The Message Bible continues its improper terminology. Can it honestly be said that “the message bible” is an improvement? I think not!

I had planned to let last month’s article be the last one on “THE MESSAGE BIBLE.”  But, after reviewing these verses I wanted you to get a good overview of how corrupt “THE MESSAGE BIBLE” really is.  As you read them, please ask yourself, “Is this something I want my children reading?”  The crude language is a turnoff.  It removes any and all Inspiration from Scripture and reduces them down to a language that is found in cheap novels.

The Bible is God’s Word and Message to the Church.  It is a blueprint of God dealing with man.  It introduces us to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  I don’t think that the God of the Universe would express Himself to His Creation in this manner.  This is man and man’s attempt to take something truly Sacred and Holy and denigrate it to the lowest level.  I encourage you, if you have it, get rid of it.  If you don’t have it, you are a better Christian for not having it.  Read and see for yourself:

Another appropriate title for “The Message,” could be The New Age “Bible.”  There is so much New Age thought permeating “The Mess,” you couldn’t learn the Truth from it, no matter how hard you tried.

One piercing example of New Age doctrine occurs right in the middle of the Lord’s Prayer.

Containing metaphysical connotation, the phrase, “as above, so below”, is one of the most recognized in New Age philosophy.  This motto is said to hold the key to all mysteries.  In fact, all magical systems are believed to function as a result of this formula:  “That which is above is the same as that which is below . . . The universe is the same as God, God is the same as man. . . .”¹  One particular book written and published by the editors of the New Age Journal was actually entitled, As Above, So Below.  Its introduction said, “Thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt, the great master alchemist Hermes Trismegistus, believed to be a contemporary of the Hebrew prophet Abraham, proclaimed this fundamental truth about the universe:  ‘As above, so below.’  This maxim implies that the transcendent God beyond the physical universe and the immanent God within ourselves are one.  Heaven and Earth, spirit and matter, the invisible and visible worlds form a unity to which we are intimately linked.”  The book went on the say that older forms of religion can no longer serve people, but that the phrase, “as above, so below”, precisely describes the new “emerging spirituality” that will be able to serve people in the future.²  Rick Warren even used a derivative of this New Age phrase to kick-off his purpose-driven gospel when he quoted Colossians 1:16 from The Message.  It reads:  “For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him” and is placed on the first page of the first chapter of Warren’s book.  Perhaps many New-agers have secretly joined Rick Warren’s ranks because they have recognized their own spirituality hidden in his agenda.

Also, how can anything “innocent” completely fail to recognize Jesus as “Lord”?  In the King James translation of the Bible, “Lord” occurs 7,970 times, more than any other noun, but The Message only says “Lord” 71 times.  In the King James Scripture, the phrase, “Lord Jesus” occurs 118 times, and the phrase, “Lord Jesus Christ”, occurs 84 times.  Neither of these occurs in The Message at all!   Instead, The Message prefers the term, “Master.”  Another infamous New Age “Bible” entitled, The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus Christ, also prefers the term “Master Jesus.”  The Message calls Jesus “Master” over 400 times and uses the New Age phrase “Master Jesus” 76 times.  This is a subtle way that the New Age movement has found to drag Christ’s Lordship down to the level of their teachers and/or guides whom they call “masters.”  These masters were not born divine; they must rise to the level of master through spiritual elevation.³  One writer explained:  “The New Age Jesus became ‘the Christ’ only after purifying himself of ‘bad karma’ through many incarnations, and even now (as many New Agers believe) he is only one of several ‘masters.’”⁴  Alice Bailey, one of the most influential teachers of the New Age, said, “There is a growing and developing belief that Christ is in us, as He was in the Master Jesus . . .”⁵  What’s even more intriguing is that “Master” is part of freemasonry’s lingo as well; they call the presiding head of a Masonic lodge the “worshipful master.”  The truth is that Freemasons worship at the altar of an all-inclusive universal god, the same pantheistic “Master God” of the New Age, and the Bible predicts that in the end times all of humanity will collectively worship one being who is inspired by Satan.  Therefore, we must ask this question:  Has the world already begun its submission to the beast (Rev.13:12)?

THE MASTER GOD

MASTER JESUS

Another underlying theme of New Age thought occurs in the mystic sense of the term, “The One.”  The One is the universal spiritual force which is god and flows through all things; it is inherent in all individuals and may easily manifest among collective hearts and minds.  Put in a nutshell, it means that creation is god!  New Age guru, H.P. Blavatsky, says, “The esoteric theogony begins with the One. . . .”  She includes both Jehovah and satan as being part of the same cosmic “One.”  “. . . Jehovah — esoterically (as Elohim) — is also the Serpent or Dragon that tempted Eve. . . .”⁶  Expounding on the “One” concept is “oneness.”  “Oneness” is an unusual word, not found in most dictionaries, but it is completely familiar to New Age followers:  “Everything is one with everything else.  All that is on Earth is an expression of the One Deity and is permeated with its energies.”⁷  According to such a philosophy, even unredeemed humanity would have to be “one” with God to some degree.  It also gives credence to another common heresy found in today’s church known as “ultimate reconciliation”, which teaches that everyone, including evil men and the Devil himself, will eventually discover salvation.

THE ONE — NEW AGE

1 (Smith, Warren. Deceived on Purpose p.31).
2 (Smith, Warren. Deceived on Purpose p.30).
3 (Watkins, Terry. Mystic Mess. Dial-the-Truth Ministries. 2005).
4 (Miller, Elliot. A Crash Course on the New Age Movement p.30).
5 (The Externalization of the Hierarchy p.592).
6 (The Secret Doctrine. Vol. 1 p.94 & p.73).
7(Yungen, Ray. A Time of Departing p.52).

We have previously referred to “The Message Bible” as, “The Mess,” (as well as “The New Age Bible”) and now we think it deserves yet another title – “The Mystic Mess” – because it not only accommodates New Age doctrine, but the mystic spirituality of the New Age as well.  Actually, the New Age Movement is not necessarily what you would call an organized religion; it is more of a globalized spirituality, versatile enough to filter through the religious traditions of any culture.  This mystical spirit, in fact, stretches from beliefs in the far-East to the humanistic sciences of the West, and if you do not exercise careful discernment, your spirituality will “go global” right along with your latest efforts to expand your business.  “The Mystic Mess” is, in fact, designed to help you make that transformation.  With that said, let’s continue to look at more of its mystic New Age examples.

MYSTIC NEW AGE

We have discussed the concept of the term “the One” in previous articles as well, but just to refresh your memory, remember that “the One” is the universal spiritual force, the “god” of the New Age, who flows through all things creating “oneness” between them.  You might say that any “spirit” in general is part of “the One” because all spirits are said to eventually flow into “the One” Great Spirit.  By the aid of her spirit guide, Djwhal Khul, occultist Alice Bailey said, “The day is dawning when all religions will be regarded as emanating from the one great spiritual source; all will be seen as unitedly providing the one root out of which the universal world religion will inevitably emerge . . . they will accept the same truths, not as theological concepts, but as essential to spiritual living; they will stand together on the same platform of brotherhood and of human relations; they will recognize divine sonship and will seek unitedly to cooperate with the divine Plan. . . .”8  H.P. Blavatsky, another New Age occultist, teaches the following:  “Brotherhood is a fact of nature.  We are One at the highest spiritual component of our nature.  We are sparks from one flame. . . .

The religions of the world are branches on the tree whose trunk is the one ancient – one universal – wisdom religion.  The religions are the tributaries of one great river. . . .  Humanity’s potential is infinite and every being has a contribution to make toward a grander world.  We are all in it together.  We are one.”9

THE ONE – NEW AGE

ONENESS – NEW AGE

Other terms used to describe New Age “oneness” are “interdependence” and/or “interconnectedness.”  They also speak of the essential unity of everything in the universe.10

Next, we come to a particularly strange phrase found in the “Mystic Mess” wholly typical of mystical/cultic thinking:  “the God of green hope”.  Scripture certainly never mentions anything about a “green hope,” being that Christ is the only True Hope for humanity.  But, quite amazingly, “Green” plays a major role in the hope of the unbelieving world and is, in a sense, their savior.  In fact, the “Green God” has long been a symbol of immortality among the pagans, as they have not known the Everlasting Life God has offered to us through Calvary.  “Green was, with the Druids, a symbol of hope and the virtue of hope, and with a Freemason, illustrates the hope of immortality.”11   The mantra of the environmentalists echoes this spirit:  “go-green” they say, and Mother Earth will not perish.  In fact, the environmental movement goes hand in hand with New Age “oneness” as well.  The title of one particular book by William Anderson reads, Green Man:  The Archetype of Our Oneness with Earth.12

 “ONE”

Christians today need to understand that an intrinsic part of accepting mystical theology is accepting the concept that there are “many paths to God.”  In more secular terms, this mind-set is often called “unity in diversity.”  You see, the New Age concept of “one,” in reality, means “many.”  The usage of the term “one” is meant to deceive as it fakes common ground between Christianity and other faiths.  Due to their belief that all various paths lead to the same god, a sinner can be called a “child of God” just as long as he joins in the pursuit of the universal spirit and does his best to live up to whatever “light” he has been given.  Tragically, this lie abolishes any need to convert sinners to the true Christian Faith and/or teach them how to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  Currently, top “leaders” in government and religious circles are making major efforts to produce tolerance for such pluralistic spirituality.  In fact, they say that the refusal to embrace ecumenical “oneness” threatens the world’s welfare and security.  In an interview with ABC News’ Charles Gibson, President George W. Bush responds to the question of whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God:  “I think we do.  We have different routes of getting to the Almighty.”  At the 2007 National Day of Prayer, Bush stated the following:  “Americans of many faiths and traditions share a common belief that God hears the prayers of His children and shows grace to those who seek Him. . . .  There is a power in these prayers. . . .  I ask the citizens of our Nation to give thanks, each according to his or her own faith, for the freedoms and blessings we have received and for God’s continued guidance, comfort, and protection.”  Rick Warren is another example.  At the UN Interfaith Prayer Breakfast in September 2005, he says:  “You may be Catholic or Protestant or Buddhist or Baptist or Muslim or Mormon or Jewish or Jain, or you have no religion at all. I’m not interested in your religious background.  Because God did not create the universe for us to have religion.  He came for us to have a relationship with him.”  On Larry King Live in 2005, Warren said, “I have known many people who believe in the Messiah of Jesus, regardless of what religion they are, because they believe in him. It’s about a relationship, not a religion.”  In a 1997 interview with Robert Schuller, Billy Graham made this statement:  “I think everybody that loves Christ, or knows Christ, whether they’re conscious of it or not, they’re members of the Body of Christ. . . .  He’s calling people out of the world for His name, whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world or the non-believing world, they are members of the Body of Christ because they’ve been called by God.  They may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their hearts that they need something that they don’t have, and they turn to the only light that they have, and I think that they are saved, and that they are going to be with us in heaven.”13

CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED, THE ONLY WAY

But be forewarned, just as the Word of God has forewarned mankind for centuries, Christ and Him Crucified is the only way to God the Father.  And if you believe in mystical unity (a.k.a. “oneness”), you have definitively denied Jesus Christ:

“And it came to pass, as He was alone praying, His disciples were with Him:  and He asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?  They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again.  He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am?  Peter answering said, The Christ of God. And He straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; Saying, The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.  And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:  but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it.  For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?  For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My Words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels” (Lk. 9:18-26).

8 (Alice Bailey & Djwhal Khul, Problems of Humanity, Chapter V – The Problem of the Churches, III.  The Essential Truths, www.laluni.helloyou.ws/networks/bk/problems/prob1056.html)
9 (“Checklist of Some Principles of Theosophy,” Blavatsky Net Foundation, www.blavatsky.net/theosophy/theosophy-checklist.htm)
10  (Martin, Walter.  The New Age Cult, p.129.)
11  (Kenneth Tuckwood, Talks on Freemasonry)
12  (Watkins.  Terry, Mystic Mess.  Dial-the-Truth Ministries.  2005)
13  (Kjos. Berit. “From Pentecost to Pluralism”.  Trading Truth for Solidarity-Part I, www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/books/in-name-of-purpose/18-One-god-many-paths.htm)

Luke 11:34-35 – “. . . but when your eye is evil, your body also is full of darkness.  Take heed therefore that the light which is in you be not darkness”.

It is impossible to separate Jesus the Living Word from Jesus the Written Word.  Therefore, one can easily see why Jesus, the Light of the World, cannot be portrayed with a false light, a false Bible.  You will, in effect, be presenting “another Jesus,” “another spirit,” and “another Gospel” (II Cor.11:4).  “The Message Bible” is just such a false light.  It is actually not a Bible.  It is a message from the enemy specially crafted to filter through a veil of Scripture so as to “deceive even the elect” (Mk. 13:22).  Supposedly, The Message is harmless, just another translation in contemporary style, but one quick look should show anyone that it is a questionable paraphrase at best.  However, even this is a stretch because The Message contains consistent error, which constantly misses the heart of what the Holy Spirit intended to express.  It is nowhere close to a true word-for-word translation of the original Greek and Hebrew text.  To put it another way, its author is not the Holy Spirit at all, but a man named Eugene Peterson.  And, as if this weren’t sinful enough, The Message also delves into the occult.  The phraseology used in The Message demonstrates thorough knowledge of esoteric and New Age philosophy.  Peterson himself is a proponent of contemplative/mystical spirituality as evidenced in his writings and endorsements of other contemplative authors, not to mention their endorsements of his work.

STRANGE SPIRIT

More discerning readers will be able to sense that The Message does not bear witness to the Holy Spirit, but rather a strange spirit will begin to move upon their hearts, actually making The Message quite dangerous to read!  This satanically-inspired distortion of Scripture has arrived just in time for the advent of the Antichrist’s interfaith “church,” having sold over 10 million copies thus far.  The real tragedy is that much of the “church” which is endorsing it, professes to be the Christian church.  Rick Warren references it 83 times in The Purpose-Driven Life (published by Rupert Murdock through Zondervan Publishing).  Interestingly, though, Eugene Peterson does not even consider The Message, the Word of God.  It was never his intention to use it as such.  In an interview in Christianity Today, Peterson says, “When you’re doing a paraphrase translation like I’ve done . . . there’s more of an imagination and poetic aspect to it, because you’re trying to re-create those rhythms or those images and metaphors in this culture . . . I would never recommend it be used as saying, ‘Hear the Word of God from the Message.’  It surprises me how many do.”  I guess it does surprise him, considering that, in his own words, he tells us that part of the process involved something as blasphemous as “re-creating” the Scripture.  Furthermore, he said, “. . . in a congregation where somebody uses it in the Scripture reading, it makes me uneasy.”  Now, if Peterson has enough fear of God not to use his own personal paraphrase from the pulpit, where is this same respect for the Holiness of God among other “Pastors”?

INTERPRETATION?

Perhaps, another reason Peterson is not comfortable calling The Message the Word of God is because He cannot even guarantee that his interpretation is accurate.  He says, “I just kind of let go and became playful . . . I did the Beatitudes in about 10 minutes.”  When asked about his feelings regarding The Message, Peterson says, “To tell you the truth, I’m quite detached from it . . . it’s almost like it’s happening to somebody else.  I’m surprised at how little emotion I feel about this.”1  This is certainly an interesting admittance considering that “detachment” is described as a psychological defense mechanism enacted to avoid emotional pain.  What could have been painful about his experience of writing The Message?  Well, beginning with its attack upon the very heart of the Gospel, we are going to explore many of such possibly distressing components.

THE CROSS OF CHRIST

The Cross is the working-system of Christianity.  When you do not function according to Faith in the Cross, your Christianity does not work.  Satan, therefore, will be sure to distort the Message of the Cross whenever he can.  With that said, let’s look at what The Message does to the Message of the Cross:

This puts a contemplative/mystic spin on the Message of the Cross indicating that the Power of the Cross cannot be “trivialized into mere words.”  Remember, contemplatives do not believe in the Sound Doctrines of the written Word; they believe in experiences which transcend words.  Paul, on the other hand, was trying to convey that it is indeed in the preaching of the Doctrine of the Cross where the Power of God could be found.  Paul meant for us to preach the Word of the Cross, because the Power of God is established in that Truth!  Also, the concept of “centering” directly connects to contemplative spirituality, meaning that you can find the Christ within at the very core, center, or deepest part of your being.  The Message alludes to this with the words “the powerful action at the center — Christ on the Cross.”  Could Peterson be indicating that the Power of Christ Crucified can be found at the center of your own soul during times of contemplative meditation?

CENTERING?

Calvin Miller, one mystic teacher in the “church” today, describes “centering” this way:  “Centering is the merger of two ‘selves’ — ours and his. Centering is union with Christ.  It is not a union that eradicates either self, but one that heightens both.”2  Joseph G. Sandman, Vice President for Advancement at Loyola University Chicago teaches workshops on centering prayer in the Institute for Pastoral Studies.  He points out that Vatican II called for the revitalization of the path of contemplative prayer and says that “centering prayer” is a practice of monastic spirituality that will open one to “God’s gift of contemplative prayer.”3  Mystic father Thomas Merton added a concept to centering which involves a “true self”/“false self” crisis.  Thomas Keating later expanded on the idea actually making it a cornerstone in the literature on centering prayer.  In this teaching, a person’s truest self is the deepest part of his being, his center, which is united with God.  Therefore, the essence of spiritual life was to become more deeply centered in this “true self” so that God may be able to further develop it while tearing down the false self.  The “false self” is defined as the psychologically wounded part of a person that forms in order to cope with unmet needs in his life.  The person’s conscious thoughts and behaviors try to satisfy these unmet needs, so they may manifest as irrational compulsions or faulty thinking at times.  Of course, such are never given the simple Biblical definition — sin.  Some have also found it quite simple to incorporate this Freudian-like theory into their “Christian” self-help books, one example being Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man’s Soul by John Eldredge.

THE CROSS AND SIN

Another way The Message corrupts the Message of the Cross is by avoiding any explanation of Faith in the Cross as the Spiritual Law ordained by God, which alone can overcome the Law of sin in a person’s life.

Notice how The Message says “the Spirit of life in Christ” rather than “the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.”  It stops short of directing someone to the Spiritual Law which, when kept, will lead to a victorious Christian life.  Also, being “in Christ Jesus” and entering into His “being-here-for-us” are two different things.  Jesus did not save us by His Presence on Earth even though the Spirit of Life was indeed within Him; He Saved us by His Sacrificial Atoning Death at Calvary.  The Biblical interpretation of being “in Christ Jesus” has always meant to be a true Born-Again Child of God due to correctly placed Faith in The Finished Work of the Cross.  The Message, however, redirects you to the Holy Spirit’s “presence” within Christ, saying that with Christ’s “arrival” that “fateful dilemma is resolved.”

PRESENCE?

There is another interesting point to be made here regarding the idea of “presence.”  There is a doctrine in the New Age movement that refutes the Biblical concept of a “transcendent” God, a God existing apart from nature and man.  Helena P. Blavatsky explains that God is a mystical, impersonal “Presence,” that may manifest His living, moving Fire in many ways.4  Alice Bailey said, “This inevitably brings in the concept of the Presence, or of God Immanent and is the result of the needed revolt against the one-sidedness of the belief in God Transcendent.”5  God is called the “Presence” numerous times throughout The Message.  It even refers to the sacred shewbread in the Old Testament as the “Bread of Presence” eight times.6  For instance, The Message says, “Always keep fresh Bread of the Presence on the Table before me” (Ex. 25:30).  This closely resembles the Catholic idea of transubstantiation in which the bread and wine mystically transform into the literal Body and Blood of Christ.  Catholics kneel during mass because they believe the literal presence of Christ is among them in the form of the bread.

DISTORTIONS

The Message of the Cross is also distorted in Romans 7:22-25.

The King James version, again, shows us the Spiritual Law of being “in Christ Jesus” — that it is through a mind fixed on believing what Jesus did on the Cross that we will be able to serve God.  The Message says, “I want to serve God with all my heart and mind,” but this is different from “with the mind, I myself serve the Law of God.”  The King James clearly shows us how we can maintain the ability to  serve God as we keep the Law of Faith in Christ’s Finished Work.  It is not a simple desire to serve God nor what Jesus “can and does” do, but a mind-set of believing Faith and identification with what Jesus did on the Cross.  Certainly, Jesus is capable of doing anything for us; He is God.  But, it is the Law of the Spirit of Life that is God’s prescribed means of bringing this victory to us.  Any true word-for-word translation will be able to bring this truth to our hearts, but The Message only describes victory as a possibility.  It says Jesus is the answer, but leaves out how He is the answer.  What an insult to the Just, Loving, and Merciful God we serve.  The Lord wants us to know the Victory of the Cross!

1  (Christianity Today Oct. 7, 2002)
2  (Into the Depths of God, p.107)
3  (America Magazine 9/9/00)
4  (The Secret Doctrine Vol.1 p.2)
5  (The Externalization of the Hierarchy p.355)
6  (Watkins. Terry, Mystic Mess. Dial-the-Truth Ministries 2005)

Karl Marx (May 5, 1818 through March 14, 1883) was a German philosopher, sociologist, economic historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist.  He was heavily critical of the socio-economic form of society and taught that Capitalism must be destroyed.  Marx tried to make Capitalism the cause of all society’s ills, but history has proven this notion wrong time and time again.  Marx’s theories about society, economics, and politics, collectively known as Marxism, hold that all societies progress through the dialectic of class struggle.  Dialectic is a dialogue or method for resolving conflict between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject.  To Marx, this dialectic occurred between two main classes, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.  The proletariat is the labor or working class, the people who earn their livelihood by selling their labor power and being paid a wage or salary for their labor time.  The bourgeoisie are those who earn their income not from labor as much as from the surplus value they appropriate from the workers who create wealth.  And, according to Marx, the income of the Capitalists is based on their exploitation of the workers (the proletariat).  He thought that this conflict could not be abolished without replacing the system of Capitalism itself.  You see, for Marx, democracy under Capitalism is actually a bourgeois dictatorship. 

The Common Man?

Now, at first glance, his theory makes Marx appear to be a man concerned for the “common man” and a friend to all, but let’s dig a little deeper, first into Marx’s psyche (and real beliefs), and secondly into the negative effects the system of Socialism always has on a country.  Keep in mind that, in order to change things, you must create a crisis, a reason for needing change.  Marx used our human compassions for the poor to bring about his own political power, which was a power that would deny religious freedom in the end.  The poor were not his cause but his vehicle to produce revolution.  Marx often quoted the phrase, “Religion is the opium of the people.”  We Believers may concur with this statement in general, agreeing that yes, true Christianity is NOT a religion, but when Marx said it, he was referring to all religions, including true Christianity.  You have to keep in mind that his Marxist system, which was designed similarly to Communism, would be used to oppress true Christianity as is evident in the testimony of Brother Richard Wurmbrand, a Believer who spent eight years in a Communist prison for preaching the Gospel and ideas contrary to Communist doctrine. 

Remember, Socialism is something that sounds good on the surface but, in reality, is not.  Its practical application does not hold up to its naive ideals.  Yes, some employers and business owners take advantage of Capitalism and exploit their workers, but we cannot forget that Capitalism has a very important aspect.  It allows for freedom!  If we allow for the loss of any freedom, eventually we will lose all freedoms, even religious freedom!  Carefully read this quote by Marx: “The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of man is a requisite for their real happiness.  The call to abandon their illusions about their conditions is a call to abandon a condition which requires illusion. . . . ”  (“Was Karl Marx a Satanist?” by Richard Wurmbrand, Diane Brooks Pub. Co., 1976, p.6.)  If we do not allow the opportunity for Americans (or people of any country) to make as much money as they desire, we eliminate the opportunity for all to make their desired amounts of income.  God will take care of those who abuse the privilege.  “Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth:  and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth” (James 5:4).

Without God!

In his youth, Karl Marx professed to be a Christian.  His father, a lawyer, was relatively prosperous and came from a Jewish background, and his mother was a Dutch Jew from a prosperous business family.  His maternal grandfather was a Jewish Rabbi.  Prior to Karl’s birth, his father converted from Judaism to the Protestant Christian denomination of Lutheranism.  This is believed to be because he was barred from the practice of law due to being Jewish.  notablebiographies.com.  So, the conversion could have been more for business reasons rather than actual spiritual ones.  Nevertheless, Marx’s first written work was called “The Union of the Faithful”, so there is evidence Marx adhered to Christian beliefs early on.  However, for reasons unknown, he started to become very anti-religious!  A new Marx began to emerge.  He began to display a terrible hatred toward God.  What exactly produced this hatred, no one seems to know.  He wrote the following line in his poem, “Invocation of One in Despair”:  “I shall build my throne high overhead.”  In another poem he wrote, “Then I will be able to walk triumphantly, like a God, through the ruins of their kingdom.  Every word of mine is fire and action, my breast is equal to that of the Creator.”  In his poem, “The Pale Maiden”, he wrote, “Thus Heaven I’ve forfeited, I know it full well.  My soul, once true to God, is chosen for Hell.”  Clearly, this man was very tormented.  He went from blasphemous claims of considering himself equal to God to acknowledging he was going to a Devil’s Hell.

The Dance Of Death

In reading Marx’s poems, one quickly discovers not only that he hated God, but actually the gods of any religion.  In a little known drama he composed, “Oulanem”,you see a very dark side of Karl developing – Devil worship and the Black Mass.  During a Black Mass, the Bible is burned and an orgy follows.  In a poem called “The Player” he pens these words, “The hellish vapors rise and fill the brain, till I go mad and my heart is utterly changed.  See this sword?  The prince of darkness sold it to me.  For me beats the time and gives the signs.  Ever more boldly I play the dance of death.” Now, in the higher initiations of a Satanist’s cult, an “enchanted” sword, which ensures success, is sold to the candidate.  He pays for it by signing a covenant, a blood-oath.  Yes, blood taken from his wrists, and he agrees that his soul will belong to Satan after death!  In “The 18th Brumaire” (pg. 119), Marx quotes this, “Everything in existence is worth being destroyed.”  These were the words of Mephistopheles in “Faust,” and Marx loved these words.  Stalin actually acted on these words and destroyed even his own family.

 In “Faust,” the spirit that denies everything is called Satan.  In his poem, “Human Pride,” Marx admits his aim is not to improve the world, reform, or revolutionize it, but simply to ruin it and to enjoy it being ruined.  He wrote, “With disdain I will throw my gauntlet full in the face of the world, and see the collapse of this pygmy giant whose fall will not stifle my ardor.  Then will I wander godlike and victorious through the ruins of the world, and, giving my words an active force, I will feel equal to the Creator.”  You see, in further, deeper study of Karl Marx, I found a man that had a deep hatred for God and for man as well.  It was his desire to draw all of humanity into the abyss and to follow them laughing.  And really, there is every evidence that Karl Marx was actually a Satanist.  He is even buried in Highgate Cemetery in London.  Highgate Cemetery is Britain’s center of Satanism.  Mysterious rites are held and celebrated at this tomb.

The Communist Manifesto

In college Marx became involved with a group of radical thinkers known as the “Young Hegelians,” who gathered around Ludwig Feuerbach and Bruno Bauer.  The Young Hegelians were critical of G.W.F. Hegel’s metaphysical assumptions, but still adopted his dialectic method, in order to criticize established society, politics, and religion.  Marx befriended Bauer, and the two scandalized their class in Bonn by getting drunk, laughing in church, and galloping through the streets on donkeys.  It was in Paris, on August 28, 1844, that Marx met German Socialist, Friedrich Engels, and these two began a friendship that would last a lifetime.  On February 21, 1848, Marx and Engels’s most famous work was published, which came to be known as, “The Communist Manifesto.”  Marx and Engels both came from privileged families and both held a grudge against all religions.  “Running left-wing movements has always been the prerogative of spoiled rich kids. . . .  The phoniness of the claim to be a movement of the working class was blatant from the beginning.  When Engels was elected as a delegate to the Communist League in 1847, in his own words, ‘a working man was proposed for appearances sake, but those who proposed him voted for me.’ ”  (Thomas Sowell, 1993 book, “Is Reality Optional”.  Hoover Institution, p. 81.) 

Marx also met Moses Hess, a man who played a most important role in his life, the man who led him to embrace the Socialist ideal.  No, Karl Marx did not love mankind.  He was not prompted by concern for the poverty of his fellowman.  He did not love them, but rather referred to them as nuts, asses, and rascals.  He even described them using obscenities.  No, Marx’s chief aim in life was the destruction of religion and to send mankind to Hell.  Marxists always appealed to the basest passions of men, such as stirring up envy toward the rich and encouraging violence.  Marxists will exploit things such as racial differences or the so-called generation gap.  They encourage an abolition of all morals, making everything permissible.

Occult Satanism

Socialist and Communist movements are, in reality, front organizations for occult Satanism.  Karl Marx (and his satanic Marxism) is not a model for countries to follow, and any country that does follow this socialistic path will wind up broke with its people living in poverty, which is Satan’s desire, to destroy God’s Creation!  The doctrine of Socialism is seething with contradictions.  Its theories are at constant odds with its practices.  Indeed, no precise distinct Socialism even exists.  Instead, there is only a vague, rosy notion of something noble and good, of equality, of communal ownership, and of justice.  It is believed that the advent of these things will bring instant utopia and a social order beyond reproach.  Yet, in any country that practices Socialism or Communism, you will not find any semblance of anything pertaining to a glorious future for its citizens.

Look at China, Russia, and Europe.  Look at the bloody experiments at the time of the Reformation utopias of European thinkers, the intrigues of Marx and Engels, the radical Communist measures of the Lenin period, or the heavy-handed methods of Stalin!  So, why is Socialism being pushed down the throats of the American people today when it has always been a failure in any country of the world?  It’s plain and easy for anyone to see that Socialism seeks to reduce human personality to its most primitive levels and to extinguish the highest and most God-like aspects of human individuality.  Actually, Socialism has already proven to be a failed experiment here in the United States of America.  The Pilgrims, the 104 people who arrived at Plymouth Rock on December 21, 1620, were organized under a charter which imposed a seven year period of joint ownership.  Thus, the day they arrived in the new world, all clothing, houses, land, crops, and cash were jointly owned.  So, no matter how hard a man might have worked, he had little hope of personal gain for his effort. 

The Pilgrims

Thus, the Pilgrims started life in the New World with a system of common ownership forced on them by Plymouth Colony investors.  That quasi-socialist arrangement proved to be disastrous.  It had to be scrapped for one that gave these first Americans the right to keep the fruits of their labor and incentive to produce more.  The communal arrangement also ill-fitted the Pilgrims for the demands of life on the edge of a “cruel” wilderness.  The Pilgrims buried forty-four people within the first three months, and a total of fifty died within the first year.  The ground proved to be unyielding, so Pilgrims gathered a “small harvest” and celebrated their first Thanksgiving with the Indians in the autumn of 1621.  Another small harvest followed in 1622.  Such a meager return came in part because the Pilgrims were unskilled at farming and because of the sandy New England soil.  However, it was the lack of any promise or return for their labors that caused even these God-fearing and devout settlers to fail to fully work the land.  It also led to a social order at odds with the dictates of human nature, so there were dissensions and insubordination in unthrift and famine.

Private Enterprise

In March of 1623, Governor Bradford allowed each man to plant corn for his own household and to trust themselves for that.  So, every family was assigned a parcel of land, according to the proportion of their number.  This proved to be very successful.  It made all hands very industrious, so that much more corn was planted than would have been by any other means anyone had devised.  Suddenly, these heretofore mediocre farmers made their own Capitalist “great leap forward.”  Whereas 26 acres of corn, barley, and peas were planted in 1621, they planted nearly 60 acres the next year and, in 1623, they planted 184 acres.  Governor Bradford reported that, instead of famine, God gave them plenty, and things changed.  And they gave thanks to God.  Under the new system of private enterprise, the Pilgrims grew in prosperity and were soon able to buy out the interest of their investors and obtain clear titles to their land.  Governor Bradford wrote this, “The experience that was had in this common course and condition, tried sundry years and that amongst godly and sober men, may well evince the vanity of that conceit of Plato’s and other ancients applauded by some of later times; that the taking away of property and bringing in community into a commonwealth would make them happy and flourishing; as if they were wiser than God.”

Private enterprise is “God-given” and what this Nation was founded on.  Socialism, Marxism, and Communism were all founded in Satanism.  Private industry is what America was established on, and it has resulted in the greatest nation ever produced on the face of the Earth.

Jeremiah 6:16 – “Thus says the LORD, Stand you in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and you shall find rest for your souls.  But they said, We will not walk therein.  (True rest and healing is to be found in ‘the old paths’ and ‘the good way,’ that is, the Gospel as taught in the Bible.  ‘Stand you in the ways,’ refers to the ardent seeking of the Ways of God.)”

Back To The Basics

The term “back to the basics” is a phrase utilized by many groups of people.  It describes the need to go back and rediscover truths and practices that produced great results.  In most cases, the people that need to return to the basics have somehow left the very thing or things that once made them great.  They have diverted down a side path, usually unintentionally, and have failed to maintain basic principles that once made their endeavors fruitful.  What used to be normal practice and thought for them has somehow become obsolete.  To recover their past victories and vitality there is a need to openly and honestly evaluate where one has been and where one is going.
    
It is my heartfelt belief that the Church of Jesus Christ has left the very “basics” that make Christianity great.  We have deterred down the wandering path of religious practice and have left behind the truths and practices that change our lives, strengthen our faith, cultivate our dependence upon God, and enable us to live a victorious Christian life.  For the most part I feel we have lost our way and need to, with a great sense of urgency and desperation, return to the Scriptures to locate and retrieve what we have lost.  At the same time we must cast aside all hope and means in anything other than God’s Prescribed Order, as described in His Word, to find once again the vital benefits of relationship with God.  In Jeremiah 6:16 the Lord through the Prophet Jeremiah said, “. . . Stand you in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and you shall find rest for your souls.”  It’s time for the church to return to the basics, the old paths, the Ways of the Lord.  Only then will we find His “rest” for our souls.

The Path Of Sanctification By Faith

A Christian is sure to encounter the term “Sanctification” almost immediately following his or her Salvation.  The term “Sanctification” or “sanctify” simply defined indicates that something is holy, separated unto God for a special and distinct purpose.  There are two main arenas of “Sanctification.”  One is “instantaneous Sanctification,” while the other is “progressive Sanctification.”  Both are a reality and need to be both understood and embraced.  “Instant Sanctification” is the reality that at the moment of Conversion, God sets aside the newly “Born-Again” Believer as a “peculiar” People, dedicated to God and the things of God.  He looks at the new Believer as His Own, made clean and pure by the Blood of Jesus.  That person is viewed as sanctified.  They are made holy by Faith in Christ.  They are set aside, set apart for God.  They are instantly sanctified.  “Progressive Sanctification,” on the other hand, deals with the growth of the Believer.  When thought of properly, the need to grow in Grace and the knowledge of the Lord is a process that begins at Conversion and will only end at death or the Rapture of the Church, whichever comes first.  I am sanctified.  I am being sanctified!

How To Do “The What To Do!”

A good Pastor friend of mine, Curtis Hutchinson of Atlanta, Texas once said this, “All my Christian life preachers told me what I was supposed to do!  However, no one ever told me the truth about how to do ‘the what to do!’”  Like most in Christendom, Pastor Hutchinson struggled with growth.  Like all of us who are truly Saved, we desired to be pleasing to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  But, the ability to do what we were supposed to do wasn’t always there.  Oh, we could do well for a while.  We could grow for a season.  But, it seemed that just about the time I took two steps forward and seemed to find victory over an area of my life that I would then find myself taking three steps backward.  If this is your problem today I can almost guarantee that the key to understanding the problem to your growth is found in how you approach the “progressive Sanctification” process.  God’s Way is always the Way of Faith and Grace.  Let me explain!

The Supply Of The Spirit

Our Christian growth can only take place when the Holy Spirit is given the latitude, and the opportunity, to work in us.  Christianity is not you or I working, but rather, it is God working in us (Phil. 2:13).  We do not earn the supply of the Spirit by performing religious activities.  If that were true, then our growth would only occur when God “owed” us something.  God does not work on the principle of debt.  He owes us nothing at all, ever!  Instead, He freely bestows His Grace upon those who believe properly!  In other words, ours is the responsibility of Faith.  When we believe the right thing, God’s Spirit Moves in us and upon us.  This is what it means to “grow in Grace!”  We must ever be expanding or enlarging our dependence upon the Lord.  Therefore, in order to be changed I dare not trust in my action, my consecration, my labor for the Lord, or any one of a dozen other religious or Spiritual activities.  It matters not how Biblical and right these activities are.  It is not wrong to be Spiritually active, to pray, to read, to attend Church, etc.  It is wrong to have the mind-set that says that God pays me with power to grow based upon my works.  God supplies the flow of the Spirit only when our Faith is in His Son and His completed Work at Calvary.  “If we through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, then we shall live,” Romans 8:13 says.  “Progressive Sanctification” is accomplished in
the same way that “instant Sanctification” is.  In Colossians 2:6 Paul says, “As you have received Christ Jesus, so walk you in Him.”  Our Faith is to be in the Saviour.  We rely upon the supply of the Spirit to conform us into the Image of God’s Son.  There is no other way to be changed.  Our Victory comes by Faith.  So, be a Believer that believes properly and is progressively, eternally, and consistently changed!

America is suffering from an identity crisis.  We have lost our rightful Judeo-Christian identity by those who emphasize diversity while marginalizing our heritage.  The new political correctness is to oppose Christianity and our Lord Jesus Christ.  The new sport is to fight against Christian freedom of speech, while claiming you are exercising your free right to speak.  Occupy Wall Street has lingered on as a weapon of liberal offence to gain sympathy towards the new breed of those indoctrinated to laziness; expecting nothing less than equality through entitlements.  Their goal is to socialize your rewards of hard work while they redistribute their debt to you.

Problems For America

Our political structure has been reduced to a two-party system.  Interestingly, the Republicans and Democrats operate more like yin and yang, which make up a whole circle.  One will not operate without the other.  Congress is no longer able to resolve their differences and work towards what’s best for our nation.  Instead, more effort is extenuated by our representatives towards their election campaigns.  The unconstitutional super committee which miserably failed to cut the deficit last fall, couldn’t agree on a few billion dollars in cuts out of a 15 trillion dollar deficit (?)  Fortunately, Europe is in such bad financial shape from failed socialist policies that their debt has cast a shadow over our fifteen trillion dollar deficit.  Needless to say the U.S. will oblige the world once again by backing plans to save Europe, and the world, through the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  Our obligation to the IMF is approximately 20%.  Since all we have is debt the only means by which we can add support is to print more money.  Be prepared to pay more for goods and services in the future.

Improper Identity

The church has lost its identity.  A popular Mega church pastor has sold himself out to the world for money and notoriety by participating in a reality television show.  Many in ministry try to identify with their righteous good works, such as this pastor.  Isaiah called their righteousness “filthy rags.”  Much of the church has also drifted backwards to identify with their Jewish roots.  In past articles we discussed the Hebraic Roots Movement and its dangers and unscriptural teachings.  Identity is important though.  If we do not know and recognize our proper identity as Christians we will become confused.  Once confused we will not know how to identify truth and become ripe for deception.

Proper Identity

Every Christian must understand they have a perfect and righteous position in Christ Jesus.  This was imputed unto us when we exhibited Faith in what Jesus has done for us at the Cross; He bore the debt (penalty) of sin on our behalf.  He died in our place and satisfied the demands of the Law that were against us.  “The wages of sin is death.”
    
The second aspect of the Cross is our identification with Christ Jesus in His Death on the Cross.  Our “old man” has been crucified with Him.  We were raised to a new Source of life, the Holy Spirit.  We no longer identify with our old Adamic nature.  “Old things are passed away (and) . . . all things are become new.”  The new creation is now “accepted in the Beloved.”  Our identity is with Christ.  We are His.  Knowing this, Christians should not fall prey to the temptation of referring to their old identities.  There is no such a thing as a black or white Christian.  There are no Jewish or Gentile Christians either.  There is no rich and poor class of Christians.  The bloodline eliminates any discrimination on any grounds!  If you are saying to yourself, well you don’t understand my past, then I will tell you that as a Christian you have no past.  “For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”  It’s time we recognize our true identity.  It’s time we live from our position and understand, “If you be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the Right Hand of God.  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the Earth.”  Your Saviour and elder brother has everything you need!  “But my God shall supply all your need according to His Riches in Glory by Christ Jesus.”  Knowing this you can say as Paul, “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.”

What’s Your Identity?

I felt the Presence of God as I wrote that last paragraph.  We spend too much time distracted by the media as they try to bring a deeper division to our nation.  Our opinions are shaped by the News commentators who eloquently speak their views, I should say, the views of their producers.  We buy into the self-proclaimed representatives of American values that would destroy and separate us with a diversity axe.  They gain access to our hearts through subtlety by having us forget our Judeo-Christian identity as a nation, and remind us that our diversity needs to be respected more than what brought us together.  The abolition of slavery and its subsequent call to equal rights have been witnessed by most in our nation.  Blacks have prospered in movies and music, business and education.  Women have gained equality, and for that matter, even more equality than a man, in that she is given the right to decide if an unborn human life should live or die.
    
I can go on and on but one clear message is true if you are in Christ and His Blood has made you whole, He has brought us together.  We are all fitly joined together in Him.  If one section of the wall is missing the wall would not stand or could be easily breached.  There’s no white section to the wall, or black section, or Christian Jewish section to Christ’s Body.  We’re all just burnt stones held together by His Blood.  We are all complete, in Him.  Now, what do you identify with? 

QUESTION:

HOW DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT WORK?

ANSWER:

Unfortunately, most Believers take the Holy Spirit for granted, if He is given any shift at all.  Basically, the non-Pentecostal world, for the most part, ignores Him altogether.  Sadder still, the Pentecostal world, which is supposed to be knowledgeable on this subject, limits Him to their prayer language, and I refer to praying with other Tongues.  Some things about the Gifts of the Spirit are known as well, but even these things are, sadly and regrettably, falling by the way.  Most Pentecostals simply do not know how the Holy Spirit works despite being baptized with the Spirit (Mat. 3:11; Acts 2:4).  As a result of this lack of knowledge, this particular Chapter will, without a doubt, be one of, if not the most important Chapter in the entirety of this book.  To know how the Holy Spirit works takes one out of the wasteland of quandary into Biblical knowledge that can change one’s life.  The things we will say in this Chapter, as will become obvious, will be very, very simple but are completely unknown by virtually all of modern Christians.  Once we begin to understand the Word of God as we should, it’s amazing as to how simple it really is.  The problem is that preachers have a tendency to confuse the issue.

WHY DO PAUL’S WRITINGS SEEM TO BE DIFFICULT?

The truth is, Paul’s writings are difficult to understand, but only if we don’t have the key that unlocks this treasure house of information. 
    
The basic reason has to do with the fact that properly understanding the New Covenant takes us from “walking after the flesh,” to “walking after the Spirit.”  To be frank, that’s a journey of a lifetime. 
    
Walking after the flesh is that which is indicative to human beings.  It refers to our education, motivation, strength, power, talent, intellectualism, etc., in other words, that, as stated, which is indicative to human beings.  Functioning after the Spirit instead of the flesh is like a person who is right-handed having to function from a position of being left-handed.  It can be done, but it’s not simple, quick, or easy.  The fact is that most of Christendom functions after the flesh with only brief forays into the world of the Holy Spirit, which is not meant to be the Biblical norm.  Instead of us coming into the realm of the Spirit, i.e., “Holy Spirit,” we try to bring the Spirit into the realm of the flesh, which will never work.  The Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, plainly and bluntly stated:
    
“So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:8).
    
But then the Apostle stated:

“But you are not in the flesh (in one sense of the word is asking the question, ‘Since you are now a Believer and no longer depending on the flesh, why are you resorting to the flesh?’), but in the Spirit (as a Believer, you now have the privilege of being led and empowered by the Holy Spirit; however, He will do such for us only on the premise of our Faith in the Finished Work of Christ), if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you (if you are truly Saved).  Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His (Paul is saying that the work of the Spirit in our lives is made possible by what Christ did at Calvary, and the Resurrection)” (Rom. 8:9).

WHY IS THE FLESH INSUFFICIENT?

The Apostle readily gives us the answer to why the flesh is insufficient!  He said:

“And if Christ be in you (He is in you through the Power and Person of the Spirit [Gal. 2:20]), the body is dead because of sin (means that the physical body has been rendered helpless because of the Fall; consequently, the Believer trying to overcome by willpower presents a fruitless task); but the Spirit islife because of Righteousness (only the Holy Spirit can make us what we ought to be, which means we cannot do it ourselves; once again, He performs all that He does within the confines of the Finished Work of Christ)” (Rom. 8:10).

Even though we addressed it in the notes, which we copied word for word from THE EXPOSITOR’S STUDY BIBLE, still, this is so important that the following needs to be said and emphasized: 
    
The Fall in the Garden of Eden made the physical body, in other words, what we can do as human beings, insufficient as it regards doing and living as we should, as it regards the Lord.  So, if we depend upon this particular medium, over and over again the Holy Spirit through the Apostle tells us that we are going to fail.

THE HOLY SPIRIT ALONE CAN MAKE US WHAT WE OUGHT TO BE

This we must understand —­ that the Holy Spirit alone can make us what we ought to be.  That’s why this Chapter is so very, very important.  If we don’t know how the Holy Spirit works, while He most definitely will not leave us under such circumstances, and thank God for that, still, we will fall far short of what He can do, and wants to do, within our lives. 
    
What we are facing in the spirit world, and I speak of the spirit world of darkness, is totally beyond our capacity.  This is something the Believer must understand.  That’s why Paul said the following:

“Finally, my Brethren, be strong in the Lord (be continually strengthened, which one does by constant Faith in the Cross), and in the power of His Might.  (This power is at our disposal.  The Source is the Holy Spirit, but the Means is the Cross [I Cor. 1:18].)
    
“Put on the whole Armour of God (not just some, but all), that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil.  (This refers to the ‘stratagems’ of Satan.)”

WE WRESTLE NOT AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood (our foes are not human; however, Satan constantly uses human beings to carry out his dirty work), but against principalities (rulers or beings of the highest rank and order in Satan’s kingdom), against powers (the rank immediately below the ‘Principalities’), against the rulers of the darkness of this world (those who carry out the instructions of the ‘Powers’), against spiritual wickedness in high places.  (This refers to demon spirits)” (Eph. 6:10-12).

At this juncture, please allow me to relate a dream which the Lord gave me many, many years ago.  I think it will throw some light on the situation.

A PERSONAL ILLUSTRATION

If I remember correctly, the year was 1953.  Frances and I were married in 1952, and Donnie was born in 1954.  So the occasion must have been the early part of 1953. 
    
At that time, Frances and I lived in a little tiny house trailer.  I was just beginning to preach the Gospel.
    
Frances had already gone to bed.  I stayed up, sitting in the front part of the little trailer, studying the Word of God.  At a point in time, there seemed to be a most oppressive spirit that came into the room, so powerful, in fact, that I couldn’t shake it.
    
I left out of the little mobile home and started walking up and down the street right beside where we lived, which afforded some privacy, trying to pray.  But, it was to no avail; I couldn’t seem to pray.

SPIRITUAL OPPRESSION

While Christians cannot be demon possessed (I Cor. 3:16), Christians definitely can be demon oppressed.  Oppression comes from without, as demon spirits attack the Child of God, and can do so in many and varied ways.  It can take the form of sickness, tremendous nervous disorder, frayed nerves, and emotional instability, and is caused, once again, primarily because the Believer doesn’t understand how the Holy Spirit works. 
    
A short time ago while preaching on a Sunday Morning at Family Worship Center and dealing with this very subject, all of a sudden something very important dawned on me.  I realized, even while I was addressing the audience, that I had not suffered one moment of demonic oppression since the Lord gave me the Revelation of the Cross in 1997.  Being 2006 when I was addressing the audience that Sunday morning, that had been some nine years free of these efforts of Satan.

ALL VICTORY IS IN THE CROSS

Every single thing that the Believer receives from the Lord, and I mean everything, comes from Jesus Christ as the Source and through the Cross as the Means.  In other words, it’s the Cross of Christ that makes everything possible.  It was at the Cross where our Lord satisfied the demands of the broken Law, and did so by giving Himself in Sacrifice, in fact, as a perfect Sacrifice.  This being done, this as well satisfied the demands of a thrice-Holy God, at least for all who will believe (Col. 2:14-15; Jn. 3:16).  The Believer must understand that!  It is the Cross of Christ which has made everything possible.  Of course, as I’m sure the reader understands, when we speak of the “Cross,” we aren’t speaking of a wooden beam, but rather, that which Jesus there did.  All of this means that in the Cross is all Salvation, in the Cross is all Victory, in the Cross is all Deliverance, in the Cross is Everything!  In fact, the Believer cannot even remotely avail himself of Who Christ is, and What Christ has done, and did it all for us, unless he understands that the Cross of Christ is the Means by which all of this is carried out. 
    
Satan could attack me vehemently before I understood the Cross because I was attempting to throw him off by the means of the flesh.  In fact, that’s the way that virtually the entirety of the modern church faces the evil one.  It’s by the flesh, which guarantees failure.  That’s the reason that Paul also said:

“For the preaching (Word) of the Cross is to them who perish foolishness (Spiritual things cannot be discerned by unredeemed people, but that doesn’t matter; the Cross must be preached just the same, even as we shall see); but unto us who are Saved it is the Power of God.  (The Cross is the Power of God simply because it was there that the total sin debt was paid, giving the Holy Spirit, in Whom the Power resides, latitude to work mightily within our lives)” (I Cor. 1:18).

In other words, the Holy Spirit works exclusively within the parameters of the Finished Work of Christ, i.e., “the Cross of Christ.”

IN A DREAM I SAW THE SPIRIT OF DARKNESS THAT WAS TRYING TO DESTROY ME

The night in question back in 1953, unable, seemingly, to throw off the powers of darkness, I finally retired to bed.  Sometime in the early morning hours before daylight, the Lord gave me the following dream:
    
In the dream I found myself in the front room of a house with which I was not acquainted.  In other words, I did not know where I was or why I was there. 
    
I remember looking around the room of the house where the dream had placed me, noting that there was absolutely nothing in the room.  No furniture, no pictures on the wall, nothing!  There was not even a window in the room, only a door that led outside.
    
My first thoughts were, what am I doing here?  Why am I in this place?  Somehow, I could sense a foreboding, and my thoughts were, I’ve got to leave.
    
I turned to walk toward the door to exit the premises when, all of a sudden, standing in the doorway was the most hideous man/beast that words could ever begin to describe.
    
It must have stood about six feet tall or taller, and it had the body of a bear and the face of a man.  As I looked at its countenance, I’ve never seen such evil.  In fact, from its eyes, which seemed to be pools of evil all directed at me, as it began to descend upon me, it seemed to say, “I have you now.”
    
As I looked at this creature, and as it slowly began to lumber toward me, I became so weak that I slumped to the floor.  My knees simply would not hold me.

THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE ARE NOT CARNAL

As I lay there on the floor too weak to get up, I began to feel around with my hand, trying to find something with which I could defend myself.  There was nothing there!  From that I was to learn that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds” (II Cor. 10:4).
    
This thing was very close to standing over me now, poised to deliver the death blow.  Without premeditation and without forethought, I screamed as loud as I could, “In the Name of Jesus,” even though my voice was no more than a whisper.

IN THE NAME OF JESUS

When I said that Name, even in my extremely weakened condition, it carried such Power that it was like something had hit this demon spirit in the head with a baseball bat.  He clutched his head and began to stagger backwards, screaming all the time. 
    
I learned that the Power of that Name was not predicated on my personal condition, on my personal strength, etc.  In other words, it carried a weight, a Power, all its own.
    
And now I began to gather strength and finally stood to my feet.  I said it again, “In the Name of Jesus!”
    
When I said it the second time, my voice was much stronger now, and this man/beast (demon spirit) slumped to the floor, still screaming and clutching its head.  In fact, it was writhing on the floor like a snake that had just received the death blow. 
    
Now, instead of it towering over me, I was towering over it.
    
I opened my mouth and for the third time said, “In the Name of Jesus!”  Even though I exerted no strength at all, my voice sounded like a veritable Niagara.  It was like my voice was connected to a public address system, which made it boom off the walls.

THE SOUND OF THE MIGHTY RUSHING WIND

And then, when I uttered that Name Jesus the third time, I distinctly heard “a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty wind” (Acts 2:2).  I didn’t see anything, but I distinctly heard it, and I knew it was the Holy Spirit.
    
Before my eyes, and mostly to my hearing, this “Sound” grew louder and louder as it came into the room.  As stated, I saw absolutely nothing, but to be sure, what I heard I knew to be from the Lord.
    
The Power of that Sound hit that man/beast lying on the floor, and despite its bulk, swept it out the front door like it was a falling leaf in a March wind.  I remember in the dream running to the door and looking out, seeing it wafting away on the wind until it was out of sight.
    
I awakened myself that early morning hour, praising the Lord with other Tongues.  I knew that the dream was from the Lord.  I knew that He was telling me something; however, at that time, I had no idea as to what it was. 
    
As the years would pass, and the Lord would use us to touch much of this world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I came to understand that power of darkness that tried to destroy me.  But, above all, I came to understand the Power of the Name of Jesus, which was of far greater magnitude than that of demon spirits.  Yet, at the same time, I have learned that the forces arrayed against me and, in fact, every Believer, are so far beyond our capacity, as a mere human being, to oppose.  In other words, if we try to oppose the powers of darkness by the means of the flesh, we will be defeated every single time.  I had to learn that the hard way, and I greatly suspect that such is the occasion for every Believer as well.  In other words, we don’t learn these things quickly or easily.
    
In that dream that night, I learned what the mighty Name of Jesus could do, and I learned the Power of the Holy Spirit.  What is impossible for us is nothing for Him.  Of course, and as the reader understands, the Holy Spirit is God!

WILLPOWER IS NOT ENOUGH

Regrettably, most Christians are trying to live for God by the means of willpower.  If they speak to someone about difficulties, most of the time, they will be told to “try harder.”  The truth is that they can try as hard as they might, but all to no avail!
    
Many Christians think that when they give their hearts to the Lord, their willpower is greatly strengthened.  It isn’t!  You have the same willpower now that you had before you got Saved.  And, if you try to live for God by the means of willpower, which, in effect, is the flesh, you will fail every single time, no matter how hard you try.  Paul told us this in the great Seventh Chapter of Romans.  This Chapter portrays snapshots out of the Apostle’s own life and experience of trying to live for God before he understood the Message of the Cross.  To be sure, and regrettably, it was a life of failure.
And yet, when he wrote these words, he full well understood God’s Prescribed Order of Victory, but the Lord allowed him to give an example of his own experience that it might be an encouragement to us. 
    
Before understanding the Cross, Paul tried to live for God by his own personal strength, i.e., “his willpower.”  He found to his dismay that it was woefully insufficient.  He said:

“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing (speaks of man’s own ability, or rather the lack thereof, in comparison to the Holy Spirit, at least when it comes to spiritual things):  for to will is present with me (Paul is speaking here of his willpower; regrettably, most modern Christians are trying to live for God by means of willpower, thinking falsely that since they have come to Christ, they are now free to say ‘no’ to sin; that is the wrong way to look at the situation; the Believer cannot live for God by the strength of willpower; while the will is definitely important, it alone is not enough; the Believer must exercise Faith in Christ and the Cross, and do so constantly; then he will have the ability and strength to say ‘yes’ to Christ, which automatically says ‘no’ to the things of the world); but howto perform that which is good I find not (outside of the Cross, it is impossible to find a way to do good)” (Rom. 7:18).

As we stated in the notes, while the will is most definitely important, within itself, it is incapable of carrying out that which we must have.  For that to be done, and I speak of Victory over the world, the flesh, and the Devil, the Holy Spirit Alone can carry out such direction of Victory within our lives.

IS THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AUTOMATIC?

No!  The Work of the Holy Spirit is not automatic.
    
Stop and think a moment.  If the Work of the Holy Spirit within our hearts and lives were automatic, then there would never be another failure on the part of the Child of God.  We would never take a wrong direction; we would never fail the Lord, etc., but, we know that’s not the case, don’t we?  While the Holy Spirit is God and, as such, can do anything, still, He has an agenda within our hearts and lives, and that is that we develop as we should in the Lord, coming from dependence on the flesh to dependence on the Holy Spirit.  As we have stated, that is not a quick or uneventful journey.  John Newton, who wrote “Amazing Grace,” said it well.  He wrote:

“Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares,
“I have already come;
“’Tis Grace hath bro’t me safe thus far,
“And Grace will lead me home.”

WHAT IS THE GRACE OF GOD?

The Grace of God is simply the Goodness of God extended to undeserving Saints.  In other words, the Lord has many wonderful, good, and beautiful things to give to us, which we could never merit, no matter what we do.  However, we limit Him as to what He can do for us and, in fact, desires to do, simply because we don’t understand the Way and the Means that Grace operates. 
    
How does it operate?
    
The Lord doesn’t demand very much of us.  If He did, most of us, and perhaps all of us, would fall by the wayside, but He does demand one thing, and this is critical to our Living for God, at least living successfully. 
    
He demands that the Cross of Christ ever be the Object of our Faith.  We must understand that the Grace of God, i.e., “the Goodness of God,” is made available to us strictly by and through the Cross of Christ.  In other words, it’s the Cross that gives the Lord the legal means to do all that He does for us.  As we’ve stated, while Christ is the Source of all Grace, it is the Cross which is the Means by which this Grace is given to us.  This demands that the Cross of Christ ever be the Object of our Faith. 

That’s why Paul also said:
“Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel:  not with wisdom of words, lest the Cross of Christ should be made of none effect” (I Cor. 1:17).
 
Was Paul denigrating Water Baptism?  No!
    
The great Apostle was simply telling us that the emphasis in life and living must always be centered up on the Cross of Christ and never on other things, such as Water Baptism, as good and wonderful and Scriptural as those things might be in their own right.
    
We must ever understand that whatever it is we need from the Lord, and, in fact, we need everything, such cannot be merited, no matter what we do.  We must understand that it’s always a free gift, and the way this free gift is received is simply that our Faith be placed in the Means by which it comes to us, which is the Cross of Christ (Rom. 6:1-14; 8:1-2, 11; I Cor. 1:17, 18, 23; 2:2; Gal., Chpt. 5; 6:14; Eph. 2:13-18; Col. 2:14-15).
    
No, the Holy Spirit doesn’t just work automatically within our hearts and lives.  As we have stated, He doesn’t demand much of us, but He does demand one thing, and that is not debatable.  It is that our Faith be exclusively in Christ and what Christ has done for us at the Cross.  We are to maintain our Faith in that capacity even on a daily basis (Lk. 9:23; 14:27).  With our Faith properly placed, the Lord can and will do mighty things for us.

FAITH IS THE KEY

Faith is the key, but we must always understand, it is Faith in the correct Object, which is the Cross of Christ.
    
Every human being in this world has faith; however, for the most part, it’s not the Faith that God recognizes.  In fact, more books have been written on Faith, concerning the Lord, in the last fifty years than all the balance of the Church Age put together.  Regrettably, most of the things in those books are not Biblical. 
    
The only Faith that God will recognize is Faith in Christ and what Christ has done for us at the Cross.  That and that alone must ever be the Object of our Faith and must be such on a continuing basis.  Concerning this, Paul said:

“What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, has found?  (Having stated that the Old Testament teaches that God justifies the sinner on the Faith principle as opposed to the merit principle, the Holy Spirit now brings forward Abraham.)
    
“For if Abraham were justified by works (which he wasn’t), he has whereofto glory; but not before God (the boasting of Salvation by works, which God will not accept).”

ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD

“For what says the Scripture?  Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for Righteousness (Gen. 15:6 – if one properly understands this Verse, he properly understands the Bible; Abraham gained Righteousness by simple Faith in God, Who would send a Redeemer into the world [Jn. 8:56]).”

WORKS?

“Now to him who works (tries to earn Salvation) is the reward (Righteousness) not reckoned of Grace (the Grace of God), but of debt (claiming that God owes us something, which He doesn’t!).
    
“But to him who works not (doesn’t trust in works for Salvation), but believes on Him Who Justifies the ungodly (through Christ and the Cross), his Faith is counted for Righteousness (God awards Righteousness only on the basis of Faith in Christ and His Finished Work)” (Rom. 4:1-5).

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH

The great Apostle then said:

“Therefore being Justified by Faith (this is the only way one can be justified; refers to Faith in Christ and what He did at the Cross), we have peace with God (justifying peace) through our Lord Jesus Christ (what He did at the Cross):
    
“By Whom also we have access by Faith into this Grace (we have access to the Goodness of God by Faith in Christ) wherein we stand (wherein alone we can stand), and rejoice in hope (a hope that is guaranteed) of the Glory of God (our Faith in Christ always brings Glory to God; anything else brings glory to self, which God can never accept)” (Rom. 5:1-2).

THE OBJECT OF FAITH

The great Apostle now tells us, as a Child of God, what the Object of our Faith must be.  He said:

“What shall we say then?  (This is meant to direct attention to Rom. 5:20.) Shall we continue in sin, that Grace may abound?  (Just because Grace is greater than sin doesn’t mean that the Believer has a license to sin.)
    
“God forbid (presents Paul’s answer to the question, ‘Away with the thought, let not such a thing occur’).  How shall we, who are dead to sin (dead to the sin nature), live any longer therein?  (This portrays what the Believer is now in Christ.)”

THE CROSS OF CHRIST

“Know you not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ (plainly says that this Baptism is into Christ and not water [I Cor. 1:17; 12:13; Gal. 3:27; Eph. 4:5; Col. 2:11-13]) were baptized into His Death?  (When Christ died on the Cross, in the Mind of God, we died with Him; in other words, He became our Substitute, and our identification with Him in His Death gives us all the benefits for which He died; the idea is that He did it all for us!)
    
“Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death (not only did we die with Him, but we were buried with Him as well, which means that all the sin and transgression of the past were buried; when they put Him in the Tomb, they put all of our sins into that Tomb as well):  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 (we died with Him, we were buried with Him, and His Resurrection was our Resurrection to a ‘Newness of Life’).”

RESURRECTION LIFE

Paul continues:

“For if we have been planted together (with Christ) in the likeness of His Death (Paul proclaims the Cross as the instrument through which all Blessings come; consequently, the Cross must ever be the Object of our Faith, which gives the Holy Spirit latitude to work within our lives), we shall be also in the likeness of HisResurrection (we can have the ‘likeness of His Resurrection,’ i.e., ‘live this Resurrection Life,’ only as long as we understand the ‘likeness of His Death,’ which refers to the Cross as the means by which all of this is done)” (Rom. 6:1-5).

Coming up in a particular Pentecostal Denomination, I often heard preachers mention “Resurrection Life.”  Looking back, I know that most of them were, in a sense, denigrating the Cross of Christ because they would mention that, in essence, they had gone beyond the Cross and were now living the “Resurrection Life.”  Regrettably, that is the thinking of most Christians as it regards Resurrection Living. 
    
The reader must understand, and unequivocally so, that in order to have this “Resurrection Life,” which the Lord most definitely wants us to have, and which we can have, we must first realize that it is made possible solely by the Cross of Christ.  That means that if the Believer doesn’t understand this, he will definitely not enjoy Resurrection Life, and because he will be trying to live this through the flesh.
    
We must know, first of all, that we have been “planted together (with Christ) in the likeness of His Death,” which Paul gives us in Romans 6:3-5, and then, and only then, can we live this Resurrection Life.  It is all predicated on the Cross of Christ. 
    
Secondly, we must understand that while the Resurrection of Christ, the Ascension of Christ, and the Exaltation of Christ were all of vast significance, still, they were the result of the Cross of Christ and not the cause.  In other words, and we say it again, the Cross of Christ is the “Means” by which all things were done, and we mean all things.
    
So, again we make the statement that the Work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is not an automatic work.  For us to have all that He can do, and please believe me, He can do anything, we must ever understand that He does these things on the premise of Christ and what Christ has done at the Cross.  That’s what gives Him the legal means of all that He does.  It only requires of us a small thing, and that is that our Faith be exclusively in Christ and the Cross and nothing else.

(This message was derived from the book, “Brother Swaggart, Here Is My Question About The Holy Spirit”.)

THE DOCTRINE OF THE CROSS

The material that we hope to bring you in this Chapter is the most important that you as a Believer will ever know or have presented to you.  I realize that’s quite a statement, but I know it to be true.  I am not speaking of my ability or the lack thereof as it regards the subject matter, but rather the subject matter itself.  Unless the Believer understands this which the Apostle Paul gave to us, even as the Lord gave it to him (Gal. 1:12), while he can be a Christian, and can even make Heaven his home, the fact is, he cannot live a victorious, overcoming, Christian life.

Considering that our Lord paid an awful price for our Redemption, I should think it would be obvious that He wants us to have all that is possible to have at this time.  But unfortunately, most Christians are living far beneath the Spiritual Privileges they could have.

I do not say this from an academic perspective, but rather from experience, even bitter experience.  If by the Grace of God, we can impart Truth to you that will enable you to live a victorious life; your Victory will be my reward.

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

     Paul said:

 “For Christ sent me not to baptize (presents to us a Cardinal Truth), but to preach the Gospel (the manner in which one may be Saved from sin):  not with wisdom of words (intellectualism is not the Gospel), lest the Cross of Christ should be made of none effect.  (This tells us in no uncertain terms that the Cross of Christ must always be the emphasis of the Message)” (I Cor. 1:17).

In this one Verse, the Apostle tells us what the Gospel of Jesus Christ actually is.  It is the Message of the Cross.

This means, if the preacher is not preaching the Cross, then whatever it is he is preaching, in its own way it may be good, but it’s not the Gospel, and it will not help anyone.  In fact, the only Message that will save, help, heal, bless, instruct, lead, guide, empower, is the Message of the Cross.  In our next Chapter we will address the means by which all of this comes about. 

Unfortunately, the modern Church is little preaching the Cross anymore.  As a result, whatever is being preached is not the Gospel, at least for the most part, and will do precious little, if any, good. 

The message that is being preached presently is one of “morality” and “ethics.”  Now those two words sound very good to most, because most everyone wants better morals, and most everyone wants that which is ethical.  But to treat this subject in the way that it is presently being treated, one is really only treating the symptoms.  Man’s real problem is not a lack of ethics or immorality; even those things are the end results of his state.  Man’s problem is sin, and there is only one answer for sin, and that is the Cross of Christ. 

But modern man, at least according to most preachers, is not really a sinner, he’s just not properly motivated, or else he really doesn’t know how wonderful and good he actually is.  So he needs a preacher to tell him these things, which will solve his problems; however, the sad truth is, no problems are solved at all by this means.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we are speaking of the Message of the Cross, is not a Gospel of diplomacy.  It is rather an ultimatum!  We do the thing God’s Way or else it’s not done at all.

AN ILLUSTRATION

Some time back I saw a cartoon that explains the modern Ministry to the proverbial “T.” Two men were standing and looking at a huge machine that was working away.  Smoke was coming out of its stacks, and pulleys were turning and wheels were churning.  It was one great beehive of motion. One man asked the other one, “What does it do?” The one to whom the question was asked, looked somewhat blank and answered, “Do?”  The truth is the machine did not do anything.  It did not manufacture anything, it did not repair anything, it was just a machine of motion.  That’s basically the same thing the modern church is doing.  It’s just one vast beehive of motion, with nothing being done for the Lord.  In other words, no souls are Saved, no Believers are baptized with the Holy Spirit, no lives are changed, no sick are healed, no bondages broken, etc. — despite all the motion! Let us say it again, if the preacher is not preaching the Cross, he’s not preaching the Gospel, and if he’s not preaching the Gospel, whatever it is he is preaching, is of no consequence!

THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS IS THE POWER OF GOD

Paul said:

 “For the preaching (Word) of the Cross is to them who perish foolishness (Spiritual things cannot be discerned by unredeemed people, but that doesn’t matter; the Cross must be preached just the same, even as we shall see); but unto us who are Saved it is the Power of God.  (The Cross is the Power of God simply because it was there that the total sin debt was paid, giving the Holy Spirit, in Whom the Power resides, latitude to work mightily within our lives)” (I Cor. 1:18).

First of all, the word translated “preaching,” in the above Scripture, in the Greek is “logos.”  It either means “word” or “message,” and should have been translated that way.  It would then read, “For the Message of the Cross. . . .”

How is the Message of the Cross the Power of God?

There was no power in that wooden beam on which Jesus died!  In fact, if the actual Cross on which Jesus died had been preserved all these centuries, and was now found, there would be no more power in that piece of wood than in any other piece of wood.  As well, there was no power in the death of Christ per se.  In fact, the Scripture says, “He was crucified through weakness” (II Cor. 13:4).

This does not mean that He was personally weak, but that it was a contrived weakness.  In other words, he could have called down any number of Angels if He had desired to have done so.  So, how is the Message of the Cross the Power of God?

The Power is in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).  The idea is, when Jesus died on the Cross, He atoned for all sin, past, present, and future, at least for all who will believe (Jn. 3:16).  Now that the sin debt is forever paid, this made it possible for the Holy Spirit to come into the heart and life of the Believer, there to abide permanently (Jn. 14:16-17).

The Cross of Christ was a legal work.  It satisfied a legal debt that man legally owed God, but could not pay.  When the Law was satisfied, which it was by the Death of Christ, then the Holy Spirit could come into the heart and life of the Believer to reside permanently (I Cor. 3:16).  As stated, He is the One Who has the Power.  But it is the Cross of Christ that has made it all possible.

Unfortunately, most in the modern church don’t know this.  In other words, they don’t know how the Holy Spirit works.  In fact, this which we are bringing to you is so much a legal entity, that the Holy Spirit calls it a “Law.”  He said:

THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS

     And I quote from THE EXPOSITOR’S STUDY BIBLE:

 “For the Law (that which we are about to give is a Law of God, devised by the Godhead in eternity past [I Pet. 1:18-20]; this Law, in fact, is ‘God’s Prescribed Order of Victory’) of the Spirit (Holy Spirit, i.e., ‘the way the Spirit works’) of Life (all life comes from Christ, but through the Holy Spirit [Jn. 16:13-14]) in Christ Jesus (any time Paul uses this term or one of its derivatives, he is, without fail, referring to what Christ did at the Cross, which makes this ‘life’ possible) has made me free (given me total Victory) from the Law of Sin and Death (these are the two most powerful Laws in the Universe; the ‘Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus’ alone is stronger than the ‘Law of Sin and Death’; this means that if the Believer attempts to live for God by any manner other than Faith in Christ and the Cross, he is doomed to failure)” (Rom. 8:2).

To show how close the Sacrifice of Christ and the Holy Spirit are, please note carefully the following:

THE SLAIN LAMB AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD

The following is the Scripture and the notes concerning this subject, taken directly from THE EXPOSITOR’S STUDY BIBLE.  John the Beloved wrote:

 “And one of the Elders said unto me, Weep not (states that man’s dilemma has been solved):  behold, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the Book, and to loose the Seven Seals thereof (presents Jesus Christ).
    
“And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the Throne and of the four Beasts, and in the midst of the Elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain (the Crucifixion of Christ is represented here by the word ‘Lamb,’ which refers to the fact that it was the Cross which Redeemed mankind; the slain Lamb Alone has Redeemed all things), having seven horns (horns denote dominion, and ‘seven’ denotes total dominion; all of this was done for you and me, meaning that we can have total dominion over the powers of darkness, and in every capacity; so there is no excuse for a lack of victory) and seven eyes (denotes total, perfect, pure, and complete illumination of all things spiritual, which is again made possible for you and me by the Cross; if the Believer makes the Cross the Object of his Faith, he will never be drawn away by false doctrine), which are the Seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the Earth (signifying that the Holy Spirit, in all His Perfection and universality, functions entirely within the parameters of the Finished Work of Christ; in other words, it is required that we ever make the Cross the Object of our Faith, which gives the Holy Spirit latitude, and guarantees the ‘dominion,’ and the ‘illumination’ [Isa. 11:2; Rom. 8:2]).
    
“And He (the Lord Jesus Christ) came and took the Book out of the Right Hand of Him (God the Father) Who sat upon the Throne.  (All of Heaven stands in awe as the Lamb steps forward to take the Book)” (Rev. 5:5-7).

THE MANNER IN WHICH THE HOLY SPIRIT WORKS

Most so-called Christians ignore the Holy Spirit altogether.  Even Pentecostals and Charismatics, at least for the most part, have little idea as to how the Holy Spirit Works.  They think that whatever He does is automatic.  Consider the following:

If the Holy Spirit, without our cooperation, automatically did whatever it is that needed to be done, this would mean that there would never again be another failure on the part of the Believer, never again a sin committed, etc.  But we all know that’s not the case, don’t we?!

The truth is, if the Believer doesn’t place his faith exclusively in Christ and the Cross, and maintain it exclusively in Christ and the Cross, the Holy Spirit will be greatly limited as to what He can do in us, by us, or for us.  As we have stated, He Works strictly within the parameters of the Finished Work, i.e., “the Cross of Christ,” which demands that our Faith be exclusively in the Cross of Christ.  The reason is simple, that’s where the price was paid, and the Victory was forever won (Rom. 6:1-14; I Cor. 2:2; Gal., Chpt. 5; 6:14; Eph. 2:13-18; Col. 2:14-15).

The Holy Spirit doesn’t require much of us, but He does require one thing, and without reservation.  Our Faith must exclusively be in Christ and the Cross, understanding that this is God’s Prescribed Order of Victory.

THE CROSS OF CHRIST IS THE FOUNDATION OF ALL DOCTRINE

The heading means that every doctrine in the Bible must be built on the Foundation of the Cross, or else in some way it will be spurious.  An erroneous understanding of the Cross of Christ, or ignoring the Cross of Christ, or denying the Cross of Christ, presents the seedbed of all false doctrine.  This is where we go astray, that is if we do not have a correct interpretation of the Cross of Christ.  If our faith is in something other than the Cross of Christ, whatever is produced will be false.

As we have stated, the Cross of Christ is the Foundation on which all doctrine must be constructed.  How do we know that?

Peter said:

 “Forasmuch as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold (presents the fact that the most precious commodities [silver and gold] could not redeem fallen man), from your vain conversation (vain lifestyle) received by tradition from your fathers (speaks of original sin that is passed on from father to child at conception);
    
“But with the Precious Blood of Christ (presents the payment, which proclaims the poured out Life of Christ on behalf of sinners), as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot (speaks of the lambs offered as substitutes in the Old Jewish economy; the Death of Christ was not an execution or assassination, but rather a Sacrifice; the Offering of Himself presented a Perfect Sacrifice, for He was Perfect in every respect [Ex. 12:5]):
    
“Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world (refers to the fact that God, in His Omniscience, knew He would create man, man would Fall, and man would be redeemed by Christ going to the Cross; this was all done before the Universe was created; this means the Cross of Christ is the Foundation Doctrine of all Doctrine, referring to the fact that all Doctrine must be built upon that Foundation, or else it is specious), but was manifest in these last times for you (refers to the invisible God Who, in the Person of the Son, was made visible to human eyesight by assuming a human body and human limitations)” (I Pet. 1:18-20).

The Cross of Christ is the Foundation of all doctrine, meaning that all doctrine must be built on this Foundation, simply because it was the first Doctrine formulated in the Mind of the Godhead, even before man was created, or even the world was created.

This means many things, of which the following two are a beginning:

1.  The Cross of Christ is the dividing line between the Church and the Apostate Church.  In fact, it has always been that way.  We find the first account given to us in the Fourth Chapter of Genesis, as it regards Cain and Abel.  Because we are nearing the end, however, I believe this dividing line of the Cross is more prominent than ever.

2.  The Cross of Christ is the only answer for sin.  There is no other, because there need be no other.  The

Message is ageless.  It will never have to be amended in any form, simply because it is perfect (Heb. 13:20).

THE CROSS OF CHRIST IS THE STORY OF THE BIBLE

One might say that “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified,” is the Story of the Word of God, even as the Word of God is the Story of “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.” 

The very first example of the Cross is found immediately after the Fall.  At that time, the Scripture says as it regards Adam and Eve:

 “And the eyes of them both were opened (refers to the consciousness of guilt as a result of their sin), and they knew that they were naked (refers to the fact that they had lost the enswathing light of purity, which previously had clothed their bodies); and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons (sinners clothe themselves with morality, sacraments, and religious ceremonies; they are as worthless as Adam’s apron of fig leaves)” (Gen. 3:7).

     Concerning their nakedness, the Scripture says:

 “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them (in the making of coats of skins, God, in effect, was telling Adam and Eve that their fig leaves were insufficient; as well, He was teaching them that without the shedding of blood, which pertained to the animals that gave their lives, which were Types of Christ, is no remission of sin; in this first sacrifice was laid the foundation of the entirety of the Plan of God as it regards Redemption; also, it must be noticed that it is the ‘LORD God’ Who furnished these coats, and not man himself; this tells us that Salvation is altogether of God and not at all of man; the Life of Christ given on the Cross, and given as our Substitute, provides the only covering for sin; everything else must be rejected)” (Gen. 3:21).

The Fourth Chapter of Genesis proclaims in vivid detail the Substitute.  The Lord had related to the First Family even though fallen, that they could have forgiveness of sin and fellowship with Him, and He gave the manner in which this could be done. 

They were to build an Altar, which was a Type of the Cross, and they were to kill a lamb, which was a Type of Christ, burn its little body on the Altar, a Type of the Judgment of God, which came upon our Lord, instead of upon us, with the blood poured out at the base of the Altar.  The blood signified Him giving His Life.  Hence, the principle of Redemption is spelled out, in the offering up of the slain lamb.  Thus was the Sacrificial System introduced on the first page of human history, and continued through the centuries.  When the Law of Moses was given, the Sacrificial System was the very heart of the Law.  In fact, had it not been for the Sacrificial System, Israel would have been doomed, just as man is doomed now unless he takes hold of the Christ of the Cross.

All of this was a stopgap measure until Jesus would come, Who would be the literal Sacrifice.

His very purpose of coming to this Earth, of God becoming Man, the Man Christ Jesus, was to be a Sacrifice. 

The Apostle John outlines it perfectly in the great Gospel that bears his name.  He said:

THE INCARNATION

 “In the beginning (does not infer that Christ as God had a beginning, because as God He had no beginning, but rather refers to the time of Creation [Gen. 1:1]) was the Word (the Holy Spirit through John describes Jesus as ‘the Eternal Logos’), and the Word was with God (‘was in relationship with God,’ and expresses the idea of the Trinity), and the Word was God (meaning that He did not cease to be God during the Incarnation; He ‘was’ and ‘is’ God from eternity past to eternity future).
    
“The same was in the beginning with God (this very Person was in eternity with God; there’s only one God, but manifested in Three Persons — God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit).
    
“All things were made by Him (all things came into being through Him; it refers to every item of Creation one by one, rather than all things regarded in totality); and without Him was not any thing made that was made (nothing, not even one single thing, was made independently of His cooperation and volition).
    
“In Him was Life (presents Jesus, the Eternal Logos, as the first cause); and the Life was the Light of men (He Alone is the Life Source of Light; if one doesn’t know Christ, one is in darkness).
    
“And the Light shines in darkness (speaks of the Incarnation of Christ, and His coming into this world; His ‘Light,’ because it is derived from His Life, drives out ‘darkness’); and the darkness comprehended it not (should have been translated, ‘apprehended it not’; it means that Satan, even though he tried with all his might, could not stop ‘the Light’; today it shines all over the world, and one day soon, there will be nothing left but that ‘Light’)” (Jn. 1:1-5).

JOHN THE BELOVED

    
Then John the Beloved said:

 “And the Word was made flesh (refers to the Incarnation, ‘God becoming man’), and dwelt among us (refers to Jesus, although Perfect, not holding Himself aloft from all others, but rather lived as all men, even a peasant), (and we beheld His Glory, the Glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father,) (speaks of His Deity, although hidden from the eyes of the merely curious; while Christ laid aside the expression of His Deity, He never lost the possession of His Deity) full of Grace and Truth (as ‘flesh,’ proclaimed His Humanity, ‘Grace and Truth’ His Deity)” (Jn. 1:14).

And now John gives the reason for the Word being made flesh.  He records the statement about Christ given by John the Baptist.  He said:

 “The next day (refers to the day after John had been questioned by the emissaries from the Sanhedrin) John sees Jesus coming unto him (is, no doubt, after the baptism of Jesus, and the temptation in the wilderness), and said, Behold the Lamb of God (proclaims Jesus as the Sacrifice for sin, in fact, the Sin-Offering, Whom all the multiple millions of offered lambs had represented), which takes away the sin of the world (animal blood could only cover sin, it could not take it away; but Jesus offering Himself as the Perfect Sacrifice took away the sin of the world; He not only cleansed acts of sin but, as well, addressed the root cause [Col. 2:14-15])” (Jn. 1:29).

GOD’S PRESCRIBED ORDER OF VICTORY

When we say “victory” we are speaking of Victory in every capacity, be it spiritual, financial, domestical, physical, etc.  God’s Prescribed Order for this Victory is “the Cross of Christ.”

Of course, the primary victory of which the Bible addresses itself is Victory over sin.  That properly handled and addressed, everything else will fall into place.

Paul said:

 “But this Man (this Priest, Christ Jesus), after He had offered One Sacrifice for sins forever (speaks of the Cross), sat down on the Right Hand of God (refers to the great contrast with the Priests under the Levitical system, who never sat down because their work was never completed; the Work of Christ was a ‘Finished Work,’ and needed no repetition);

 “From henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool.  (These enemies are Satan and all the fallen Angels and demon spirits, plus all who follow Satan.)
    
“For by one Offering He has perfected forever them who are Sanctified.  (Everything one needs is found in the Cross [Gal. 6:14])” (Heb. 10:12-14).

The first five Verses of Romans, Chapter 6 proclaim to us God’s Prescribed Order.  Of course, the entirety of the Sixth Chapter of Romans opens up to us this great truth, and in every capacity; however, the first five Verses tell us what the Prescribed Order actually is.

THE PROBLEM IS SIN

More particularly as it regards the Believer, the problem is the sin nature.

The sin nature is that which happened to Adam and Eve at the Fall, and which passed down to all thereafter.  It means that their very nature became one of sin, transgression, iniquity, disobedience, etc.  It is the cause of all the difficulties, war, crime, man’s inhumanity to man, that’s in the world presently and, in fact, ever has been the cause.  Every unbeliever is ruled by the sin nature 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  When the believing sinner comes to Christ, at that moment, the sin nature, although not removed, is made dormant.  But unfortunately, every single believing sinner, after coming to Christ, fails the Lord in some way.  It happens to every one of us.  Now, sin is abhorrent to the Believer.  Now knowing God’s Prescribed Order of Victory, the Believer sets about to try not to commit the same sin again.  Every time, he will place his Faith in something other than the Cross.  While many other things may be very helpful in their own right, and very legitimate, still, the answer for sin, and the only answer, is the Cross of Christ.  But inevitably, the flesh gravitates toward works, i.e., “law.” 

Now, the Believer doesn’t understand that he is placing his faith in that which God cannot bless, and it will be some time before he fully understands this.  Regrettably, and because of a lack of teaching on this all-important subject, most Believers never come to a place of proper understanding; therefore, they remain in the Seventh Chapter of Romans all of their spiritual existence.  That’s the reason the teaching of the Cross as it regards both Salvation and Sanctification is so very, very important.  In fact, it is the single most important body of understanding that the Believer could have.  The tragedy is, irrespective of its great significance, most Christians, even preachers, have no idea as to the part the Cross plays as it regards our Sanctification, i.e., “How we live for God on a daily basis.”

The only way to have victory over the sin nature, and we speak of perpetual Victory, even on a daily basis, is for the Believer to place his faith exclusively in Christ and the Cross, and maintain his Faith in Christ and the Cross.  Then and only then can the Holy Spirit work within our lives, thereby bringing about the Fruit of the Spirit and, thereby, helping us to be what we ought to be in Christ.  That is God’s Prescribed Order.  Concerning this, Paul said:

THE SIN NATURE

 “What shall we say then?  (This is meant to direct attention to Rom. 5:20.)  Shall we continue in sin, that Grace may abound?  (Just because Grace is greater than sin doesn’t mean that the Believer has a license to sin.)

“God forbid (presents Paul’s answer to the question, ‘Away with the thought, let not such a thing occur’).  How shall we, who are dead to sin (dead to the sin nature), live any longer therein?  (This portrays what the Believer is now in Christ)” (Rom. 6:1-2).

THE CROSS OF CHRIST

Now the Apostle tells us the answer to the sin nature and, in fact, the only answer.  He said:

 “Know you not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ (plainly says that this Baptism is into Christ and not water [I Cor. 1:17; 12:13; Gal. 3:27; Eph. 4:5; Col. 2:11-13]) were baptized into His Death?  (When Christ died on the Cross, in the Mind of God, we died with Him; in other words, He became our Substitute, and our identification with Him in His Death gives us all the benefits for which He died; the idea is that He did it all for us!)
    
“Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death (not only did we die with Him, but we were buried with Him as well, which means that all the sin and transgression of the past were buried; when they put Him in the Tomb, they put all of our sins into that Tomb as well):  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 (we died with Him, we were buried with Him, and His Resurrection was our Resurrection to a ‘Newness of Life’).
    
“For if we have been planted together (with Christ) in the likeness of His Death (Paul proclaims the Cross as the instrument through which all Blessings come; consequently, the Cross must ever be the Object of our Faith, which gives the Holy Spirit latitude to work within our lives), we shall be also in the likeness of His Resurrection (we can have the ‘likeness of His Resurrection,’ i.e., ‘live this Resurrection Life,’ only as long as we understand the ‘likeness of His Death,’ which refers to the Cross as the means by which all of this is done)” (Rom. 6:3-5).

Perhaps the following formula, as simple as it is, will help us to understand this all-important subject to a greater degree.

THE WAY OF THE SPIRIT

FOCUS:  The Lord Jesus Christ (Jn. 14:6).
OBJECT OF FAITH:  The Cross of Christ (Rom. 6:1-14).
POWER SOURCE:  The Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:1-2, 11).
RESULTS:  Victory (Rom. 6:14).

Now let’s use the same formula, but the manner in which it is being used by most Believers.

MAN’S WAY

FOCUS:  Works.
OBJECT OF FAITH:  Performance.
POWER SOURCE:  Self.
RESULTS:  Defeat!

Regrettably and sadly, the latter formula is the manner in which most Believers are attempting to live this life for the Lord.  They aren’t doing it God’s Way, but rather man’s way, with the latter always leading to continued failure.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO PREACH THE CROSS?

Paul said:

 “For the preaching (Word) of the Cross is to them who perish foolishness (Spiritual things cannot be discerned by unredeemed people, but that doesn’t matter; the Cross must be preached just the same, even as we shall see); but unto us who are Saved it is the Power of God.  (The Cross is the Power of God simply because it was there that the total sin debt was paid, giving the Holy Spirit, in Whom the Power resides, latitude to work mightily within our lives)” (I Cor. 1:18).

Most preachers, at least those who claim to preach the Bible, preach the Cross of Christ for Salvation, and rightly so!  However, most preachers have no idea whatsoever as to the part the Cross plays in our life and living as it regards Sanctification.  That’s the reason that the church is constantly putting forth one scheme, one fad after the other, trying to address the problem of sin, in other words, failure in the lives of Believers.  There is only one answer, and that is the Cross of Christ.

If the Preacher is truly preaching the Cross, this means that he understands that the Cross of Christ pertains not only to our Salvation, where all sin was atoned, but, as well, to our daily life and living, in other words, our Sanctification.

And how does the Cross apply to our Sanctification?

When the Believing sinner comes to Christ, the truth is, he knows nothing about the Lord, and he certainly knows nothing about the Cross.  He just simply calls on the Name of the Lord, means it in his heart, and he is Saved (Rom. 10:9-10, 13).

But after the believing sinner comes to Christ, is made a new creation, with old things passing away, and all things becoming new, in other words, he is truly Born-Again, he is to understand, that as his Salvation is in the Cross, his Sanctification is in the Cross also.  This means that we are to place our Faith unreservedly in the Cross of Christ, in fact, ever making the Cross the Object of our Faith.  This is to be done constantly, ever understanding, that all that we need, is found in what Jesus did at the Cross.

And please understand, when we speak of the Cross, we aren’t speaking of a wooden beam, but more particularly, the benefits of what Jesus did for us there.  These benefits, upon Faith, will continue to come to us forever and forever.

The idea is this:

THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE BELIEVER

What we need to be in Christ, we cannot bring it about by our own machinations, strength, or power.  This is what Jesus was talking about when He said, that if we were to come after Him, that we had to “deny ourselves” (Lk. 9:23).  To be sure, He wasn’t speaking of asceticism, which refers to denying ourselves all things that were comfortable or pleasurable, but rather, denying our own ability, talent, education, motivation, strength, power, in other words, everything that is indicative of the human being.  No matter how strong we are, no matter how much education we have, what we need to be in Christ, we cannot by our own machinations bring it about ourselves.  And this is where the great problem begins.  Now that we are Saved and even Spirit-filled, somehow, we think that whatever it takes we can do it.  We can’t! 

It is the Holy Spirit Alone, Who lives within our hearts and lives, and does so permanently, Who can bring about that which we need to have and need to be.  And He works exclusively within the parameters of the Finished Work of Christ.

In other words, it is the Cross of Christ that has given the Holy Spirit the latitude, i.e., “the legal right,” to carry forth His Work within our lives.  It is the Cross that has made it all possible.  In fact the Scripture says:  “The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, has made me free from the Law of Sin and Death” (Rom. 8:2).

Because this is so important, please allow me again to quote this Scripture from THE EXPOSITOR’S STUDY BIBLE:

THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS

 “For the Law (that which we are about to give is a Law of God, devised by the Godhead in eternity past [I Pet. 1:18-20]; this Law, in fact, is ‘God’s Prescribed Order of Victory’) of the Spirit (Holy Spirit, i.e., ‘the way the Spirit works’) of Life (all life comes from Christ, but through the Holy Spirit [Jn. 16:13-14]) in Christ Jesus (any time Paul uses this term or one of its derivatives, he is, without fail, referring to what Christ did at the Cross, which makes this ‘life’ possible) has made me free (given me total Victory) from the Law of Sin and Death (these are the two most powerful Laws in the Universe; the ‘Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus’ alone is stronger than the ‘Law of Sin and Death’; this means that if the Believer attempts to live for God by any manner other than Faith in Christ and the Cross, he is doomed to failure)” (Rom. 8:2).

While the Bible, as stated, does not teach sinless perfection, it most definitely does teach that “sin (i.e., the sin nature) is not to have dominion over us” (Rom. 6:14).

The only way this can be achieved, the only way it can be brought about, which is God’s Way, is that we ever make the Cross of Christ the Object of our Faith.  That and that alone, is the way of the Spirit.

(This message was derived from the book, “Brother Swaggart, How Can I Understand The Bible?”)

Proverbs 29:23 – “A man’s pride shall bring him low:  but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.  (Self always breeds ‘pride,’ while the ‘humble’ always breed ‘honor.’)”

Every Man’s Problem

The problem of pride is an issue that every person will have to face, bar none.  No one is excluded from this struggle.  From the richest of the rich to the poorest of the poor, from the master to the servant, and in both the wise and unwise, pride raises its ugly head and attempts to dominate and control the heart of man.  Pride is as ancient as the fall of Adam in the Garden.  When man fell, he lost God consciousness and developed self-consciousness.  Since that time he has been a creature that is prone to pride.  As people focus on their own person, pride rises.  We quickly become proud of who we are and proud of what we do.  We are proud of what we own and we are proud of our varying abilities.  Some take great pride in seeing themselves as better than others.  The greatest height of pride’s impact comes when the individual believes themselves free from the affects and intentions of pride.  According to I John 2:16, the pride of life is of the world, so all that are born into this world must deal with its existence, not ignore it.

 “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”  Jesus Himself said in Mark 7:21-23, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, (22)  Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: (23)  All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”

Therefore, pride is in the world and resides at home in the heart of every man.  If we conclude at any time that pride is no longer a problem for us, we are greatly self-deceived, and will be sure to be overcome by it.  We must ask the Lord to help us identify and eliminate pride, before it has the capability to bring us “low.”

Taking Pride To The Cross

The answer for every sin problem (which pride qualifies as) can be realized through Faith in the Cross.  At the Cross, Jesus paid the penalty for every sin of every man that ever lived.  So the needed forgiveness for pride and the negative affects of pride are readily available because of Jesus’ atoning Work, which took place at Calvary.  As we place our Faith exclusively in Christ and what He has done for us, the Holy Spirit finds the freedom to convict us of any tendency or incident regarding pride.  Little by little, the Holy Spirit will reveal where this “clinging vine of the fall” has attached itself to our lives and where it is flourishing.  Then, we must deny our own ability to overcome Pride.  By Faith we place the strength of pride as being vanquished by Christ’s Cross.  Then and only then can we have said to have “humbled ourselves.” 

While we cannot remove pride from the heart, we can submit pride to the process of Faith and Grace, thus freeing us from its grip.  Each time we are made aware of pride’s attempt to run free course through our hearts, we must apply these truths of the Cross to the then manifesting issue of pride, and depend upon the Saviour to makes us every bit free from its impact.  When we exhibit Faith in the proper Object (the Cross) then we will receive Grace to rise and stand above pride’s denigrating influence.  If not handled Biblically as described, a man’s pride will bring him “low.”

Expectation Of Exaltation

In the Scriptures, great promises are made to the person who submits to God’s Process and rests in Christ’s Finished Work to overcome the enemy of personal and improper pride.  James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.”  Again in I Peter 5:6 the Bible says, “Humble yourselves therefore under the Mighty Hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”  When the heart is truly humble it will not boast in itself.  It will not depend or rely upon the work of self or other men.  Instead, Faith in the provision made by God for the enemy of Pride will cause the Believer to rise above it.  If this is consistently true, then through benefit of a proper personal relationship, God promises to exalt you to the highest position available. 

None of us know what that position may be, but the Lord.  However, each of us who humble themselves can count on the Lord’s Promise of exaltation.  I don’t seek exaltation, I seek freedom from pride.  I seek after the Grace necessary to live a life “clothed in humility.”  But, as a student of God’s Word I also realize that obedience to the Faith brings great blessing.  In I Peter the Lord says that there is a due time for that Believer’s exaltation.  There is an appointed time in which each Believer, who has humbled themselves and grown in the Grace and the knowledge of God’s Word, will be exalted or lifted up.  You see my friend, the way up is down.  The way out is by staying under.  I don’t submit pride to the Cross to gain exaltation.  But, I know that if I’ll depend holistically upon God and lean not to my own understanding, there will come an hour where God, who is pleased by Faith alone, will elevate me!  I believe it.  I expect it.  Dying to self has its benefits.  So, Die well!

Campmeeting Sessions

Don’t fail to be with us at the upcoming Easter Campmeeting.  We will be teaching special pre-campmeeting sessions.  Be sure to call ahead and register, the dates and times are below.

special teaching sessions:

Monday, April 2:  1-4 p.m. • 6-8 p.m.
Tuesday, April 3:  1-4 p.m. • 6-8 p.m.
Wednesday, April 4:  9 a.m.-12 noon

7 p.m. Campmeeting Begins