Tag: Doubt

Letters

In Patience, We Possess Our Souls

Peter

An Inheritance Reserved in Heaven

Peter and Rohnel, servants of Jesus Christ,  to the scattered pilgrims in the faith. Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

This letter is written to encourage the brethren to remain faithful and to endure their continuing struggles and a seemingly inability to overcome their sins.  We are in the last days, and our man of sin is being revealed to us as the Commandments shine a bright light upon our earth.  We continue to grow daily through trials in the understanding that only the Lord can heal us.  Jesus Christ and no other is the Spiritual Physician.  Our hearts and minds are surely being turned unto the Living Christ, who is now leading us to be holy in all our behavior.

1Pe 2:24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 

1Pe 2:25  For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. 

We are the chosen of God, having been marked for salvation.  The fact that we cry and bewail our sins is proof of the inner fight we are now engaged in fighting full-time.

Eze 9:4  And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. 

Only the Lord can deliver us and save us from our sins.  We wait on Him and cry out for Him to come and heal us.

Psa 147:2  The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. 

Jer 17:14  Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 

As the elect of God, we possess the power of the Living Christ in us, yet we await the Lord to teach us and mature us how to walk in the anointing.   Through the Holy Spirit, we can do all things, even overcome our sin.  The gift of faith grows quickly once planted in our hearts and minds, but it still takes the times and seasons the Lord ordains.  Young disciples are given power over the unclean and all manner of sicknesses [See Mat 10:1] yet need to learn patience and hope through many tribulations. Some victories come easy, some require prayer and fasting as we later learn from the Lord.  We are growing in the faith which is growing in the Spirit and the power to overcome sin and cast out all devils.

Mat 17:19  Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

Mat 17:20  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 

Mat 17:21  Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

The anointing those chosen of God receive is what teaches us righteousness and, in due time, causes us to obey all the Commandments, bringing our salvation from sin.  This is the promised inheritance in Christ that we are now realizing and pressing towards daily.

1Jn 2:27  But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

1Jn 2:28  And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 

1Jn 2:29  If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him. 

The Lord has declared that it is done, and thus our salvation comes to pass.  We merely wait for the Lord, who is faithful, to finish the good work He has begun.  The waiting is our big trial, the many tribulations we now endure, and through it all, the Lord is teaching everyone patience.  We are looking to Christ, lifting up our lives to the Commandments, asking to be taught to obey Him as David prayed before us.

Psa 25:1  Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. 

Psa 25:2  O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. 

Psa 25:3  Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. 

Psa 25:4  Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. 

Nobody has arrived yet, so we run to the finish line and get the prize at the end. We are always pressing onward to the mark of perfection, forgetting our past failures but learning the lessons.  The Apostle Paul wrote of the struggle and the ongoing engagement to be diligent and always pressing towards Christ.

1Co 9:24  Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 

1Co 9:27  But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 

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

The growing and appearing of Christ in us, our bearing spiritual fruit, is likened unto the growing of crops.  It takes time for a seed to be sown, take root, and then grow into maturity.  During the growing season, it takes the coming of spiritual rain, that is, the Spirit of the Lord, to accomplish salvation and bring forth the crop.  We, as the land tillers, wait patiently for the early and the latter rain, keeping busy, working in the kingdom of God.

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. 

We are promised an incorruptible inheritance that is reserved for us in heaven, meaning in the spiritual realm. We have a down payment now and the fullness to come once we depart the clay.  Our light or compass that guides us is now the Commandments, which is the power unto our salvation.  We are kept on the narrow road, falling down, getting back up, all by the power of God, who has us in His hands.

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 

1Pe 1:4  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 

1Pe 1:5  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. 

We rejoice in this promise, yet learn it requires enduring much heaviness in various tribulations that reveal our sins and bring the necessary chastening to write the Commandments into our hearts and minds.  For what we do not yet see, we hope in the promises to come, and the appearing of the glory of Christ in all our behavior.  Salvation, our overcoming, is the end of our faith.

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: 

1Pe 1:8  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 

1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 

The Lord is faithful even when we are not.  He is not forsaking us, and His judgment shall not fail to bring forth righteousness.  We are commanded to wait for it and believe.

Psa 94:14  For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. 

Psa 94:15  But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it. 

Our inheritance is Christ, and the further we walk, the Commandments become our most prized possession.  The love of God, our focus and obedience to the Commandments, is being shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.  We are being taught to possess our lives in righteousness, and Christ begins to be seen in all of our thoughts and deeds.  Sons of Aaron and Zadok symbolize the elect of God in the shadows of the Old Testament.

Eze 44:28  And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession. 

Num 18:20  And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel. 

When the Lord comes and puts His Spirit in us, we have been begotten and are Sons of God. Our righteousness all derives from the faith of Jesus Christ that is given to us.  We find peace with God through our obedience to the Father.  Thus, the planting of love, that is, our obedience to the Father, is put into our hearts and minds.  It then grows and, in time, makes its way to the outside of our cup.  Our hope and patience continue to grow through the many tribulations we experience.

Rom 5:1  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 

Rom 5:2  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

Rom 5:3  And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 

Rom 5:4  And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 

Rom 5:5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 

As Sons, anything we ask in His name is given to us, and we are taking possession of the Promised Land, gaining dominion over sin.  The strongholds of flesh that kept us in captivity are broken as we are instructed in righteousness and begin to judge our earth by the Commandments.

Psa 2:7  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 

Psa 2:8  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 

Psa 2:9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. 

Psa 2:10  Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 

Our gift of the Spirit is only an earnest deposit.  We await the fullness to come, and yet have many things to learn and grow in understanding.  Thus, the purposes of the Lord are to bring us many trials and cause us to err from His ways.  It pleases the Father to disciple and chasten us.  We are the beloved sons of God and are being made holy and blameless.

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

Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 

We walk by the faith of Christ that is now given to us.  We are not inheriting the promised land based on our works of the flesh.  We are learning to wait, to tarry, and have patience for the fullness to come.

Gal 3:18  For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. 

Disciples inevitably advance themselves further along in the process of maturity than they have actually obtained.  The Lord has a way of humbling us and showing us the work [the sin] that we yet await His deliverance and remaking.  We are fulfilling all the signs of the end spoken of, and through it all, the Lord tells us to be patient, meaning to wait on Him.

Luk 21:19  In your patience possess ye your souls. 

Overcoming our sin, our salvation, goes hand in hand with the appearing of Jesus Christ in our lives.  They are opposite sides of the same experience.  When we obey the Living Word that now dwells in our hearts and minds, Jesus Christ is seen.  Thus, the mystery of salvation is being revealed and seen more and more, little by little.

Exo 23:30  By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

Each day, the path gets brighter until we are perfected.

Pro 4:18  But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 

We are bearing more fruit, increasing in knowledge, and growing in His grace as we abide in the measure of the Spirit we are given, waiting for more to come.

Col 1:10  That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 

2Pe 3:18  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. 

Our waiting entails suffering and patience, and there is no avoiding it.  We are being saved not by what we see now, but by the hope of the promises of God that now live in our hearts.  Happy are we knowing the faithfulness of our Lord and the Spirit that now guides us in all our behavior.

Jas 5:10  Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. 

Jas 5:11  Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. 

The Lord wastes nothing and is using our sins, revealing the abomination of desolation, all for the purposes of delivering us from those sins.  All things happening in our lives are working together for the greater good of our salvation, right on the Lord’s schedule.

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. 

Flesh does not want to wait on the Lord.  But all farmers know, it takes many seasons, hard work, and patience to bring forth a bountiful crop.  So it is, therefore, also in the Spirit as Christ takes time to be fully formed and seen in all of our behavior.  We do not understand it until we fulfill it.

Mar 4:26  And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 

Mar 4:27  And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. 

Mar 4:28  For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. 

The Lord does not come before we exhaust our own efforts and see the futility in striving to save ourselves.  We learn we are chief of sinners and that no good thing dwells in our flesh.  The Lord knows when we come to the point of being at our wits’ end, and then He delivers us.  These are the wonderful works of the Lord to His children.

Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. 

Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. 

Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. 

Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. 

With God, all things are possible, even the overcoming of our sins.  He is the deliverer and we wait upon Him to come and bring us into the spirit of the New Covenant

Isa 59:19  So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. 

Isa 59:20  And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. 

Through the Spirit of Christ within us, we wait for the hope of our faith.  Hope does not disappoint as Christ appears more in our walk, life, words, and deeds.  We are overcoming, as our faith in the Spirit of Christ waxes stronger in us as we mature.

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

Coming out of spiritual Babylon, which has fallen within us, begins the final workings of salvation.  All flesh worships themselves, their beast, and their carnal thoughts and reasonings.  Thus, we are all most certainly going to be drinking the wine of the wrath of God that is poured out in indignation to save us from our sins.  This season of torment is our many tribulations by which we are entering into the kingdom. Enduring the bowls of wrath against our flesh, we are taught patience as we seek and are caused to obey the Lord by the chastening that is our judgment.

Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 

Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 

Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 

Eze 36:27  And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. 

What we know in heaven is now being tilled and spread into our earth. His Kingdom is coming to us little by little as we are growing into trees of righteousness.  We are being set free, our prisons of bondage to the flesh are no more.  The waste places are being destroyed and rebuilt.

Isa 61:1  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 

Isa 61:2  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 

Isa 61:3  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. 

It takes longer than our flesh desires, and thus we all cry out asking the Lord why we continue to see our sin and why salvation seems far off.  These are the words we are all asking for in our time.

Hab 1:2  O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! 

Hab 1:3  Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. 

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. 

This is the same as Paul, trying to obey, but not being able.

Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 

Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 

The Lord’s answer to Habakkuk is that the holy city within us needs to be trampled upon by the Gentiles, made desolate by our enemies, and then the end comes.  The Lord is a God of vengeance and takes vengeance for His Temple, which Temple we are.  We are just waiting for it to come to pass.  The Spirit of the Lord is setting us completely free from the law of sin and death that had ruled in our members.

Jer 50:28  The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of his temple. 

Those risen with Christ, having the indwelling Commandments working righteousness in them, are looking on things above and not of the world.  Our hope and desires are all to please our heavenly Father, and we persevere in the hope of these promises being fully manifested in the appointed time.

Col 3:1  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 

Col 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 

Col 3:3  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 

Col 3:4  When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 

We never take comfort in our sins or turn grace into justification for lasciviousness. The Lord is showing us areas of our lives that need to be repented from and turned away from.  But also, do not lose hope, know that the Lord is working and causing all things, even your very sins, to teach us all things and make a new heaven and a new earth wherein righteousness dwells forever.  Take all lies and unbelief captive and stand strong in the faith and the hope of the promises yet to be revealed in you.  Christ shall appear, and we are learning patience in waiting for Him.  We often remind one another to stay the course, remain steadfast, and to keep working in the Kingdom, as our flesh is indeed weak.

Heb 6:11  And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: 

Heb 6:12  That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Rom 12:11  Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 

Rom 12:12  Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer

Be encouraged, Saints.  The Lord is good.  May the Lord direct your hearts into His love and to patiently wait for Christ to appear.

Letters

Feeling Unworthy

Rohnel

Pressing Forward to the High Calling

Rohnel and Peter, the servants of Jesus Christ, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.

Rom 15:5  Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: 

Rom 15:6  That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Psa 135:20  Bless the LORD, O house of Levi: ye that fear the LORD, bless the LORD. 

Psa 135:21  Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD. 

Keep My Commandments  

Psa 78:5  For he established a testimony in Jacob [Christ’s sons], and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: 

Psa 78:6  That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: 

Psa 78:7  That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: 

Psa 78:8  And might not be as their fathers [our previous mindsets], a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God. 

Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 

Feeling unworthy of God’s Choosing

Having the breadth, depth, and height of our sinful nature shown to us is integral in the process of salvation that God has ordained from before the foundation of the world. All flesh is sin, and we all come into this world in a marred vessel of clay, born of a woman, and this vessel of clay IS not inheriting the kingdom of God.

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

Mar 10:18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

There is no human being who is righteous apart from Christ.  There is none, not even one, that does good.

Isa 64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. 

Isa 64:7  And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. 

Isa 64:8  But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. 

Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

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.

Being chosen and being made faithful in the Day of the Lord means we, the sons of God,  are the first to be judged. Judgment begins at the house of God, spiritual Jerusalem, the place where the Lord chooses to put His Name. His Holy Name is His Commandments. After we hear the true Gospel, judgment IS come on our house. Think within, the ungodly is within us.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

2Pe 2:4  For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

2Pe 2:9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

This process of judgment requires that our sinful nature and totally wretched being as carnal men walking after our own lusts [thought processes], after our own lies and idols of the heart in marred vessels of clay be exposed to us. In the OT shadows, Christ tells us that we walk in our own uprightness, that is to say, we walk with our own ideas about God, Christ, salvation, and so forth, enflaming ourselves under every green tree. Christmas, a tradition of men, is one example of enflaming ourselves under every green tree. Please refer to the study Keeping Days, Times, Months, and Years, on the truthinscripture.com website for more on this topic.

Isa 57:2  He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness. 

Isa 57:3  But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore. 

Isa 57:4  Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood, 

Isa 57:5  Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks? 

1Jn 5:19  And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. 

1Jn 5:20  And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. 

1Jn 5:21  Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. 

True sons of God at times question their worthiness to be God’s sons. The sins that so easily beset us cause us to think we are not worthy, and this is true; we are not worthy. Christ causes us to fall and to rise again. He is the author and finisher of our faith.

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

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Yet being God’s sons has nothing to do with our own righteousness, and none of it is based on merit of any kind. Being God’s children is based on God’s choosing us before the world was made, declaring the end from the beginning. Being called by our names from before the beginning of the world is the election of grace that Paul speaks about in Romans 11.

Isa 46:9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

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: 

Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 

Rom 11:5  Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 

No man is justified by their own works, or by their own obedience. All is of faith and being made obedient through many trials and tribulations. This is the free gift from God, the Father, through Christ, His firstborn Son.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

The righteous walk by faith and not by sight. The only way anyone is going to be righteous in a sinful body of flesh is by being implanted with the precious gift of the faith of Christ. This is the Comforter or Holy Spirit living within us, which comes to us on our third spiritual Day.

Isa 49:1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.

Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 

Joh 14:21  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 

All of those called by God through Christ and chosen to be God’s sons in this age and in the ages since Christ do not feel worthy at times. Even the prophet, Isaiah, felt unworthy when he entered the throne room.

Isa 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
Isa 6:6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
Isa 6:7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

Moses, the friend of God and faithful servant in his house, also, when called and given his commission, did not feel worthy of his calling. Both examples are OT shadows of us because we live these words [Matt 4:4].

Exo 4:10  And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

And the Lord answered, telling us that He is working all things as the Potter.

Exo 4:11  And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

The Scriptures declare that God’s ways are not our ways and that those He chooses confound the wisdom of wise men who walk after the flesh. Christ’s people do not conform to the wisdom of this world. Saul of Tarsus is an example. He was not well presented in the flesh, but mighty in Spirit in his letters.

Isa 55:8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 

Isa 55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

1Co 1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.

2Co 10:10  For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. 

The battle we all have against sin is one God gives us. Christ is working all the sins, trials, and temptations in our lives. He is the Potter, we are the clay. We come to understand and to believe that God is working all things in our lives as time goes by. At first, we do not fully comprehend the Lord’s breadth and depth of His sovereignty.

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Amo 3:6  Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

Lam 3:37-38   Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?

Isa 45:7  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Evil in the city is not just the evil out there in the world; it is the evil in the cities and nations that make up the kingdom of God within us. Think spiritually, Christ’s words are spiritual [John 6:63]. Christ creates evil, and vengeance belongs to Him.

Psa 54:5  He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy truth.

Psa 78:49  He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them. [Israel]

Rom 12:19  Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

2Th 1:6  Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; 

2Th 1:7  And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 

2Th 1:8  In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Christ hardens our hearts by His design. We of ourselves can do nothing. Pharaoh is a type of us.

Joh 15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 

Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Rom 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Yet salvation is a process. Many are called, and only few are chosen and being made faithful to be judged in this life and to have salvation come to them now, while still in these marred vessels of clay. Salvation comes to us only by the process of judgment against our carnal nature. There is no other way.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

There is a time and season for everything in our lives as Christ teaches and molds us via His fiery process in the Day of the Lord in the Lake of Fire. Those not found in the Book of Life and cast into the Lake of Fire are those ungodly and carnal thoughts that exalt themselves against Christ, the Word of the Father. Think within.

Ecc 3:1  To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. 

These various times and seasons include us being overcome and snared in besetting sins. This is part of God’s way of humbling us and showing us that of ourselves we can do nothing. Christ is raising the storms and trials of life, and He is also calming them [present tense]. We are being brought to our wits’ end, and give up on the flesh to save ourselves, and have no place to go but to cry out to our Saviour.

Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.

Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.

Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.

Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.

We err and harden our hearts by God’s design. The Lord gives us over to delusion and gives us a perverse spirit. Christ does this so that He can make us again after His own image.

Isa 19:14  The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit. 

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

Isa 64:8  But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.

2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 

Salvation requires the Lord to make two vessels. Flesh and blood were never intended to enter the kingdom of God. The first Adam makes way for the last Adam, the Lord from heaven.

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.

1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 

1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 

1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 

Being aware of our sins is a blessing given to few. Those to whom the Lord chooses cry out about their sins and abominations within them, within their cities, that cry out to their Maker.

Eze 9:4  And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

Luk 18:13  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 

When we are made aware of our sins and made to feel horrible about them, this is all God’s work. He is bringing us to our wits’ end as we saw in Psalm 107 above. We, as the true circumcision of our hearts, come to the point where we have no confidence in our flesh.

Php 3:3  For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. 

Knowing the Lord in Spirit and in Truth, we learn that only the Commandments of Christ are saving us from our sins [carnal thoughts and idols of the heart].

2Co 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 

2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 

2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 

2Ti 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

The judgment of God slays the natural man within us, and the new man is being saved and been raised in Power [the Commandments of Christ]. Christ speaks about this often: we, the beast, the carnal man of sin, is the abomination that is causing the desolation in the temple of God.

Jer 2:7  And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination. 

Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

Mat 24:16  Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

Luk 16:15  And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men [our carnal minds] is an abomination in the sight of God. 

Salvation does not come to us until we first fall away, are ensnared in many sins and lusts, and have our man of sin revealed. Forsaking the Commandments, we leave Christ, our first love, thus giving the Lord the occasion to come again for salvation apart from sin.

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Rev 2:4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 

Rev 2:5  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 

When the Lord shows us our man of sin and the abomination of desolation in His Temple, we are blessed, as seeing our sin is the first step to overcoming them. Our hearts are being turned back to the Lord, and our sins are being discovered by the light of the Gospel now shining in our hearts. It is the Lord working all things to bring about the counsel of His will.

Psa 90:3  Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. 

Psa 90:8  Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. 

We have seen that there is nothing good in man and that we have to be made over through the Commandments of Christ to be circumcised in heart. Feeling unworthy, being humbled, and not exalting ourselves are part of the process. When we are given to understand the process, we lift our heads and reach out to what is set before us. We do not look back, like Lot’s wife, and do our best to enter into the kingdom of God. One day at a time.

Jer 4:4  Circumcise yourselves to the LORD; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.” 

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. 

Heb 12:11  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 

Heb 12:12  Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 

Heb 12:13  And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. 

Getting the giants out of the land takes time. God delivers us little by little as we grow in faith and knowledge of Christ and His grace.

Exo 23:29  I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.

Exo 23:30  By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

Col 1:10  That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 

Col 1:11  Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; 

Col 1:12  Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 

At first, all sons of God struggle to overcome the flesh. It can only be done by the Power [Comforter] of God. We take comfort in knowing that the world, our carnal minds, with the lusts thereof, is passing away as time goes by. Think spiritually, Christ is faithful to His promises.

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. 

1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 

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. 

Paul tells us what is causing us to sin. We are created this way from the beginning.

Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.

Rom 7:16  If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that [it is] good.

Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but [how] to perform that which is good I find not.

Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

Christ put the law of sin and death in us. Even our sins are caused by the Potter. There is only one Lawgiver.

Isa 33:22  For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us. 

Jas 4:12  There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another? 

Thus, feeling unworthy at times gets replaced by knowing that everything is perfect as it should be TODAY and every day as we live the words of the Book. We have need of patience as we seek and wait on the Lord to come and save us. Christ is the I AM, and we live the Book TODAY with all of its good, evil, and that which is perfect.

Gen 15:1  After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 

Joh 8:58  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Heb 4:7  Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

We are sober and vigilant, watching not to enter into temptation every day. But when we do enter into temptation, we flee to the mountain which is Christ, the Word of Grace. We are being delivered from sin in our lives according to God’s schedule. We take great comfort in this.

Mat 24:16  Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 

Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

Rom 10:4  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. 

Believe in the report of Isaiah and in the salvation of all men [the lies within us] and the men without in their time of visitation by the Lord. Think spiritually.

Isa 53:1  Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 

Isa 53:2  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 

Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 

Christ is our only Hope, even when we feel unworthy. We are created to manifest God’s Glory, and it happens in the appointed time.

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 

As we go from glory to glory [obedience to obedience], the Lord doing all, our confidence being a son of God, replaces the feelings of unworthiness. We repent of our sins, yes, but we have great peace and thankfulness towards our Creator, doing wondrous things in our lives.

Psa 105:2  Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. 

Psa 105:3  Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. 

Psa 119:18  Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. 

We do not turn the grace and patience of our Lord into a license to sin. We strive and work out our own salvation with fear and trembling to the wonderful works of our Maker. Remember to know and obey the Commandments of our Lord Christ, Jesus.

Receive ye the Gospel, receive ye the Holy Spirit.