"We Have A Choice" Part III

“Why are you so angry? And why has your countenance fallen? Behold, If you do well, you will be accepted. And if you do not do well, sin sits waiting at the door, and its desire is to possess you, but you can rule over it.” Gen. 4:1-7. 

 During the second generation of mankind living on earth, God warned Cain that if he persisted in his anger toward his brother Abel, something worse would happen. He warned him that sin was crouching at the door of his heart and wanted to possess him or take control of him. Sin was first present in the garden of Eden with his mother Eve. She listened to the voice of Satan, the great deceiver, and allowed him to influence her choice to disobey God. Then she influenced her husband Adam to disregard the command of God not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and he too made the wrong choice. From one generation to the next through out history, the great deceiver has been trying to influence and control people and nations. All of mankind now is endowed with a sin nature passed down from generation to generation. Man's spiritual connection and adoration of God died in the garden of Eden. It is part of our spiritual DNA and is why we need to be born-again from above with Christ living in our heart.

Why was Cain so angry at his brother? Genesis chapter 4 tells us that the two brothers came before God with their offerings. Abel brought the proper offering of a first born lamb and Cain brought some of his produce from the soil. God looked upon Abel with pleasure, because of his obedience. God looked away from Cain with dissatisfaction, because of his disobedience. If we do what is right in God's eyes, He will be pleased with us and bless us. If we choose to not do what is right, then we are under God's curses for disobedience. Read Deut. Chapter 28 for a detailed description of the blessings and cursings we bring upon ourselves because of our choices.

Notre Dame Cathedral

 

 

 

Cain was angry that God did not accept his offering which was the work of his hands and not what God required. Cain was jealous that God turned his countenance or favor upon his brother and rejected him. Cain tried to worship God his own way. He was disobedient and rebellious. Cain's number one enemy was himself; his own prideful, sin nature that wanted to be independent of God. Unfortunately, like his mother Eve, he wanted to be like God himself: knowing good from evil, able to provide for himself, enjoying the lust of his eyes and wise in his own understanding.

Unredeemed men and women have their little gods, or their own idols, which they worship and their own personal agendas they want to achieve. When we don't get what we want, we look to other means to get revenge or justice for those who have wronged us. That opens the door for demonic oppression which compels us to sin further until, our demons are possessing us and dictating to our mind, will and emotions. Cain progressed from pride, to disobedience, to anger and finally to murder. After God warned him to do what was right, he left the very presence of God and went out in the field and murdered his brother Abel. The demonic spirits that were crouched close by finally persuaded him to rebel completely against God. The spirits of revenge and murder became Cain's masters when he listened to and obeyed them. 

 

However, God did not leave us alone, without hope and doomed to destruction. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins, the offering of a sacrificial Lamb who's blood was poured out on God's heavenly altar for us. Jesus paid the price for our redemption and paved the way for us to become sons and daughters of God. We can not earn such a status with our own will power or works. It is freely given to us when we draw near to God, repent of our sins and pray to be continually filled with the Spirit of God. With complete salvation we become a part of God's family and enter into all the privileges that go with that honor. It is called living in the Grace of God. We have a choice!

 

Scriptures taken from the One New Man Bible: Revealing Jewish Roots and Power, translated by William J. Morford, 2011, True Potential Publishing, Inc. Travelers Rest, SC.

"We Have A Choice" Part II

Through out church history, we have observed various revivals and moves of God in America and around the world. In the 1970s Americans witnessed a tremendous visitation of the Holy Spirit that began on a Catholic University campus and swept through the large denominations, small store front churches and individual homes. Many non-denominational and charismatic churches were birthed. More recently in the 1990s the church experienced great revivals coming out of Canada, Oklahoma and Florida. Now in the twenty-first century there are thousands of Christian organizations around the world where the Spirit of God is evident and the people of God are prospering. These various camps offer the complete salvation message to anyone who wants to partake of God's mercy and grace. In the past they were coined “full gospel” organizations, because they informed people not only about being born-again, but emphasized the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit and speaking in tongues. When the Holy Spirit calls us to a deeper level of commitment, we have a choice.

Once we decide to follow Christ with stages 1 and 2 outlined earlier, we are offered the opportunity to mature in Christ as true sons and daughters of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. No longer will we remain just babes in Christ who are “hearers of the Word” but through a process of transformation we will become mature believers, “doers of the Word.” During stage 3 our hearts and minds are transformed through trials and perseverance to love God with a pure devotion and our faith grows stronger in the Lord. Living in His Presence and obedience to His Word is a lifestyle we choose to maintain. We choose to have faith in God and trust Him for everything. 

We now recognize the temptations and deceptions of the enemy and get fed up with living life in the flesh with its disappointments, pain and failures. We begin to embrace the Easter message of death and resurrection life-- for ourselves. Christ came to enable us to be born-again, filled with the Holy Spirit and joint-heirs with Him through the transformation of our hearts and minds. We experience the abundant life of living in divine health, prosperity and successful relationships. Through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, we discover the righteousness, peace and joy available to us in the kingdom of God. Every step along the way, we have a choice.

Mature sons and daughters of God have submitted themselves to the dealings and chastisement of God. They have submitted to the pruning process whereby we experience a death to our old carnal nature of selfish desires and natural abilities. We have learned to hate the ungodly, besetting sins that pull us down and control our thoughts, emotions and behavior and destroy our relationships with others. We have learned to abide in the Vine and recognize we are nothing without Christ living in us. He is our only hope for transformation and reaching our destiny in the kingdom of God. Our spiritual focus has switched from temporal, earthly concerns to more heavenly, eternal values. Our time here on earth is preparation for what is to come in the next life and we need to make the most of what time we have left.

With Jesus Christ as our Lord and Master in stage 4, we have overcome the temptations of the flesh and the world. We will receive a crown of life, wear white garments and our names will be written in the Book of Life. Satan and his entities 

will be under our feet-- no longer able to destroy us. We will be walking in holiness unto the Lord and service to the King. We will meet Christ face-to-face and we will hear, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” We will join in with the multitude of angels and other saints singing, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts...To the One Who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb, blessing and honor and glory and power forever and ever."

We have a choice to accept God's offer of salvation; the whole package, all four steps listed above, or to continue to struggle with our selfish nature, give in to the Satan's temptations, live life solely on our own, miss out on God's blessings, be controlled by demonic strongholds and fall short of reaching our destiny in Christ. God offers the abundant life to us and it is by His grace we are made partakers of His salvation. Scripture is clear that He chooses us and ordains us for the kingdom of God. It is the “opportunity of a lifetime” as the saying goes. God wants to be our God and for us to be His people. He offers us a loving, covenant agreement to take care of all our needs now in this life and for all eternity.

“Choose you this day whom you will serve, either the gods which your forefathers served, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are now living; but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14-15.

Joshua's farewell message to the Israelites living in their promised land was a challenge to make the right choice. Joshua is still speaking to the chosen children of God today through the voice of Jesus Christ. The choice is to love God and obey His Word, or to love yourself and obey the sinful nature that still controls you. We can promote and protect our selfish agendas, or choose to die to self in order to enter into God's will for our life and marriage. We can run from the Cross and crucified life it represents, or embrace the process of transformation into the character and nature of Christ. We can choose to do what is “right in our own eyes” or we can choose to set our focus on the higher calling of service in the kingdom of God. Time is running out and you may not get to choose the higher course. One day you may suddenly die in your sins, or Jesus may come before you make the right decision; either way, it will be too late. Whom will you serve? Where will you spend eternity? What is your choice?

Scriptures taken from the One New Man Bible: Revealing Jewish Roots and Power, translated by William J. Morford, 2011, True Potential Publishing, Inc. Travelers Rest, SC.

"We Have A Choice" Part I

“See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil; in that I command you this day to love the Lord your God, to walk in His Ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, so you will live and multiply... But if your heart turns away, so that you will not heed, but will be drawn away and worship other gods and serve them; I announce to you this day that you will surely perish, you will not prolong your days upon the land... I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you. I have set before you life and death, blessings and cursing. Therefore choose life.” Deut. 30:15-20.

Scripture is very clear that God expects his children to love Him, to obey His commandments and to serve Him alone. He promises us a covenant of love under His supernatural protection, provision and plan for our lives. If we love and obey Him, life will go well with us. If we do not- life will be filled with problems which we have brought on ourselves through our own rebellion and stubborn-heartedness. We can live under His covenant of love with all its benefits, or we can live without His mercy and grace which produces pain and failure. We have a choice.

“If you love Me, you will keep my commandments and I will ask the Father, so that He would be with you forever. He will give you another Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, Whom the world is not able to accept, because it does not see and does not know Him; you know Him, because He remains beside you and will be inside you.” John 14:15-17.

We are born with an Adamic, sin nature that naturally wants to hide from God, rebel against God's commandments, does not want to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, or the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. However, God offers mankind a complete salvation covenant so we don't have to live in pain and misery, separated from God's love and life. We serve an “If-Then” God; if we will love and obey Him, then He will keep His promises toward us. If we don't make the right choice, then we are on our own without His grace and power.

God's complete, salvation covenant includes four stages or levels of progress. 1. First being born-again so we can live in the supernatural kingdom of God, instead of this natural world with its limitations and corruptions. 2. Sanctification or being filled with the Spirit of God so we will have the power to overcome sin, the world and Satan. 3. Transformation of our old nature into the maturity of Christ so we become co-heirs with Him, true sons of God. 4. Finally, being given a position of responsibility in Christ's millennial reign here on earth, because we have been over comers in this life.

Will we choose a destiny that leads to death and destruction, living eternally separated from His Presence? Will we choose His complete plan of salvation? Or will we choose just the parts of His plan we are comfortable with? Although He is our Creator, an all knowing, omnipresent God, He gave us the ability to determine our destiny. We are not doomed to destruction, but through His Son Jesus Christ, we have a choice.

Many people have heard the gospel message sometime in their life and have chosen to "get saved" by acknowledging Jesus Christ died for their sins. They believe the historical facts of Christ's death on the cross and his resurrection to life eternal. They made a an intellectual and religious decision to pray the sinner's prayer and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. After all, that only makes sense in light of the other dire consequences of hell. Heaven with its streets of gold, many mansions and incredibly, beautiful scenery sounds like a much more enjoyable place to spend eternity. But did they truly turn their hearts toward God, repent of their sins, change their lifestyle and seek after a personal relationship with God through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit? Have they truly been born again? Or did they choose to practice the religion of Christianity? Religion or relationship; we have a choice.

Scriptures taken from the One New Man Bible: Revealing Jewish Roots and Power, translated by William J. Morford, 2011, True Potential Publishing, Inc. Travelers Rest, SC.

"Pruning" by Tommy James

Earlier this month the idea kept coming to mind that my friend, Stephen, was not getting around to the laborious task of pruning and training his vineyard and that the swelling of the bud would be upon us in another month. I knew that Stephen had not done this task last year either and that his vineyard of one hundred or so Cynthiana had suffered a fungal infection in late summer which destroyed numerous vines and most of the harvest.

The reader must know that Stephen is not slack in husbandry. He is soon to retire from a long season as an RN in a facility for underdeveloped people who are all most pitiful in mind and body. He works third shift which is a horror in itself. Stephen has been a shepherd to many poor souls for many years, but his own vineyard needed attention. I felt compelled to go and help.

The most striking realization in this brief afternoon is a validation of my own long term calling as a vine dresser for the Lord. There were multiple ideas that have come to mind in this theme, but this one is my take away and I am grateful to the Vine Dresser for allowing me to function with him in his vineyard, the Church.

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that bears no fruit he takes away, and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast into the fire, and they are burned. KJV, John 15:1-6.

The end purposes of pruning are to:

Promote new growth and increase the quality and quantity of fruit,

Bring the branches of the vine to rejoicing,

Keep the vines from interfering with each other,

Identify and remove disease and pests,

Promote healing and health,

Enable the branches to Abide within the Vine, and

Make the vines beautiful for the Owner of the Vineyard.

The vines need to know that:

They need the pruning,

That God will send a personal and assigned vine dresser,

Pruning is an expression of God's love,

A new season of growth is just a month away,

They need not fear the pruning,

The pruning will not go on forever, and

Unhappiness and tragedy is reserved for the wild and unpruned vines.

 

The vine dresser must:

Precede the vines in the cuttings of the Lord,

Become very skilled in this work of art,

Clearly see the model of the Perfect Vine,

Use a sharp blade and keep it sharp,

Serve the Lord beyond the norms of church society, family, and friendships,

Overcome the enemies of the vineyard, and

Be faithful to the calling above all else.

(Tommy has been my loving and faithful husband for 46 years now. We have served the Lord together in the Lord's vineyard known as Tree of Life Ministries.)

"Deep Calls to Deep", part 3

3. The Spirit of God calls to our hearts for the “deepest” work of sanctification to be done; a dying to self so resurrection life can be manifest in us.

“Deep calling” is a personification of the Holy Spirit speaking to men's hearts to bring conviction, healing or deliverance in order that total sanctification and transformation can occur. The Spirit of God above is speaking to our spirit deep within our core being. This is Spirit-to-spirit communication on a heart level which convicts us of sin and our desperate need for Christ to be manifest in us. However, there is more. The Spirit of God above wants to come live deep within us and become the transforming power we need to be changed into the image of God's son and to accomplish the works of God.

When we receive the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, the eyes of our understanding are opened to receive the deepest work of God in our soul. We are no longer focused on just making it through this life, or leaving this life behind and going to heaven. We are focused on being transformed into the image of God's dear Son now-- here on earth, as much as is possible while we still live in these earthly bodies. We come to understand that eternal salvation is not all there is, but our focus is on becoming Christ here on earth helping others to experience His salvation, healing and deliverance. The deepest work of the Holy Spirit results in a holier life and service to God. After all has not God said, “Be holy as I am holy?”

When deep calls to deep our heart and character is transformed, we become people who truly worship “in spirit and truth.” We have a longing to spend time in God's presence and to be "changed from glory to glory." As the deer runs through the woodlands and pants for water, so our soul and spirit pants for God. According to Ps. 42:2-3, our inner being thirsts for the Living God. Once we have experienced God's living presence, His sweet love and mercy, His protection and provision, nothing else satisfies us now. Having tasted of His new wine, we can not go back to the old way of life. Communion with the living God becomes our new way of life and the things of this world fade away.

The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel ceiling

Sanctification is the process whereby we move from a shallow relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit-- to the deepest, most intimate experience available to us here on earth. We grow from being children of God, to being sons and daughters of the King. We leave behind the cares of this world, the old carnal nature, the false identities, the strongholds of the enemy and run the race to win the crown of glory waiting for us. We become over comers in Christ and joint heirs with Him. We will enter into the plans and purpose God has for us. We will fulfill our destiny in the kingdom of God. Our heart and soul hungers for God and we will not be content until we are complete IN HIM. 

As His beloved children, we long to look into the face of our Father God. We desperately long to appropriate Aaron's blessing. "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace." Num. 6:24-26.

Much more could be said about attaining this deepest, most intimate walk with God. Whole books have been written on the subject. You might try reading some of Andrew Murphy's classics like Absolute Surrender, Abiding in Christ or The Deeper Christian Life. 

"Deep Calls to Deep", part 2

2. “Deeper” hidden principles or truth in the Word of God lie beneath the surface understanding of the casual reader and require revelation by the Holy Spirit.

I Cor. 2:10 tells us that only the Holy Spirit can reveal “the deep things of God.”

I Tim. 3:9 speaks to deacons and ministers understanding “the deep truths of the faith.”

Jeremiah 33:3- “Call to me and I will show you unsearchable things you do not know.” This passage refers to going deeper into the scriptures to discover hidden truths and revelation given to the reader by the Holy Spirit. This Christian is a serious student of the Word, a more mature believer and is not satisfied with just a casual, surface understanding. There is a desire to gain deeper insight into what God is saying to us which only the Spirit of God can reveal. The reader moves from a surface level of natural understanding to a deeper level of spiritual or prophetic understanding into the ways of God. We move from feeding on the sincere milk of the Word to feasting on the meat God has to offer.

Jesus taught spiritual principles using parables which were stories expressed on a natural, surface level, but needed to be understood on a deeper, spiritual level. This way he could bring messages to a large crowd of people at the same time. People with hardened hearts heard the parables, but left without understanding the true meaning of what Jesus was saying. Some left feeling frustrated and confused by what they heard. Others left feeling angry and determined to put a stop to this imposter. At several of Jesus' large, public meetings some Jews heard the message on a shallow, intellectual level and rejected Jesus Christ as the Messiah that the scriptures prophesied would come. They viewed him as a false prophet and a threat to their way of life.

At the same time and in the same place, the Holy Spirit gave enlightened understanding to people that were being drawn into the kingdom of God. The difference was God's chosen and elect had humble hearts and spirits. They were not running away from God, but running after Him. They were ripe to receive truth and desired to be transformed by it. Thousands of Jews and Gentiles alike, experienced revelatory truth all at once and became born again believers. They heard and received Christ's messages on a deeper, heart level, a Spirit-to-spirit level of communication. Multitudes through the centuries have received Christ as their Savior in just this way.

Since shallow is the opposite of deep let's look at many believers today who stop right there satisfied with thinking their eternal salvation has been secured. They believe and confess that they are sinners and that Christ died for their sins and now they believe on that basis alone they will go to heaven. Many modern-day, evangelical Christians hear the gospel message and make an intellectual decision to call Jesus Christ Savior, because that is the logical and safe decision to make in order to have some fire insurance. “Better safe, than sorry.” However, they never go on to experience the deeper life In Christ where they call Him-- Lord of all their attitudes, emotions and behaviors. They give mere lip service to the King, but their heart is far from Him. A shallow commitment means a shallow walk with the Lord. Unfortunately, one day when they get to heaven, if they do maintain their salvation and don't fall away, they will hear Jesus say, “I never knew you.” They never took the opportunity to develop a deeper, intimate relationship with the Son of God, therefore, they have no place in the kingdom.

"Deep Calls to Deep", part 1

There are various understandings associated with the Biblical phrase “deep calls to deep.” The word deep can have different connotations depending on the way it is used in scripture and the context of the word. In my walk with the Lord, I have discovered over a life time that there is deep, there is deeper and then there is the deepest of all profound revelations and communion with the Spirit of God. For the greatest understanding of these three types of experiences, one will need to look up the scriptures referenced here and read them in context. These spiritual encounters can be experienced by any believer at various times in their life and do not represent progressive stages, just different experiences with God.

1. “Deep” is where one experiences great distress and feelings of being abandoned and rejected by God.

*Ps. 42 provides a literary allusion to the waterfalls by which the waters from God's storehouse above (the deep above) pour down into the streams and rivers that empty into the seas (the deep below). This is a picture of great distress by the author and refers to God's waves and breakers sweeping over him. God is involved in our suffering to the extent that he allows catastrophes, sickness, and death, but promises to go through these times with us. Also see Gen. 1:2, SS 7:11.

Ps. 42 and 43 actually go together as one prayer of deliverance from being oppressed by the enemy and for restoration back into God's presence. *The author of this prayer is not known, but it is believed to be written by someone exiled outside the boundaries of Israel and Judah, perhaps living near Mt. Herman on the headwaters of the Jordan River. Certainly he was exiled away from God's temple (His Presence) where he used to go worship on a regular basis.

Ps. 44 goes with 42 and 43 and tells us the Israelites were delivered into the hands of the enemy and were slaughtered like sheep (vs. 22). *This psalm is Israel's cry for help after suffering defeat at the hands of the enemy, perhaps during the reign of Jehoshaphat or Hezekiah. There are times in life when our enemies overwhelm us and we feel helpless and destroyed. We feel cut off from God and abandoned. The deep cry of our heart is to once again enter into His Presence and experience His loving care and protection. 

 *All three psalms are concerned with the same two common ideas. First. Why-- God? Why have you forgotten us and rejected us? Why did this have to happen? Why did you not prevent this from happening? But the "why" questions may not ever get answered to our satisfaction. Secondly. Faith responds with- even so put your hope in God, because His love will not fail. This same perplexity and resolution was seen in Job's story. He saw great disaster come upon his family and he lost all his wealth and his children. Yet Job responded with, even though He slay me, yet will I put my trust in God. The crucifixion, death and resurrection of Christ is another example.

Ps. 18:16 says God “drew me out of deep waters.” Ps. 30:1 tells us “you lifted me out of the depths, spared me from the pit” meaning God brought him up from a near death experience and the grave. The terms depths and the pit are associated with death, the grave, darkness, deep depression, destruction, corruption, or even chronic and critical illness. These situations make us feel all alone and abandoned by God when He doesn't appear to be answering our prayers. New converts to Christ often express this feeling that God spared their life when they were on the road to destruction.

Ps. 30:11 tells us, however, that when the crisis was turned, the author said, “you turned my wailing into dancing, clothed me with joy and my heart sings.” So the psalm ultimately turns out to be a song of praise for the Lord's deliverance from illness and death. We are brought up from the depths of our despair and once again experience God's joy and peace. As the hymn reads, “All is well with our soul.”

 *Notes taken from the NIV Study Bible, 2005, Zondervon Publishing.