PERFECT SOUNDNESS
FD03.0406
scottSTANLEY
(For purposes of clarity, all scriptures presented have been edited with the
author’s paraphrase as indicated by brackets [ ].)
OPENING REMARKS
I would like to ask you to turn in your bibles to Revelation, chapter 7, and
take another look at the “144,000” – the whole body of Christ; “whole”
with a “w.” An angel ascending from the east in verse 2, having the seal of
the living God, seals the servants of God in their foreheads, in verse 3… and He
seals twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes – and we know from
Revelation 14:1, the Lamb standing on Zion with the 144,000, having the name of
the Father of the Lamb in their foreheads, the seal they are sealed with must be
love, because God is love and they have His “name” in their foreheads.
There is an understanding of love that they possess. To ascend from self and to
ascend out of the lie only happens as we grow in our understanding of love –
true love, pure love, perfect love – and perfect love will bring a perfect
soundness to your spirit, soul and body. That is what this study is about – the
effect of understanding our heavenly Father and letting that love impact us, and
the change that will take place – not just spiritually, but physically.
I want to begin reading at Revelation 7:9, because starting in verse 9, we see
another group of people, a great multitude which no man can number. Now,
I say this is a different group of people because no man can number them and the
144,000 have a number – even though it’s spiritual, they have a number and this
great multitude cannot be numbered. Let me begin reading at verse 9, and I ask
you to just follow along with me because these scriptures lead to a question –
verse 9:
Revelation 7:9-13
9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number,
of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne,
and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which [sits] upon
the throne, and unto the Lamb.
11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and
the four [living creatures], and fell before the throne on their faces, and
worshipped God,
12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour,
and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
13 ¶ And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are
arrayed in white robes? and [where did they come from]?
In the past, at one point in my life, I thought he was asking about the great
multitude, because it says in verse 9, they’re clothed with white robes.
But then I began to realize he has turned and he is looking at someone else… and
then I saw that word in verse 13 – “answered” – one of the elders answered
and asked a question: What are these arrayed in white robes and where did
they come from? You know, Jesus Christ taught by asking questions and one
place this stands out to me is in Luke 22, when He is asked, “Are you the
Christ?” – at the end of Luke 22, verse 67: Are you the Christ? Tell us.
He said: If I tell you, you won’t believe. If I ask you, you’ll not answer
me or let me go. You see, that is how He would teach, by asking questions,
and when I saw this in Revelation 7:13: One of the elders answered and said,
what are these? I began to realize He was teaching John something. Now I
want to go back and take another look at verses 11 and 12, because the Lord has
shown me that this is what the elder was answering. He answered – who did he
answer? The angels…. All the angels stood round about the throne; they stood
round about the elders and the four living creatures and they fell before the
throne on their faces, and they worshipped God and they said: So be it.
Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honour, power, and might, be unto our
God for ever and ever… and the elder answers that, and he says: Who are
these arrayed in white robes? Where did they come from? I said, sir, you
know. And He said, these are they which came out of great tribulation and
have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Those “angels” seen in verse 11 are the 144,000 – How can I say that?
Because this takes me back to Malachi – I want to turn to Malachi, and look at
chapter 2, where he is speaking about the priests. What is a “priest”? In
Exodus 19, if you enter into covenant with the Lord and obey what He speaks to
you, He makes you a priest. You see, when you first come to the Lord and you’re
not “listening,” you think life is in the book, and you speak what you
think – you are not a priest of His; you are not a servant of His. The
“messenger of the Lord” speaks what he hears. When you enter the abiding truth
and you develop a hearing ear and you let the Lord lead, you are a
“messenger of God,” an “angel of the Lord” – and this is what He says in Malachi
2. Notice in Malachi 2, he’s talking about the priests who are symbolized in
the “Levites” – the Levite was the literal picture of the spiritual priesthood.
He says in verse 5:
Malachi 2:5-7
5 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave [these people] to him
[because of] the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.
6 The law of truth […now I’m looking at this, trying to understand spiritually
what the Lord is pointing to – and I know truth is my Savior. The
teachings of truth, the teachings of the Savior were…] in his mouth, and
iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and
did turn many … from iniquity.
7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they [the people] should
seek the [teachings] at his mouth: [because] he is [King James put the
messenger of the LORD of hosts… that word is [4397] – angel.]
A “priest,” someone who’s listening, is the messenger of the Lord.
Someone who is listening is an angel of God, and I know the 144,000 are
listening – that is how they get to where they are. That is how the wholeness
happens to them – they’re listening, and in Revelation 7, the elder describes
the 144,000. He says they have come out of great tribulation. That
“tribulation” is inward – that “tribulation” is coming to peace
which happens with love, and they are the ones who wash their robes and
make them white in the blood of the Lamb. I think of all of my Christian life,
and what I have been taught about the cross – let me tell you, there is no
washing of your robes in the blood of the “trinity god.” There is no washing of
your robes in the blood of the angry god who needs the human sacrifice. The
truth that God is giving us is what we are to wash our robes in and understand
what happened that day at
Revelation 7:14-17
14 And I said unto him, Sir, [you know]. And he said …, These are they which
came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb.
15 [Because of that] are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and
night in his temple: and he that [sits] on the throne shall [tabernacle over]
them.
16 They [will not] hunger, [or] thirst any more; neither [will] the sun [fall]
on them, nor any heat. [Why?]
17 [Because] the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and
… lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes.
I want to bring to our attention perfect soundness – I want to bring to
our attention healing of spirit, soul and body. And I pray that your hearts be
open to receive the truth that the Lord is revealing to His church, again, that
we might have perfect soundness, completion of faith, a wholeness before God as
we bring this message of His love to the world.
THAT PROPHET
After making the last study entitled The Refreshing, I had questions
concerning Acts, chapter 3, and Peter’s use of Deuteronomy 18, where he quotes
Moses as saying: The Lord shall raise up a prophet like him; that we’re to
hear this prophet in all things and anyone who will not hear Him will be
destroyed. I knew that I knew that I knew that Peter was getting a lot more
out of Deuteronomy 18 than I was and I kept going back to Acts, chapter 3, and
in prayer, reading this, asking the Lord, until finally the Lord was able to get
through to me something that Peter was seeing that I was missing.
Now, let me set up this story in Acts 3: Peter and John are going up to the
temple to pray – it was the “ninth” hour, and if I looked at this spiritually I
could see the hour of judgment. And there is a man, as stated in Acts 3,
verse 2, that is lame from his mother’s womb and he asks Peter and John an alms…
and it says in verse 4:
Acts 3:4-8
4 [that] Peter, fastening his eyes [told this man], Look on us.
5 [The man listened], expecting to receive…
6 [And] Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; …such as I have give I thee:
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
7 … he [takes the man] by the right hand, [lifts] him up: and immediately his
feet and ankle bones received strength.
8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple,
walking, and leaping, and praising God.
All of these people see him and come running over, and they knew that this was
the guy who had been lame… and when Peter sees these people’s reaction, this is
what I want to begin reading at verse 12 – Acts 3:12:
Acts
12 ¶ And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, [You] men of
Now, I know when Peter addresses these people as “Israel,” he was as literal as
could be, but I know the Lord wrote this book and I know who the Lord says
“Israel” is – they’ve wrestled with Michael, and they’ve entered into the
abiding truth. “
Acts 3:13-21
13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, …
glorified his Son Jesus; whom [you] delivered up, [you] denied him in the
presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
14 [You] denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted
unto you;
15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God [has now] raised from the dead;
whereof we are witnesses.
16 And his name through faith in his name [has] made this man strong, whom
[you] see and know: yea, the faith which is by him [the faith of Christ… has]
given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
17 And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance [you] did it, as did also
your rulers.
18 But those things, which God before [showed] by the mouth of all his
prophets, that Christ should suffer, he [has] so fulfilled. [Now, verse 19 is
the verse I keyed on in The Refreshing.]
19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out [of
your mind, not out of God’s book… out of you – you are the one keeping a
record of your sins], [this will happen] when the times of refreshing shall come
from the presence of the Lord;
20 And he [will] send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
21 Whom the heaven must receive until the [time of the restoring] of all
things, which God [has] spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the
world began.
Verse 21 leaped out at me – God has spoken about the restitution, or the
restoring of all things through all of His holy prophets since the world began…
and as I read that, I struggled to think of one. Where does He talk about
“the restoring of all things”? And the Lord began to reveal to me – but let me
go on and make this point concerning Deuteronomy 18 – [Acts] verse 22:
Acts 3:22-25
22 … Moses …said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up
unto you of your brethren, like … me; him shall [you] hear in all things
whatsoever he shall say unto you.
23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that
prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
24 … and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as
have spoken, have … foretold of these days.
25 [You’re] the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made
with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, … in [your] seed [will] all kindreds of
the earth be blessed.
Now remember, when God said that to Abraham, according to Paul in Galatians 3,
God was talking about the abiding truth – that the way He was going to bless all
nations through Abraham was in the abiding truth. That, too, was in the last
study – and see, he has just stated that we are to hear that prophet… this is
the blessing of Abraham. Now verse 26:
Acts
26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, …
Now, I always read this… God, having already raised Him up – it’s past
tense. What does He mean, having raised up? He raised Him from the
dead.
Acts
26 … [He’s now] sent him [Jesus] to bless you, [He is going to turn] every one
of you [away] from [your] iniquities.
Which goes right back to the blotting out of sin, the refreshing – He
will turn you away from your iniquities. Now, you see “having raised up His Son
Jesus” in verse 26? That word in the Greek, the Strong’s number is [450] – it
is used repeatedly of raising them from the dead, and that is when the Lord
spoke to my heart and said, That is what He means, what Peter means in verse
22.
Acts
22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God
[450] unto you …
Peter understood Jesus Christ was the prophet we are to hear, that Moses was
talking about, because God raised Him up from the dead. Now, when I go back and
read Deuteronomy 18, where Moses states this, I don’t get Moses’ thinking,
Well, He’ll raise Him from the dead. What I’m telling you is, Peter knew
Jesus was that prophet because of the resurrection. Now, let me show you
something else: Turn to Romans 14, and I want to show you the two times this
word is used in Romans – Paul writes in verse 9:
Romans 14:9
9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose [450], and revived, that he might
be Lord both of the dead and [the] living.
So, here we see again this word “rose,” speaking of being raised from the
dead. Christ died and rose, but look at how he applies it in chapter 15 of
Romans – verse 12:
Romans 15:12
12 And again, [Isaiah says], There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall
rise to reign over the [nations]; in him shall the [nations] trust.
I hope you recognize that verse – he’s quoting Isaiah
Romans 1:1-4
1 ¶ Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ [Why? Because He is that Prophet we
are to hear, and Paul was serving Christ through his conscience.], called to be
an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
2 (Which he had promised [before] by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures,)
3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David
according to the flesh; [There’s your “Branch.”]
4 And [determined] to be the Son of God [in] power, …by the resurrection from
the dead: […according to [a] spirit of holiness, by the resurrection
from the dead:]
“Determined to be the Son of God” – there is your “Root,” there is your Creator.
“The resurrection of the dead,” I’ve always known was important, but I never
realized how these men keyed on the resurrection to prove Christ was that
Prophet… He was the root of Jesse – He is Messiah, and it’s the
resurrection that declares Him so – being raised from the dead.
BLOW THE TRUMPET
Now let’s take this understanding and go back to Acts, chapter 3, and I want to
look at the big picture – the big picture of what’s happening in Acts 3. Peter
and John, going into the temple… the ninth hour – it is the hour of
judgment. Does that remind you of Revelation 14, the first angel’s message –
the hour of His judgment is come? And this man, lame from his mother’s womb…
and how the faith of Christ spoken through the messenger of the Lord brings
healing… and all
Joel 2 begins with “blow the trumpet in
When you ascend out of that lie and you know in your heart that God has spoken
to you, and He has changed the foundation of your thinking, you’re a high priest
of God – you’re sitting at the right hand of God. You can be used to bring
healing to another person, and the apostles did just that. The book changes
because we change. Who we are changes from “Jacob” to “
Joel 2:1-3
1 ¶ Blow ye the trumpet in
2 A day of darkness and … gloominess, a day of clouds and … thick darkness, as
the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and … strong; [there’s]
not been ever the like, neither shall [there] be any more after it, … to the
years of many generations.
3 A fire [devours] before them; and behind them a flame [burns]: the land is as
the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; … and
nothing shall escape them.
Now, I’ve said before, reading Joel 2, and literally what Joel is talking about
– locusts, and there being so many of them, it blots out the sun, and blots out
the sky. They’re eating everything in sight, and what always threw me was how
the Lord calls these locusts His army. Read with me, starting at verse
10:
Joel 2:10-11
10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and
the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very
great: … he is strong that [executes] his word: for the day of the LORD is great
and very terrible; and who can abide it?
These locusts, whatever they represent, are the army of the Lord. Now, he says,
in verse 25:
Joel 2:25
25 And I will restore to you the years … the locust [have] eaten, the
cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent
among you.
You see, that’s what threw me off – they’re devouring everything; they’re
destroying everything. How could this be God’s army? What is He talking about
– “this is My army – the northern army”? Well, I know if I were to turn to
Jeremiah 25, the “northern army” is
Ezekiel 14:1-9
1 ¶ Then came certain of the elders of
2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the
stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face [“iniquity” is the crooked
thinking]: should I be enquired of at all by them?
4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every
man of the house of Israel that [sets] up his idols in his heart, and [puts] the
stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and [comes] to the prophet; I
the LORD will answer him that [comes] according to the multitude of his idols;
5 That I may take the house of
6 Therefore say unto the house of
7 … every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that [sojourns] in
Israel, which [separates] himself from me, … [sets] up his idols in his heart,
and [puts] the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and [comes] to a
prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:
8 And I will set my face against that man, and [I] will make him a sign and a
proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and [you] shall
know that I am the LORD.
9 And if the prophet be deceived when he [has] spoken a thing, I the LORD have
deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and … destroy
him from the midst of my people
Let me tell you what happens and give you the example that Paul uses in Romans,
chapter 7 – the Lord gives us this book, and we begin to read it and interpret
it ourselves before we know better. We should be asking Him, but we don’t do
that at first. We don’t understand “listening”; we don’t understand that the
bible defines itself; we don’t understand the impressions of the heart; we read
what we have heard, and hence, as Paul states in Romans 7, what was intended
for life, becomes death (Romans 7:10 and verse 11). Why? Because sin, your
literal, carnal, sinful mind takes what God speaks and deceives you and slays
you. You see, what God is speaking to you, what He has written in this book is
holy, just, and good – but our sinful nature takes what is holy, and kills us.
For instance, the Lord says Remember My Sabbath, to keep it holy. We
pick that up and say OK, we’ve got to go to church on Saturday and others
say No, well, we’ve got to go on Sunday – and we take a spiritual law and
make it literal, and we deceive ourselves with it.
The Lord, on the other hand, looks at that and He says, You know, I gave you
that book, and I’m standing here, waiting on you to ask Me. But you prophets
who are deceived, I have deceived that prophet – why? Well, I gave Him the
book, and I’m standing there to tell him, but he won’t listen to me. And
what He gives you for life becomes death, because we take this thing and kill
ourselves with it. There’s no way to keep this law literally – it is spiritual,
and we take spiritual truth, make it literal and kill ourselves… and I want you
to see a word used in Ezekiel 14, verse 7:
Ezekiel 14:7
7 … every one of the house of
That word “separate” is [5144] and if you’ll look at Jude, Jude describes false
prophets, verse 19:
Jude 19
19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
What does this have to do with the “locusts”? Well, I’d like to ask you to turn
to Nahum – Nahum, chapter 3, verse 17:
Nahum 3:17
17 [Your] crowned are as the locusts, and [your] captains as the great
grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun
[arises] they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.
Nahum is written about
Nahum 3:1
1 ¶ Woe to the bloody city! it is … full of lies and robbery; …
But he says in verse 17:
Nahum 3:17
17 [Your] crowned are as the locusts, …
Well, that word “crowned” is rooted in that word “separated.” For some reason
the King James put “crowned” right here – and it means those things which are
separated. Those things which – I could say, that you think separate
you unto God, are like the locusts – Joel 2:
Joel 2:1
1 ¶ Blow … the trumpet in
Here come the locusts. As we grow in our understanding, the Lord begins to
reveal to us the things that we think separate us unto God, when we have
been separating ourselves, having not the Spirit. And this comes out in a big
way in Revelation 9, as you look at the trumpets. You see, you can’t read
Revelation 9 without reading the end of chapter 8, verse 13:
Revelation 8:13
13 And I beheld, and heard [a messenger] flying through the midst of heaven,
[and he said] with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to [those who inhabit] the earth
[because] of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, …yet to sound!
First woe, fifth trumpet – let me paraphrase Revelation 8:13: Woe be unto
you if you’re still on the earth after having heard the first four trumpets.
The first four trumpets are a revelation of the love of God, given
from heavenly understanding by an angel of God who has been healed. If
you’re still on the earth after hearing this, woe be unto you. First woe,
locusts come out of the pit of the abyss – out of the mind, smoke out of a
furnace, which is a picture of gehenna in your heart … and here come the
locusts – here come all of the reasons why you can’t believe those first four
trumpets, because these are what separate you unto God. And he describes
them as having “teeth like lions” – your pride; “hair like women” –
you’re in subjection to men, you have gotten these things from men, not from
God… and they torment you and you cannot die to self, because you’re not
receiving the message trumpeted by the angels of God. The “locusts” come
against the truth. Joel 2 is a warning to
RESTORATION
Understanding the locusts and the warning given in Joel 2, understanding all the
prophets spoke of a restitution of all things, let’s go to Joel 2:15, and let’s
just begin reading – and I pray that as you see this, you have hope, and that
you begin to understand the process the Lord is doing to bring us salvation.
Joel 2:15-17
15 Blow the trumpet in
16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather
the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of
his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
17 Let the priests, the ministers of [YAHWEH –there are your “angels”], weep
between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare [your] people, O LORD,
and give not [your] heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them
[the heathen thoughts, the things the heathens believe]: wherefore should they
say among the people, Where is their God?
The “porch” and the “altar” – the altar as you go into the sanctuary, the altar
of whole burnt offering came first, and then the porch…and we can see in Ezekiel
8, a picture of these men – now this is negative, I want you to see Ezekiel 8,
and I want to read verse 16:
Ezekiel 8:16
16 … he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at
the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and … altar, were …
[twenty-five] men, with their backs [to] the temple …, … their faces toward the
east; and they [were worshipping] the sun toward the east.
In a correct position, you would be facing west – going toward the temple… and
that period – I say “period” because I think of time… you come to the altar of
the Lord and there is a huge space before you get to the temple – you could say
it is the “wilderness experience.” “Wilderness” is before you’re understanding
to listen, and the priests – those who understand “the healing,” who
understand “the hearing,” if they would weep between the porch and the altar
that the heathen thoughts should not rule over the people of God – when we see,
recognize these people who are not receiving the truth, we weep between the
porch and the altar for them, that God would give them mercy, that they might
understand. Verse 18 is a huge word – “then”…
Joel 2:18-25
18 ¶ Then will [YAHWEH] be jealous for his land, and pity his people.
19 … [YAHWEH] will answer [that prayer and He will] say unto his people,
Behold, I will send you corn, … wine, and oil, … [you’ll ] be satisfied [with
it]: …I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
20 … I will remove far off from you the northern army [all of those things
you think separate you unto God], and [I] will drive him into a land barren
and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the
utmost sea, and his stink …[will] come up, and his ill savour shall come up,
because he [has] done great things [to you… and you will see the stink of where
you have been].
21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for [YAHWEH] will do great things.
22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do
spring, … the tree [bears] her fruit, the fig tree … the vine … yield their
strength.
23 Be glad …, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in [YAHWEH] your God: [He’s]
given you the former rain moderately [or a teacher of righteousness according
to righteousness], and he [that teacher] will cause to come down for you the
rain, the [teacher]…, and the latter rain in the first month.
24 And the floors [will] be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with
wine and oil.
25 And I will restore to you the years … the locust [have] eaten, …, [the]
great army which I sent among you.
What is he saying? That the process we go through is coming to an understanding
of this teacher of righteousness according to righteousness… He will send
Him to us – hence, the risen savior; hence that prophet that we are to hear in
all things. And He will cause the rain to come down, and in so doing, He will
restore unto you the years the locusts have eaten. Now, remember the tape
entitled As Pertaining to the Conscience, and how you’ve got to overcome
the dead works, and then you come to the reality that God is not condemning you
and you are made perfect as pertaining to the conscience? And then you are made
perfect in God’s eyes, the perfection where you don’t sin, as God sees you?
These “locusts” are the dead works; these locusts are the deceptions that we
thought God wanted us to do – He wanted us to be this way to be holy. It wasn’t
His will at all that we do those things. But He will bring you an understanding
that He can drive these things from you and then begin to restore the years the
locusts have eaten.
Do you know what those locusts create in you? Guilt… guilt and condemnation,
and the guilt brings fear. That was a revelation to me – guilt brings fear, and
the Lord says that He was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not
imputing their sins and He isn’t doing that to you… we do it to ourselves
– the adversity that we carry. Eventually the Lord will set us free from the
angry god, but I pray that we be in this place that He might restore the
years the locusts have eaten. Now, let’s keep reading this, and I want to come
back to the restoration, but I want you to see what happens – verse 26:
Joel 2:26
26 [You’ll] eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of [YAHWEH]
your God, that [has] dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be
ashamed.
27 And [you’ll] know that I am in the midst of
28 ¶ And it [will] come to pass [after that…after what? After you have
been restored], [after] that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; …
How? Well, Peter tells us in Acts 2, that the pouring out of Christ’s Spirit
was a fulfillment of Joel 2:28. But remember, Acts 2 is a picture, is a
shadow of the true substance – the true substance is you.
When you come to the understanding of the love of God and you ascend out
of the lie, and God reveals to you what that means to Him – that you’re
sitting at His right hand, that Jesus Christ was the shadow of you, and that you
pour out your spirit—why? Because it is now separated unto God
accurately, and what you’re seeing in Acts 2 is a shadow of what He is going to
do with you and me. He will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh through you,
because you are a high priest of God, understanding the love of God and have the
power to bring healing to those who have ears to hear. He goes on to say
that, in verse 31: The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon into
blood… why? Because that’s already happened to you, and when you bear this
truth to others, that is what happens to them… you show them the truth of the
Son of God, and the truth of this book and how it is to be understood – and the
experience you have had, they go through, based on your testimony. And the
restoration of all things begins to happen with the church first – the
restoration of all things… getting rid of those things that have created the
guilt and the fears and the condemnation, and allowing healing to come.
HEALED
Now, I would like to turn you on to a concept that the Lord has just recently
given me, and I would like to read a verse from 3rd John, and this is
verse 2:
3 John 2
2 Beloved, I wish above all things that [you may] prosper and be in health,
even as [your] soul [prospers].
When I used to read that verse, I would think of the apostle John writing that,
and I was failing to remember this book was written by the Spirit of Christ, and
if that be so, you should prosper and be in health as your soul prospers.
In essence, what he is saying is, as your soul is healed, as you grow in
understanding of God’s love and are being healed inwardly, it’s going to be
manifest outwardly. I think of Psalms 103:
Psalms 103:1-3
1 ¶ …Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 [Now the King James has put “who forgives all your iniquities.” It would be
better translated: Who lifts up all your iniquities, who heals all your
diseases.]
To lift up your twisted thinking is going to bring healing to your body. Why do
I say that? How many of you have ever heard of neurotransmitters? (Now, I
already can picture certain people, you know, I’ve got your attention – some are
laughing.) Neurotransmitters are the chemicals produced by the brain as a
response to the mind. The chemicals produced by the brain touch nerve endings
that bring about effects to you physically. Now what do I mean by that?
One example given online, if you go on the internet and just type in
“neurotransmitters,” you can find all the information you need to understand
this principle, but let’s say that you’re walking across the street and someone
blows a horn, and suddenly fear grips you. Well, your brain will instantly
create a chemical, and I think it is serotonin, that will bring a calming affect
on you but, what if you are living in an abusive relationship, and you live in
fear all the time? What if you are living in guilt, under guilt and
condemnation all the time? Your brain will continue to create this chemical,
and bring on this chemical that eventually will wear you down emotionally, and I
believe much of the disease and our physical problems are coming from a chemical
imbalance that we are doing to ourselves.
That is why the fruit of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance… is our immune system, to help
us be immune from disease and to be chemically balanced – the fruit of the
Spirit will produce that. In Galatians
Romans 8:9-11
9 … Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. (That is
the middle of verse 9 – verse 10…)
10 ¶ And if Christ [is] in you, the body is dead because of sin; … the Spirit
is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead [dwells] in you,
he [quickens] your mortal [body]…
If that isn’t healing, what is it? If that isn’t physical healing, what is
it? The Lord recently turned me on to a book entitled A More Excellent
Way, by Henry Wright. I would ask you to get the book. This man was a
medical student and later became a preacher and would seek the Lord to heal
people, and began to realize something was wrong because people were not being
healed, and the Lord began to help Him understand: Thoughts produce
feelings, feelings… actions. But the actions he looked at were the
chemicals being produced, and he has taken this concept and applies it to a
variety of things wrong with us – from cancer, panic attacks, migraine
headaches, allergies… and tried to help define the spiritual problem that is
bringing the physical manifestation.
Now, let me say something to you: I am no medical expert. On the other hand,
neither am I a Hebrew or a Greek scholar, but I know what the Lord has revealed
to me in the scriptures would contradict Hebrew scholars, and I know these
things may contradict the medical profession. The other day, I was sharing with
Martha how, if I go to a local church, they will take the bible and read it
literally, and never get into the spiritual meaning. And then I saw, if I go to
the doctor, he will do the same thing – he will look at me through a microscope,
an x-ray machine… and it’s all literal, physical, and to find someone who will
involve the spirit, see, I would be hard pressed. And yet, the Lord says in
Proverbs, the spirit of a man sustains his infirmity. The Lord says I
lift up your iniquity, I heal your diseases. The Lord tells us when we
have the Spirit of the Father, He quickens our mortal body, and I think
there is a natural, physical reaction to the spiritual healing.
I know you can see it in ulcers – ulcers caused by stress and anxiety, and as
Brian Haak was sharing with me, if you go to the doctor with an ulcer, he may
tell you to quit drinking coffee, why? Well, that will irritate the ulcer, but
that isn’t going to root out the problem – your problem is based on the stress
and the anxiety. Well, what if you applied that principle to other physical
ailments you’re having? You see, that is the principle, and I’m telling you,
whether you believe this or not, whether you think your physical ailment is a
physical problem or a spiritual one, you need to come into harmony with God and
yourself, and others. You have to come into harmony with the Lord and
understand His love for you. You need to face yourself and the iniquity of your
heart, and you need to be healed from all of the separations we have made in our
lives – in our anger and bitterness and unforgiving spirits. Whether you’re
healed physically or not, is beside the point. If you’re going to be the last
generation church, you are going to come to a place like Christ, who with nails
in His body, said: “Forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing,” and I
don’t care if you have been raped, shot at, lied to… whatever it is – you’ve got
to let it go. Turn to John 20, and let me show you something – John, chapter
20, this is after the resurrection – verse 22:
John 20:22-23
22 [Jesus] … when he had said this, he breathed on them, and [said] …, Receive
ye [Holy Spirit]:
23 Whose soever sins [you] remit, … are remitted unto them; and whose soever
sins [you] retain, … are retained [unto you].
Now, I have said “unto you,” because you have no authority over another person
to have them retain the sin – you are the one who does that to yourself!
Somebody could mightily offend you, and go to the Lord and seek forgiveness, and
if you carry that offense in your pride, you retain that sin, they
don’t. And I’m telling you that sin brings guilt, brings condemnation, brings
fear, which brings disease… and as we get our spirits settled in the truth and
can learn to look at ourselves and come into harmony with God, recognizing that
we want to know ourselves even as we’re known, and then letting go and
forgiving. Whether you’re healed or not is beside the point – you need to do
that. But I’m telling you, expect healing, and let that physical ailment be
a sign to you that your spirit is not right.
You know, I used to look at the anger that I carried, and I would say, “You
know, that shows that I’ve got a spiritual problem.” Well, it does. But so do
your physical ailments – some of them. Some of these things going on with us
are evidence that we’re angry, that we’re bitter, that we’re hurt, that we’re
belittled, that we have low self-esteem, that we’re being hateful and angry.
I’m telling you now, there is truth in Henry Wright’s message of
You know, I don’t dare go out and proclaim healing because people come to you
for the wrong reason. When you say “healing,” everybody wants this physical
healing, and rightly so, but I want them to receive it because they’ve received
spiritual healing. Now I could go through all the verses where Christ talks
about healing and forgiveness, and so on… Go and sin no more lest a worse
thing come upon you. Well, I used to think that meant if you sin again,
God’s really going to get you. What it means is your sin will bring
guilt, will bring fear, and will bring a worse thing on you physically. I
ask you again, get the book
Remember, God loves you, and He is trying to bring us a message of healing, and
again, if you have the Spirit of Him who raised Christ from the dead, He will
quicken even your mortal body. I know that will happen at the last day – I
believe it will happen right now. Jesus is the I AM. Let this message be a
blessing to you and I pray your heart be open, and I pray God is glorified in
His church.