Articles

Dying to Death – The Second Death

Pete
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The issues of life and death, like all Scriptures and truths of the Lord, are hidden from those not yet given the gift of faith and the accompanying eyes to see and ears to hear.  Becoming grounded on some basic principles, such as the topic of death,  is essential to growing in understanding.  May these words help those few the Lord may lead to read them.

Pete & Ronel

Dying to Death

All men are PURPOSEFULLY born in marred vessels of clay so the Lord can remake us into a new mold in His image on His timeline.   Nothing we experience is wasted, it is all the work of the potter.

Jer 18:3  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. 

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. 

Jer 18:5  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 

Jer 18:6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. 

We are born into sin and thus begin the lives of every man.  As clay in the potter’s hand, the false doctrine of free will is readily destroyed by the truth.

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 

Rom 3:12  They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 

We will naturally remain this way until our time of reformation comes and we begin our transformation into the image of God.  This is the process of salvation and the same said as being “our journey from death unto life”.  Paul’s words of the helplessness of Romans 7, expressing every man’s journey to be righteous under their own strength (i.e the law) segues into the freedom and new life described in Romans 8.  Abiding in death, stuck in a prison, and bound to the law we first await Christ.

Rom 7:5  For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 

When Christ comes He delivers us and sets us free from the law and the death that the law of sin and death (carnal mindedness) brings.

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 

The law of sin and death is the same as the law of Moses and also the same as the law of the Gentiles.  Simply put, this law is what all carnally minded people are under.  Yet do not despair because all mankind is ignorant and oblivious to their plight until the Lord comes and sets them free from the resulting bondage that is also spiritual death.

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 

Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 

We begin to be transformed from death and having the mind of our father the devil, unto newness of life, having the mind of Christ.  This is our salvation and takes a three-day spiritual journey to complete.  The last enemy to be destroyed to complete the transformation is death.  This is the death of our carnal mind that has kept us in bondage all our lives.

Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 

1Co 15:25-26  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

The Lord who holds the keys to life and death, considers physical death to be the same as sleeping [Joh 11:11, Dan 12:2, etc].  The Lord’s words are Spirit and life and speak to great mysteries that only few are given to understand.

1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 

Our dying to the Lord is our dying to death.  This is subjecting our carnal mind to the will of God and following the Spirit by the law of faith.  That is how newness of life is found and how we are being raised with Christ in the resurrection.  Christ speaks and acts in parables but most like Martha are only able to see the physical or outward application.

Joh 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 

Joh 11:26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? 

Dying to death is also known as the “second death” which every man will fulfill in their appointed time.  We experience and fulfill all the Scriptures, living by every word.  All those experiences are indeed ours [1Cor 3:21] to fulfill and many err by taking things out of the book as not applicable to them.  Dying to death comes to a head in our day of the Lord, when the Lord comes a second time for judgment and salvation.

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 

Heb 9:28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

The consummation of salvation is our being given our crowns which is the mind of Christ that is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  When the Lord first comes to us, we will be found dead in our sins and trespasses. This is the fate of all men naturally born in marred bodies of flesh that cannot help but sin.  The Lord has His ways to correct us and remake us through the fiery experience of His judgments.

Exo 32:33  And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. 

In our day of the Lord, the new man is brought forth as the old man and our carnal way of thinking dies under the fire of God’s jealousies.  All men have sinned without exceptions and thus are blotted out from spiritual life until their appointed time comes.    The time comes for our day of the Lord when we find ourselves in the lake of fire, experience the second death, and thus are being saved!

Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 

Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life[i.e. all who sin who have been blotted out at first] was cast into the lake of fire. 

The second death and our resurrection are one in the same event we experience.  Think of a two-sided coin and know that the Scriptures are speaking about His two witnesses which are the old man and the new man.  Both the carnal old man and the spiritual new man are clay in the potter’s hands.  He is molding and shaping us on His schedule and by this process, we die to death at the same time newness of life is brought forth.

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 

In this consuming fire [Heb 12:29] that is the Lord, we are being quickened and in due time are overcoming our flesh.  As we progress, we are able to look behind ourselves and see our deliverance from the ways of the world which is ruled by the spirit of Satan or said another way carnal mindedness.

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 

Our flesh does not go willingly to its death.  It resists the ways of the Spirit until it is brought into subjection.  The Lord prevails when our time has come and we are freed from the law of sin and death and separated from the carnally minded by our faith.

Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 

Gal 5:18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 

We should earnestly pray that we grow in the faith.  The challenges of living in this carnal world but not being of it, get bigger the further we walk, yet the Lord will equip us with the faith and temperament to bear it.

Articles

Blessed is the Man

Pete
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Blessed is the Man

 To the brethren in Christ who share our precious faith,

As the Lord’s chosen people, we are being blessed with innumerable spiritual blessings that further the Lord’s work.  Our flesh does not appreciate the Lord’s blessings, yet the blessings are to make us holy and blameless in His sight.

Eph 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 

Like Job experienced, we all experience miserable comforters [within and without], who have no spiritual vision, telling us we are anything but blessed based on the seemingly endless trials we endure.  Walking by faith, we ignore the wisdom of this world and rather stand on the promises of the Lord and the power of God.

1Co 1:18  For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 

1Co 1:19  For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 

The true blessings of the Lord are the experiences that are molding and reshaping us into holy people in His likeness.  As we grow into maturity, we do forget and at times grow weary not feeling blessed.  It is in these hard trials, that we learn to walk by faith and not by sight.  As we mature in the Lord’s timeline, we are able to bring it all back to faith and learn to be thankful for the spiritual blessings He has and is providing.

1Th 5:18  In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 

Eph 5:20  giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

The blessings of God are always centered around our sanctification which is the process that is making us pure and holy.  We only get there through the work of the Lord, it is His circumcision done by His hands.   Yet we are admonished that the work of the Lord can be hastened which is a godly pursuit we should pursue with vigor.

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 

This is especially true when we are in great trials in our day of the Lord.  Christ, our able minister and High Priest, are there to bless us and bring what is needed (comfort, mercy, peace, strength, healing).  The Lord is not ever going to leave or forsake us.  The ways of Jesus Christ have never changed, even in our latter day’s tribulations,  as the OT shadow via the law declares.

Deu 4:29  But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 

Deu 4:30  When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;

Deu 4:31  (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them

In our day of the Lord, we are being taught to pray for anything according to His will and we shall receive it.  The key part is being according to His will.

1Jn 5:14  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 

1Jn 5:15  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. 

The Lord wants to bless us richly as it brings about His will and glorifies the Father.  We should therefore have full assurance He will provide what we ask, therefore we should be asking rightly according to His will.

2Co 9:8  And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: 

These blessings are the exercise of our faith that in time enable us to stand thru the trials, to have our faith proven, and see the remaking progress. If we hearken unto His voice and commands then many blessings are poured out and we are advanced in His kingdom.

Deu 28:2  And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. 

Deu 28:3  Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 

Deu 28:4  Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 

Deu 28:5  Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. .

Deu 28:6  Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 

The Lord’s blessings are unlikely to be what our flesh desires.  Anyone with anything such as good health, sufficient money, a good job, a nice home, a wife, a skill, knowledge, etc.; has received a blessing from the Lord [Php 4:19, Mat 6:33].  But these are not the blessings of God reserved for His chosen people in their day of the Lord.  Some are blessed in the physical realm but that is not His purpose when our day of reformation has arrived. It is not about the flesh being profited when the Lord is guiding us towards life.

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 

The Lord’s purpose in saving us is not to make us comfortable in this world.  Instead, He is further calling us out of this world to become a set-apart people unto Himself.  Thus it is through our faith we can both rejoice knowing the Lord’s plan yet at the same time we can mourn as we endure the hardships the Lord has given us which are advancing His work.

1Pe 1:6  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 

It is illogical to the carnal mind yet the hardships we face in this life are one and the same the blessings of God.  Thinking of them as God sees them will help us identify and take captive an ungrateful or complaining spirit within ourselves.  Let’s remind ourselves whom the Scriptures show are the blessed people of God.  This should raise our spirits and comfort us in our trials.

The chosen few are the blessed people of God

Anyone blessed of God has become so not because of anything they did but solely because they have been chosen for salvation and caused by the Lord to dwell in His courts of judgment.  It is in His courts where spiritual fruit is being established within us and grown unto maturity.

Psa 65:4  Blessed is the man whom thou (The Lord) choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

Joh 15:16  Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 

Our zeal to know and follow the ways of the Lord comes when the Lord gives us that desire and then fills that desire in our appointed times.

Mat 5:6  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 

Our blessing brings the certainty of persecution

The true church is called out separated from the world and its carnal ways.  This brings swift rejection and persecution upon those who do not follow after their traditions and way of thinking. With time, we learn to rejoice in our rejection and see it as confirmation of the Lord’s presence working in our lives.

Mat 5:11  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 

Mat 5:12  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. 

Being divided from and rejected by the entire carnal world is a blessing that is necessary for us to be mature in Christ.  This variance with others is to be expected and we will grow to see it as a huge blessing.

2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

This isolation is painful at first yet the man of faith is learning to rejoice and count our worldly rejection as the blessing it is.  Being separated from the world, we are not partaking in their activities and think way differently per the law of faith. The Lord rewards those who believe and do what is right in due time.

Mat 5:10  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Those who fear God are blessed

We learn the fear of the Lord by the favor [grace] of the Lord which is put upon us.  Where sin abounds, grace abounds even more.  This is the wonderful work of the Lord to the children of men as we learn obedience by the things we are given to suffer.

Psa 112:1  Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. 

Psa 112:2  His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. 

 It is by experiencing the wrath of God that we come to trust the Lord while being shown firsthand the power of God unto salvation.

Rom 9:22  What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 

Taught by our experiences, the fear of the Lord becomes a foundational anchor, a spiritual treasure (blessing) to those chosen in this age.

Isa 33:6  Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, And the strength of salvation; The fear of the LORD is His treasure. 

Following the Lord by faith is only for the blessed

We are reaping what we sow in the walk of faith.  Give and it is given back unto us.  The man with the ten talents was given even more because he was faithful with what he had been given.  The Lord truly rewards those who diligently seek Him and act upon their given measure of faith.

Psa 1:1  Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

Jer 17:7  Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 

As our faith grows and overcoming increases, lasting spiritual fruit comes.  We are learning patience and endurance trusting in the promises not yet manifest in our walk.  Here is the due reward of the Lord’s blessing just a few verses later.

Psa 1:3  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Jer 17:8  For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. 

The blessed have their sins forgiven and not imputed

Those of the spiritual household of faith grow in maturity to know that our sins are forgiven and the Lord is no longer imputing them against us.  Those sins are part of His good work that is, was, and will be perfecting us.

Rom 4:7 Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 

Rom 4:8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

Thus, the promises of the New Covenant are being fulfilled in our lives!

Heb 8:12  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

By our mistakes and sins, the Lord is humbling us, turning our hearts to Him and teaching us to forgive others and to extend those that do us wrong mercy rather than wrath.  The Lord teaches us to be merciful by showing us just how much mercy we need.

Mat 5:7  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 

He who loves much is forgiven much.  Anytime we stray and treat others with wrath and condemnation, the Lord brings a trial to us putting us in need of His mercy. Carnal Pharisees fail to get this, trusting in their own righteousness until they learn what we have learned.  We are blessed as our sins are forgiven as we sit at Christ’s feet.  We shall believe the Lord.

Luk 7:47  Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 

Luk 7:48  And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. 

Pursuers of peace are the blessed of God

We learn by trial and error to become men of peace knowing the Lord is working all aspects in the lives of everyone else.  When we pursue peace with all men and do not judge another man’s servant, Jesus Christ and the fruit of righteousness is growing within us.

Heb 12:14  Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 

Being humbled and having our carnal reasoning (vengeance, an eye for eye mentality) burned away, we will reap peace the more we can sow it. With Christ leading, the Prince of Peace, we will be striving to live peaceably with all men and learn to stop contending with what the Lord is doing in others.  The sons of God will be peacemakers and not engaged in fighting with the carnal and blind world that does not know the Lord.

Mat 5:9  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 

The Poor in Spirit are blessed, coming in the Lord’s name

We truly have become blessed men and women, set apart from the billions of others that walked before us on this earth.  Through the trials of faith, the Lord is breaking our own spirit, having us to sell all and follow Him in full assurance of faith.  As our own spirit is decreased, we become poor in spirit which makes us rich in the heavenly realm as Christ within us is strong.  Such we become the blessed of the Lord and given the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 5:3  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

When Christ is leading us in all things, we are coming in the Lord’s name.  All of us who previously rejected Christ, become the blessed sons of God now being led by the Spirit of God.

Mat 23:39  For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 

We are promised a most wonderful blessing, an unlimited one if we are able to give the entirety of our lives over to the Lord.  This is the true tithe that comes with a gigantic promise of blessing.

Mal 3:10  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Seeing ourselves in the Scriptures, in the hands of a living God

The revelation of Jesus Christ within us comes only when we are given to live out … i.e. keep those things written and said another way to fulfill the sayings of the prophecy of the Book.  When the Lord comes into our lives and begins to work His work in us, the time is henceforth at hand and we are blessed indeed.

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

David tells us the judgments of the Lord are more desirable than fine gold and sweeter than honey; being a rare blessing given to a chosen few.

Psa 19:9  …. the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 

Psa 19:10  More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 

When we see ourselves living by every word, the Word has come alive (the Living Word), judgment has come to our house and we are the blessed of God.  Thus, Christ in us, is exalted and we are filled with judgments that are teaching us righteousness.

Isa 33:5  The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness. 

Luk 11:28  But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. 

Our Chastening are Blessings

Our chastening is a huge spiritual blessing we should be thankful for not one we should despise.  In due time we shall see truly believe it.

Psa 94:12  Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;

To those given faith, it proves the Lord loves you as a son.

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

The trials of faith are how we are being transformed, exercise our spiritual senses, and grow into mature adults having the mind of Christ.  There is no better blessing than this in the final analysis.

Jas 1:12  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation [trials]: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Our beastly nature is tamed by the Lord’s chastening.  This is how we learn to submit unto the Lord and are being taught obedience.  Gaining dominion over sin, little by little, we are inheriting the earth and standing upon the sea that represents our flesh and its many temptations.

Mat 5:5  Blessed are the meek (those submitted unto the Lord): for they shall inherit the earth. 

Rev 15:2  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 

There is no other way for us to learn righteousness except by coming through the throes of judgment [Isa 26:3].  We are getting better at rejoicing in the Lord and seeing the good in all of our experiences.

Those attentive to the things of the Lord are the blessed

Our obedience pays off in more blessings and growth in our measure of faith.  Like building a muscle, our faith once exercised will grow as we endure and overcome the trials the Lord puts us through.  Watching and guarding our gates taking all things captive contrary to the Lord’s commands.

Pro 8:34  Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. 

Rev 16:15  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

Being watchful is a daily battle in which we rest from our works but always work the work of God which is our faith (John 6:29). When we are being sanctified, we see the Lord in us increase and we decrease and that is truly a blessing we seek.

Mat 5:8  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 

Blessed are those that mourn who will be comforted

Our chastening involves much tribulation and will have us to mourn and lament.  We suffer many losses in the flesh and the emotional pain we are appointed to experience is a necessary part of the Lord’s plan.  Eventually, we mature to look behind ourselves and rejoice in those sufferings.  Losing our old way of life is going to be uncomfortable and painful at times.  Being weak in the flesh, we will mourn and lament for a season.  Yet the promise of this blessing is that we are being comforted, and a great joy, the joy of the Lord will return.

Mat 5:4  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 

Jas 4:9  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

Our temporary weeping will be replaced by great joy as the Lord’s blessings and judgments manifest in our life.

Psa 30:5  For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. 

Patience Is Required

None of us know the future or the timeline of the Lord to finish His work in us.  We must strive daily to endure and overcome knowing it’s all up to Him.   Nobody has arrived at their destination, we are only on the way.  Those blessed of the Lord will know there is more work to be done in the kingdom of God and heed the admonishments of the Apostle Paul.

Php 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 

Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 

Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 

We, like a farmer, do all we can to stand every day, striving to be perfect.  Yet we are at the mercy of the Lord to bring the necessary rain to grow the spiritual crop He planted within us.  We learn to be patient in waiting on the Lord.

Jas 5:7  Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 

Jas 5:8  Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 

Even the sower Himself tells us it will take patience to bring home the crop.

Luk 8:15  But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Our job Lord willing is to believe [Joh 6:29] that we are being saved. May we have the faith to see our trials as the blessings of the Lord and the patience to endure those trials unto the end.  As the Lord’s people, we are the blessed ones!

Psa 33:12  Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. 

 

Pete & Ronel

peterjwilson56@gmail.com

Articles

The Promises of Christ our Lord

Pete
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The Promises of Christ

 

To the scattered saints of the Most High God and our Lord Jesus Christ,

Our faith in God is what we are standing upon in these last days.  Little by little every earthly thing we have trusted upon is being taken away.  Chastening grace, in proportion to our faith [Eph 2:8], is the way salvation comes to us and how every man is being made anew in the likeness of Christ.  The purpose of our many tribulations in the Lord’s plan is to ensure that the only thing we trust upon is an unshakable faith in the Lord.   In our day of the Lord, “everything else” but faith; be it our wisdom, our money, our health, our public standing, our relationships …  or anything else; is being removed and is being burned up in the Lord’s fire.

Heb 12:27  And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 

Heb 12:28  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 

Heb 12:29  For our God is a consuming fire. 

This road and journey in the Lord’s hand are difficult and much suffering and affliction is part of His process.  Taking heart of God’s many promises strengthens and helps us endure our trials keeping our eyes focused on the hope yet to come.

Php 3:13  Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 

Php 3:14  I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

All the promises of God are an absolute certainty which come to pass in the times appointed beforehand for every man.  The character of God is unchangeable who is 100% faithful and who cannot lie.  As the true Israel of God, the true circumcision, we should be strengthened knowing the One who began a good work in us will complete it right on His declared schedule.

Psa 89:34  My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. 

Our faith in all God’s promises gives us the necessary hope that will indeed save us in the end.

Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 

Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. 

The most basic promise of God is that of eternal life.   This includes attaining a spirit-filled and godly life now in this age, if the Lord has ordained it.

1Jn 2:25  And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. 

Joh 10:10  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 

Joh 4:14  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 

Numerous other promises of God our Father through Christ are derived from the pivotal promise of eternal life. Our faith in the Lord and these promises are essential to stand firm and endure the many afflictions the Lord is having us experience.

Isa 26:3  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee [His Word, the promises]

Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth [thy word, thy promises are truth], and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 

In these last days (our day of the Lord), we are walking by faith, the substance of what our carnally minded senses cannot see which is also foolishness to the world and its way of thinking.  There will be times of doubt and inner torment as we sojourn towards eternal life and our salvation. We have learned and continue to progress by taking all contrary thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ.

All things, even any suffering and our tribulations are for our sake and the response of the faithful man is to rejoice and give thanks always no matter the circumstances.

2Co 4:15  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. 

2Co 4:17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 

When we fall or fail to stand, we need to pick ourselves back up and keep on moving towards the prize of being completed in Christ.  The rewards are certain if we endure.

2Co 4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 

Having faith in God is the best admonishment and reminder in these troubling times.  If we ask for anything we want, consistent with the Lord’s will (our sanctification), we are promised it will be done.

Mar 11:22  And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 

Mar 11:23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 

Yes, having patience and waiting is part of the lessons we are learning.  The Lord’s delays are not His denials and should be viewed as only a testing of our faith.  Christ cannot and will not be unfaithful to His or His Father’s promises.

2Ti 2:13  If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. 

As immature youth, we first grow weary yet in due time learn to remain steadfast with our eyes focused on the promised end, trusting in the promises to come.

Gal 5:5  For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 

The promise of eternal life is our guaranteed inheritance that is incorruptible when the Lord finishes His work in us.  Many other subtending promises come from this main one.  We need to remember and recall these promises (truths) so it is good to often be reminded of them.  Some of the key promises we are given are highlighted below.

 

Some other Key Promises of the Lord

We are promised freedom or liberty in Christ:  This is true at several levels including being freed from the law of carnal reasoning but also from our being freed from the power sin has over us.

Joh 8:36  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. 

2Co 3:17  Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Gal 5:13  For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 

We are promised peace:  This is not the same peace the world defines, as indeed Christ coming to us wreaks havoc on our once carnal and self-focused life.  That life must be lost to gain the new life where we find the inner peace that only a deep faith in the Lord and His promises can provide.

Isa 26:3  Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. 

Joh 14:27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 

Joh 16:33  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. 

We are promised rest when we come together.  With strong faith, we are finally able to quit kicking against the pricks and contending with what the Lord is working in our lives.  He is in charge; we are mere clay in His hands.  Settling on those truths brings a rest (a cessation) of our carnal works to save ourselves.

Mat 11:28  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 

Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 

Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 

We are promised forgiveness of our sins:  This is huge and one our carnal mind has difficulty in truly believing.  The Lord works all things, even our sins for His purposes (Isa 63:17, Isa 64:8, Jer 2:19, Jer 10:23, Eph 1:11, Rom 9:19-20, Phi 2:13, etc….).   By no means do we turn this truth into a license to sin as many do and others will falsely accuse us of doing.  Yet we need to remember it is the Lord and we need not wallow in self-condemnation but believe the Gospel and get right back up and keep walking doing all we can to stand.

1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

Heb 8:12  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 

We are promised strength to overcome sin and the world:  The power unto salvation is not our own power, it is indeed the power of God given to us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  If we truly belong to Him, we are His sons and have that power dwelling within us to overcome and be His witnesses on this earth.  Of course, we all must grow and mature from babes in Christ to mature sons to be perfected and achieve the overcoming.

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 

He promises never to leave us or forsake us:  It can be very lonely for those that keep the true faith.  Combine this with our struggles of being in this world and our fleshly weaknesses and doubt, we need be watchful not to be taken in by a lying spirit that would have us believe the Lord has forsaken us.  Even our Lord cried out in the last moments of His dying flesh thinking He had been forsaken.  Faith would have us take those thoughts captive, trusting in the promise to never leave us or forsake us.  We should view such doubts as the trial of faith that it is.

Deu 31:6  Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

Psa 37:25  I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. 

Christ promises to lose nobody.  All given to eternal life, which is every man in his predetermined order, will indeed be saved!  There is nothing any of us can do to save ourselves.  One is either be saved in this age, or they will be saved in age to come after the Lord brings this present evil age to an end.  Our progress or lack thereof at times should not have us doubting the promises of God.  The Lord finishes what He has started in us and nobody or nothing is going to take us out of His hands.  He is the Potter, He is in absolute control.

Joh 10:28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: 

Christ promises to meet all our needs: We are in this world and have many needs to survive and live in the flesh.  We should not worry no matter our circumstances as He promises us to give us everything we need.  We are learning contentment with what we have by trusting in these promises.

Php 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 

2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 

When we seek Christ He promises to help: He is always there in times of trouble and provides what we need to endure and be strengthened.  He is always with us and when we turn our face to the Lord, He is there to minister and comfort us.

Mat 7:7  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 

Psa 46:1  God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 

Christ promises all prayers made in faith according to His will, will be answered.

Joh 14:14  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

Mat 21:22  And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. 

He promises to teach us the way of righteousness:  Learning righteousness is the same process as being saved from our sins (salvation).   To do right we are caused by the Lord to err [Isa 63:17] and by the subsequent chastening of His judgment, are being taught the right way.  Lord willing, we are learning and adapting from our failures as that indeed is their purpose.

Psa 32:8  I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. 

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth [teaches], and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 

Isa 42:16  And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them. 

We overcome and are not being harmed by abiding in His eternal fire.  In fact, the fire is what is, was, and will be saving us!!!  This is a big promise if we can receive it.  The way of life in Christ is not easy for our marred and weak flesh.  We become weary at times and in those moments, standing on the promises of God and trusting them fully is how we can endure.

Isa 43:2  When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 

The story of Shadrak and company in the blazing furnace depicts this promise and mystery that so few are given to understand. Walking by faith requires us to be despised and hated by a carnal world that has no faith.  The resulting spiritual fires this brings in our lives are going to bring forth Christ in us.  He appears in the fire.

Dan 3:25  He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. 

Our time in the “lake of fire” is the ordained process that brings about the death of our carnality hence it is also known as the second death [our first death being found dead in our sins and trespasses].  Experiencing the second death is the other side of the same coin as the blessed and holy First Resurrection.  We should eagerly look forward to partaking in this blessing.  This is a prophecy that is being fulfilled in our life and rather to be avoided, it is the way of salvation.  Trusting in the promise of no harm shall come to us, will give us much-needed encouragement when we are given the faith to stand.

Rev 2:11  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”

Christ promises to come again and always dwell with us.  That indwelling is within us as Christ lives within us.  For now, we have a down payment, an earnest deposit of the Spirit of God. Yet in due time, as His work is being completed and we shed these earthen vessels, we will receive a full reward having the mind of Christ.  This glorious outcome is something we should look forward to and do all we can to hasten its appearing in our walk.  It is a pivotal promise that helps us endure to the end.

Rev 21:3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 

The hope of getting our crown of righteousness is obtaining the mind of Christ.  This is assured without a doubt if we fight the fight of faith to the end.

2Ti 4:7  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 

2Ti 4:8  Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. 

Many more pages would be needed to even begin to cover all the promises the Lord has given to His people.  The Scriptures declare them, and we as His people are living (experiencing) these blessings right now.   The knowledge of God we have been given includes knowledge of these precious promises.   May these words be an encouragement and reminder to all of us and help to all those waiting on the Lord.

Psa 130:5  I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. 

 

Pete & Ronel

peterjwilson56@gmail.com

Articles

Growing Our Faith

Pete
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Growing Our Faith

For the encouragement of the Lord’s scattered people,

Every generation has its constant slate of problems for carnal minds to worry about.  For those living in these COVID-defined times, those worries have recently greatly expanded and accelerated.  The Lord’s hands have brought the well-being of many nations and the physical health of billions to a tipping point.  The related worries of life are now consuming the carnally minded and we must be careful not to follow in these ungodly pursuits. The Lord’s people are not carnal-minded anymore and are being separated by these outward events.  If we have turned away and been caught up in these issues, we need to turn back to Him and exercise our God-given faith to live a peaceable life.

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Joh 14:27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Our faith is essential for us to endure to the end and complete the journey of salvation.  The Lord gives us the proper measure of faith when it is needed.  The further we progress in our day of the Lord, the greater the faith required to endure the increasing trials the Lord puts upon us.

1Co 10:13  No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Psa 46:1  God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

2Co 1:3  Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.

2Co 1:4  Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

If we lack faith at any time, the Lord makes provision for us in due time.  Sometimes this is after we fail so the Lord can teach us through His chastening that brings correction and spiritual growth.   This is part of the Lord’s ways to teach us by our mistakes and very sins.

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Psa 119:71  It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.

The sooner we learn to stand on faith and look to the Lord, we will hasten the coming of the Lord to us that is bringing the overcoming that defines salvation.

Isa 45:22  “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

1Ti 6:12  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Our salvation journey has us growing (maturing) in the faith as we progress on the Lord’s timeline.  With the Lord now teaching us directly by the life He gives us to live, we are being changed and transformed.  What we once could not fathom as a trial we now can face and conquer without fear.

Isa 41:10  Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

2Ti 1:7  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

2Ti 1:8  Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

All of us have fallen down at times as the Lord matures us and teaches us, even by our mistakes and failures.  Yet even our faith has us knowing, this too is the Lord, so we can quickly get right back up and keep walking the walk.

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Pro 24:16  For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

Even the converted Apostles failed at times as the Scriptures attest.  The stories of old written for our admonition include many examples of the Lord’s methods of growing us from being weak into strong in the faith.  Like Gideon, we are mighty faith warriors for the Lord “in the making”, but have not attained full maturity just yet.  Count it a blessing that we know the Lord’s plan to save us by the experiences He is bringing upon us.  We are being refined in a furnace of affliction.

Php 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

It is through many tribulations and trials that we shall enter the kingdom of God.  These tribulations are trying our faith and are the means by which the Lord grows His faith within us in the appointed times.   The more we decrease, Christ in us is increasing.

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens:it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it.

Stay strong our brothers and sisters.  He is coming to gather us and the completion of our day of redemption draws nearer.

Jas 1:12  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

The Lord is faithful even when men and all flesh are not.  We should remember the promises of God and take great comfort knowing the Lord will lose none of those given to Him in this age.

Joh 6:39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Our faith is being increased as a muscle when we exercise it and use it to stay obedient to the Lord.  Taking thoughts captive, turning from evil, fasting from our beastly wickedness is how we pull up trees within us [carnal strongholds] and cleanse the promised land.

Luk 17:5  And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

Luk 17:6  And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

A noteworthy current worldwide trial is the COVID-19 pandemic.  This has the world’s powers and elites pushing fear and tempts many to put their trust in men rather than God.   This pandemic is the Lord’s work as He is even the Lord of all sickness and diseases.   Therefore, we shall not fear this virus, nor shall we put our trust in the strength and wisdom of men.

Psa 118:8  It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

Psa 118:9  It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.

Isa 31:1  Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!

With these trials, the Lord is further separating His people as our day of redemption draws nearer.  Be confident and be strong in the faith.   He that has begun the good work in us is going to complete it right on schedule.

Yours in the Faith,

Pete & Ronel