And By His

Stripes We Are Healed...

His Passion His Pain His Glory His Love

Will CHANGE Us!
Theres HOPE. In your quiet moments, you feel the death that is in your bones, that rots your heart and mind and turns your will to nothing. You need to know this: JESUS IS ALIVE! His Grave is EMPTY! HE alone can conquer the sin and death that you are drowning in without Him! BY HIS WOUNDS YOU MAY BE HEALED! And yet, this is not a feel-good fairytale. The Call of God is to invite YOU into His Cross, that you may also experience Resurrection Life and Power. He wants to CHANGE us, not just play dress-up with us. Will you walk through THAT Holy Threshold?

CONTENTS How Free Are You? Violence, Not Poetry The Jew/Gentile Dilemma For What Purpose Will You Die?

www.HisEmptyGrave.com | www.AllAtHisFeet.com | AllAtHisFeet@cs.com

How FREE are YOU?

He Died so that we could be FREE. Don't let His betrayal, His Blood, His Agony be in vain.
If you are washed in His Blood, then sin no longer has to be your master...You do NOT have to sin. So, How free are YOU? Free to not be angry, selfish, and jealous? Free from the chains of the fleshly vices that have haunted you all your life (your lusts, your moods, your sleeping and eating habits)? Free from fear of being hurt, alone, rejected, left out, misunderstood, or just plain wrong? Free to LOVE!?! He took the nails so that you could be FREE! NOT free to sin, but Free to NOT sin. Its for Freedom that He set you Free. And if you give in to all your wants, your pride, your circumstances or whatever it is, then you're a slave. He didnt die to set you free so that you could go on living like a slave. He didnt die to set me free so that I could make other people a slave of my predicament, whatever it happens to be. How free are you? Im a slave if Im driven by what I look like, what people think of me, what I can do or not do, what other people can do and not do. If all of those things have closed in on me and control what I think and how I feel, then Im a slave. Im not free. Its for freedom that Jesus has set us free. So, what am I going to do about it? How Free Am I? Am I free to continue to function even when I hurt? Am I free to live life and continue to try to contribute to the world around me somehow, in some way, working hard as best I can. What does it mean to be set free? It certainly means freedom from the penalty of sin. If our hearts are truly towards him and truly penitent, then the penalty of sin is gone. Jesus gave that freedom to us as a gift. Were as free as Jesus is free from the penalty of sin if our hearts our soft towards Him. Those that call on the name of the Lord will be saved. Thats a freedom that is inexpressible. Freedom from guilt, freedom from fear, freedom from a foul conscience. For those whove truly given their life to Jesus, thats a freedom that is immeasurable, and beyond the scope of description, and beyond price. But there is still MORE. The freedom of Life is the freedom from a self-centered life. Freedom from pondering yourself and your situation, and instead turning your heart, your mind, and your eyes towards the situations around you, counting those as more important than yours. Freedom to love. That doesnt mean you wont have difficulties and that doesnt mean that there wont be other people caring for you; thats part of life. We all care for each other, and to have too much pride to not let others care about us is grotesque, too. He has given us freedom to be outside of ourselves. The practical life of not being controlled by thinking about yourself all the time--thats Freedom!

Father, please grant us the Grace to Live in that Freedom...for the sake of Your Name, and Your Kingdom. How Free am I? I'll let Him dance me all the way to the edge of Eternity, rejoicing and dancing the Father's Dance.

Violence, Not Poetry

The Cross was VIOLENCE, not POETRY. It Brought Decision.
As you come to grips again and again and again with what Christianity is in your heart, in your life, and in the world around you, there are certain things that you grow in an understanding of, and there are certain levels of maturity where you come to grips with a different aspect of Christ and who He is and what that means specifically to your life.

Its very easy to make Jesus death on the cross into some poetic thing. So, we do this, and we do that, and we sing and we pray and we have the Lords Supper--and isnt that all nice. BUT, do you understand that this is blood were talking about? This life that were leading, this direction were going in, isnt birthed out of poetry and right things to do.

You have to understand that Christianity is birthed in blood. Theres something at stake here. We make Christianity into some sort of symbolic formalism, and we lose the fact that Christianity means blood and betrayal. Christianity was not birthed in some sort of poetry. You think you want a different kind of Christianity? I dont think so. There isnt another kind. Do you know what happened on that night he was betrayed? Chaos. Noise. Shouting. Voices. Accusations. Trumped up charges that were totally untrue. Human emotions screaming. This is a violent thing that were talking about.

The cross of Jesus is an act of violence. I dont mean that it was based on Jesus being arrogant, presumptuous, and purposely trying to cause division and chaos. Thats not Christianity, and thats not what Im talking about. Were just so accustomed to a cultural American environment of being a nice, happy church like other happy churches. Somehow it escapes us at times how all this got started.

A fleshly appetite for entertainment has been carefully cultivated in our lives since we were born in the world that we live in, in the nation that we live in. We want to be entertained. We want to be lighthearted. We dont want anything to conflict with our peace of mind. We want to be in total control of our situation and everything around us. We dont want intruders into our rights, our feelings, our sleep habits, or our personal possessions. Weve had all that carefully cultivated into us by the world around us for our entire generation and for generations before that.

The generation we live in has been from start to finish a self-centered one. So, we forget that the cross was bloody and violent. And Im saying to you that the only kind of real Christianity involves a group of people who realize they are not above their teacher. Do you know what it means to be not above your Teacher? That doesnt mean just being humble and admitting that you dont know everything Jesus knows. To not be above your teacher means that youre not more spiritual than Jesus. If it cost Him His life to live this way, then it will cost you, too. It will

cost you because youre not more spiritual than Him--youre not wiser than him, you dont love people more than He does, and youre not more compassionate than He is. Nobody is more compassionate and loving and kind and generous than Jesus, and it cost Him His life. There was blood involved.

If you want a kind of Christianity that just skips right over that part and has a happy church, then youre looking for the wrong thing. Woe to you, curses on you if all men speak well of you. Oh, you want to be free from pain? You want to be free from conflict? Fine. But, you dont need to be a Christian then--because youre not above your teacher. You want to be free from controversy? You want to blend in? You want everybody to love you and speak well of you? Great, but dont be a Christian--because youre not above your teacher. Youll never pull it off. If youre true and faithful to His Word, His Life, His Character, then it will cost you. (I dont mean being arrogant and trying to hurt people and being better than them. Jesus wasnt like that. But youre not wiser than Him, youre not more spiritual than Him, youre not more compassionate than Him, and youre not more loving than Him.) You cannot live the way Jesus did and have everyone think well of you in your family, in your neighborhood, and in other religious organizations. Its going to hurt.

The Lords Supper? That is a cup of blood that youre drinking. Are you really willing to drink that cup? Is that the cup you want to drink, or do you want a happy-church cup? A cup where everyone thinks well of you, and you can just be an American Christian? No conflict, no pain, no turmoil, no loss in your family. Your parents love you to death; they think youre a wonderful person, better than ever. Everybody thinks well of you. You dont have any conflicts at work with anyone. Theres no religious tension between those who would rather have pretense and compromise. You just blend in nicely with them. Everybody likes you. Oh, I have a new song to share with you. Oh, thats a happy song. I have a tape. Would you like a happy tape? I just read a great book. Wonderful book. Lets all be a happy church, and lets just all get along. Well, youre not above your Teacher. And if the most compassionate, loving, wise person that has ever graced the face of planet earth by ten thousand-fold more so than we shall ever be in our own livesif He couldnt pull it off, dont you think that youre so wise and loving that you can. This means a cup of blood.

That was a night of violence. There was violence, hatred, chaos, conflict, name-calling, and conjured up accusations. There was a testing that had to happen. And if you start wanting to sell yourself for being a man-pleaser (people speaking well of you, blending in, not having conflict), if thats your main goal, then either youre very arrogant and you think youre wiser and more loving than Jesus, or youre very deceived and youre going to compromise and sell what God has for your life. Youll blend in and be just fine. You may even be able to find some slick way to be viewed as a radical and still blend in.

But, if your heart is through and through devoted to Jesus, without compromise--with His love and grace for sure, but without any compromise--then it is inescapable that you will share His cup of blood. The cross was an act of violence, not an act of poetry. It was an act that brought chaos. It brought decisions to people in the midst of a night of yelling and screaming--a frantic, passionate, crowd screaming, Crucify him. Crucify him. Christianity is not some little sing-along thing.

And the only way youre going to be able to make your way through all of this is to have deep convictions in your heart that are rooted in a personal relationship with Jesus, no matter what the cost. Oh, to be able to hear His voice. If youre truly born a second time, there is an anointing on you thats real and not counterfeit. And if youre willing to shut out the other voices and go back to the basics--the foundation of the Word of God, and a personal, current, real-time leading of the Holy Spirit of Christ that dwells in youif youre willing to listen for that voice, then the anointing thats on you, thats real and not counterfeit, will guide you straight on through.

You wont have to be unstable, tossed to and fro like an infant always being deceived and deceiving. You wont have to go through all this roller coaster of junk and garbage in your life. And God made the provision for you so wonderful, so full, so blessed, that you cant miss it if you really want it. Romans 1 says that every man is without excuse. That implies that God has seen to it that you and me and any of us have the ability by Gods grace to make it through this maze. And if we choose not to make it through the maze, then it is not because of a misunderstanding, it is because of something in our heart that weve sold. Hes given us everything that pertains to life and godliness. Hes given us every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. Hes made the provision so full and so free that were never tempted or tried beyond what we can bear. Hes made sure that theres always a way out. You cant sell it unless you intentionally sell it.

You cant (because of some misunderstanding) accidentally miss what Gods doing. And thats good news to me. Thats wonderful news! I cant accidentally miss it. I cant miss it because He loves me so much that Im without excuse. He loves me so much that Im never tried or tempted beyond what I can bear. Nothing ever comes at me that I cant still hear His Song if I want to. If the sights and sounds and smells and tactile sensations of Egypt are what draw your heart, if thats what you want, then youll find a way either to bail out in despair or justify yourself. Youll justify your position with a religious energy that says, Im right, and youre wrong. And if you choose that path and sear your conscience as with a hot iron, then Gods capable of giving you over to the delusion so that you can really dance with energy to Egypts songall the while feeling good about it in Jesus name. Youll still be doing miracles in His name, no doubt (as Jesus said was possible).

But , if you want to hear His Song, somewhere down in your heart you can see the chaos, and violence around Jesus crucifixion, and you can hear the accusations being shouted from all directions.and you can still turn and say, NO! To whom shall we go? HE has the words of Life. Im not going anywhere. Say what you want. Confuse my head. But in my spirit, my heart, I know. I dont care what I hear; I refuse to let my mind control my spirit. My spirit will be controlled only by the Holy Spirit, and my mind will be subject to my spirit. To whom shall we go, You have the words of Life. The mind controlled by the spirit is life and peace. You can hear the Song.

Can you drink My cup? Can you undergo the baptism? Thats what Hes saying to each of us. Or do you want to have it your way? You want to have some good things, some neat teachings, some happy worship, but dont test me. Dont put me in a position where I have to make a decision. Dont put me in the fray of the battle. I dont want to do that. I want to be a layman. I dont want to deal with that. Let somebody else deal with that, and then Ill judge how well they did. Ill evaluate them to see if they did a good job. Ill judge whether they properly carried themselves and properly answered these things. But, I wont enter the fray. I wont get involved. Thats too dangerous. And I can justify it because Im a layman. Do you know how wicked that whole

thought process is? What it allows you to do is to never pay any price. To never participate in His cup. To never undergo the violence yourself of filling up the afflictions of Christ in your own body. But instead you can sit around and judge other people by how well you think they did. And then you can sit on the throne deciding which way youre going to go depending on how well you think everyone else did.

Do you see the fallacy of that? Hes looking for people who will also drink the cup and undergo the baptism. People who will also pay the price of the conflict in the heat of the battle. That they too will risk a loss of reputation. Theyll too risk the misunderstandings and all the elements of confusion and frustration and the violence of the night that He was betrayed. You see, if you wont pay that price, then you wont make it. If you wont be the betrayed, then you will be the betrayer. I want to say that in a way that you can understand. If youll pay that price of risking it ALL, then youll be the betrayed. If you wont pay that price because you want to have your cake and eat it too, then you will be the betrayer. You wont be neutral; you will betray with a kiss those who have been willing to die for you. You will do that--I guarantee it.

If you wont be a vessel of honor in the household, then you will be a vessel of wrath. God will still work through itothers lives will be changed, good things will happen--but you will be a vessel of wrath instead of one of honor. Youll test the hearts of men and those who are victorious will undergo that test. Those people who were willing to die for you, just the way Jesus was with Judas, will stick out their cheek and let you betray them with a kiss. The kindness, the mercy, and the patience that was extended to Judas month after month after month was totally forgotten on that night he reached up and kissed Jesus on the cheek--thinking he was doing God a favor because all the religious experts thought that Jesus was a renegade. Totally out of hand, young whippersnapper, only thirty-three, what does he know? If you wont be betrayed, if you wont drink the cup with Jesus, then youll betray Him with a kiss, thinking that youre doing Him a favor.

So, I want to challenge you as a person, as an individual. Get in or get out. Its a good opportunity. You need to make some choices. In John 6 there was a crowd of people that wandered away from Him saying, Hey, I dont care much for this; I dont like it very much. And Jesus said, If you want to go, now is a good time. And He wasnt being sarcastic about it. He was saying, Look, you guys have got to hear my Song. If you want the other song, if you want a mixture of all of these things, then youre making a big mistake. Im the wrong guy because this is going to cost you. Its not just going to cost me. The things theyre saying about me, theyll say about you, too. You, yourself, will be dragged in front of the high priest, the religious experts, and the orthodox religion. You, yourself, will be dragged in front of them and accused.

Now, what are YOU going to do? If you hear your Fathers voice and dont consider what to say or how to say it, but if you listen for His voice, then youll walk through Life with dignity, with stability, with peace, with growth, and with a testimony of Gods power that they cant refute. If you listen to my Father, then Hell give you words on that day. If you get caught up in the battle of trying to be a man-pleaser, if you have mixed motives, if you want peace because it is an idol in your life, then youre gong to miss it. Youll betray with a kiss, if you wont be betrayed with a kiss.

SO, if you want to be a Christian, if you want to partake of His cup, then you need to know that

it is one of chaos and betrayal. Its a cup of confusion and loud noises. Its a cup of torches in the night and shouting. Men falling backwards and scriptures floating around all over the place. Is that accusation true or not true? Well, I dont know. If its true what do I dooooo? Twenty thousand people cant be wrong, can they? If you wont listen for His voice, then you might as well walk away like Jesus said for the twelve to do in John 6 because youre not going to make it through all the competing noises and smells that are coming on down the road. Youve got to choose to listen to His quiet voice calling

So, consider not just that He forgives sins (which He does), but consider that on the night he was betrayed, He took the cup, and He offered it to them. And Jesus is offering you a chance to drink that cup. Thats what this is about. Its a covenant of walking with Him. Not being above our master, but drinking the cup along with Him. The redemption of mens hearts and souls is a costly thing. And if you want to follow Him, its going to cost YOU, too. Like Simeon said to Mary, A sword will pierce your heart, too. Youre not above your Master. Its going to happen. SO, accept the covenant of His Blood and His Forgiveness with Joy in your heart. And accept the cup and the baptism that Hes extending to you as well Will you drink my cup? Will you drink my cup? Will you drink My cup?

This has to do with Gods future for your life. It says in John 3 that the Bridegroom owns the Bride. She belongs to Him. He can do whatever He wants with that. SO, if youre willing to participate with Him in that cup of blood, of violence, of forgiveness, of redemption, then you have to know that its a lamb thats been SLAIN that brings about that redemption.

Lord, Jesus, we want to exalt you. How you EVER did thatHow you ever pulled that off without trying to justify yourself, without calling 10,000 angels to destroy them, without backing out but extending your hands to those who would pound nails in them and your cheek to him who would kiss you thinking he was doing God a favor. How you did that is unbelievable to us. Wed never know how you did that except that you put your Spirit in us--the ability to defy the principalities and powers through the cross and to make an open show and a public spectacle of them. You put the capacity to live that way in each of us that have called on Your name and have bowed our knee to You. And we believe You. Youve given us everything that pertains to life and godliness. Everything that we would need to overcome sin in our life. Everything we would need to bear your cross and to endure the scorn. Despising the suffering and the shame, but seeing the joy set before us and hearing the Song. Youve put that within us. And we want to learn how to listen better and how to help each other and how to serve You. We want to learn how to be committed and loyal to one another in spite of the junk that is swirling around us. And while I understand these things are prophetic in the sense that theres only one tiny, tiny, tiny bit of physical evidence that any of these things even apply, we trust You. We trust that as you bring the consummation of the ages, that these things will apply in such measure that it will be unbelievable. And we want to be ready for that. We thank you that you do nothing without first sharing it with your people, your friends. So, prepare our hearts. If we die and meet you before all of this comes to pass, then HALLELUJAHlet there be a torch thats been passed on to our children that goes way beyond anything said here. Let these things just be seeds for a mature, stable future. But, Father, if these things are next week, well pray that youll have mercy on those who are only just now making the decision to drink Your cup. Not just the cup of forgiveness, but the cup of Your suffering, rejection, conflict, noise, and violence that the world offers to those who truly follow You. Father, its our prayer together that the application of these things wouldnt escape a single set of ears or a single heart. Teach us by Your Spirit how to Hear Your Song. Amen.

The Jew/Gentile Dilemma

Covenant "Land"
Q: I've wondered about all this for years. Actually, I don't even know how to ask the question.... about replacement theology, which I guess is what I'd believed pretty much until I left the denomination, at which time I started thinking there must be something still going on with Israel because Paul talked about Israel separately from the Church and how many of them would be saved. What's the deal? Are there two totally different things still going on, with Jews and Gentiles still separate? What happened to the Old Covenant being "obsolete" as the Hebrews writer called it? Can you step me through some of it? :) _______________

Covenant "Land" The true Land "flowing with milk and honey"... where the lion and the lamb lay together... O.K.. Here are a FEW thoughts. Read the entire book of Romans, at least through chapter 12, WITHOUT verse plucking (read it as a whole!), and you'll begin to see some things. I'll start outside of the Book of Romans, just for fun. There are TWO "Witnesses," you'll recall. "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

"Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. "But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on" (Rev.11:3-12). It is the Testimony of God to the Earth that His Plans will NOT be thwarted: that JEW AND GENTILE will stand side-by-side, TWO TESTIMONIES, TWO WITNESSES (two historical origins)--BUT ONE CHURCH, WITHOUT DIVISION OR DISTINCTION OR SEPARATION. There is NOT TO BE a "Messianic" and a "Gentile" variety "church." That is ABOMINABLY weak, and contradictory of the Plan of God! Of course, BOTH "Witnesses" can ONLY be those saved by the Messiah, not by a guess of one's biological lineage. True Israel is born of the PROMISE! (Rom.9:6-8). It is by the GIFT OF GOD by Faith in Christ Jesus, our Messiah. The PROMISE of a nation of "the FAITH of Abraham," "as numerous as the sands on the seashore!" It is NOT genetically one's "first birth" (whether "Jew or Greek, slave or free")--but genetically our "SECOND BIRTH" that makes us Israel, in the sense God speaks of here: "It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, 'It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.' In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring" (Rom.9:6-8). The Jewish nation, as a "people," were cut off because of UNBELIEF (Rom.11:20, 23). "... they (physical Israel) were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you (for unBelief) either" (Rom.11:20-21). "And if they (physical Israel) do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again" (Rom.11:23). These, and ANYONE, can ONLY be "grafted back in" because of BELIEF in the Messiah and His Blood. There IS no other "Israel" that will be just fine in God's Sight simply because of a plot of ground they live on, or who they postulate they may have as an ancestor. ONLY those who

genuinely give their lives to their crucified and risen Messiah, Yesu, Prince of Peace, Fullness of Deity dwelling in bodily form, who "came to His own, and His own received Him not" ...only THOSE will be grafted in, and considered the Israel of God. "...not all who descended from Israel... are Israel" (Rom.9:6). There has been a supernatural "hardening in part" (Rom.11:7-10, 25). But when you see a great number of Jews opening their hearts and minds, in humility and hunger for Jesus as their Messiah, then you'll know the prophecy is coming to pass that all of True Israel will be saved, as the softness to "See" is granted, and some will respond to the Good News of Jesus Christ. In the Two Witnesses, God is simply making a point of "continuity" and shaming the pagans, just as he INTENTIONALLY has embarrassed the Jews (11:14). And, from the Heavenly View, as ALL who will come to Him come by FAITH, there becomes "neither Jew, nor Greek." "It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. "Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--not only to those who are of the law [while living under that Covenant] but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all" (Rom.4:13-16). "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. "Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law" (Rom.3:21-31). "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom.6:23). "It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, 'It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.' In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring" (Rom.9:6-8). By virtue of the only Ground by which we (Jew or Gentile) may now find Father, "together with" those who died under the Old Agreement: "We being many are ONE." "ONE new man" without "the dividing wall of hostility." ONE CHURCH, with two distinct Roads into His Kingdom, historically... but NOT two DIFFERENT kinds of citizens in His Kingdom. Now, ALL access to the Father is by Faith in the Man Jesus Christ, Messiah--or not at all. TWO different Covenant routes TOWARDS the Messiah: one through earthly means (the shadow, Hebrews 1-10; Col.2:15-17), and the wild branches, the Galilee of the Gentiles who have seen a great Light. The "Two Witnesses" are TOGETHER the Bride of Jesus--both Jews who have turned to Jesus, and the Gentiles who have turned to Jesus! "OH the depth of the riches!" Cool Plan. I like how it sets up. _______________

Q: So what is the deal? Gentiles have the full inheritance of the Jews (as ones grafted in)? But God still plans to save lots of Jews at some point? Why not just, "there is no Jew or Gentile" any more, and "Israel" is now spiritual, i.e., the Bride? Will there be "no Jew or Gentile" when this life is over? Q: Is there NO importance to the real estate over there, or is there still some importance because God promised it to Abraham and He didn't break that covenant with Abraham just because the Jews couldn't keep the law, as Paul emphasized in Romans? So is His covenant about the land also unbroken? Or is the land symbolic? _______________

A: There IS a "residual" effect of "His Gifts being without repentance." Remember Ishmael? The life-saving miracle in the desert, and the "promises" He made of the parallel "Twelve Tribes of Ishmael"? Notice the Jews UNCANNY ability to OWN every country's businesses that they set foot in? Einstein, Marx, Hollywood, etc..... You know the story. The same "residual effect" seems to be intact in the plot of real estate we call Israel. YES, there is SOME issue there as to the physical ground, and it could even play a part in the catastrophes yet coming to the planet, foretold in the Book of Revelation. BUT, as the "Messianic Land"--and even an "earthly kingdom"--this idea is handled very poorly by many sensationalists, and money-making authors. Many of them have NO devotion to "consuming zeal for the Father's HOUSE," as Jesus had, and has. As well, many today are making the same mistake that Jews did in Jesus' day--wanting a physical kingdom from their Messiah, rather than "a new Heaven and a new earth" that is "not of this world." It is NOT true that the plot of ground we know as Israel today (a far cry from what GOD said Israel's physical boundaries would be ANYWAY!) "must" always exist as a political, geographic entity, and that God will make certain that it is always so, since it is HIS LAND. Of course we know it DID NOT exist as a political and geographic entity for many MANY hundreds

of years, until VERY recently. Most are too young to recall this salient fact! _______________

Q: Since the Jews have rejected the Messiah, why would we be concerned with what happens to the physical land anyway? The land wasn't promised to Gentiles, and if God promised it to the Jews, and they break covenant, and He offers a new deal and they reject it, why should it make a difference now what happens to the ground? _______________

A: Perhaps for the same reason God cared for Ishmael, even AFTER, "Get the slave woman and her child OUT OF MY HOUSE." On some level, He honors HIMSELF by not allowing pagans to overrun even the memories of the ONE TRUE GOD. Certainly this cannot be handled on the obsession level of the many who care little for the TRUE "Temple of the Holy Spirit" and its holiness. These can go on and on about external "shadows" they've found in the books and websites of those who see things "dimly" and externally. These theories are FILLED with contradictions of disobedience and impossibilities, Biblically speaking, but the cultural religion of today is not overly concerned with a ravishing, SPOTLESS Bride who has "made herself ready" for the Return of her Groom. It is generally far too "external" to want to deal with trivial, unsensational Truths such as how to Live as His People, together. You will NEVER see, "Confess your sins one to another" in ANY of the "End Times" books! And yet the Promise associated with that verse is BREATHTAKING. All of that to say, God is NOT obsessed with the physical plot of ground, a small parcel that does not nearly represent what He has said Israel should geographically be (in the Old Testament). He IS obsessed with "the Father's House." Let's major in Majors! "Because all of these things will be melted with a fervent heat, WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE OUGHT YOU TO BE? You should be found in holiness and godliness, looking for and hastening the Day of God, looking for new heavens and a new earth, the dwelling place of Righteousness, diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless!" (2Pet.3:11-14). _______________

Q: What is a Jew? Like Hebrew, nobody really knows anymore anyway. They've mostly all intermarried, most are atheists, they have NO IDEA who the descendants of Aaron are any more (they've been assigned, just like the sounds of the Hebrew alphabet) so they can't have priests, who wouldn't be priests anyway since God doesn't recognize that covenant any more, right? And what about animal sacrifice, and all the other things that MUST be a part of anything that is legitimately Biblically "Israel"--if taken in the "external" sense of physical world implementation.

There are a thousand things like that, that must be answered, if one were wanting to have physical Israel as the "real deal" in this Covenant era. It's a problem, when you start down that road! And it's not honest to pick and choose which parts of the "physical" Covenant (the "shadows" of the Law, Sabbath, Temple, Animal Sacrifice, etc., etc.) you want to embrace! _______________

Q. If there were any Jews in the church here (maybe there are? likely, some with some Jewish heritage of some kind), would they be exactly the same as the rest of us, or somehow different or set apart? Would they be part of the OTHER witness and not the one the rest of us are a part of? What is this two witnesses stuff? Are the christian Jews going to be separate from the rest of the bride in some way? What is the deal?? :) 10/23/01

For the Jew and the Gentile

Excerpts from a transcript from when the saints were all together reading through the book of Romans
One of the things to look for as we read through the book of Romans--and this will be very important later on--is this difficult issue that was going on between the Jews and the Gentiles in the Roman Empire. There was all this confusion about what it meant to be a Christian. It was an especially difficult issue in Rome, not only because there was a huge problem with polytheism, but also because there was a strong Jewish contingent in the city and many people were being converted to Christianity. So this confusion and difficulty came in. Do you have to be a Jew first in order to become a Christian? What's the place of the Jew? Is Christianity an extension of Judaism, or is Christianity something separate from Judaism? How are the two related? Of course in our culture today, Christianity is totally separate from Judaism, but back then, it wasn't so clear. In their minds, Christianity was Judaism with all the prophecies about the coming Messiah having been fulfilled. "The Messiah's come! Hallelujah!" So if I was a Gentile, was I becoming a Jew with a Messiah who had just come? Or is this a totally separate entity? It's monotheism, but is it two different things--Judaism and Christianity? How do I understand this? So you can see how this was a problem in their era. Even twenty-five years after Pentecost it was still a difficult issue--especially in a foreign land where Judaism and Christianity coexisted. There was definitely some confusion. The reason this issue comes into play is because of the very controversial and difficult part of Paul's letter in Romans 9-11. It can really only be understood in light of the Jewish/Gentile dilemma that was going on there in Rome. Those scriptures are about God's sovereign choice as it relates to the Jews and the Gentiles and the fulfilling of His purposes. So as you read, be watchful as you see Paul addressing the Jews and then addressing the Gentiles- he's back and forth, back and forth. He's holding out what the gospel is to the Jews as well as what the gospel is to the Gentiles. He's answering the question: what value is there in being a Jew if we are justified by faith? All these different things are going on and Paul is trying to unravel the difficulties for them. It's not my heart or hope to be overly technical in discussing all this--that's not my intent. But I do want to lay forth something of the counsel of God, so you can have the same thing happen in your heart that happened to Paul when he was discussing these things. In Chapter 11 he was saying, "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God; how unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God that God should repay him? For from him and through him and to him are all things, to him be the glory forever! Amen." There was an explosion of Paul's heart as he had just been considering the immense Wisdom of God. Not only had God chosen a people for Himself, but now He's also grafting in the wild branches of the Gentiles! The prophecies had been there all along about grafting in the Gentiles, but the Jews just didn't see them. Because they hardened their hearts, God cut Israel off in a sense. Then to the Gentiles Paul says, "Who are you to gripe and complain when He grafts in the natural branches to their own olive tree?" Who are you to gripe with His original intention to form what in Revelation could be referred to as the Two Witnesses? All these things are very important for understanding the Last Days and the part we play in it all.

"I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to proclaim the good news also to you who are at Rome. I am not ashamed of the good news, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the good news a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith'" (Romans 1:14-17). For everyone who puts their full weight on the righteousness that comes by faith in Jesus; for everyone who utterly trusts to an extreme, it is the deliverance, for both the Jew and the Gentile. In the first several chapters of this letter, Paul is wrestling with these questions: Who is the Jew? Who is the Gentile? Who has God justified? He makes it clear again and again that justification comes by an utter belief in the fact that the Father loves the Son. And our ability to apprehend that the Father loves us is based entirely on the fact that the Father loves the Son and we've been clothed with Him. This righteousness is totally apart from the law--apart from our ability to believe the "right things" and do the "right things." Our righteousness in God's sight is based on an utter trust that Jesus is the "Yes" and the "Amen" to all the Promises of God. That's the issue Paul keeps driving at with these people.

Humble Yourselves...
"Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know His will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth--you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who proclaim against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: 'God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.' Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised" (Romans 2:17-25). A Jewish heritage (or even a Christian heritage) means nothing if you only keep certain parts of the law but don't keep the entirety of the law. You're totally guilty before God and man, and in fact make a mockery of God's will and God's Word before the unsaved. Paul is talking to a hall of fame of hard working believers who for the most part had been converted out of Judaism (Romans 16). He's saying, "Whoever you think you are and whatever you think you've accomplished for God, you'd better watch out. If you think you're justified by your knowledge of God's Word and the fact that God entrusted you with His Holy Oracles--the Ten Commandments, the law of Moses--if you take pride in that, then watch out and look into your own heart." Paul shows no partiality to the Jews. They think they have some sort of inheritance because of their lineage, because of their knowledge of the Scripture or because of some "spiritual truth." But, Paul shows them no mercy! "Great! You have the law. But do you keep the law?" In the first four chapters, Paul demonstrates that "knowledge of the law" justifies no one--it never has and it never will. Knowledge of God's will, believing some approved set of truths, or hanging out with the right people have no value whatsoever to justify you. If you think of yourself as a

teacher of infants, a proclaimer of truth, or a healer of nations because you have a knowledge base of God's will or because of some lineage, then you're a fool. If you think that simply having the knowledge of His commands gives you His Power, then you should look carefully in your own heart because you'll see that you have NO power to do God's will. No power whatsoever. We're only fooling ourselves if we think that we're justified before God or empowered by Him to keep His commandments simply because we know His commands and can enunciate them to others. What God is looking for is repentance that comes from His kindness. In trust, turning your face towards Him. That's what "repent" means--to turn towards Him. He's looking for people who turn towards Him and see His character. It's not about people who can enunciate the laws of God and treasure them in their hearts and then read them on the "sabbath day." God honors people who turn their faces toward Him. Paul is essentially talking to anyone who would attempt to justify themselves by what they know or what they do.

The Playing Field is Level

"What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew [or a person that knows all about the commandments], or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God" (Romans 3:1,2). Sure, being a "vessel for God's Word" has value in that God chooses to use you as an envelope to deliver the message to others. But that's the only value that comes from it if your own heart hasn't changed. So what if you get to be a vessel for God's Word? That doesn't mean you keep His commandments! That doesn't mean His Word has had any real effect on your life from the inside. Even if your outward man has kept the law, your inward man could still be wrecked. " What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all!" (Romans 3:9a) Do you have that phrase in your vocabulary? "NOT AT ALL." Are you any better than anybody else? Not at all. If you don't have that phrase in your vocabulary, you don't understand the Good News. Are we any better? Not at all. "We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin" (Romans 3:9b). So you're a Jew? Well, you had the law, but you never kept it in your heart. You were powerless to keep it. So you're a Gentile? God made His will known to you too, even without the law. Jew and Gentile alike, you are both under sin. We've leveled the playing field here, boys! You are all the same. Apart from Jesus, you are all the same. Are we any better? Not at all.

"What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about--but not before God. What does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.' Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 'Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him'" (Romans 4:1-8).

"Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." If we face this dressing down and come to Him poor in spirit, then our sins--because of the life of Jesus and the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus--are never counted against us, no matter what. Through thick and thin, through high and low times, our sins are never counted against us if we are really living by faith in Jesus. "Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!" (Romans 4:9,10) Did Abraham's circumcision--his obedience to God--bring him to righteousness before God? When was he "credited with righteousness"? It was not after he received the sign of circumcision, but before. So for the Jewish person with pride, understand this: Abraham's justification wasn't based on his good deeds. His circumcision didn't make him an Israelite and it didn't justify him. He was justified before he was circumcised. "And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them" (Romans 4:11). Living sinless lives, or keeping the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses with its sacrificial system, never justified anyone. It is our faith that always has and always will justify us, whether we are circumcised or uncircumcised; in the law or apart from the law; good deeds or no good deeds. I'll even go so far as to say...holiness or no holiness. It's our faith that makes us true Israelites. "And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised" (Romans 4:12). To follow in the footsteps of our father Abraham is to believe on the One whom the Father has sent! He's the only hope for deliverance from the penalty of sin and our only hope for freedom from the power of sin. You must grasp that! You have to grab greedily onto that fact if you're ever going to understand God's forgiveness, and learn to "love much, because you've been forgiven much." If you're ever going to find Resurrection Power, you must understand the rotting death that's in your heart. You have to understand the utter wickedness of carnal power--the power of the mind, the power of persuasive ability, the power of hard work and willpower, the power of genius, and the power of charm and good looks. None of that junk will ever justify us before God or bring us to a place of bearing fruit to the Father's glory. Do you believe that? You've got to believe it. If you want to find the same freeing power and life and justification of our father Abraham, then you have to walk in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham. Only then will we become friends of God. "It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world (wow! The heir of the world!), but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all" (Romans 4:1316). Being "heir of the world" comes by faith--by totally believing God and His Word and His Son.

Reigning in life comes by believing God about our own unrighteousness and about the total worthiness of the Son of God as our only hope. And not only is He our hope, but He is the fulfillment of God's every requirement, and our only reason for confidence. Because of that, we're not just squeaking by, but boasting in the righteousness of God by faith in Jesus Christ. These things are guaranteed to all of Abraham's offspring. And who are Abraham's offspring but those who have Abraham's faith! "As it is written: 'I have made you a father of many nations.' He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed..." (Romans 4:17). Notice this FAITH of Abraham! It is this attitude in the face of disappointment or in the face of a barren womb. It's this attitude in the face of failure with children or relationships or business dealings. It's having this attitude of faith again and again and again, in the face of despair and rejection and sin in your life-sin that you've fully acknowledged. You've said, "I am guilty, oh God. I resented that person when they brought me Your Word. I rejected it because I was pompous. I was haughty and I lashed back and accused. I did not humble myself before You. GUILTY AS CHARGED, God. I deserve death." Not only do we face the facts of our sin and turn to God, humbling ourselves and casting ourselves before Him as guilty, but we also go on to face Jesus as the only fulfillment of all righteousness. In spite of failure after failure after failure, we keep coming back to Him. In spite of defeat, rejection, despair, disappointment, and discouragement, we still face God. We turn our whole heart toward Him and receive His Word that He calls things that are not as though they are. With that kind of faith and heart towards God, we trust God for the forgiveness of sin and for the redemption of a fallen and failed life. "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.' Without weakening in his faith..." We too can believe, just like Abraham, against all hope, without weakening in our faith. With courage and humility, we have a despair of our own sin but a deep confidence of our hope in Jesus. We face God, confident of the fact that He's written His Heart and His Overcoming Life into our genetic code. He's become our life and so we've hidden our life in Him. Without weakening in our faith, we face the fact that our body is as good as dead. We face the facts. Our body is as good as dead. We cannot do anything worthwhile and we face it. That's the way it is and it's okay and we don't argue about it.

Who are Abraham's Children?

"I speak the truth in Christ--I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit--" Paul wants to make a point here and he wants to see to it that we believe him. "I'm not lying, this is the truth, my conscience confirms it. You've got to believe me..." "...I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of

Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen" (Romans 9:1-5). Up to this point, Paul has been speaking heavily about what life is like in the Spirit of God--a life of faith. But now he steps back to a theme he presented a little bit earlier in this letter, about this battle between the Jews and the Gentiles. He's saying to these Jews, "I have nothing--and God is my witness--I have nothing against the Jews. That's my ancestry, too! That's Jesus' very own ancestry! Believe me that I've not been opening up this way of Glory, this way of fellowship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost because I have a heart to reject the Jewish heritage--that's not my attitude. With God as my witness, and with my conscience and the Holy Spirit bearing it out: I have no ax to grind with the Jewish people. Theirs is a glorious history. Theirs are the patriarchs, the temple worship, the sacrificial system--all this awesome magnitude and wisdom of God. Yes, Moses went through the Red Sea with God's people, and there are all these wonderful things God has done throughout history. They are wonderful beyond belief! They are for our learning, to expand our hearts, so we can comprehend the mysteries of God and the power of God, and the magnitude and awesomeness of God. These things are not small!" "It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel" (Rom. 9:6). Paul is redefining what Israel is. He redefines it for the sake of the truths he talks about from the very beginning of this letter. "You Jews better cut the Gentiles a break! Many prophecies say that the Gentiles will be welcomed into the Kingdom of God. Read your own "Bible"--it's in there. The government that will be on the Messiah's shoulders will reach even into Galilee of the Gentiles. God will welcome the Gentiles; an extension of mercy will be granted, even to the Gentiles. It was foretold through all the prophets. You guys just better not be so proud about your heritage because you never kept the law anyway! Yes, you were given a rich heritage, but you never obeyed God. You didn't live up to what God foresaw could be your inheritance." Remember that it wasn't the first covenant that failed; it was our sinful nature that failed. The Hebrews writer makes that clear and so does Paul in Romans 7: God did not let us down. There wasn't a problem with the law, it was our problem! It was our sinful nature that created this problem that made the first covenant obsolete and fading away (Heb. 8:13). God's Word hasn't failed a bit. The testimony of God and the Covenant He made with His people, did not fail. That's not been the problem. The real problem is that we've not defined Israel properly. Not all of Israel is Israel. And neither have all of the physical descendants of Abraham--the historical lineage of Israel--been entirely cut off. That hasn't fallen apart either. "For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children." (Romans 9:6,7a). You are not necessarily Abraham's child simply because you are his physical descendant. Is that very clear? You are not a son of Abraham simply because you came out of a physical lineage. That was not what God meant, back when He spoke of Abraham's offspring. "On the contrary, 'It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.'"

It's not the natural children who are God's children, but it's the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. He's explaining why the Gentiles are let in--it isn't just a random thing God decided to do. There was a Wisdom in it that was far greater than anyone had ever comprehended. God made this mystery clear to Paul (Ephesians 3) and because of that call on his life to make these mysteries known--to be the apostles to the Gentiles--Paul expands on what the Jews always knew: the promises were for the descendants of Abraham. But the Jews were so narrow and limited in their understanding. Paul said, "I'm not asking you to reject the law from Mt. Sinai, temple worship and the sacrificial system as not being from God. No--they are all well and good. But there's an issue here that you must understand. The magnitude of God's wisdom far supersedes a mere physical plot of ground and a lineage based on passing on physical seed. The scope of God's wisdom goes far beyond that. The Gentiles have been permitted into the Kingdom of God, because the lineage is through Isaac, the child born of the promise. He was not a child born of sperm, but a child born of the promise. The child born in the logical way (Gal. 4) will always persecute the child born of the Spirit. Just as Jesus was born of the Spirit, so also Isaac was born of the Spirit (Gal. 4). Just as the Holy Spirit came upon the peasant girl Mary and birthed a Messiah, so also Isaac, the first in a long line of sons that came forth from Abraham, was born of the Spirit. He was born of the promise believed. The child born of the promise and the child born of the Spirit are one and the same. Abraham believed , and it was "credited to him as righteousness,"--therefore he received descendants as numerous as the sands of the seashore and the stars in the sky. Abraham birthed a son--not of physical lineage, but a child out of a barren womb, born of the Spirit of God. How was this child born of the Spirit of God?? A man believed a promise from God, and the Holy Spirit joined with that faith and that promise and birthed offspring. Abraham birthed a son in the Spirit (Gal. 4), just as surely as Mary birthed a son of the Spirit. "Be it done according to your Word." Mary's heart and her attitude were to believe the promise of God, and therefore it was so. That's why there's creative power--nothing of our own power, but GOD'S creative power. He is free to do miracles in our lives when we believe the promise!! When we believe, when we have FAITH--miracles happen! That's why we're discussing this again and again and again: you need to BELIEVE GOD if you want to see miracles in your life. A child born in the Spirit and a child born of the promise are the same thing. The Spirit of God joins with our faith that believes the promise of God...and babies are born. Miracles happen out of barren wombs.

Worshipers Can See It

"It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, 'It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.' In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring" (Romans 9:6-8). All the walls between Jews and Gentiles are being torn right down. Because the basis on which we approach God as His chosen people is now based on believing the promise of God. The Jew and Gentile wall is being ripped down right before their eyes.

Paul started off in Romans talking about that, and then he went on to display the glory of a life that's the Jesus kind of life: The covenant is fulfilled as we "put to death the misdeeds of the body by the Spirit." And it's by faith that we are justified freely, whether Jew or Gentile. The gospel is a dynamite unto salvation for all who believe--first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. Paul brings forth all of this power, life and exhilaration of reigning in life and what it means to be a child of God--not just a son, but also a co-heir with Christ and with one another. "Once not a people, now a people." He brings all these riches to the forefront and then he says, "Let's now talk again about the Jew and Gentile dilemma. You can see now from everything I've just told you, how ridiculous it is to divide between Jew and Gentile based on external lineage. It's never been about that. That has never been God's heart from the beginning. Maybe because of the hardness of men's hearts, there were "types and shadows" for a time, but it was not so from the beginning. God had a heart that went way beyond that. Worshipers can see it, but not everyone can. "For this was how the promise was stated: 'At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.' Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad--in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls--she was told, 'The older will serve the younger.' Just as it is written: 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated'" (Romans 9:9--13). Be worshipers with humility here--you will need that, to understand this next part. Paul is contrasting the Jews and the Gentiles and he's saying "Open your eyes and comprehend: God will do what God will do. The things we would limit Him by do not limit the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob--this Glorious, Awesome God that fills the heavens and the earth with His Glory. Forget all the menial, secondary, superficial things you've ever limited God by. Forget all that!" Paul goes on to give examples of how God's awesome decree supersedes all the walls that we would build. Notice that he is speaking about election, about salvation, about the broad scope of saving the Jewish people versus saving the Gentile people. That has been his theme all the way through this letter, so now he's saying, "Let me show you just how vast God's wisdom is." "You guys already know that Jacob and Esau were chosen in a way that doesn't make sense to the carnal mind." And Paul goes through several other examples that the Jews were already fully aware of. "You have a big problem with the fact that the Gentiles are being brought in. You don't like it that all of Israel is not Israel because not all of Israel believes. And you've got a problem with the fact that all the Gentiles are not simply Gentiles. Some did believe and became sons of Abraham. If you guys don't believe all that, then read your Bibles, because God did many other amazing things just like that!" Remember Jacob and Esau, for example. The older would serve the younger. That's not very traditional, is it? That's not the way we normally expect God to act. It's not according to a "rational" pattern of behavior on God's part. But Paul says, "So what?" Isn't it true that the Messiah came from Jacob? Isn't it true that God chose something that was totally illogical? In His sovereign purposes He chose Jacob rather than Esau. Will you let God do that? Is it okay with you that He made a choice like that? Of course it is. So it must be okay that He would also bring in whom He would bring in--the Gentiles--and He would reject those whom He would reject. It's not by physical lineage that you are justified. It's certainly not by keeping the law, because you could never do it anyway. Let God make His own choices! And He's chosen that we would be justified by faith. That is the nature of this letter. We are justified by faith. He's chosen that as THE way to be sons of Abraham. "You better get that straight," he said. After all, you already know that he chose Jacob rather than Esau.

"What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all!" (Rom. 9:14). Is God unjust because he chose Jacob rather than Esau? Or is He unjust because He chose the Gentiles to be part of the kingdom of God? Is it unjust of God that not all of Israel is even Israel--because they didn't believe that the Messiah had come and receive Him to themselves? Is God unjust? "Not at all." For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion'" (Romans 9:15).

Open Your Hands

"What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath--prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory--even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?" (Romans 9:22--24). "You got that? "Not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles." Stop this foolish, prejudicial stuff-open your hearts! God will choose however He wants to choose because it's His business. He's chosen to justify people, freely by faith. He chose to bring in the eleventh hour worker, not just those who worked hard all day. That's His business. Be a worshiper, not a judge of God. Please...be a worshiper. Receive what He receives--and let Him make the decisions. Stop being gods that think you know good from evil, and think you have it all figured out with your flip charts and answers for every hard question. Stop being that way! Be worshipers. "What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory--even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? As he says in Hosea: 'I will call them "my people" who are not my people; and I will call her "my loved one" who is not my loved one,' and, 'It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," they will be called "sons of the living God."' Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: 'Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality.' It is just as Isaiah said previously: 'Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.' "What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the 'stumbling stone.' As it is written: 'See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame'" (Romans 9:23-33). The basis on which we come to God is purely, simply and solely by believing in the One whom He sent. Period. Whether Jew or Gentile, it makes no difference. He said it again and again and again! If He wants to do business that way, that's HIS CHOICE. He will do business how He pleases to do business. "So what shall we say then?" The Gentiles are received, but the Israelites are rejected? Well, why not? If that is God's choice, that He would only receive those who come by faith, and not those who try to come to God by doing good deeds or by keeping the law or some set of rules, then so be it. If God has chosen to reject those who try to come to Him by their own righteous acts, rather than by God's love and believing in the Son of God who was slain before the foundations of the earth...If God has chosen it to be that way, then so be it. Amen. Leave it alone. That's God's choice.

God Chose to Have a People

"I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew..." (Romans 11:1-2a). God chose to have a People before time began. He decided in advance that He would have a People, and He would teach them His ways. He would lead them to build a temple and an ark and He would give them animal sacrifice, the Law of Moses and the whole Levitical system. These were written down for our learning--they were done in advance for us, "on whom the apex or the fulfillment of the ages has come," Paul said (1 Cor. 10). In His mind and His heart He saw the whole picture from beginning to end before there even was any picture! While the Spirit was still hovering over the chaos of the earth, God Himself foresaw the whole picture of how humanity would play itself out. He chose to have His "people, Israel" that would be the foreshadowing of the Life that would be in His Son. Before time began, God ordered all these circumstances. That is not to say He specifically decided in advance that I would "go to hell" or I would "go to heaven" apart from His beckoning. Today I've heard His voice and softened my heart and I've not been disobedient to the vision from heaven. Do you see the difference? "God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the scripture says in the passage about Elijah--how he appealed to God against Israel: 'Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me'? And what was God's answer to him? 'I have reserved for myself 7,000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal.' So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace" (Romans 11:2-6). God has chosen to keep the door open and continues to extend Himself, His hand and His heart. "What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did--the chosen ones, did. The others were hardened, as it is written: God gave them a spirit of stupor." We are going to talk now about this ultimate plan of God: He chose a people Israel, as a shadow of the reality that's in Christ. And now, He is allowing a span of time to go by in which the Gentiles will receive the Messiah, but the Jews will not. And then God will ultimately, out of envy, offer the opportunity again to the Jews in a spectacular way. Again, we are talking about people groups, not specific individuals. "What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: 'God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see, and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day.' And David says: 'May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever'"(Romans 11:7-10).

His Magnificent Plan

So again, don't get bogged down in some narrow doctrinal view. God is God. "Be still and know that I am God," is the heart cry. Look at the vast lineage of humanity and how He has worked all these incredibly intricate details. Look at what He placed in the ark, for example--the staff of Moses that had budded and the tablets of stone and the hidden manna. ALL of it has extremely unbelievable, deep, rich meaning. The Hebrews writer couldn't even go into it all, because he didn't have the time to tell about it! But it is unbelievable! The ark represented Jesus--HE was the

ark. "He came and He tabernacled among us." You see the tablets of stone and the miracles and the authority of God and the rod that budded, and the hidden manna, the bread of life--all of them are hidden in Jesus' heart. We could go on for years discussing what the Hebrews writer didn't even give us a hint about! He only made a passing reference to it and said, "Sorry, I can't tell you any more about it." All of this stuff happening for ages and generations and all of it for our learning so that we could explore the Heart and the Mind and the Personality and the Magnificence of God.

So here we have Israel and the Gentiles, and the Jewish people in Rome are saying, "I'm frustrated with this. Why not circumcision? Why did you give us this law? What about temple worship anyway? What's the deal here, God? What's the meaning of all these things?" And He strips away the Jews' right to their own righteousness. "You never kept the law anyway, guys!" To the Gentiles, He's about to say, "Okay, I received you--big deal. Does that make you some kind of heroes because I received you and I blinded the minds of the Jews for a season? Does that make you heroes or was it I who did all of that?" You see, God's sovereign plan is that two witnesses would testify in the last days--TWO witnesses, side by side. He wants to raise up the Jews, and raise up the Gentiles, and cause them to walk side by side, declaring the Glory of God in the Person of Jesus Christ. This is the marvel that Paul is talking about in Chapters 9, 10 and 11. "Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. Do you see that God has a Plan in all these things? He sees way past just the obvious and the superficial. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!" (Romans 11:11-12) He says, "I'm talking to you, Gentiles. Don't be so selfish and so prideful about what I've done for you. If their fall has made you great, oh Gentiles--just think of what their fullness will mean for you! Don't be so jealous." If Israel's fullness is worked out in creation and God's wisdom is brought to bear through the original people that He had chosen, how much more does that mean fullness for all of us! This is not something we should resent, any more than the Jews have any right to resent. "I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my service in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. Notice that: "And save some of them." For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the part of the dough offered as firstfuits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you." (Romans 11:13-18) "Who do you think you are? ... Like Paul said to the Corinthians. "What do you have that you did not receive? Your boasting is not good. What do you have that God didn't give you?" W H O do you think you are? See God! Look at Him, Worship Him, Humble yourself before Him. There is NOTHING you have ever offered to Jesus. The root did not find Life in the branches, but the branches found Life in the Root. "You will say then, 'Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.'" The Jewish people were cut off from the inheritance, so I could be grafted into the vine, which is Jesus. "Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid" (Romans 11:19-20). It's only by faith that you stand. It's only because you chose to believe the Messiah and they chose not to believe the Messiah. Their conception of Him was wrong, and their

hearts were hard. They chose to desire a fleshly Messiah rather than a Spiritual One. They didn't want a kingdom that "was not of this world," the way Jesus said His Kingdom was. They wanted a different kind of Messiah. But even a pagan king knew that this was the King of the Jews! He put those words right on His cross and said, "I've written what I have written." Now there's sovereignty for you! GOD chose for that sign to say exactly what it said: "KING OF THE JEWS." Does that mean Pilate was saved because he ordered that to be written? No, but because of God's sovereign purpose, Pilate said, "I have written what I have written. Leave it alone. I don't know why I wrote it--I just wrote it." God chooses the vessels to accomplish His purposes in order that He might work all these things out. GOD was the one who drove the Messiah as a baby off into Egypt, right? I just want you to see on a much larger scale that these things were prophecies to be fulfilled. And God intends that His vast Wisdom would be made known to Jews and Gentiles through the fulfillment of all of these sovereignly foretold issues. God has a Plan here that goes way past just the obvious and superficial. "For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either" (Romans 11:21). If you live in unbelief, you will suffer the same fate they did. God did not graft you in "off the cuff," off the top of His head, apart from your choice to believe Him. If He is capable of cutting off those who walk in unbelief that have a Jewish heritage, He certainly can do it to us too. "Consider therefore the kindness and the sternness of God." Be worshipers! "Consider--think about--the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again" (Romans 11:22-23). "IF they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in..." It's all BY FAITH--that's the issue throughout this book. They believe in the Son of God for the forgiveness of sins, their justification before God, their sanctification before God and their value before the Father. They don't rely on externals, but they believe God and the Son whom He sent. Those He will justify freely, by His Grace, by the Provision He's poured out. "After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!" (Romans 11:24) "For if they do not persist in unbelief, they WILL be grafted in." Stop being arrogant, Gentiles! "I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers..." (Romans 11:25a) Paul even says "this is a mystery." He says, "I don't want you to be ignorant of it, but it still must be labeled a mystery." These are just phenomenal things that not even the other apostles write much about. Think about it--Jesus Himself didn't even talk much about this stuff. You can see little hints here and there, through the prophets, the other apostles, and a hint here and there through James and Mark, and maybe Luke. But these are glorious mysteries that truthfully, if anyone on the face of the earth had a real handle on them beside Paul, they didn't let on! Certainly we know that Jesus taught these things to Paul--some of it in Arabia probably, and some through revelation as time went on. Probably a large extent of it was revealed as Paul had his pen in his hand. That's often the way God works. "Do not consider what to say or how to say it, in order that my Father might speak through you" rather than you speaking through your own prejudices, biases and finite mind. (Matt. 10:20)

These are glorious mysteries that very few people, if any--other than Jesus--could comprehend during that era. Paul is talking to some unbelievably rich and fruitful saints (see the list in Romans 16), yet even to them, he considered these things to be mysteries. What magnificent statements of the omnipotence and the Glorious Thought and Sovereignty of God! He wants to prepare a People and then cut them off from the natural olive tree. Then He grafts in the unnatural, wild branches and lets those take nourishment from the root and come to life and after that, He will regraft in the natural branches. He will graft those back in who are from Jewish lineage that do not persist in unbelief. These are marvelous things. "I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in." Unbelievable! How could God DO that? What does that mean? How do we understand this stuff?

Inheritance--It's ALL Isaac's

"And so all Israel will be saved..." (Romans 11:26a). What is all Israel? Take a look at Romans 9: "It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, 'It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.' In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. For this was how the promise was stated: 'At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son'" (Romans 9: 6-9). Therefore, he goes on to say, it's by faith that we become sons of Abraham. So... "Israel has experienced a hardening in part... and so all of Israel--as defined in Chapter 9--will be saved, as it is written: 'The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.' "As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs..." (Romans 11:28). As far as God's intent and overall purposes throughout history, they are loved on account of the patriarchs--much in every way. What value does it have to be a descendant of a Patriarch? Much, in every way! God looks at what's been entrusted to the Patriarchs and His deep love and promises for them and He views that in a special way. Remember Ishmael? He was the son of a Patriarch and God loved him. But He couldn't bring Ishmael an inheritance. Remember, "Get the slave woman and her child out of my house." The child who will receive the inheritance is the one who came into the family according to the promise, by the Spirit. Born from the womb of the Spirit, and the promise and faith, without wavering--that is the child that shall receive the inheritance...but God also loved Ishmael. Because of the Patriarch, Abraham, God promised to protect Ishmael in the wilderness with his mother, and to make a great nation out of them as well. Not in the same way, but He did love them and He did meet them. It's one of the mysteries in God's heart. Why did He do that? It doesn't make any sense that He would tell the slave woman and her child to get out of the house and then say, "I love Ishmael, I love Hagar. I can't give them any inheritance, but I sure do love them and I'm going to protect them and make a great nation out of them." These are the mysteries of God.

"For God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you" (Romans 11:29-31). He's saying, "I provoked them. I've allowed a hardening in part in order that they might find out how utterly worthless they are. They felt pretty good about themselves when they were busy doing the temple worship, keeping the Sabbath Holy, and keeping all the other things I commanded." But now that it's all fallen apart--the ark is gone, the temple is gone, the animal sacrifice is gone--in their own hearts they find they're not able to keep the laws of Moses. It's all just a vast disarray. All of a sudden, hey--they might actually need a Messiah! God said, "Their own disobedience is now provoking them to see what you Gentiles knew all along--that you're worthless and there's no hope for you. The Jews didn't believe that, because they were propped up with all these things-the law, the temple, the Sabbath. Now that it's all been ripped out, and the fullness of the Gentiles has come in--now, the Jews realize out of envy, out of seeing their own hearts, how tremendously needy they are for the same Messiah that the Gentiles needed. So now, they're not so pompous anymore." This picture I'm talking about has, in large measure, not yet come to pass. If you want to see something that foretells the end of the end in a clear way, this regrafting of the Jews will be happening just as surely as the Bride will have made herself ready--the church will become what God intends it to be "without spot or wrinkle or blemish." The world is waiting on these things and creation is groaning for them, and God said they must take place before His return. So don't expect Jesus to come bursting through those clouds any minute now. Jesus said that we can comprehend the times and seasons--and as far as we can see, Jesus is not coming through those clouds any minute now. The Jews have not come in and the Bride is nowhere near ready. There are other issues here, too, like the Two Witnesses. It is very apparent that the things about the Two Witnesses that are mentioned in Revelation have not yet come to pass in fullness because the timing is waiting on the Jews. This transition needs to take place where the Jewish people realize their vast need--their tremendous need for the Messiah that they'd always waited for and then murdered on Calvary. I have to say this, that even amongst Jewish believers, there is a tremendous arrogance. They really want to hold themselves up as being "the cream of the crop." There is still a pompousness, "Well I found the Messiah and all these Gentile Christians--they're all second class citizens." They wouldn't necessarily say that, but you sure get that impression by the way they carry themselves, speak of themselves, and carry on the traditions of men. They still hold onto the traditions of men (which make null and void the Word of God), for their identity, and it is just proof that many of the things we're talking about have not yet come to pass. Amongst the Jewish believers, you just don't see the humility that speaks of people who are truly finding a revelation of the Messiah, and truly falling on their faces before a sovereign, omnipotent, glorious, majestic God and His beloved Son Jesus Christ. It's not the humility that rips away any claim to anything except just simply faith in His Name as our only calling card. That's the only lineage that has any value whatsoever. Everything else, as Paul said, is dung. The ultimate Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, the favorite son, a Pharisee of Pharisees, beyond all of his peers said... "Eh-dung." That was the word he chose. It doesn't mean anything. The best Jew that ever lived, as far as we know, except Jesus, counted all of that external stuff as having no value compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing in an intimate way the Son of God as a friend. That's what it's all about, and that's what God is stripping away from both Jew and Gentile throughout this letter. Lifting them to a knowledge of the sovereign, glorious, awesomeness of God--humbling them just

as He did Job. He is saying to both Jew and Gentile, "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? "For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all." Oh, the depths of the riches Of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, That God should repay him? For from him and through him and To him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship."

The Church ALIVE!

The Mystery Revealed
I would like you to consider with me the state of the church in this generation. This is a serious matter--I speak of the church that our Jesus died to present to Himself as "a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and without blemish," "and to make all (people) see what (is) the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places"! That's us guys--and the time (according to the Holy Spirit of God) is "now." Do you believe that passage? Then it is also true that you must position yourselves to receive God's grace as He desires to raise up a People, a Nation that is an "equal yoke" for the Groom--the King of all Kings! "And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, 'Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready!' And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." Some may think that you have heard all of this before. Oh, as Jesus our Lord said, be very careful how you hear! We only deceive ourselves if we "hear" but never act (Jas. 1:22; Lk. 6:43-49). Please! Now is the time--"in view of His great mercies" gather your thoughts and energies and fears and spiritual pride and all that you are, and lay it on the altar before Him... and ACT on the Word rather than bouncing around Bible verse truths to amuse (I speak boldly out of jealousy for my Lord's church, which other than the normal speeches and scheduled rituals and programs seems to be invisible in most every city that I travel to). Please! As I would urge all of God's People everywhere, don't settle for anything less than "a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden," "the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, (causing) growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love," "the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, (growing) with the increase (which is) from God," "And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it." That can't remain theoretical any longer, OK?! Decide what you'll do with your tonight (we know you're tired), and your weekend and your "vacation" and... ! "You are not your own--you were bought for a price"! Get on the phone and begin to penetrate into the lives around you forcefully and relentlessly impassioned to "present everyone perfect in Christ. Labor to this end struggling with all His power"! This is very simply what the Word of God says. My observation is that these things are almost universally disobeyed in the church world today, and the Corporate Life of Jesus Christ is replaced by a very poor substitute of unbiblical "worship services" and "mid-week Bible Studies." Don't take my word for it--see if you can find me that concept (dressing up to be an audience at a ceremony of two songs, a prayer by a guy chosen a week in advance, a speech by the official

presenter of speeches, etc.) of "christianity" anywhere in the Bible. It's not in there! Be honest now... Nowhere in the Holy Scriptures is a church pictured as (in the Book of Acts) or referred to or taught to be as such (in the Gospels or Epistles). The GOOD NEWS: There is a Biblical alternative! The BAD NEWS: "Few will be those who find it" because it will cost you all of your idols of television, selfishness, career idolatry, family idolatry and the like. Frankly, most will try desperately to find loopholes and create a theology to defend the fruitless mediocrity around us, and to protect their pride and orator-clergyman career path (that also doesn't exist in the Bible-believe me I was in that category for several years and recognize the difficulty and insecurity in giving it up).

Three Visual Aids for the Church

There is an analogy that I hope that you are all intimately familiar with involving the Feasts of the Lord. Possibly this will be helpful in giving you a glimpse of the alternative to "churchianity." The true, Biblical nature of the Church of Jesus Christ is essential for God's People to respond to NOW, and we can be aided in our understanding of the practical outworkings of this by an understanding (believe it or not!) of the Last and Greatest Feast, Tabernacles. In the Bible, there are three major Feasts in the Old Covenant (which is, though so often ignored, the "shadow of the reality that is in Christ"--Col. 2:17; Heb. 8:5; 9:8-9; 10:1; etc.). A (very) brief glimpse for those of you who may not have been floored yet by God's infinite Wisdom in establishing the sacrifices, the Temple, the Sabbath, the Law, the physical (geographical) nation of Israel, the Ark, the Manna, wheat fields, rivers, suns, physical families, Feast Days and a myriad of other things in order for us to have "visual aids" for our spiritual eyes in order grow spiritually and to know the "times and seasons"! (Read again, in regards to the above statement, the following verses--I can't take the time to go further now: Col. 2:16-17; Heb. 8:5; 9:9; 9:23-24; 10:1-2; Rev. 21:22-22:7; Lk. 12:54-56; these. 5:4; 1Pet. 1:10-11; Rom. 15:4; 1Cor. 10:6, 11; Mat. 5:17-18; Ga1. 3:24; 1Cor. 15:46; Eph. 1:18; Jn. 14:19a, 21b). Even if this is all foreign to you currently, please enjoy the fact that the Feasts are a great key to understanding (much like Gal. 4:24 and Heb. 9:1-9) the special inheritance that we have, and to discern the Day that we're speeding towards (whether we believe it or not, we are obviously much closer to the Day of the Return of Christ than Paul was). And understanding the Wisdom of God in the "visual aids" of the Feasts will also help us to prepare ourselves for that Day--if we have the presence of mind and passion for Jesus, and jealousy for the honor of His Name and His Bride, the Church, to care. Here are some thoughts to hold before your Lord... analogies that I believe will be somewhat useful to your understanding of the nature of the church of the Bible. Don't be picky. Just gain what you can from the passages referred to. If you don't quite "get it," don't fret or be upset--just go on serving your God with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind and all of your strength! And so will I. Just pray through it and make Prov. 2:1-15 and 3:5-6 the guideline for your study. The first of the Three Feasts of Israel is the Feast of Passover (Also included The Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast Day of the Sheaf of First fruits) This first analogy is well known to us all. Our Lord and the Christ, Jesus, was that Paschal Lamb for us whose blood was sprinkled on the door and lintel in order that the Death Angel might "passover" the homes of those of us who have been prepared and cut by circumcision (Ex. 12:1-51;

Lev. 23; Num. 33; Deut. 16; Heb. 11:28) and appropriate that blood by a response of faith. In addition to being "unleavened," without sin (Heb. 4:15; lCor. 5: 7-8), our Jesus was also the single "sheaf of first fruits"--our "Pioneer," the "Firstborn" of a new Race (Col. 1:15; 1Cor. 15:23, 45; 1Pet. 2:4-5, 8-10). Like the single sheaf of the first month grain harvest that was to be waved before the Lord "on the morning after the Sabbath" (Lev. 23: 9-14), so also the "Firstborn One" became a celebration of God's coming Harvest as He was the lone Wave Offering before the Lord "on the morning after the Passover Sabbath," His Resurrection Day! "But Jesus answered them, saying, 'The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.' " And so, the second great Feast that God had commanded: Pentecost (Also called The Feast of Weeks, of Harvest, of First fruits--Ex. 23; 34; Deut.16; Lev. 23; Num. 28). This Feast was to celebrate the Harvest of the spring wheat, where a wave offering of, not a single sheaf as at the Passover, but rather a wave offering of two loaves were offered. This Feast was to be celebrated on the fiftieth day (thus, the name Pentecost) after the Passover Feast, again, not on the Sabbath day, but "on the morrow after the Sabbath." This Feast was also to commemorate the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. There is so much to say, yet even a brief mention such as this must leave us staggered at the infinite mind of our God who "when the day of Pentecost had fully come" (Acts 2:1) brought the first harvest of souls up from the ground as He had His "only begotten Son" fifty days earlier, and made a "loaf" out of them as a wave offering (1Cor. 10:17; Acts 2:42-47)! What had commemorated the giving of the Law on the Tablets of Stone, now would commemorate the Law written by the Spirit of God in the New Covenant on the Tablets of the Hearts of men (Jer. 31:33; 2Cor. 3:3, 6; Ezek. 36:26-27). Where 3000 had died (Ex. 32:15-28), now 3000 were raised from spiritual death (Eph. 2:1-5; Acts 2:36-41)! Both of these Feasts, though historical events (both as Feasts in the old Covenant, and in Christ's literal death and resurrection--the Passover blood that was shed, and Pentecost--the third month celebration of the harvest of 3000 souls) are clearly meant for us to participate in currently, in the spiritual sense, or we are "none of His" (Heb. 9:22; Rom. 8:9-11). LIKEWISE, and the reason I've taken the time to establish all of the above, SO MUST WE PARTICIPATE IN THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES, THE LAST AND GREATEST FEAST, IN ORDER TO KNOW THE FULL INTENT AND BLESSINGS OF GOD!!! This Feast (Test this--but not by the traditions of men, but rather in the Spirit of God by the Word of God) is primarily: 1) Not yet fulfilled (as seems clear in the following parallels and observation); and 2) Involves the Church of Jesus Christ and You ! (Only those that have shared in the other two Feasts can partake in this culmination of all of the work of God).

The third and last of the Feasts of Israel was to be held after the long, dry scorched months of summer when the rains finally were renewed at the final harvest time in the seventh month. This was to be the greatest of all the Feasts (GREATER EVEN THAN PENTECOST!)

The Feast of Tabernacles or Ingathering.

It seems impossible to logically just call this "Judgment Day" since this Feast included the Feast Day of the Blowing of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Booths (Lev. 23:16; Num. 29; Deut. 16; 31; Neh. 8:14-15; Ex. 23:16; Jn. 7), and then ended with an eighth day Rest, the completion. If, again, this is hard to understand, that's OK... I'll bet you will still benefit tremendously from the New Testament scriptures, if you'll be disciplined enough to look them up and obey them. Back to the analogy, the "shadow," the "schoolmaster," even the Old Testament that the Apostle Paul referred to as, (2Timothy 3:15-16), "the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture (a New Testament verse referring to the Old Testament, of course, in context) is given by inspiration of God, and (is) profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness..." And so, the "useful" shadow: The Feast of Trumpets, because the Day of Atonement must be introduced by the Trumpet call of men of God carrying His Words (See Amos 3:6-8; Isa. 58:1; Hos. 8:1; Ezek. 33:1-7; Joel 2:1,15; Isa. 18:3; 27:13; Jer. 4:8; Rev. 1:10; 4:1; 1Cor. 14:8). There is no question that the dry summer months of the last 1800+ years have been primarily "a famine in hearing the Word." At least it has been a famine in hearing a "living and active Word" that doesn't simply "educate," but "lays bear the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" and causes men that refuse holiness and cling to the cloak of darkness and the shadow of compromise and justifying words to run ("You're judging--don't you dare confront me with my cesspool mind and unfruitful life!") (Heb. 4:12; Jn. 3:19-21; Jn. 15:1-8; 2Thes. 2:11-12; 2Tim. 4:1-3; 3:1-9). And, by the way, that exact same Word will bring grace and glory and liberty from the bondage of sin to those with "good and honest hearts" (Acts 3:19,26; Jn. 8:31-32; Titus 2:11-15; 1Thes. 2:13; Rom. 1:16; 2:4-11; Lk. 8:15; Mat.7:24-27; 2Cor. 3:16-18; Jn. 3:19-21). Most definitely, the Day of Atonement will be introduced by the Trumpet Call of the Word! The Day of Atonement is, as we view the Word of God and make its application, 1) a reaffirmation, a reawakening of the necessity of the atoning blood of the Lamb of God (not as a "doctrine" that is taught and "claimed," but in deep, deep gratitude, as the very source and essence of our abiding Life in Him); 2) a time of fasting and repentance and a "rending of our hearts": "Without holiness no one will see the Lord"; and, 3) a time of moving into the inner sanctuaries of our God's heart and mind (for proof see 1Cor. 2:9-3:2, Jn. 15:15)--moving into the Most Holy Place where the Ark of God's Glory resides, filled with the hidden manna, the tablets of God's Righteousness, and God's affirmation in the rod of Aaron (Heb. 9:1-5; 10:19-20). That's the place that Jesus spoke of "in a loud voice" on that "last and greatest day of the Feast" where "gushing torrents of alive water will flow from his innermost being"--that is absolutely to be the NORM of EVERY Christian's life on earth, according to Jesus Himself! Again, not "the doctrine of," but the reality of a river that Ezekiel saw that changes the world around us into Christ! (Ezek. 47:1-12) "Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing

from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar... and there was water, running out on the right side... the water came up to my ankles... the water came up to my knees... the water came up to my waist... and it was a river that I could not cross: for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed. He said to me, "Son of man, have you seen this?" Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river. When I returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees on one side and the other. Then he said to me: "This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea (the Dead Sea here represents the Dead Sea of humanity that the waters of God flowing out of us and our "innermost being," the Temple of God, cause to burst into Life!) its waters are healed. And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live! There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many. But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt. Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all (kinds of) trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine." But first, the Last and Greatest Feast, the Feast of the Ingathering, must see a great Day of Atonement in God's People. Acts 3:19: "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." Acts 3: 23: "And it shall come to pass (that) every soul who will not hear that Prophet (Jesus) shall be utterly destroyed from among the people." 2Tim. 2:19: "Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: 'The Lord knows those who are His,' and, 'Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.'" Mat. 21:43: "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a People who will bear its Fruit"! Lk. 19:44: "your enemy...will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

SOME SPECIFIC THINGS THAT MUST BE TORN DOWN IN OUR CITIES, IN OUR CHURCHES AND IN OUR LIVES IF WE WOULD SEE THE FULLNESS OF GOD'S PURPOSES: 1. Division amongst our number from old scars. "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." That cannot be bypassed. Please take the initiative, each of you, to help the others that you are aware of that are still holding on to this sin--for everyone's sake. God's visitations (take this any way you'd like) are only to those that are of "one accord." 2. Immorality. Nothing rationalized. Septic tank minds and mouths must be repented of. 3. Covenant violations (of heart) in marriage. 4. Selfishness, Idolatry, Laziness. 5. Spiritual arrogance, critics "twice dead" (Jude 11-12; Num. 16:1-7; 1Sam. 4:21-22). I can't encourage you enough to move to demolish these strongholds... that you might be useful to God. There won't be any exceptions this time around! 2Tim. 2:21: "Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work." Acts 17:30: "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent! " ARE YOU READY TO GO FOR IT?!

Then last of all, the part of the Feast of Tabernacles that I'd like you to take very seriously, as it has application to your life...

THE FEAST OF BOOTHS

This can no more likely be devoid of meaning and application to us than the Passover or Pentecost--so consider carefully! "Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land,

you shall keep the feast of the Lord (for) seven days; on the first day (there shall be) a (Sabbath)rest, and on the eighth day a (sabbath)-rest. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. (It shall be) a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I (am) the Lord your God.' So Moses declared to the children of Israel the Feasts of the Lord." (Lev. 23:39-44). And, (Neh. 8:11-17) "So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, 'Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.' And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them. Now on the second day the heads of the fathers' houses of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law. And they found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and that they should announce and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, 'Go out to the mountain, and bring olive branches, branches of oil trees, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written. Then the people went out and brought (them) and made themselves booths, each one on the roof of his house, or in their courtyards or the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the Water Gate and in the open square of the Gate of Ephraim. So the whole congregation of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very great gladness." During the Feast of Booths, all of the people came out of their various levels of prosperity and comforts, and slaves right next to rulers would live in little thatched roof huts. During this Feast the streets were filled with these small booths! They were made from the "branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook" and were so numerous that there was only room on the rooftops to erect these huts. For the duration of the "last and greatest Feast," everyone joined themselves together in a oneness, purposely destroying the divisions of class and possessions and education. It all sounds so much like the church of the Bible even before Tabernacles!, (Acts 2:42-47) "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every souls and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common (not a "common purse," but the heart of Jesus unattached to material things--Acts 5:3-4; Lk. 6:20-36) and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." And, (Acts 4:32-35) "Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid (them) at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need."

This is not cultural.

It's the very foundation of a life that is storing up treasure in Heaven in simple observable obedience to Jesus (Lk. 6:17-36; 9:57-62; 14:12-13, 25-34) and is a suitable vessel to "turn the world upside down" in the power of the Holy Spirit of Jesus! It is only the fruit of a people that obey Jesus' teaching literally, rather than delude themselves by getting together three times a week to simply give speeches about, talk about and form a denomination that agrees upon what that teaching is... but never obeys it as those simple, trusting folks in the first century did. It is also the fruit of those Disciples who would see the Feast of Tabernacles and God's full intention in His People. If you don't believe that, would you at least believe "I will build my church and the gates of hell will not withstand it," "to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places," "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." As long as the "gates of Hell" continue to destroy marriages, and drugs and sex ravage the teenagers of "church folk" and conversions are oh-so-few, we have no RIGHT to defend the thing around us as "the Lord's Church." HIS church will blow apart the very gates and strongholds of Satan and Hell itself with the power of the Risen Jesus and His Word! (Mat. 16:18; 2Cor. 10:3-6; lJn. 3:6-9; Eph. 6:12). Nothing else is the church that He is "building." So, why be defensive for something that does not bear the Fruit that Jesus said it must (Lk. 6:4344; Mt. 21:43; Acts 26:20b; Lk. 3:8-9)? Let's just be honest and humble enough to go on. We've paid a price to go this far--why camp out on something so undeniably (even by any intelligent heathen observer) short of the mark now?!

The Gospel of the Kingdom

Many of you have been aware of the fact that in recent years there has been a very obvious call to the intimate Knowledge and vertical Worship of, and Fellowship with, the Living King, Jesus, and His Father--rather than religious rituals and temple exercises done in His honor to somehow please a "way off somewhere inactive God." As some of you have realized, either He's "in our midst" (Mat. 18:20) or He's not! God's call continues (Again, please test this--but don't discard it out of apathy or justification of the idols of the middle-class American lifestyle) to be that call to glorious worship (rather than an unbiblical "song service" and "weakly" speeches to spit-polished "audiences" in the "pews"--Really, it isn't anywhere in the scriptures!) and the drawing up of His People into a Holy Nation, a Royal Priesthood, an "Ever-Increasing Government" and "Habitation of God by the Spirit"! Not a "here or there Kingdom" "in Jerusalem or on this mountain" where someone says "here is the Christ, or there is the Christ"--but a People, a Church with "no beauty or majesty" that (one more time!) "the gates of Hell cannot withstand," " to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places"!

Thank our God--He has put the "Second Adam" into a deep sleep (for three days and three nights) and has pulled a rib out of Jesus' side and is building Him a Bride suitable for Him... of His nature! And that Bride, by the Spirit that "He exerted in Christ when He rose Him from the dead" is, according to Jesus Himself, more blessed by the Coming of the Comforter than we would be even with His physical presence on earth! (Jn. 14:12; 16:7). If you would prefer Jesus' physical presence on earth to what you currently have, you're missing what God has offered you! The message delivered by those men who knew was continually the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom (His verifiable reign amongst His People)--Acts 8:12; Acts 28:31; Mat. 6:33. As we have focused the eyes of our hearts on a new Understanding of Worship of our Lord and King, it remains necessary to move into the Feast of Booths where we celebrate the "KINGDOM of our God and His Righteousness." Jn. 13:35 "By THIS all will know that you are My disciples, if you have AGAPE for one another." VISIBLE, as in, "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." With one another! Is it true? Can the world see that depth of relationship in your lives with one another? One thing is certain: if we are no deeper than a church lobby or fellowship meal--the world will never know that we are truly His disciples. He said a lot when He said "By THIS all will know that you are my disciples," didn't He? (lJn. 2:7-8) "Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining." No, its not a "new command" at all--but the very oldest. Yet it is new because now it is "seen" (NIV) in us rather than "studied" by us! (Heb. 8:10-13). The very essence of the "christianity" that has descended from Heaven to earth is not primarily the passing on of knowledge, but rather, "the life became the light of men" (Jn. 1:4), the treasure, not on stone tablets or in gilded edge and leather bindings, but "living letters," the treasure in "earthen vessels" (See Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 10:15-16; 2Cor. 3:2-6; 4:6-7; Ezek. 36:26-27; lCor. 4:19-20). This is a Covenant, not of our words (though the Utterance of God is the very bedrock of the universe--lPet. 1:22-25), but of the visible Agape that we have for "one another," that Word becoming "flesh" in us, the corporate Life of Jesus Christ that looks like and bears fruit like: (Isa. 61:1-7): "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations... But you shall be named the Priests of the Lord, (men) shall call you the Servants of our God... Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and (instead of) confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be theirs."

Obviously this isn't a life pulled away in seclusion, but out on the streets! Is that you heart? Oh, I hope so--it's God's heart for you and His church! I'm certain that that is enough for now, but let me end with the challenge to consider each day and night and weekend: "Am I truly building with the costly materials that are only found by digging very deep--"gold silver and precious stones," or am I building with the cheap, surface materials of "wood, hay and stubble" that will not endure the test of fire? (1Cor. 3:9-15).

An Appeal
I'm certain that this is enough for now, but let me end with the challenge to consider each day and night and weekend: "Am I truly building with the costly materials that are only found by digging very deep--"gold, silver, and precious stones," or am I building with the cheap, surface materials of "wood, hay and stubble" that will not endure the test of fire? (1Cor.3:9-15). Please, for Jesus' sake and the honor of His Name and His Purposes, take this literally as it was intended: "but exhort one another daily, while it is called 'Today,' lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." We really need each other, Family. May the Grace of God, His Mercy and His Liberty be with you all... For Jesus' Sake.

For What Purpose Will YOU Die?

Inevitable Call of the Grave
Except for that fortunate generation that will be caught up with Him in the air, each man and woman and child WILL die a physical death. Maybe it will hurt real bad, or perhaps it will be silent and swift. Perhaps you will outlive your children, or they may instead bury you. Regardless of method or timing, physical and total departure regardless of what is left undoneis rapidly approaching for all of us. Its true, and what is true is best known and understood and accounted for in the decisions of our daily lives. If you are amongst those who live in denial and will not willingly face the evil in the world, the pain in the world, disappointment, chaos, unhappiness...and death...its time to Grow up. It is only in driving forward resolutely towards Jerusalem and His Destiny in us that we can be Useful to the Cause and Purpose and Person of Jesus Christ. IF we will willingly share in His suffering, we may then share in His Glory (Romans 8:17). No man is greater than his Master. If they hated Me, they will hate you also (John 15:20). Woe to you, if all men speak well of you (Luke 6:26).

We FACE the Truth

And so, we do not hide from pain and difficulty and unfairness, but embrace these visitors as one possible mark of Intimacy with Him and Promise from Him. Denial and avoidance are an empty game of the cowardly and fearfulnot the Path of disciples of Jesus. The Enemys deceit and accusations towards Jesus men and women, the threats and power plays of the Enemys pawns and puppets are to be expected IF we are about the Fathers GENUINE business. Certainly, the marks of placebo cultural religious exercises and hobby are the daily pursuit of acceptable pleasure and comfort, and pursuit of our own personal business as a way of life. These who do not Know Him will order their lives by the clich, God, family, and religious hobby. They will, and do, treat Gods Work and Together-Life in His daily Body (Acts 2:42-47; 1Cor. 12; Heb. 3:1214) as no more than a social outing, on their own schedule. They will act as if His Truths are simply stimulation for the minda New York Times crossword puzzle of words and ideas and numbers. These are without awe of the Words of God, and therefore there is no felt compulsory obedience or responsibility for others. Christianity, His Church and Purposes are a game we playa plug-in into the program of our personal lives, added to enhance our experience in some social and philosophical way. However, when our lifes only focus and goal is pleasing and serving and representing HIM, as was true of the First of our Tribe, Jesus Christ, then and only then will we find death imminent day by day, as all Faithful are promised to experience. Many think that by refusing to risk, refusing to challenge that which is not, refusing to think or care, refusing to turn full face towards the Truth with open hands... many believe they can thusly

evade the death cost of life that is truly Life. Some honestly believe, through squinted eyes as they read Holy Writ, that they might acquire the Pearl of Great Price for a rationalized tithe of a tithe of a tithe of life. They consider themselves complete and sufficient, if only they can point to the fact that they are being weekly sprinkled with evangelical holy water of attending a religious garage sale, flea market, or a circus or theater performance. And, OF COURSE, we know that this is not what Jesus demonstrated Christianity would be. Anyone who claims to be In Him, must walk as Jesus walked (1Jn. 2:6). Not simply believe what Jesus taught. And so, death is inevitable for ALL who love Him and actually live FOR Him. Threats, rejection, hatred, accusation, and pressures towards death are Biblically inescapable for those who represent Him properly in daily life. We know, as the sands slide quietly through the narrow throat of the hourglass, those rushing sands whisper the same message regarding the brevity of life to allwhether disciple of Jesus, or not. The passing of time will lead all rapidly towards physical death. There is no reasonable denial. There is no hidingthat will not cost us more than we have saved by this denial. While all die, not all really live. We choose. By definition, this is not an extra choice if we are truly a Disciple of Jesus (Lk. 9:57-62), a Christian (Acts 11:26). If truly Twice Born, each of us has chosen a life that is costly, enlightened, and sacrificialif saved, we are doulos and slaves bought for a pricethe precious Blood of Jesus. A Saved human, saved by Jesus costly Death and Way, has chosen a Life fraught with risk, by definition, according to Jesus Himself. Daily taking up our cross, we sacrifice what all mere men (1Cor. 2-3) count precious. Others, devoid of His Spirit, or shaming and grieving His Spirit, will instead take the road most traveled: choices and affections and relationships filled with the lukewarmness of world-loving self-life, preoccupation with trinkets and mirrors, and shallow rationalizationsstumbling as they play and pretend in the grey twilight, only a step from oblivion. We mustnt live in denial of that which is inevitable: It is appointed to man once to die, and then to face the Judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Okay. Weve got that said. Awake! We must all stand wide awake to what is and what must be and what shall be! Death is near to all. It is friend, not foe, when we are His, of course. This, then, explains a true Disciples willingness to face death for Him and in Him. Still, arent many (with or without Jesus) willing to step out of denial and face death? Are not the sonnets of the centuries filled with such stories of those who will face death without denial? With awareness of such lofty issues as life, and such inevitable matters as death, isnt it true that some will cry with clarion call, I am willing to die! I face death with eyes ablaze, chin jutted, and fist raised to the sky! Lets consider that for a moment, together. What kind of man or woman would face death and not turn away? Perhaps there are four kinds of mortals who are not in denial, nor cowards in the face of death. Who are these four kinds of men and women and youth?

What Kind of Man or Woman Will WILLINGLY Face Death? Man #1

The careless man. He will willingly die. This man, drunk on pleasure or lust, frivolity or irresponsibility shouts, Eat, drink, and be merry - for tomorrow we all die! Of course we will die, but we fear not! OUR God is a God of L-uhhhh-vvvvve, and nothing will happen to us. We all attend a yellow submarinethe Temple, the Temple, the Temple, Peace, Peace. This man or woman has persuaded himself that all must be well, and that consequences and truths do not exist if they do not wish them to exist. They will die with eyes open wide, unwilling to acknowledge the reality of the Message and Commands and Opportunities in Jesus Christ. They have a form of godliness, but deny the Power. A second kind of man or woman is also willing to face death and die.

Man #2
The man of hatred. This man, empowered by rage, drunk on ambition or movement, guided by hatred of what (or who) he believes he is against, is willing to die in battle. In the depths of his heart, he simply despises himselfand his heroism is often no more than the despairing of his own empty life and hypocrisy. This macho man is quite willing to die in battle. Envy, anger, hatred, and other such animals crawl mercilessly under his or her skin, and throb for release from their bondage. For such a slave, it will be death, or Jesus Christone or the other. And which it shall be, the frying pan into the fire of seeking release for pain in sin? Or will it be abandoning ourselves into the Grace and Truth and Life of Jesus Christ? The answer lays in how any human answers this question: Will you have THIS Man Jesus Christ over you, to be your King? To those tormented by their inner egos and demons, a courageous death has an appeal. They think to themselves, often without even knowing it, I can appear to have gained meaning and status by risking my life. Hatred, in many, has already stolen the spark of lifeleaving nothing to truly risk. This second man or woman will risk their life for their cause, or even randomly in foolish choices. Now, this third man or woman will also step out of denial and personal comfort, and risk their lives. This third common sentiment and instinct of a man has fueled the ovens of war for millennia...

Man #3
Many can be willing to raise the sword and dieif they knew they would die if they did not. These would risk death to defend themselves from another death that might have been imposed upon them from elsewhere. This is not courage, but defense of self, an animal protection mechanism. We find in this carnal heroism category those who are willing to die in defense of geographical dirt, or pagan political ideology. Men will readily die, pumped to the gourd with blind obedience by basic training brainwashing, and by the pummel of marching songs, guilt, fear, pride, and emotional ploys. Men will be programmed by others, or self-inspired to die for water rights, land rights, for someone elses oil, for an illusion of wealth or power or paradise, or for any number of civilian affairs unrelated to the Spirit and Truth. Nations rise and fall by the success or failure of its leaders to sing the song well to inspire chest-thumping by its young men, when the young ones have not even truly been informed as to the reality of the hidden motives and mission. For

those who are not in Christ Jesus and will not love Him or obey Him, this is a way to bring meaning to their lives. Thousands and millions will perish forever from the earth, trained to jump at the cadence of someone elses drum, and think it heroic to do so. Simon says, Shoot, on my command. Simon says, Raise your hands. Simon says, Give your money. Simon says, Shake the hand of your neighbor. Simon says, Repeat after me. I comment not on the validity of such a choice, or lack of validity, for those who are not Spirit-filled Disciples of Jesus. Perhaps this is all fine for them. Such men, willing to die in this way, do exist.

Man #4
Ahhh...and then this. The Life and Death of Jesus of Nazareth, worn in heart and soul by some few Wayfarers: Man with his burning soul Has but an hour of breath To build a ship of Truth In which his soul may Sail on the sea of death For death takes its toll Of beauty, courage, youth Of all but Truth. Some very VERY few are those who would die willingly for love of the Man Jesus, and a cause of His Truths (which He personifies as the Word and the Truth and the Way. These Special Ones, His Elect, would consider betrayal of His love and Truth to BE death, and far more vulgar than mere physical death. In living for Him regardless of cost there is no real risk. With no earthly reward in sight, with no applause sought, these men and women in the Spirit and Together-Life of the Son of God will die FOR Him and IN Him. If prophecy in the Bible regarding your lifetime is True, those in love with Him and obedient to Him will risk dying a criminal death, by simple unyielding Faithfulness to His Word and Ways. Clandestine hand-holding between the Romans (the secular government) and the Religionists (the accepted cultural expression of religion) will plot for the Body what it conspired against its Head, Jesus of Nazareth. A Faithful man or woman will always find themselves, as Jesus promised, rejected by most. Woe to you if you are not hated by those with something to lose, and accused by those who choose to not bow their knee to the King in daily life. True Christians, Jesus said and demonstrated, will be indicted by a conjured (and remarkably believable) testimony from those who seek revenge as an outlet for their own plagued consciences. Fear and jealous rage will make your existence unacceptable to those with something to loseif you REALLY love Him and obey Him in your workplace and family and neighborhood. The accusers true ulterior motives for wanting you harmed or silenced are covered with the smoke screen of the noble cause, in Gods service. Often their motives are, in reality, protecting their own empires or wages. Sometimes it is their pride alone that justifies, to them, the killing of anything or anyone which lovingly would pull the shroud and expose their fouled consciences. Of course, this aspect is seldom seen by the rest of the religious hierarchy, or by the religious masses. If we sing loudly enough, wave our arms, and crank the percussion, all the

hard stuff goes away. A polygraph test would reveal they truly believe you ARE worthy to be burned at the stake, literally or figuratively through libel and slander and creative punishments and collusion. These, with something to hide or protect, are honestly convinced they would be doing God a favor by extinguishing youor attempting to cripple you through this slander and gossip. Jesus prophesied over and over again in His physical lifetime here that this hatred and these attacks would surely take place against those who truly live for Him. Do not weep for Me, but for yourselves and for your children. For if men do these things when the Tree is green, what will happen when it is dry? (Luke 23:31). If the Tree the Firstborn has plantedthe Life of Heaven come to earthis so despised when it is so young, said Jesus... how much more will the world hate a Church in maturity and seasoned Christ-Life? As the Bride makes herself ready for the Return of the Groom, the dragons hatred and attacks are every bit as deceitful and violent, according to Jesus, as they were towards Him. Nevertheless, those ablaze with His Life and Love, buried in the daily Life of the pillar and foundation of Ekklesia and Koinonia, with Reason to live and move and have their being...will press on. These will forfeit or water down NO Truth to accommodate the lowest common denominator of worldly christendomsince all Truth is inseparably part and Life of Jesus and His Father (John 1). Those in love with Jesus more than in love with themselves and this wicked and adulterous generation...will stand firm in the Spirit, contending as One Man for the Faith of the Message without being frightened in any way by those who oppose them. This is a Sign that the accusers will be destroyed, but that you will be Savedand that by God (Php.1:27-28). In the footsteps of their Master and Friend, Jesus, those in Christ will willingly forfeit their pleasures, reputations, securities and relationships, as He did, for Truth and Love of the Father. His Volunteer Tribe, of the Faith of Abraham and born by His Transfiguring Spirit, have left all for Jesus. A true Christian will risk even physical life itselffor a Man they have not yet met faceto-face, and for His Truths which they will not argue for self-justification. Hallelujah. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives, even to the cost of death (Revelation 12:10-11). Yes, and Amen. THAT is Jesus. THAT is Christ-ianity. That is the Life of the local Church, in Christ, Daily and Together from the least to the greatest.

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