Living by the Spirit
1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his
appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. Man looks at the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks at the
heart.”
John
6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh
counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they
are life.
We are not thinking in the worldly
way that is worried about this earthly body’s physical death and its prevention
or its resurrection as defining life. Instead we are thinking in a spiritual
way that is concerned about changing our hearts/minds (Eph. 4:22-23) and relying only
on the Spirit of Christ as life for this mortal body (Rom. 8:1-17). Since the Spirit is what counts, then it is the
spirit we wish to be resurrected in our lives in order for us to live
forevermore through it. This may offend some and be hard for them to accept.
They need only to look at the Son of Man (And
every other Son of God who was in human form that has descended to the lower
earthly regions but) who has ascended to where (1 Cor. 8:6) he was
before at Gods right hand and who are now and forever known as Gods children with
whom God is well pleased (Heb.2:11), spiritually speaking. (Which also was where they were
even prior to their descending.) (See John 6:60-63) If his disciples think this is a hard teaching
and cannot understand or accept this teaching of eating, drinking, and living
Jesus Christ, spiritually speaking, how then will they not also be offended if
they see him in his ascended form, as the Spirit of Gods truth, after the flesh that counts for nothing has
been buried? (John 11:25, 26
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me
will live (spiritually speaking) even though he dies (physically speaking); and whoever lives (physically speaking) and
believes in me will never die (spiritually
speaking). Do you believe this?” John
14:19-20 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.
Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in
my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you).
Perceiving,
then, this aspect of the Son of Mans existence one should be able to answer that
which takes pride in what is seen rather than what is in the heart. (2
Cor.5:14-18) For Christ’s love
(spirit in us) compels (quickens, moves) us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves
but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we
once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone
is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God through (The Spirit, The Lord) Christ …
1
Cor. 15:50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
It is not about the perishable physical body, it is about the
imperishable spiritual body. (Also see 1Pet.1:22-23) This living spiritual kingdom of God is actually within you (Luke 17:21), in the attitude of your
minds (Eph. 4:22-24). To which we wish to be changed/raised, wherein we no longer think with the spirit
of the world but with the Spirit who
is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
1
Cor. 15:51-58 Listen, I tell you a mystery:
We will not all sleep, but we will
all be changed --- in a flash, in
the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trumpet. For the trumpet will
sound (the Word will be spread, the
ear that hears will hear), the dead
will be raised imperishable (the ignorant will come to their senses,
Eph. 5:14), and we will be changed. For the perishable must (convert) clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
When the perishable has been (converted) clothed with the imperishable, and the
mortal with immortality (when the
two have become one flesh, Eph. 5:26-27, 30-32), then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been
swallowed up in victory.” (No
more fear of death or judgment.) “Where,
O death, is your victory? Where O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is
sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the
victory through (the Spirit of) our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore,
my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves
fully to the work of the Lord, (who is the Spirit, 2Cor.3:17-18) because you know that
your labor in the Lord (who is the Spirit) is not in vain.
Energy spent in pursuing worldly
desires regardless of the cost is considered adulterous, sexually immoral, and
eating food sacrificed to idols. Like Esau (Heb.12:16), and Balaam
(Num.22:1-25:3), and Jezebel (1Kings16:31, 18:4, 19:2, 21:7-10, 22, 26) who by
their deeds of committing sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed
to idols misled the Israelites and taught others how to entice them to sin.
(Rev.2:14, 20) Our actions, our deeds influence and teach others to do the same
things we do.
From the throne came flashes of
lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the lampstands of the blazing spirits of God sent out
into all the earth. (Look at Rev.1:20, 4:5, 5:6, 10) A day of the Spirit is a
day of the Lord, a time in which we can hear “behind us” (in the back of our
minds) him who speaks so plainly like when we hear a loud voice or even a loud
trumpet. Such a day is heaven and it is open to those who are in the Spirit.
(Rev.1:10, 4:1-5).
The Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden, spiritually
speaking, is the place where God and man could walk and talk together with each
other like good friends. Though God, their creator, being superior man was free
from feeling inferior until he was tempted by Evil to see that difference as
“better or worse”. The fruit of this action revealed their inferiority. They
felt shame and shied away, drew back in fear, from God separating their selves
from the togetherness. As is the case with good friends or even brothers when
the thought of one being “better or worse” than the other comes between them
(which is The Knowledge of good and evil).
What follows are the fruits, judgment, pride, and guilt.
The Knowledge of Good and Evil, is thinking
of yourself as being better than someone else or them worse than you. From the
same tree you get the thought that someone is better than you or you are worse
than they are. Either way the thought itself separates and gives rise to
negative feelings that wedge you further apart. Mercy’s sake, talk about a Pandora’s
Box. Consider Adam and Eve who after partaking of this tree felt naked,
inadequate, and hid from even the
sound of God. And Cain who thought by killing his brother he would make
himself be more acceptable, and all the evils that sprout and branch out of this
way of thinking from then to now.
When man eats from this tree, or
when man acts on this knowledge, or when man thinks this way, isn’t it a
good thing God guards the way to the Tree of Life to protect us from living
this way forever. Banishing us from the garden to “work the ground from which
we came”, to till, plant, and nurture new “ground”, in other words to change/repent
so we may rejoin/walk with
Him in that heavenly garden of Eden, spiritually speaking, yes even in that
Holy City in which are the Tree of Life and the river of the Water of Life
which flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Rev.21:27 Nothing impure will ever
enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only
those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Rev. 2:7 … To him who overcomes, I
will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of
God.
We should stop thinking in prideful
and resentful ways about ourselves and others, looking down on and up to them
and ourselves. Be humble; don’t desire to be the creator and don’t be resentful
about being the created. Be thankful for and accept your position as the
created. It is much more harmonious.
Micah 6:8 He has showed you, O man,
what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love
mercy and to walk humbly with
your God. An example
that was given to us as early as the walk
of Enoch, the seventh from Adam, and Noah, the tenth from Adam and even Jesus
of Nazareth, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, but who
through his walk with the Spirit of
holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God. 1 John 2:6 Whoever claims to live
in him must walk as Jesus did.
Rev. 21:6-8 He said to me: “It is
done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is
thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.
He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my
son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually
immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars --- their
place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Rev. 22:14-15 Blessed are those who
wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go
through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic
arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves
and practices falsehood.
Rev. 22:10-11 Then he told me, “Do
not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book (This message is not beyond our
ability to grasp It.), because the time
is near. (Our choice is as near as the “Valley of Decision”.) Let him who does wrong continue to do
wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue
to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy.” (We get what we
ask for, rejection because of sin or acceptance because of righteousness.)
How do you think? Are your concepts
derived from the “book of Death” or the “book of Life”? Think about it, how do
your concepts make you feel when you are all alone with yourself? Do you still
feel alive when you see what you’ve done or are you making excuses? I’m here to
tell you the truth, life is not feeling the need to hide or make excuses for
your actions. Guilt is from the “book of Death”. Believe me when I say your
reputation, “name”, can be changed to be derived from, written in the “book of
Life”. Believing this is your key to hope of salvation. Believing unlocks the
door to goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly
kindness, love. The more of these qualities of our Lord Jesus Christ that you
have the more you can be sure that you have been cleansed of your past sins and
your “name” is derived from, written in the “book of Life”. (See 2 Pet. 1:1-11)
The Testimony of Jesus Christ
Rev. 1:1-3 The revelation of Jesus
Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He
made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to
everything he saw --- that is, the word of God and the testimony of
Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and
blessed are those who hear it and take
to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Rev. 19:10 At this I fell at his feet
to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with
you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship
God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
1 John 5:9-12 We accept man’s
testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God,
which he has given about his Son. Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart.
Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has
not believed the testimony God has given about his Son (in
their hearts). And this is the
testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who
has the Son (the Spirit of Jesus in
their hearts as a personal testimony)
has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
2 John 7-11 Many deceivers, who do not
acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world.
Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out that you do not
lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who
runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever
continues in the teaching has both the
Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this
teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes
him shares in his wicked work.
1 John 5:19-20 We know that we are
children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
We know also that the Son of God has
come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true.
And we are in him who is true --- even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true
God and eternal life.
The “two
witness” of Rev. 11:3 are the Word of
God and the Testimony of
Jesus Christ of Rev. 1:2.
The “woman”
of Rev. 12:1, 2 is a process. That means 1. A system of operations in
producing something. 2. A series of actions, changes, or functions that achieve
an end or result. 3. Passage of time. 4. Ongoing movement: progression. (From
Webster’s dictionary)
There are
two different processes, “women”, described. One in Rev. 12 which gives birth
to those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus, and the
other one in Rev. 17 which gives birth to sinners.
The dragon
or the serpent of Rev. 12 is part of any process against the two witnesses.
(See also Eph. 6:12) . . . Temptation
with its seven heads; sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch, the sixth perception/thought/belief,
and the seventh intrigue/excitement, is the scarlet beast on which the process,
“woman”, of Rev. 17 rides. Temptation being the eighth belongs to the seven
heads or kings of the dragon. The spirit of error and temptation is the monster
of sensuality. (See Eph. 4:17-19)
In Rev. 12 the
process’s, “woman’s”, first child was Jesus
Christ who was snatched up to God and to his throne. See Rev.12:5, 3:21. The rest of her offspring
are those who obey God’s commandments (the
Word of God) and hold to the Testimony
of Jesus. See Rev. 12:17.
The prophecy
of these two witnesses, these two wings of a great eagle, the Spirit, takes care of the “woman” in the desert for a
time, times, and half time, out of the serpents reach. See Rev. 11:3, 12:6, and
14.
Rev. 19:10 At this I fell at his feet
to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with
you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship
God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Praise the
Lord. What it is. When you read the word, the Spirit of the message is the testimony
of Jesus Christ. By believing in the Spirit of the message you accept/receive
the testimony of Jesus Christ in your heart, therefore you have the Spirit of
the Lord in you. Hold to that Spirit, the
Lord. It saves you, and eliminates from you the “great prostitute”
temptation, a sinful nature “the beast”, evil desires “the marks of the beast”, and the
longing for or worship of these which is to become a spitting image of the
beast with an infinitude for evil, the sum of the number or his name.
Rev. 15:2-3
. . . those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the
number of his name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of
Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true
are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory
to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before
you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Also see Deut. Chap.
32.)
Deliverance
from evil inspires us to sing this song, from the heart, along with them.
The Wrath of God
Rev. 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the
Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Since
this is the truth, it is felt as
wrath to those who think otherwise. To make a decision to reveal and expose
what is and has been hidden by darkness, is to be against darkness. It is to
destroy the effects of darkness. Therefore, truth is the wrath of God to darkness and those who identify with
it.
Rev.
11:15-19 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the
kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.” And
the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on
their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We
give thanks to you, Lord God
Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign. The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The
time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the
prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and
great --- and destroying those who destroy the earth. Then God’s temple
in
heaven
was opened,
and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And
there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and
a great hailstorm.
Temple --- 1 Cor.3:16-17 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and
that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will
destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
In Heaven --- Eph. 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the
heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
Opened --- Matt.13:11 He replied, “The knowledge of the
secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
Ark --- Hebrews 8:10 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write
them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
Now that is “flashes
of lightning” (powerful truth), “rumblings” (deep, profound truth), “peals of
thunder” (loudly pronounced truth), “an earthquake” (ground shaking truth), and
a “great hailstorm” (crushing truth). And so is ---
Rev. 1:8 “I
am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who
is to come, the Almighty.”
The Seven Thunders
There are some with ears and eyes but won’t hear or see even thunder
or lightning. There are some who hear and see, not so much with their ears or
eyes but primarily with their hearts, the divine inspirations (prophecies) of
the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ and are blessed by their acceptance
of the Spirit of these prophecies. What is being said by the Spirit to the
churches is what we should be hearing for it is what must soon take place in
our hearts for it is our time. These messages are so plane and loud, like
thunder and lightning, to the eyes and ears that will see and listen. He who
has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Praise God
Almighty whose love so plainly and loudly gives us these divine inspirations.
For if we were to miss even one of the “seven thunders”, loud voices from
heaven, our blessing would be incomplete, but he who lives forever and ever,
who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in
it, the sea and all that is in it, stands by the angel who said, “There will be
no more delay!”. Acceptances of what the “seven thunders” have said
complete/accomplish the mystery of God, --- The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.
See Revelations 1:1 through 22:21.
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God
Almighty
Heb.2:11
Both the one who makes men holy and those
who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call
them brothers.
1Pet.1:13-16
Therefore prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully
on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed (in you, which makes you holy). As
obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in
ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for
it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (I am the “existing/being” holy.)
Lev.10:3
(paraphrased) ‘In those who represent me, in those who live by my Spirit, I
will show myself to be holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.’
(Those who are of the Lord will be holy. After all, the Spirit in them is
Almighty, not weak. Also see 1 John 3:3-10.)
Numbers
20:12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me
enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring
this community into the land I give them.” (Neither will we lead anyone to
holiness by showing them ungodliness.)
Lev.11:44 I
am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Lev.11:45
I am the Lord who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. Lev.19:1-2 The
Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them:
‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.’ ”
1 Cor.3:16,
17 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit
lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s
temple is sacred, and you are that temple. (God will destroy that which destroys
us as his temple and we will die also if we are joined-up with that which
destroys us as a holy temple.)
Lev.15:31 “ ‘You must keep the
Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my
dwelling place, which is among them’ ”. (Also see 2Cor.6:14-7:1. We perfect
holiness out of reverence for God.)
John14:19-20
Before long, the world will not see
me anymore, but you will see
me. Because I live, you also will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
Heb.12:14
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without
holiness no one will see the
Lord.
Our Conversion and Deliverance
Revelation Chapter 12
The “woman”
of Rev. 12:1, 2 is a process. That means 1. A system of operations in
producing something. 2. A series of actions, changes, or functions that achieve
an end or result. 3. Passage of time. 4. Ongoing movement: progression. (From
Webster’s dictionary)
There are
two different processes, “women”, described. One in Rev. 12 which gives birth
to those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus, and
the other one in Rev. 17 which gives birth to sinners.
The dragon
or the serpent of Rev. 12 is behind any process against the word of God and the
testimony of Jesus. (See also Eph. 6:12)
. . . Temptation with its “seven heads”; sight, hearing, taste, smell,
touch, the sixth perception/thought/belief, and the seventh intrigue/excitement,
is the scarlet beast on which the process, “woman”, of Rev. 17 rides.
Temptation being the eighth belongs to the seven heads or kings of the dragon.
The spirit of error and temptation is the monster of sensuality. (See Eph.
4:17-19 N. I. V.)
In Rev. 12
the process’s, “woman’s”, first child was Jesus
Christ who was snatched up to God and to his throne. See Rev.12:5, 3:21. The rest of her offspring
are those who obey God’s commandments (the
Word of God) and hold to the Testimony
of Jesus. See Rev. 12:17.
The prophecy
of these two witnesses, the word of God
and the testimony of Jesus, these
two wings of a great eagle, the
Spirit, takes care of the “woman” in the desert for a time, times, and
half time (the present time, past times, and
the rest of time), out of the serpents reach. See Rev. 11:3, 12:6, and 14. (More food for thought is 3.5 cycles equals
1260 degrees or “days”, if you will. Compare verses 6 and 14.)
Heaven --- a spiritual realm --- a spiritual way of
thinking.
Earth --- a physical realm --- a physical way of thinking. With
these thoughts in mind let us proceed with thoughts about our conversion and deliverance.
Rev. 12:7-12
And there was war in heaven.
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels
fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in
heaven. (This verse agrees, James 4:7 Submit
yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.) 9 The
great dragon was hurled down --- that ancient serpent called the devil, or
Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in
heaven say:
“Now have
come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority
of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God
day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They overcame him by the blood of the
Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell (think/live)
in them! But woe to the earth
and the sea, because he devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.”
13
When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman
(process) who had given birth to the
male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she
might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken
care of for a time, times and half time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then
from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and
sweep her away with the torrent. (For
another look at this “torrent” see 1Pet. 4:4, and Rev.16:13-14; also see in
“Know Secrets” Volume 1 the chapter on, The Beast and his Mark.) 16 But the
earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the
dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 then the dragon was enraged at the woman
and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring --- those who obey
God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. (Jn.6:63, Rev.19:10)
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