Prologue:
The concepts brought forth in this study are for peace and assurance of God’s
love; that the world’s foundational understanding of our Father in heaven may
be realized as the root of all iniquity. The Lord’s call for His children to
ascend is the most important message one could understand in this lifetime.
Please seek the Lord for an open heart as you are presented these words of
Truth.
The 144,000
Study Seven
scottSTANLEY
(All bracketed
[ ] words inserted into the following scriptures are the author’s paraphrase.)
OPENING REMARKS
Being able to present this study to you is a
privilege and an honor, to share concepts that are so high in meaning. I
praise God that He has brought the church to this level of knowledge, giving
us a depth of understanding. Understanding who the Father is, who the Son is,
and who we are in Jesus Christ is major, if we are ever to achieve that place
that God has designed for His church. You know, Paul wrote in Ephesians 1 –
there is a prayer that he recorded (Ephesians 1:17-18) where he prays that we
would have the spirit of wisdom and revelation in God’s knowledge; a spirit of
revelation knowledge. He says that when you are walking in that place – I
believe he is simply saying abiding in Christ, letting God teach you –
that the eyes of your understanding will be opened
and you’ll know the hope of God’s calling.
In my denominational experience, I never really knew the hope of God’s calling
other than that He wanted to save my soul – and my hope was simply to get to
heaven. But over the years, the Lord has changed that in my life. He is
giving me a new understanding of His hope. I know that He would have us be
saved. But to be more specific, as Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:9 (Receiving
the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.), the end of our
faith, or the completion of our faith is the salvation of our souls. Christ
is the author and finisher, or perfecter, of our
faith. And if we learn to listen to Him, we will know the hope of His calling,
the goal that our Heavenly Father has for this body of Christ, for the last
day church. I think Paul states it in Ephesians 4:13, where he says:
Ephesians 4:13
13 Till we all come [or we all arrive] in the unity of the faith [that we’re
all understanding alike], and of [he says in] the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man [there’s your word “perfect” or “complete.” How
complete?], unto the measure of the stature of the
fulness of Christ:
Think about it: According to the apostle Paul, he is stating here that the
church will arrive in the unity of the faith, in Christ’s knowledge – which
will bring them to the measure of the stature of the
fulness of Christ. That is an awesome thought and, when you think
that this is God’s hope for us, that’s even more thrilling – to recognize that
truth. In order to get to that place, we have got to understand who our
Father is. But in order to get to that step, we need to understand who we
are. Who is humanity? What happened to make us this way? Once we unravel
that, and we can see our Heavenly Father for who He really is and what His
goals are, it will reflect again back on us, and we’ll recognize who we really
are in Jesus Christ. That is the purpose of this study – recognizing the
church in the book of Revelation, seeing exactly who we are, where we are, is
extremely eye opening. Your eyes will be opened when you see the truth as it
is in Jesus Christ.
THE SIN NATURE
To begin this study, let me make a point about the human mind: Every person
on this planet, whether he is a Christian, or an Atheist –
whatever denomination he belongs to, however he perceives God, or
chooses not to perceive God – every person on this planet is manifesting their
perception of God. It is the way you define God that justifies you to do the
things that you do. The way we perceive God is being reflected in everything
we do whether we recognize that or not. God, I believe, has created a vacuum
in the human mind, in the heart of humanity. We need divinity. We need this
being. And how we define Him, however that is, is a reflection, is seen in
what we do. So in a past study we covered what happens in the womb, the fact
that a baby receives the emotions of the mother. And we took this back to
Adam and Eve, pointing out the fact that Eve is the mother of all living –
that those emotions that Eve possessed concerning our Heavenly Father, our
Heavenly Father allowed her to have them.
Her own way of perceiving God led to these emotions. Now let me explain what
I’m getting at: When Adam and Eve sinned, and death entered into the world,
things began to happen that I know we don’t even understand. And things began
to happen to Eve that I know I don’t have the vocabulary to define, except
that there was a horror of fear and separation, and a feeling of rejection
that she felt of God. He must feel this way toward me, I believe, is
what she felt. I don’t believe He felt that way toward her, but He allowed
her to think those thoughts and feel that way and pass that to her children –
and it has never been unraveled by a human being and passed on to another
generation, a healthy understanding of God. I know Jesus Christ dwelt
on this planet and His understanding of our Heavenly Father was correct but,
in order for us to receive a correct understanding ourselves, we have got to
listen to Him. And in so far as I understand it, I don’t know that anyone
has.
I don’t know that anyone has listened to Him to the point of walking in the
measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ
because, you see, once the basic
understanding, once your foundation is clear and you perceive God accurately,
everything changes on the inside for you. Here we have Eve passing these
emotions to humanity and humanity receiving it in the womb, having no
vocabulary, shelves it – puts it on the shelf, not knowing how to deal with
it. And this rejection, this feeling of less than
is carried by every one of us when it comes to God. I think that’s
what makes a person claim to hate God and shake their fist because they feel
rejected by the most powerful being in the universe. And it’s just natural
when you feel rejected to want to reject them back, to make them feel the way
you feel. These things are so deeply ingrained in us, it really isn’t
something I think we could even verbalize or explain – it is just there. It
is there so deep under the surface of our thoughts, and God knows that – and
God loves you, and He will straighten this out. He will give us the true
understanding if we’re willing to listen. Let me tell you how I know that.
FOUNDED ON THE SEA
Psalms 24 is a key psalm, a key chapter if we’re to understand the truth about
God, the truth about humanity. In Psalms 24, the Lord says, starting at verse
1:
Psalm 24:1-2
1 The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness
thereof [of it]; the world, and they that dwell therein [in it].
2 For [because] he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the
floods.
Now, we know the sea is water. We know Isaiah 51:10 defines the sea as the
waters of the deep. That word “deep” is “abyss.” In Isaiah 51:10, “the
waters of the great deep,” that word “deep” [8415] is “abyss.” In Isaiah
51:10, “the waters of the great deep,” that word “deep” is the Hebrew
equivalent to “bottomless pit” found in Revelation. And he’s talking about
the mind, the human mind. Your mind is infinite
and, when Adam fell, he fell into infinity. Why do I say it’s
infinite? Because your mind can never be full; you can never receive so many
thoughts that you can’t receive another. You are infinite in thought and
capable of receiving anything our Heavenly Father wants to give you.
When Adam fell, it was into a bottomless pit. And just imagine, just
as man grows in wickedness, and will never stop perfecting wickedness, you can
also be turned to receive righteousness and never stop growing in
righteousness – in understanding God and reflecting Him. You can be more and
more like Him every day, for the rest of eternity, if you’re open. And in
Psalms 24, this is where the Father states that He founded the world on the
sea, on that conglomeration of thought, which is based on misconceptions of
God. You see, if in the womb you are given the
emotions of your mother, and there is that rejection and separation that is
given you, that means every thought, every way of acting since your birth has
been based on that perception of God – on that lie. And by coming down to the
foundation of who we are, we can wipe clean all of
the error, have it straightened out, and walk accurately in Jesus Christ.
This is what the Father asks in verse three: “Who shall ascend out of it?”
(Psalm 24:3 Who shall ascend into the
hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?) “The whole world
is founded on the sea, but who can ascend out of it into,” He says, “the hill
of the Lord?” Hill is mountain: “Into the mountain of the Lord, and
stand in His holy place?” The mountain of the Lord, the hill of the Lord, is
“Zion.” Who is going to ascend and stand on Mount Zion with Christ? We see
this in Revelation 14:
Revelation 14:1
1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion
[Zion], and with him an hundred forty and four
thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
Here is a group of people, one hundred and forty-four thousand, standing on
Zion, answering the question raised in Psalm 24 – who will ascend and stand
on the holy hill of God? He answers it in Revelation 14:1.
THE 144,000
Somehow we need to allow the Lord to define who the 144,000 are,
and I want to do that right now. I want to share with you in so far as I
understand it, and using the scriptures, who these
people are. For one thing, in Revelation chapter 7, we see that they are out
of the twelve tribes – that there are twelve names mentioned, and
there are then twelve thousand out of each of the twelve tribes, making
144,000 (Revelation 7:4-8). Now, in my denominational background, I was told
that these are Jews because they come from these tribes. But let me
suggest to you that when the Lord is speaking about the Jews according to what
the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 2, He is looking at you inwardly, not
outwardly.
Romans 2:28
28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision,
which is outward in the flesh:
29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the
heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but
of God.
So why the “twelve tribes”?
Because these tribes that he mentions represent characters, character
traits. If you were to go back and study the twelve tribes and
look at each tribe that he mentions here, and just follow it through, you will
see character traits develop and you’ll find yourself in one of them, or maybe
more. You’ll recognize he is talking about a way of thinking, a way of being
– and these people overcame the weaknesses. These people overcame and, when
he talks about the twelve tribes, he is talking about inward truth, inward
definition. Why twelve thousand from each tribe? There’s something you’ve got
to understand about numbers. In Daniel 8, Christ is referred to in your
margin as the wonderful numberer, the
numberer
of secrets (Daniel 8:13). Numbers are highly significant in the Bible.
The number twelve comes from 3 x 4. That’s one way of getting there: 3
x 4 is 12. Let me tell you why I chose those numbers and what they mean. I
want to put on the screen three, what three means:
The number three denotes completion
Three divisions of time: past - present - future
God’s attributes: omniscient - omnipresent - omnipotent
1 John 2:16 - all that is in the world:
the lust of the flesh
the lust of the eyes
and the pride of life
Three denotes “completion.” When you look at time, you have past,
present and future – that’s all of it. That is a complete definition of
time. When we talk about God Himself, the attributes of God, He is
omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent. You see,
those three words define the characteristics of God. In 1 John 2:16, when he
says all that’s in the world, he says the lust of the flesh, the
lust of the eye and the pride of life – that’s all that’s in the world.
You see, those three things complete it; three denotes completion. What about
four? Four shows an “earthly completion.” When you look at the number
four, the regions of the earth: north, south, east and west; right, left, up
and down – this denotes all the regions of the earth. When he talks about
humanity, he’ll say every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Four
is an “earthly completeness”: Four elements; four great elements: earth, air,
fire and water. You see, four shows this completeness of the earth.
The number four denotes earthly completeness
4 regions of the earth: North - South - East - West
4 fold division of mankind: nation - kindred - tongue - people
4 great elements: earth - air - fire - water
Twelve is three “fours.” There is a completeness
to the four. Four is brought to the end, or your earthliness, your way of
understanding. The heavens, the earth and the sea; God’s
understanding, our understanding, the world’s understanding. When we
look at twelve, twelve tribes times twelve thousand — thousand just
simply means “many” – you get the 144,000. What does that mean?
The complete body of Christ. But put that word
“complete” inward: Complete in your salvation, the completion of our
faith, is the salvation of our soul (1 Peter
1:9). And the remnant church, the last church will ascend out of the sea, out
of the world’s understanding of God, and have a true understanding of God –
and will stand on Mount Zion, being complete, standing with Christ. And what
does that verse say? Having the name of the Father in
your forehead – that means having the character of the Father.
You cannot possess the character of God if you don’t know what it is.
You’ve got to recognize His character in order to possess it and have it
written on your forehead. Remember the harlot in Revelation 17? She has
a name. Her god is a mystery. The 144,000 ascend out of the sea, out of the
world’s understanding and stand on Mount Zion in the holy place of God, with
Christ, having the understanding He possesses. Remember:
Ephesians 4:13
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son
of God, ...
Here they are, standing with the Son of God on Mount Zion, having the true
understanding of God’s character.
A SURE FOUNDATION
Now, how do I receive a true understanding of God’s character? Where does it
begin? Isaiah chapter 28, verse 16 reads like this:
Isaiah 28:16
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I
lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone,
a sure foundation: he that believeth [believes] shall not make haste.
Revelation 14:1, we see on top of the mountain – but Isaiah 28:16 shows you
the foundation of this kingdom: The foundation stone is Christ.
Somehow, by understanding Christ, we will understand the Father. You know, He
only lays one foundation – it is Christ Himself. But if we can get a handle
on Christ, and understand Him, we will then see the Father, which will reflect
on humanity – and you’ll see yourself and where you’re headed. One word in
this verse, where he says “a sure foundation,” it’s this word “sure.” It
means a “founded foundation.” Instead of putting a “founded foundation,” the
King James put a “sure foundation.” In other words, Christ Himself was
founded; Christ Himself was taught. Christ Himself had to be completed
inwardly, just the way we have to be completed inwardly. (The word “sure”
found in Isaiah 28:16 is [3245] in the Strong’s Concordance and is translated
“instructed” in 2 Chronicles 3:3.)
You see, there is a scripture found in Galatians 4, where the apostle Paul
tells us that Christ was made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them
who are under the law (Galatians 4:4). The fact that he states He was
made of a woman tells us that, in the womb, He was receiving that same
emotional trauma given us. But also in the womb, according to Hebrews, in
Hebrews chapter 10, starting at verse 5, Paul writes:
Hebrews 10:5
5 Wherefore when he cometh [comes] into the world, he
saith [says], Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest
[you would] not, but a body hast thou [have you] prepared me:
That tells you that the mind came before the body – that the Son of God in
eternity past, this person who created all things, who was made Lord and
Christ, the mind entered into the womb and the two were blended together. His
divinity and His humanity came together. The Son of God in the womb was made
of a woman, made under the law. This relationship of divinity in humanity –
this coming together – He was able to deal with the struggles that humanity
faces. He had every struggle. How do I know? Well, He was tempted in all
points as us, yet without sin. He was made of a woman but He also
possessed His understanding of God – and that humanity tried His divinity.
Remember in Hebrews chapter 5, where Paul writes:
Hebrews 5:8
8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he
suffered;
He learned obedience. You know, if someone tells you to do something you want
to do, and you do it, that’s one thing. But if they ask you to do something
you don’t want to do, and you do it, that is when you’re learning obedience.
The Son of God learned obedience through the things which He suffered –
and that divinity overcame humanity, and He lived without sin. He always
trusted His Father and, when His Father moved on Him to speak and act and do,
He did exactly as He was told. His greatest trial, of course, was Gethsemane,
where He was pressed and sweat came out like great drops of blood as He
prayed, “Father, take this cup.” But He remained faithful, even unto death,
and became that Holy Spirit when He was raised from the dead. He was perfected
and completed as He had listened to His Father and trusted Him even unto
death. He is now, in symbolic fashion, standing on Mount Zion. In other
words, He has a complete understanding of the Heavenly Father and of what He
has been working with, and doing with, mankind.
Now these thoughts lead me to 1 John chapter 5 because, in 1 John chapter 5,
John asks the same question of who shall ascend, only he states it
differently, and he describes these things differently. But remember this:
Our foundation is Christ, and He is a founded foundation. He Himself
was given the Spirit of God without measure. He authored our faith. He was
the
first to trust God. He finished or perfected our faith as He continued to
trust His Heavenly Father in His humanity. He is a founded foundation.
BECAUSE OF
1 John chapter 5, John begins, verse 1:
1 John 5:1-2
1 Whosoever believeth [believes] that Jesus is the Christ [or the anointed
one, the one who is made Christ, the one given God’s Spirit without measure.]
is born of God [He has been given life of God]: and every one that
loveth [loves] him that begat [gave life]
loveth [will love] him also that is begotten of
him. [that has received life, that’s begotten of
him]
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep
his commandments.
Again, there’s no such thing as listening and doing what God says and not
manifesting love to His children, or to all. You cannot be obedient to God
and not be manifesting love – that’s impossible. Verse 3:
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his
commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh
[overcomes] the world: ...
Now remember 1 John 2:16, all that’s in the world, the lust of the flesh, lust
of the eye, and pride? All that’s in the world is based on that feeling given
you in the womb, and you are simply responding to God from what was handed you
from your mother. So when he writes:
4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh
[overcomes] the world: ...
I understand that to be the world’s understanding
of God. It doesn’t mean that you try not to lust, not to have pride –
that isn’t how you overcome. The way you overcome is letting God lay a new
foundation for you, and allowing that to straighten out your thoughts
concerning Him – and He becomes easier to listen to. We have more of a
willingness to be His child
and do as He moves us, because we’re understanding
who He is, what He is doing. And, as those things unravel, He will take away
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life because all
of those things are between your ears. Your mind is the citadel of
who you are; and there is no outward thing that can
overcome you except you let it – that you would desire it more than serving
God. But understanding God and coming into the reality of His character will
help straighten those things out and make you new in Christ.
All of us having been born again have tasted this concept. All I’m saying is
that the Lord is going to take this to the fullest degree, as high as He can,
and change us inwardly. So in 1 John chapter 5, verse 4 when he says:
4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh
[overcomes] the world:
You overcome those things by overcoming your understanding of God.
...whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world’s understanding of God,
4 ....and this is the victory that overcometh
[overcomes] the world [world’s understanding], even our faith.
Now let this sink in. Faith, Romans 10:17, comes by hearing –
hearing the word of God. Hearing: When we allow Him to teach us, when we read
a verse and He confirms in our heart that this is true. Remember Jesus in
Matthew 16, what He says to Peter: “who do you say that I am?” (Matthew
16:16-17) – and he says: “You’re the Christ, the
Son of the living God.” And Christ tells him: “You’re blessed, Simon
Barjona, for flesh and blood did not reveal this
to you, my Father in heaven revealed this to you.” You see, that is
faith – it was given him by God. He couldn’t have verbalized it; He
probably wouldn’t have understood that. But that is the definition of
faith. Faith comes by hearing God. What is the victory that we have?
Even our faith. That isn’t you reading the
book and figuring it all out – that’s Him confirming in your heart what is
accurate, what is truth.
1 John 5:5
5 Who is he that overcometh
[overcomes] the world [world’s understanding], but he that believeth
[believes] that Jesus is the Son of God?
What did he just say? Who is it that’s going to ascend and stand on Mount
Zion? It’s he that has the foundation of the founded foundation.
Every one who stands on that mount, having the character of God, will
understand Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and was brought to a
completed perfection.
THE VICTORY
Verse 6:
1 John 5:6
6 This is he that came by water and blood,...
Now the King James has put “by water and blood.” A more literal translation
of this is “because of water and blood.”
6 ... even Jesus Christ; not by [in] water only, but by [in the] water and
[in the] blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth
[bears] witness, because the Spirit is truth.
This is where this study begins to really get deep, and I pray that you have
an open heart, a hearing ear as we cover this, because what we have just read
desperately needs to be understood if we are to stand on that mountain and
understand a founded foundation. First of all, when he says “this is he that
came because of water and blood,” if you look at the
symbols of water and blood, if you can see them as symbols and
look at what they stand for – water is “thought.”
Blood, according to Leviticus 17, is a picture of the soul (Leviticus
17:11-14). You see, the life is in the blood. When we talk about the soul –
let me just get through this quickly. This word “soul” in the Old Testament,
the verb of it means to take a breath.
Aaah. That’s the
verb. The noun, they’ve translated “soul” (Strong’s number [5314] is the root
of “soul” [5315]), and that is the breath taken. Now if you’ll notice, every
time you breathe in, you exhale, and the soul, this word translated soul,
is what you have retained. Remember everything outward is to teach you the
invisible things and, in Leviticus 17, he says the life is in the blood,
the soul is in the blood. King James put it “life.” It’s the word “soul.”
And if you’ll recognize, every time I breathe, what I retain is a picture
of the soul. Well, if you look at it inwardly, life only comes from God – and
you breathe in His breath, His understanding, and what you retain is
the record of who you are as you manifest your Heavenly Father.
Water and blood: Christ came because of the water and the blood.
What happened in the womb? Our water was distorted. Our thoughts were
confused and made inaccurate concerning God. And the result of those thoughts
is the
soul, the blood. Remember, in Hebrews 4, where Paul writes that the word
of God is sharper than any double edged sword, than any two edged sword
and, in Revelation 19, there is a “double edged sword” coming out of the mouth
of Christ? (Hebrews 4:12/Revelation 19:15) It is the spoken word that
he’s talking about in Hebrews 4. It’s sharper than any two edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit. The spirit is
the “mind.” The soul is the result of the working of the mind. When
God speaks, He separates your thoughts, your spirit – and His Spirit then
begins to mold you and make you in His image. The spoken word, as we listen,
divides even spirit and soul. Your spirit or your thoughts – your mind – has
distorted, polluted water, and it is making an image unlike God. But when we
listen and He gives you “a new spirit,” he says, …will
I put within you. He begins to mold you like unto Himself; as we abide
and listen, He can mold. The water is the thought – the blood is the
result of that thought. This verse tells you Jesus Christ came because of
the water, the thoughts we possessed and the result of it, the blood,
the soul.
What is that saying? Let me tell you what it isn’t saying: It doesn’t say
Christ came because God was angry and needed a human sacrifice before He could
forgive us. No. That’s not why He came. We have read into the scriptures
that concept – it is untrue. Christ came because we were distorted and,
remember, He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,
meaning that, before we even fell, our Heavenly
Father brought forth the thing that would fix it – His only begotten Son. Why
bring forth a Son? To correct it, because in order to
correct us, the Son of God had to become us. Remember, He
became sin itself. Although He never sinned, He became sin – and slew
that old man. He died, which is something the Father cannot
do. God cannot die. He brought forth a Son, who would create all things –
become like unto the very creation He made – and die, slaying that sin nature,
be given life again, come out of the grave and give you a completed
understanding, a completed mind, if you’re willing to listen and allow Him to
change the way you think.
Now verse 6 tells us He did not just come in the water only, but in the water
and the blood – He came because of the water and blood…and then He came IN the
water and the blood, in other words, partaking of this very thing we possess,
and overcoming it. There’s no way this man could have been tempted in all
points like us and not be like us – that is impossible.
Your temptations are not just from the outside – they’re from the inside. To
be tempted is not a sin, but to follow it and allow it to overcome you is.
Remember in James 1:
James 1:13
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am [he is] tempted of God: ....
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and
enticed.
Christ was tempted in all points like us, but He had that understanding of the
Father that overcame, that He used to defeat the old man. In so doing, He was
brought to a completed perfection. Jesus Christ came because of the water and
the blood, and He came IN the water and the blood and the rest of this verse
says:
1 John 5:6
6 ... And it is the Spirit that beareth [bears]
witness [or gives testimony], because the Spirit is truth.
In other words, the result, the perfection of His understanding – the result
of this coming in the water and blood, being made like us and overcoming it –
the result of it is the Spirit that He now possesses. And that Spirit He
possesses bears witness that these things are true, because He now has an
understanding He never possessed before He was a man and brought to
perfection. Think about it: In eternity past He was perfect, but He was not
completed until He suffered, being tempted. Tempted in
all points like us, yet without sin. And He learned obedience by
the things which He suffered. Being made perfect, He’s now the author of
eternal salvation to all those who obey Him…raised from the dead – perfected.
He now gives you His mind. He came because of our distortion. He came
IN our distortion in order to correct it. That is an awesome definition of
love, isn’t it?
TO KNOW HIM
1 John 5:7
7 For there are three that bear record in heaven
[give testimony in the heavens], the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost
[Spirit]: and these three are one.
8 And there are three that bear witness [or give testimony] in [the] earth,
the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
Now let me tell you: Three times in these verses he has mentioned the water
and the blood. It says He came because of the water and the blood, He came IN
the water and the blood, and the Spirit and the water and blood all agree in
one. In other words, He came because of our distortion. He came in
our distortion and now His spirit and His water and His blood all agree. He
has brought them together and He is a glorified man. He came because of our
distortion. He came in our distortion and He corrected it – and now the
spirit, the water and blood agree. When we receive His Spirit, when we walk
in His understanding, He will correct that in us. If we look at verse 20, 1
John 5, he says:
1 John 5:20
20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath [has] given us an
understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is
true, even in his Son Jesus Christ [Him that is true is the Father. And we
are in His Son. And he says...] This is the true
God, and eternal life.
As Christ stated in John 17:3:
John 17:3
3 ... that they might know thee [you] the only true God, and Jesus Christ,
whom thou hast [you have] sent.
You see, by looking at our founded foundation and understanding as the
apostles wrote, we see why the Father sent the Son. It was because we needed
Him, not because the Father needed it in order to forgive. It’s
because we needed it in order to be corrected, and delivered, and set on top
of that mountain to stand with Christ. You see, all of that involves the
character of God – recognizing Him, that He is a God of love, not wrath upon
you if Jesus doesn’t die. He is a God of love, and He brought forth a Son in
order to correct us. Do you know what that tells you? That means in eternity
past, before creation, before our Father brought forth His Son, that He saw
you. He wanted you; He wanted you for His pleasure. His
pleasure is to communicate. He, in order to communicate with you, gave you an
infinite mind in a free will, so that you could stand before Him in love and
receive and worship and give Him pleasure.
In other words, He saw you before He saw the Son. He wanted you,
and He brought forth a Son in order to achieve His goal for you of completed
perfection. The reason the Son of God exists isn’t simply because the Father
wanted to have a Son – it’s because He wanted to have many sons. The
reason the Son of God exists is to perfect the church, to bring the church to
the Father, and I want to close on the verse that states that. It’s Isaiah
chapter 49:
Isaiah 49:5
5 And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the
womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not
gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be
my strength.
If you’ll read this in Isaiah 49:1-12, you’ll discover it’s Christ. And
you’ll discover He was born to bring the church to the Heavenly Father. That
is His purpose – to become us, slay the old man, and give us a perfected
spirit.
CLOSE
Now, what I would like to do is give you a testimony and just tie all of these
concepts together for you, because the Lord has given me an experience over
the last few days that, personally, I don’t know of a more important thing to
tell a human being than what I’m going to share with you. And I also believe
that only a handful of people would ever be able to receive
what I’m going to say. So I would just ask that you have an open heart, and I
pray and trust that the Lord will confirm in your heart that these things are
so.
A few days ago, I was driving down the highway and wanted to turn on the
radio. All I could find were oldie stations playing old rock ‘n roll
songs, and on one station in particular, they were supposed to be playing old
Beatle songs. In my past, I was a Beatle maniac. I loved the Beatles – and
they said on the radio that they were getting ready to play two songs in a row
and I thought, well, this will be interesting. Let’s hear what they’re
going to play. After a few moments, this song came on by the Beatles, and
that song wasn’t on but just a few seconds, when the Lord began to reveal to
me why I liked that in the first place.
Let me share this with you: I began to realize that, in this music, I had
found acceptance. You see, when I would listen to these songs, I could
imagine myself performing them in front of a girl, or my parents, or friends,
on the stage – and imagining acceptance from people. It was an imagined
acceptance but, nevertheless, I felt acceptable and, therefore, I listened to
this music constantly. And then the Lord showed me that everything in my
life, everything I have done, all of my choices were made to help me feel
accepted. Now, when that thought came to me, it was just almost
instantaneous, that the Lord spoke to me. And what I’m getting ready to share
with you was so powerful when it happened – in fact, I can honestly tell you,
it was the most powerful spiritual experience I have ever had in my life.
When I realized I did everything in my life, everything was motivated because
I felt unacceptable, the Lord spoke to me and said: “I accept you. I have
always accepted you.” When that happened to me, I actually went forward in my
seat, hanging onto the steering wheel – I lurched forward – and I felt my mind
just flying up into the heavens. I almost said the words,
“I’m ascending!” I could see that word in my mind and, suddenly, nothing else
mattered. I turned down the radio, and basked in the thought that God
accepted me, and I began to weep. I turned off the radio and, for the rest of
the time I spent in the car, in fact, the next day, and the next day, I basked
in that understanding, realizing God accepts me.
Now, the Lord has helped me understand what took place, and this is what I
want to share with you. It has everything to do with this entire study. That
feeling of my feeling unacceptable is what happened to me in the womb. I’ve
been using the word “rejection,” but I realize now I felt unacceptable to
God, but I couldn’t define it. I realized that is why people need a new
BMW, a bigger house, jewelry, clothing they wear – whatever it is. It makes
us feel better about ourselves, and we feel accepted. That’s why people have
dogs and pets, because you feel accepted – unconditional love. And we
have been finding our acceptance in the earth because we didn’t recognize the
vacuum, the emptiness that was created when we believed we were unacceptable
to God.
Now had you asked me five minutes before this happened to me: “Does God accept
you?” I would have said, “yes.” But it was
intellectual. I can honestly tell you now that it isn’t just
intellectual. The Lord has spoken to me and said the words to me, “I accept
you. I accept you the way you are.” and I have believed it – and that
is faith, isn’t it? Faith comes by hearing,
hearing the word of God. He spoke to me and I believed it – and what
happened? What He just did was erase the foundation of sin. He erased
the reason for me to do anything for acceptance, because He has filled me with
Himself. He has filled me with His acceptance of love, and there’s no
reason now for a sin nature based on feeling unacceptable to God. I know now
that I’m not unacceptable to God. In fact, I know that I am so acceptable to
God that He birthed a Son in eternity past, and allowed Him to die to deliver
me from this misunderstanding. In fact, the angels themselves are ministering
spirits sent forth to be ministers to those who are heirs of salvation.
Do you realize what I’m saying? There is no need for anything in
creation except that humanity needed it – and humanity is what our Heavenly
Father wanted in the first place. I want you to recognize this. Our Father
never takes anything away from us, that He doesn’t give you something
better. Now how would you explain that to the Son of God, born in eternity
past? You see, that concept that our Father brought forth a Son and
eventually His Son became a human being, a man in the image of God – that
concept above all others should prove to you where we are, how we are
exalted and loved and honored and respected in the
mind of our Heavenly Father. He allowed His only begotten to become us
for all eternity – and the lie we were born with, He will erase it, if you
only listen to Him. You don’t have to wait to have an experience like I did –
He’s telling you right now. He is moving on your heart right now, that these
things be so. And if you’ll only be quiet before God, and let Him minister to
you, and let Him convince you of His love – that is faith, and He will pull
you right out of the sea and stand you on Mount Zion with the Lamb.
You’re on Mount Zion with Him. Why? Because you both have the same
understanding of God and you’ll have the character of God. Moment by moment,
hour by hour, day by day, let this truth develop in your heart, and let the
Father have His way, and you will discover the sin nature is gone, that you
have an understanding now of God’s love and that He has told you
Himself, and you are set free.
There is not a more important thing one could tell another, except what I’ve
just told you. The basis of the world’s iniquity is their misunderstanding of
God’s love. We have had an emptiness inside – let
Him fill it with Himself. Be the church in a world of darkness. Be the
church. Stand on Zion. Be the 144,000. Convey to the world the Bread of
Life. You have answers to give them – I pray that we march together. I pray
that the Son of God fill us with His Spirit and that we understand the love of
the Father, and this foundation that we have – that we find ourselves needing
things, stops.
Now let me show you some of the places where this leads, the understanding it
gives us. Remember in Ephesians, chapter 1, Paul’s prayer?
Ephesians 1:17-18
17 That the God [and Father] of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give unto you [would give unto us] the spirit of wisdom and revelation in
the knowledge of him: [in His knowledge]
18 [He says] The eyes of your understanding being enlightened [will be
opened]; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, ... [and you’ll
know the hope of his calling]
This is the hope of His calling – that He can erase the sin nature from you.
This is the hope of His calling – that you can see Him in truth and recognize
who you are in Jesus Christ. This is the hope of His calling – to develop in
you His love. Also, remember in 1 John where John writes:
1 John 4:9,16-17
9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his
only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
And then a few verses later he says:
16 And we have known and believed the [this] love
...
17 ... that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because [for] as he
is, so are we in this world.
You see, you tie that concept of understanding His love, having boldness in
the day of judgment, and you tie that concept then with Revelation 14, the
first angels message (Revelation 14:6-7): Fear God, give glory to Him, for
the hour of His judgment is come. Do you realize what we’re talking about
here? The Lord has helped us define and understand the sin nature. He has
helped us understand the void it creates and He will express His love to you
and fill that void, erasing any need to be accepted by the world! It explains
Isaiah 51, where the Son of God is said to have dried the sea, the waters
of the deep, of the abyss. (Isaiah 51:10) All of these things now make
sense; all of these things now come into harmony with the things we’ve been
studying. And I’ll ask you to go back, listen to this study one more time,
understanding the end of it from the beginning – and go through this study and
listen to those concepts, and recognize now the truth of them in a new way.
Listen again. Learn more. Hear the voice of your Father. Come out of the sea
and ascend to the top of the mountain, and glorify the God of heaven. Love
Him, because He loves you and always has, and has
always accepted you…We have received a lie.
You know, that is why a serpent is crooked: it’s a picture of iniquity.
That’s what the word “iniquity” means – crooked, wretched, bent, twisted. That
is the way a serpent moves, isn’t it? What a perfect picture. It’s the
serpent who lied and distorted the words of God,
and Eve believed the lie and passed it to us, and the Lord has straightened it
out. We are
the last generation church. We are the remnant church. We are the ones who
understand, who can convey this truth to the world. I pray that we glorify
Him. I pray that you’re blessed in these things, and I pray that we grow in
this understanding.