much freedom for their citizens. They are told what they can and cannot do by those who rule over them with an unyielding hand of control. This is a picture of those who are held in bondage to sin and, therefore, the oppression of the devil.

In their book America’s Providential History, Mark Beliles and Stephen McDowell give the following explanation of what they refer to as “God’s Pathway To Liberty”;

“God’s pathway to liberty is from the internal to the external. God’s desire is for an eternal expression of His Kingdom on earth. Yet it must first begin in the heart of man, and then it will naturally express itself externally in all aspects of society.

The Bible reveals that ‘where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty’ (2 Corinthians 3:17). When the Spirit of the Lord comes into the heart of a man, that man is liberated. Likewise, when the Spirit of the Lord comes into a nation, that nation is liberated. The degree to which the Spirit of the Lord is infused into a society (through its people, laws, and institutions), is the degree to which that society will experience liberty in every realm (civil, religious, economics, etc.).

Christ came to set us free (Gal. 5:1, 3). Spiritual freedom or liberty ultimately produces political freedom. External political slavery reflects internal spiritual bondage…

Christian reforms within a nation do not begin with external or violent means (quite a contrast to Marxist/Communist “reforms” we see today), but they begin within…

Through Christ, God releases the “Law of Liberty” into society through the cleansed hearts of men (James 1:25 and 2:12). The self-governing Christian is governed by the internal law written on his heart interpreted by the Holy Spirit…

The more a nation applies His law, the more that nation will prosper and walk in liberty. The degree which a people apply the law personally [doers of the word, not hearers only] will be reflected through their governmental institutions, for the law flows from the heart of man out to the nation.” (p.2627)

As we just saw in James 1:22-25, blessings in what we do flow through those who continue abiding in the law of liberty. Jesus said to a group of Jews that had believed in Him;

“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:31-36/NASU)

The Greek we interpret in English as “continue” is meno [men'-o] which means “to remain, abide, to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy).” For the Christian, continuing in the word through obedience, repenting when we sin, is the way to continued freedom in Christ. Remaining near Him is to remain in Him.

We have been given the promises of God in His word that if we will persevere, getting back up when we stumble through confession of our sin, that eventually He will set us free indeed. This is why the devil attacks me when I sin against God’s word. He knows that I desire to obey, and have been given much in regards to the truth of God’s will. When I fall into a sin, feeling terrible because of conviction, he then heaps great condemnation on me in hope that I will not turn back to the Lord with a repentant heart and be restored.

I believe His plan is to get us so discouraged that we will give up looking for deliverance, even justifying our sin in some way, and to stop working together with the Holy Spirit in His pruning process of sanctification. In other words, he wants us to quit in hopes of having us remain in bondage under his power of influence. John exhorts us not to walk in agreement with the devil, saying;

“The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8/NASU)

To be “free indeed” (John 8:36) is, by definition of the Greek, to be that which is “truly, in reality, in point of fact [free], as opposed to what is pretended, fictitious, false, or conjectural [“hypothetical, speculative, theoretical”].” This is the power of truth, and the reason why the devil works so hard at injecting falsehood into the church. It is only by the hearing, and

then doing of the truth that we will, in actuality, be set free rather than in doctrinal theory only. Thankfully, unless we resist Him, the Holy Spirit is there to help us by providing His strength for our weakness.

The Spirit of the Lord is the only way for mankind to experience true freedom, an eternal freedom. Paul said;

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Corinthians 3:17/NASU)

As I said earlier, a person can be living in a free country and yet be enslaved on the inside. Conversely, someone may be living in an oppressive nation and experiencing the freedom within that only Christ can supply.

It is only through our continuing in obedience to “the perfect law, the law of liberty” that we, the Body of Christ will receive the “perfect result” of being made “perfect [“mature”] and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:4) This is the ultimate goal of our faith; complete freedom in Christ!

Paul refers to this Divine liberty when he writes of the building up of the Body of Christ, of our attaining “to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness [“completion”] of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13) This is the perfecting of the Body of Christ, of our being made complete in every part, a body without blemish or defect, wholly sanctified. I see this glorious moment drawing near.

In his letter to the church in Thessalonica, Paul said;

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely [“complete to the end”]; and may your spirit and souls and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23/NASU)

This is the “perfect result” ; our eternal preservation as a people “without blame” at the coming of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!

Chapter Fifteen

Wholly Illumined With No Dark Part

The Bible declares that when Jesus returns, His Body will finally be a complete, perfected Body that is full of light, with no darkness in it. We will be wholly illumined, full of God’s glory, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.

This is the promised hope of gaining God’s glory that those who the writer of Hebrews described as having great faith never received. We are told this occurred so that apart from us they would not be made “perfect” (Hebrews 11:39-40). I believe the day draws near when we will finally become one complete Body in Christ that is full of His light.

In a discussion with His disciples regarding light and darkness, Jesus made the following statement;

"If therefore your whole [“complete”] body is full of light, with no dark part [“a division or share”] in it, it will be wholly [“completely”] illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays." (Luke 11:36/NASU)

In order for the Body of Christ to gain God’s glory and be “wholly illumined” there will have to be the removal of all darkness from our midst. The intense trials of the final days of this age will accomplish this. It will be used to cleanse all remaining “dark parts” from within each one of us who are alive and remain at Christ’ return. We will either allow the fire of God to purify us, separating us from internal darkness, or it will separate us from Christ. Either way, as in the beginning of creation, God will once again separate the light from the darkness per our choice.

In John we read of Jesus’ last supper with His disciples. During their time together, Jesus washed their feet, giving them an example of what He wanted them to do to each other;

“Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. And so He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, ‘Lord, do You wash my feet?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What I do you do not realize now, but you shall understand hereafter.’ Peter said to Him, ‘Never shall You wash my feet!’ Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no part [“a division or share, lot, destiny”; same Greek word interpreted as “part” in Luke 11:36] with Me.’ Simon Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.’ Jesus said to him, ‘He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.’ For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’” (John 13:5-11/NAS)

When Jesus tried to wash Peter’s feet he strongly objected. Jesus answered him, saying; “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” In other words, “Peter, if you don’t allow me to wash your dirty feet, the part that is the closest to the earth and therefore becomes ‘unclean’ through close contact, you will have no part, or share in Me. You will never reach your destiny (potential) in Me.”

The present issue of the Body of Christ needing cleansing from all dark parts within us is that serious. This is the last washing by Jesus of His “feet,” the portion of His Body on earth. We dare not refuse Him. (For much more regarding the final cleansing of the Body of Christ, see my book 911; God’s Final Offer To The Church. In 2013 I was given a strong warning from God to let His people know that we are in the last window of opportunity to prepare our hearts in obedience in order to be prepared and protected when He brings judgment on our land.)

One day a large crowd came to Jesus and He taught them many things in parables. One of them was about tares being sown among wheat in a certain man’s field. He said that while his workers were sleeping his enemy came and sowed the undesirable plants that resemble wheat but are actually weeds. Once the wheat matured and bore grain, the tares became obvious. When the workers asked whether or not they should gather them up the owner of the field said;

“No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the

harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.’” (Matthew 13:24-30/NASU)

Again, harvest time is a time of separation. At the end of this age, we will separate ourselves from the darkness or be separated from the Body of Christ and thrown into the fire. This is the final gathering of God’s people.

Up until this point, both the righteous and the wicked have been allowed by God to grow together in His church. That has begun to change. Because the Lord is about to act in an extremely decisive manner, and is not willing that any should perish, especially among His own people, He is crying out through His messengers, saying, “Come out and be separate!” so as to be a people made ready for His return (Rev. 18:4-5, 2 Cor. 6:17-18, Math. 25:6).

After leaving the crowds, Jesus’ disciples came to Him and asked for an explanation of the parable of the tares. His disciples do the same thing today. He said to them;

“The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of

His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

(Matthew 13:36-43/NASU)

This parable is one more teaching of Jesus about the “dark parts” being removed from His kingdom at the end of this age. They are defined as “all stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness” that are removed at harvest time and thrown into the furnace of fire. It’s a place where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Because the darkness has been removed, the willing Body will then be filled with the light of God, spotless and blameless before Him.

The Greek for “stumbling blocks” is skandalon (skan'-dal-on). It’s defined as, “a trap-stick, or snare, any impediment placed in the way and causing one to stumble or fall.” Metaphorically speaking, it’s “any person or thing by which one is drawn into error or sin (‘entrapped’).”

The Greek for “lawlessness” is anomia (an-om-ee'-ah) which means, “illegality, contempt and violation of law, iniquity, wickedness.” Through these two definitions it becomes obvious that all those who reject God’s truth

and are used by the devil to lure others away from devotion to Christ through their error, choosing to not believe the truth revealed to them so as to be saved, will be gathered up and thrown into the fiery furnace of God’s judgment in the final harvest. They are the ones Paul said who “did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:12) Because of their removal, the rest of the Body will now “shine forth as the sun, ” filled with the glory of God.

In the previous verses from Matthew, chapter 13, Jesus quotes from Daniel which also refers to the time of the end;

“Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued [“to save, to deliver, to preserve (1 Thess. 5:23; “preserved complete”)]. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. Those who have insight will shine brightly [“to gleam, to enlighten (by caution), to admonish, to warn”] like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:1-3/NASU)

It was revealed to Daniel that in the time of great tribulation at the end of the age, Michael will rise up and rescue all whose names are written in “the book.” Like the star that led the wise men to Christ, those who have been given insight from the Lord will be used to enlighten others with the light they have received, leading them to righteousness in Christ.

The Hebrew has the sense of not just giving insight, but of warning. Their word of warning will be used to awaken the sleeping church so as to make them ready for the Lord’s return. The Bible says these messengers filled with insight from God will shine brightly, “like the stars forever and ever. ” Amen.

The Sons Of Lawlessness

Jesus said that those in His kingdom who commit lawlessness will be removed by the angels and thrown into the furnace of fire. As I mentioned earlier in chapter seven, He referred to these same people, saying;

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many

miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’” (Matthew 7:21-23/NASU)

By definition, to depart from Christ is to be removed from being near Him. These “dark parts, ” or people in the Body who practice lawlessness and are not doing the will of God, will be separated from Him.

One of the definitions for “lawlessness” is “illegality.” While driving in the car one day, I heard a discussion on the radio regarding the issue of illegal aliens in America. As I was listening, the Lord revealed to me that there are also illegal aliens in His kingdom. They too want the benefits of living under His government without adhering to the laws that govern it. If they do not repent they will be removed.

Many would say at this point that obviously these are not Christians since Jesus said He never knew them. Here’s something to think about in regards to that. Paul said in his letter to Timothy;

“If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us. ” (2 Timothy 2:12/NASU)

The NIV version of the Bible says; “If we disown him, he will also disown us. ” According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, to disown is “to refuse to acknowledge as one’s own; to repudiate [“to refuse to accept or have anything to do with”] any connection or identification with; to deny the validity or authority of.” The Cambridge English Dictionary defines disown as “to state that you no longer have any connection with someone that you used to be closely connected with.” From these definitions we can see that to disown someone is to reject them after having been close to them.

Unfortunately, when this occurs in the world it’s usually a family member who is rejected due to a deep rooted conflict or argument. It’s as if the person who disowns never knew the one they were at one time very close too. They are treated as an outsider from the family. And so it is in the family of God per the inspired word of God. If we disown the Lord through our actions (Titus 1:16), He will disown us. It will be as if He never knew us.

The spirit of denial is the spirit of antichrist that, if allowed to remain within the heart of someone who has received Christ, will cause them to be rejected and disowned by Him (1 John 2:22-24). Yes, He has promised to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), and is extremely patient with us, but we can choose to deny His power to change us thereby forsaking Him. This is how serious it is as a Christian to deny the power of God within us (2 Timothy 3:5).

The Rest Of The Story

The rest of the story regarding the Lord never leaving or forsaking us is found in Deuteronomy, chapter 31. I don’t believe that I have ever heard anyone preach from this.

After his encouraging word to Joshua that the Lord would not leave or forsake him as he led the children of Israel into the land of their promised inheritance (Deuteronomy 31:7-8), the Lord said to Moses;

“You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake

me and break the covenant I made with them. On that day I will become

angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?’ And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.” (Deuteronomy 31:16-18/NIV)

The Bible makes it clear, in the New Testament, that spiritual prostitution is still considered by God as a covenant breaking offense that will cause Him to leave and forsake the rebellious among His children. It is demonic that this warning of truth is never presented with the first portion.

After quoting Hebrews 13:5 we then like to quote Hebrews 13:8 which says; “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” If we truly believe this then we have to also believe that “yesterday” He said that He would forsake those who forsake Him.

In Paul’s comforting of the church in Thessalonica regarding the coming of the Lord, he gave the following exhortation;

“Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together [“a complete collection, a gathering together in one place”] to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy [“defection from truth, a falling away, a revolt”] comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes [“lie opposite to, to oppose, an adversary”] and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he

who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless [“departing from the law, wicked”] one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming.” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-8/NASU)

Paul clearly states that the “man of lawlessness/the son of destruction/that lawless one” will be revealed at the coming of Christ. I believe this is another reference to the dark parts in the Body of Christ who have disowned their Lord and not repented, as Peter did.

Whether or not you believe the antichrist is a system, a specific individual, or both, know for certain that the spirit of antichrist is alive and well, preparing the way for this evil among those in the Body of Christ who act disrespectfully toward the covenant they willfully entered into with Christ (Daniel 11:32).

The ones who take their seat in the temple of God, which is now within us (2 Cor. 6:16), are those who make themselves lord through their choices. Due to the fallen nature that resides within mankind, all followers of Christ will have their moments of revolt in the process of sanctification, but the ones who will gain God’s glory in the end are those who will choose to not remain there and will instead look for deliverance. Jesus said, “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.” (John 12:46/NASU)

Covenant breakers are those whose hearts have become hard, again, through willful rebellion with no intent of turning back to the light. May we fearfully understand that the Bible makes it clear there is a line that, once crossed, makes it impossible to be brought back to repentance (Hebrews 6:4-6). Selfexaltation without repentance will cost many their place in Christ.

This passage of Scripture also refers to the time of our being gathered together as one at the end of this age. It’s the gathering together of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:30). He will slay the lawless ones in His kingdom with the breath of His mouth at the appearance of His coming.

The Greek for “ appearance ” in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 above is epiphaneia [ep-if-an'-i-ah] from which we derive our English word epiphany. It’s defined as “a manifestation.” In the New Testament it occurs as the shining forth of the glory of the Lord.

In His response to the disciples question about the signs of His coming and of the end of the age, Jesus said; “For just as the lightning [“bright shining”] comes from the east and flashes [“to bring forth into the light, cause to shine, to become evident”] even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matthew 24:27/NASU) At His return, the glory of the Lord will shine forth as the sun on His righteous ones that have remained near Him.