Category Archives: elect

THE ABIDING OF GOD: TRUTH, PURITY, AND THE SPIRIT WHO REVEALS THE SON

Trying to grasp Christ’s mystical thoughts is like reaching for a golden butterfly shimmering in the sun—beautiful, near, yet always slipping beyond the grasp of our earthbound minds. And then we blink, and the revelatory thought evaporates before our outstretched arms.

Yet Christ did not speak to bewilder us; He spoke to draw us into the mystery of God’s own indwelling. He declared, “I am…the truth” (John 14:6), and truth is the condition of His abiding presence. God will not take up residence where falsehood remains. Christ teaches that the Spirit of truth comes only when we cease knowing Him “after the flesh” (2 Corinthians 5:16) and begin to see Him as the ascended Son who sends the Comforter.

Therefore, the central claim of this essay is that God’s abiding presence enters the believer only when false concepts are purged, for the Spirit of truth—whom Christ sends after we stop clinging to Him as a mortal—guides us into all truth and reveals the Father dwelling in the Son.

1. God’s Abiding Presence Requires Truth

God offers us His abiding presence—His very life dwelling within us. But because He is truth, He will not inhabit a heart governed by falsehood. Christ’s own words establish this: “I am…the truth” (John 14:6). Truth is not merely a doctrine; it is the very nature of God. Therefore, abiding cannot occur where untruth remains.

Before God takes up residence in us, the old belief system must be purged of its errors. False concepts about God create a dwelling place unfit for His presence. The heart must be cleansed of misconceptions, distortions, and inherited traditions that obscure the true knowledge of Christ. Only then can the abiding begin. [Several false teachings are found here: false doctrines | Immortality Road]

2. The Spirit of Truth Is the Means of Abiding

Christ reveals that the abiding presence comes through the Comforter, “the Spirit of truth.” He says, “When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth…he shall testify of me” (John 15:26).

The Spirit of truth does not speak of Himself. He speaks of Christ. He unveils Christ as He truly is—not as we imagine Him, not as we have been taught by human systems, but as the Son of God in His present glory.

Abiding begins when the Spirit comes. And the Spirit comes only in truth. He cannot testify of Christ to a heart still clinging to falsehood. He cannot reveal the Son where the mind refuses to be renewed.

3. Christ Must Depart Before the Spirit Can Come

Christ makes a startling statement: “If I do not go away, the Comforter will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send him unto you” (John 16:7).

This departure is not merely physical. It is spiritual. Something in our perception of Christ must depart. We must release our limited, flesh-bound view of Him.

As long as we cling to Christ as a mortal man—full of passion, pain, and the limitations of flesh—we cannot receive Him in His ascended form. The Spirit cannot reveal the glorified Christ to a heart still fixated on the earthly Christ.

The departure Christ speaks of is the departure of our old way of seeing Him.

4. We Must No Longer Know Christ “After the Flesh”

Paul echoes this truth: “Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more” (2 Corinthians 5:16).

This is not a denial of Christ’s incarnation. It is an invitation to move beyond it.

We must not cling to Christ merely as the suffering man of Galilee. We must see Him as He is now—the ascended, spiritual-bodied King who reigns at the right hand of God. Only when we release the fleshly view can He return to us in a spiritual way, in the capacity known as the Holy Spirit.

5. The Spirit Reveals the Father in the Son

The Spirit of truth guides us “into all truth” and “shows us things to come” (John 16:13). This is not abstract knowledge. It is revelation. It is the unveiling of the Father in the Son.

Christ pleaded with His disciples, “Believe me that the Father is in me…doing the works” (John 14:10–11). This is the truth the Spirit reveals. The Father dwelling in the Son, and the Son dwelling in us through the Spirit—this is the abiding.

The Spirit’s work is to manifest Christ within us, and in manifesting Christ, to manifest the Father. This is the mystery of the abiding presence. Knowing Christ “after the flesh” must go before He can come to us “after the Spirit.”

Conclusion

Christ’s teachings on the abiding presence are not easily grasped. They shimmer with spiritual light, always just beyond the reach of natural understanding. Yet He has given us the key: truth. God abides only in truth. The Spirit of truth comes only when we release our fleshly view of Christ and allow Him to reveal the Son as He truly is. When the Spirit comes, He guides us into all truth, testifies of Christ, and unveils the Father dwelling in Him. And in that revelation, God takes up His residence within us. This is the abiding. This is the promise. This is the life of God in the soul of man.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock   [If this and other articles have helped you, please hit the “like” button and subscribe.]

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THE CALL TO GROW: WHY SPIRITUAL FRUIT MATTERS

Christ and His apostles taught a real, measurable spiritual growth—thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and hundredfold—and that this growth is not optional. It is the very purpose for which Christ chose us: to bear enduring fruit, to grow into His likeness, and to make our calling and election sure.

The Vision Many Cannot See

Someone may say, “I just cannot see this spiritual growth you speak about—this thirty‑fold, sixty‑fold, and hundred‑fold fruit‑bearing. Why is it so important? I don’t believe we can be like Christ.”

To such a person I would answer kindly; it is understandable. This vision of sonship is not given to everyone. It is the Creator who calls and chooses. Christ Himself said, “You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you, that you should bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain” (John 15:16). There goes Christ again, talking about fruit bearing. Read John 15 alongside the parable of the Sower in Matthew 13, and the pattern becomes unmistakable.

Many gladly receive His gift of salvation but never move beyond it. Not because they are evil, but because they have never been taught the spiritual growth cycle. They assume they do not need it—or worse, they simply do not believe it.

The Tragedy of Refusing the Call

But imagine realizing that you were not chosen to walk with Christ as the early apostles did. Would that not wrench the stomach with a bitter churn of regret? The doubters received salvation, yes—but they rejected His invitation to sit with Him on His throne (Rev. 3:20–21).

They resemble the lukewarm Christians, the five foolish virgins, who missed the great celebration because they dismissed the oil—doctrinal truth—as unimportant. They would not study it, believe it, or walk in it. These five virgins were indeed Christians (Matthew 25:1), yet their unbelief barred them from the royal feast. They hid when they should have feasted with the King. And Christ warns that such loss brings weeping and sorrow.

The Command to Grow

Scripture does not leave us passive. We are told to “make our calling and election sure” and to “examine ourselves, whether we be in the faith.” And what should we find in that examination? A young Spirit of Christ within us—alive, growing, maturing.

So, when someone says, “I don’t believe we can be like Christ,” they are not merely doubting themselves—they are limiting God and rejecting His own declaration: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” I understand the struggle; decades ago, I wrestled with the same doubts. But a mentor helped me cast them off and pursue the calling with certainty. All doubt springs from spiritual blindness. And Scripture tells us plainly what restores sight.

The Seven Additions: God’s Eye Salve

Peter teaches that the seven additions to faith—listed in II Peter 1—is the very eye salve that heals spiritual blindness. Speaking of the additions, Peter writes: “For if these things be in you and abound, they [the additions] make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacks these things is blind, and cannot see afar off…”

These additions are the engine of spiritual growth. They move a believer from barrenness to fruitfulness, from blindness to sight, from mere salvation to sonship. Some will answer this call to bear 100-fold fruit and be His manifested sons and daughters in the end times. Christ spoke it; I am only repeating His words.

Conclusion

Spiritual growth is not an optional doctrine or a private theory. It is the clear teaching of Christ and His apostles. We were chosen to bear fruit, to grow into His likeness, and to walk the path laid out in Scripture. Those who embrace the seven additions to the faith will see; those who refuse remain blind. The call is before us. The fruit is promised. The choice is ours.  Kenneth Wayne Hancock [If you believe me, hit that like button, subscribe and make a comment.]

{I want you to have a free copy of my latest book, The Additions to the Faith. The Spirit is guiding us into knowledge of the seven crucial spiritual, divine attributes—what they are and how to add them to your faith. The books are free for the asking. No strings, no follow-ups. Christ wants us to grow. He has given me light on the subject and the funds to get the truth out there. Instead of putting cash in an offering tray, I publish my own books for the body of Christ. To order: Send your name and mailing address and the title of the book to my email: wayneman5@hotmail.com}

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The Unveiling of God’s Sons: Love’s Final Act

God’s final act of love for this world is the unveiling of His children during these latter days. These sons and daughters are not the average church-going Christians. They will know that everything that has ever taken place on earth is prerequisite to this final revealing.

All the apostles spoke of their existence in His plan. The apostle John said that we are the sons (children) of God and that we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (I John 3:2). Being like him is not just being saved and going to church. No, He’s promising to do the same things in the earth, the same miracle working power continuing.

John also said that when we receive the Spirit of Christ, God will give us “power to become the sons of God, even to them who believe on his name.” Christ’s Hebrew name is Yahshua. It means Yah is the Savior (John 1:12).

The central theme of Paul’s writings was God revealing His sons to the world. He said that the entire creation “groans and travails in pain waiting for the adoption, waiting for the “manifestation of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19-22). He said that Christ was the first-born son, “the first born among many brothers” (8: 29).

Peter Confirms It

Peter calls the sons of God “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people… the people of God” (I Peter 2 :9). He also says that God has given us promises wherein we are “partakers of the divine nature” (II Pet. 1:4). We now take part in God’s sinless nature, growing up in Him. [You need to order my book, The Unveiling of the Sons of God. It’s free with free shipping.  Click here: Ordering My Free Books in Paperback | Immortality Road]

Not Many Mighty, Not Many Noble Are Called and Chosen

God has deliberately chosen people who are not powerful. In fact, these future 100-fold sons and daughters of God are taken from a lower state on the earth, so that when God effects great spiritual changes in their lives, and they begin to do the “greater works,” then they will know who is doing it–God and not them. “That no flesh should glory in His presence” (I Cor.1:29).

They are new recruits in Gideon’s army; they are very few; they are without weapons for earthly combat. These future manifested sons will be despised like Goliath despised David, but God has chosen them, and they will surrender to His call. And they will help bring an end to Satan’s government. This is the revelation that the stories from the Old Testament tell us.

The offspring of God, who once were dead in their sins, have now been made alive by his faith in Christ’s resurrection. God, “declaring the end from the beginning,” sees the end product of God’s spiritual life cycle within them and “calls those things that be not [Christ fully in them] as though they were.” (Romans 4:17).

Finally, this divine unveiling is not a distant hope but a present reality unfolding in the hearts of those who believe. The Spirit of Christ empowers His children to walk in the fullness of their identity—not merely as followers, but as manifest sons carrying His likeness and authority. As creation groans in anticipation, the sons of God arise, revealing Yahweh’s glory through lives transformed and miracles continued. This is the culmination of all history: the revelation of a people who reflect Him, move in Him, and fulfill His purpose on earth.   kwh [If this has stirred your heart, tell His people about it by commenting. Love to hear from you.]

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Seek First the Kingdom of the Spirit

Chapter 7 of My New Book: The Abiding

Christ urged us to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness,” establishing a foundational precept for spiritual maturity and abiding. But what is this Kingdom? And where do we find it?

Scripture reveals that God is Spirit (John 4:24), and so His Kingdom must be spiritual as well—an invisible dimension not of this world, whose god is presently Satan. Thus, the Kingdom of God is not material, nor constrained by our five senses. It is a realm that “cometh not with observation” (Luke 17:20) but is “within you,” dwelling in the sanctum of the heart.

The phrase “Kingdom of God” has been diluted through overuse and denominational variation. While traditionally understood as “God’s Kingdom”—a realm belonging to Him—it can also be understood, linguistically and scripturally, as a kingdom comprised of Spirit. Just as “a wall of stone” describes a wall made of stone, “Kingdom of God” declares a government made of Spirit, led by a sovereign Spirit Being.

We are commanded to seek this unseen kingdom—the invisible government of God. It is not confined to temples or earthly forms of worship. True worship is not performed with buildings, rituals, or material offerings. It is an intimate, unseeable communion between our spirit and the Eternal Creator. “The flesh profits nothing; it is the spirit that gives life” (John 6:63). The essence of abiding lies in this deep spiritual connection.

Only those born from above—born of the Spirit—can perceive and enter this dimension (John 3:3-6). The narrow gate through which we enter is Christ Himself: “I am the door of the sheep… whoever enters through Me shall be saved” (John 10:7-9). This entry point begins the process of purification—where old concepts of God are stripped away, and faith becomes sight in the Spirit.

Prayer becomes our vessel into this kingdom. It reaches beyond the veil, into the heavenly dimension where miracles and spiritual battles unfold. Belief is the transport. We are not guided by sight, but by faith—believing before seeing.

The Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of the Spirit: invisible, yet near; eternal, yet now. The Holy Spirit is the breath of this heavenly domain, and those who seek Yahweh “while He may be found” will discover the gate, the truth, and the life.

Even now, His followers are being tested. “Fiery trials” refine faith, preparing us for entry into the realm that awaits beyond the narrow gate. As the apostle declared: “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:27).

Here is The Abiding’s central message: the transformative power of abiding in Christ as the pathway to spiritual maturity, union, and divine oneness.

Abiding Begins with Seeking

The abiding life begins with an awakened hunger—to seek first the Kingdom not built by hands but drawn from Spirit. Christ’s invitation to abide is not passive—it is a call to pursue, with intensity, the invisible realm where divine communion unfolds. The Kingdom of the Spirit is not a reward for earthly effort, but the spiritual birthplace of all abiding.

The Gate to Oneness

To abide is to pass through Christ—the narrow gate—and dwell in the unseen realm. It is here, in the Kingdom made of Spirit, that the Son draws us into the Father’s presence. We are not spectators in this Kingdom; we are transformed participants, being shaped in the oneness of Yahweh and Christ. The Spirit is both door and dimension.

The Spirit Over Flesh

Abiding requires departure from the visible and tangible. The flesh profits nothing. Material religion cannot usher us in. True abiding is spiritual worship—truthful, unseen, relational. It is the invisible rhythm of connection, where abiding becomes encounter. This Kingdom is not distant—it is within. It is the heart awakened by the Spirit.

Purification in Union

Faith is the chisel that removes false constructs. Belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ initiates the inward resurrection—where abiding is made possible by purification. As old leaven is cast out, abiding becomes an active dwelling in the Spirit’s government. Our trials refine us not merely for entrance—but for union.

Finding Him Where He Is

To abide is to seek Yahweh where He may be found—in His own dimension, invisible yet near. Just as John touched, saw, and heard the Word made flesh, we too will know Him. For abiding leads to intimacy. The Son abides in the Father, and those who walk through the gate will abide also. This Kingdom is not merely theological—it is our promised home.

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Eyes on the Harvest

  1. The Sower’s Longing

God’s eyes are ever on His harvest. This is not simply a season—it is His will unfolding across time. He sows with the end in mind: a mature people, ready to be gathered. Are our eyes aligned with His?

Just as the farmer treasures the yield of his field, God watches with divine patience for the maturity of His Word within hearts. The Bible is a record of this great sowing—the planting of promises, prophecies, and purpose.

Be patient… until it receives the early and latter rain (James 5:7).

2. Maturity Marks the Time

The harvest is not about numbers—it’s about readiness. Maturity. Fruit that bears the nature of the Seed. In this “time of the end,” we are witnessing the crop coming to full ripeness.

The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels (Matthew 13:39).

These aren’t ominous words. They’re hopeful. They point to transformation—souls shaped in the image of Christ.

3. The First Fruits Rise

Like ears of corn ripening early, some sons and daughters awaken to maturity ahead of the field. These are the first fruits—the ones formed not just to arrive but to labor. To reap.

From the prophets of old to the hundredfold elect of today, these forerunners bear the burden and the glory of calling others in.

They without us should not be made perfect (Hebrews 11:40).

4. The Call to Labor

Christ’s command echoes now more than ever:

Pray ye therefore the Lord… that He would send forth laborers into His harvest (Luke 10:2).

The time of the latter rain is not only about power—it is about purpose. God is activating His mature ones to gather the rest. Millions will come. And the world, weary as it is, will see the glory of ripened faith.

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Thinking God’s Thoughts–The Additions and the Abiding

Thinking God’s Thoughts–The Additions and the Abiding

(from a Journal entry dated 7-30-14)

If you want to hear from God today, soften your heart by believing. Believing what exactly? Believe that God exists and is there, very near to you. And that He reveals Himself to those who search for Him with all their heart. We need to believe Him, like a little child believes—with all our heart (Heb. 11:6).

That is why it is so important to tell children the truth. For they will believe you. They’ll believe you, for instance, about Santa Claus and the flying reindeer, until the day they discover their first betrayal, until the day when they trade their faith in for a plastic phony world.

Nevertheless, God promises true things to His children. He promises everlasting life and power that overcomes obstacles in our lives—starting today—if we do not doubt Him. He has promised us that if we believe Him, then He, the Spirit of truth, will come and dwell/abide in us!

But, first, we must abide in Him. We must dwell in Him by getting rid of untruths and, frankly, the doctrinal errors that we all have been subjected to. He calls this “purging out the old leaven” (I Cor. 5:7; see Purge Out the Old Leaven = Getting Rid of False Concepts | Immortality Road).

This is “abiding in Him.” When this is done, then He will abide in us. This is how spiritual growth works. For it is when His Spirit dwells fully in us that we will show forth Him! This is the fulfilling of His purpose: God’s will is for Him to reproduce Himself, and “God is agape Love.”

We abide in Him when we think His thoughts. It is when we “get our minds right” and “get with His program” that we can abide in Christ. This leads to Christ fully dwelling/abiding in us.

Again, to abide in Him and He in us is to think His thoughts. This is having the same mind that Christ has. “Let this mind be in you” (Phil. 2:5).

How to Think His Thoughts

Two spiritual tools exist to help us train our minds to think His thoughts. For Yahweh’s thoughts are not our thoughts (Isa. 55:8). So then, our minds must be re-educated. We are born from a matrix of doubt and disbelief. We have been misled about what the truth is. So, the Master Teacher has prescribed prayer and fasting to cast out the unbelief.

Put another way, the two increase belief. They add to our faith. In fact, the seven additions to the faith are added by faith/belief, and God has ordained that prayer and fasting come into our spiritual life. He not only desires this for us, but He also makes it happen (II Peter 1:5-12).

Adding the seven additions is the only way in scripture to “make our calling and election sure (v. 10).” These seven “things make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of Him. Adding them ensures that we will bear much spiritual fruit (v. 8). By adding them to our faith, we are ensured “an entrance…into the everlasting kingdom…” (v. 11). [See Additions to the Faith to Make Our Calling and Election Sure–To Be Like Peter, James, John, and Paul | Immortality Road

For His elect have their destiny pre-determined by God. And He will restore what we had with Him in the beginning—which are the seven additions to the faith.

Peter is imploring us to take heed. Take the additions to heart. If you want to be in His elect cadre, we must add the attributes of His divine nature. The Spirit is telling us to add them. We must do this. We do not work for salvation; it is a gift. But we must work to spiritually grow through study and prayer. We work because He has saved us for a purpose: To be laborers in His last day vineyard.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock [For more on this, send for my new book, The Additions to the Faith. It is free with free shipping. Send your name, mailing address, and the name of the book to my e-mail: wayneman5@hotmail.com].

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Introduction to The Abiding—Indwelling Spirit of Love, Part Two

When we believe that Christ was resurrected and we were resurrected, too, with Him, then we were “born from above,” [translated “born again” in the KJV].

We receive the seed, the word of God, and His word speaks of Christ being the sin sacrifice. He laid down His life, accomplishing our salvation through His love for all of us. And the Word of God is the Seed that will spring to life when we fully believe that our old life died when the Sin Sacrifice died. “The life is in the blood.” When Christ’s blood was shed, the life of sin died. Our sinful self died. This is how His blood cleanses us of all sin [See more on this: blood | Search Results | Immortality Road].

And activated by our belief of this report, His Spirit begins to grow inside of us. As we grow, we begin to walk the walk of a Christian. Through study and prayer, we begin our growth, ending in the harvest of His Word in us and, then, He casts us throughout the world.

We must walk in this knowledge. Walking in the Spirit is studying this out and then being able to share it with others. Christ’s elect becomes the Sower of the Seed (Matthew 13). It’s like being a farmer who sows the seed. Some comes up; some don’t. We followers of Christ are at once a member of the collective Sower, and we are a part of the Seed itself.

God’s plan is couched in secrets and mysteries. If all this is making sense to you, then “blessed are your eyes for they see, and blessed are you ears, for they hear.” “For few there be to find this way of truth” (Matt. 13:16; Matt. 7:14).

When we first come to Christ, we all become spiritual babies, no matter our earthly age. The spiritual foundation is the food that is most digestible. The strong meat of the Word is for those who have reached a level of maturity. This growth continues until the harvest, called 100-fold by the Savior.

The Foundation Is Important

Laying the spiritual foundation is to give the King’s word context. For truly the spiritual foundation in our new life is “the foundation of repentance from dead works [sin] and of faith toward God” (Heb. 6:1). But we are not to keep laying it. These two doctrines are the “first principles of the oracles of God (Heb. 5:12-6:2). It is crucial to obtain an accurate bearing on the walk to the Heavenly Jerusalem. But we must leave 30-fold’s safety, secured in His loving arms to grow into “the fulness of Christ.” We are to grow in the Spirit and begin partaking of the “meat of the word” and not the milk. We are to grow up and stop being spiritual babies, mostly alive for what they can receive from the Father.

We must grow to become young men and women in the Spirit and on into being fathers and virtuous women. We need the meat of the word for us to grow into the 60-fold and 100-fold growth levels. “But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb. 5:14). A young Christian needs time to mature. The Abiding presents a banquet of visionary food that will help them grow properly.

This book, with Christ’s help, shares knowledge of the secrets and mysteries of Christ and His Kingdom. It is an attempt to illuminate the path of those He has chosen. His elect will choose to “go all in.” They will understand that half-stepping lukewarmness won’t make it.

The Abiding explains the 30-fold, 60-fold, and 100-fold growth levels. But its main focus is on the 100-fold harvest of maturity. That is why I have spent so much time on spiritual growth. This book discusses the maturity [think apostle-like power] that He has called us to.

For He has called us to His throne. Those who reach maturity will sit with Christ on His throne, ruling “over ten cities” during His thousand-year reign on earth.

Understanding Matthew 13 Parable of the Sower unlocks the door into the Father’s spiritual treasure house. The early apostles knew and understood what it all meant. They wrote about it, and time has preserved the scrolls of that sacred writing.

Knowledge of The Parable of the Sower unlocks the secrets of Christ’s other parables. Speaking of the Parable of the Sower, Christ said, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? (Mark 4:13 ESV)?

Christ admonishes us all: Walk humbly as stewards of His truth.

With agape love,

Wayne

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Introduction of “The Abiding”—The In-dwelling Spirit of Love

The abiding of the Holy Spirit in us is a definition of God’s ultimate growth within a believer. The abiding is when He, the Spirit of Love, comes to dwell in us and remain in us, thus fulfilling His purpose. And God does have a purpose and a plan to fulfill that purpose. He created human beings to carry out His plan.

“God is love.” Agape love. His purpose is to multiply or reproduce Himself—Love—in man and woman. That is where you and I come into focus. This happens when we spiritually grow the agape Love He has planted in our hearts (I John 4:16). We show the greatest love in the universe, like Christ did by laying down our selfish lives for Him. We show our love for Him when we give up our old life and take on His life.

 [This is the Major Leagues. Christ is assembling His team. Game time is at hand.  The denominational churches contain many who are called, but sadly, they will not hear this message about dying with Christ on the cross and resurrecting with Him. Once this truth sinks in, it burns a hole in your heart. The fire of God’s reality will consume you. Romans 6 is not preached or taught in 99% of church houses.

I love all of you; With each post that He shares with me, I give it my best to bring light to the road you are travelling. I know. It is a thankless vocation, marching on in the Savior’s army. But we thank Him for everything, and He thanks all of us with the fruit of the Spirit: Love, joy, and peace.

Being Called and Chosen

God calls many to be a part of His plan. It is an invitation to be adopted into His royal spiritual family. “Many are called, but few are chosen.” The chosen are called His elect.

Since “God is a Spirit,” it takes faith to enter His Spiritual realm (John 4:24). It takes belief. It takes belief that the sin in our life is dead. And it takes belief that we have now a new, sinless heart. Belief. “For they that come to God must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6).

We are born into this old 3-D life with a selfish, sinful heart. To be a part of God’s plan, mankind must surrender to God. He then will give them an escape from the earthy, sinful life.  

The old heart must go. But how does one get rid of it? God has provided passage into a new life! First, we must learn about and then believe in the sin sacrifice that the Father has provided. Our sacrificial Lamb is known as Jesus Christ in English speaking countries, but His Hebrew name is Yahshua. He is the Son of God, our Savior.

How does he save us? Christ took all of mankind’s sins upon Himself. When He died on the cross, our old sinful heart died with Him! Then we were buried with Him. Then the Father raised Him from the dead. When He was raised, then we were “raised to walk in a newness of life,” too.    

The Apostle Paul Explains

“Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin” (Romans 6:3-7 NLT).

This is how sin is conquered. It has already been defeated! This is true repentance from sin. This is our testimony. We need only to believe it and walk in it.

When you believe, you are walking in the doctrine of Christ. Repentance and Belief are the first two doctrines that the apostles walked in. Through believing this, you now are continuing in the truth that the apostles had.

But this is only the beginning of spiritual growth. This is only 30-fold fruit bearing. Our destiny is to sit with Christ on His throne. It is to bear 100-fold fruit. To see what 100-fold fruit bearing looks like, look at the lives of the early apostles. They healed the sick and raised the dead, and they taught righteousness.

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine…” (Acts 2:42). Christ’s seven doctrines are His major teachings. We will continue in Part Two next time. Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[Order your free copy, with free shipping, of my book The Apostles’ Doctrine. Send your name, mailing address, and the name of the book to my email: wayneman5@hotmail.com Yes, it is free. Christ took money off the table.]

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Heart Preparation for the Abiding of His Spirit

The book I’m working on, The Abiding, will explain to the reader how the great Spirit, our Creator and Savior, will come and live in us—fully, like in the apostles of old. That is the main theme of the book.

But many Christians will say, “We don’t need to study out all these things; we just need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. All we need to do is raise our voices loudly enough with song and praise. We believe that He will hear our cries and answer us with His slaying power. That’s how the disciples did it.”

Not so fast. The disciples had much more preparation than any of us. The Savior taught and walked with them before their experience at Pentecost. They were with Him forty days after the resurrection. Not to mention the 3 1/2 years that they walked with him before the crucifixion. It wasn’t like twelve men wandered up into an upper room and began to pray and—boom!—they’re all filled with God’s Spirit. With no study? Please.

There was much preparation before their experience. The disciples had studied the Word up close and personal. They were taught daily by the Anointed One. They didn’t fully understand His plan and purpose until they were filled with the Holy Spirit and fire. But they studied the Scriptures and the living, spoken words of Christ, who is the “Word made flesh.”

What Christ Taught Them

And what did Christ teach the disciples during the forty days after the resurrection? He spoke of “the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). That’s what the disciples were doing after the resurrection. Christ was teaching them “the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 13:11). Before they gathered in the upper room, before they were “filled with the Holy Ghost,” before they began “to speak with other languages” to those devout Jews who had come to the feast from at least fourteen countries. They all heard the Spirit speak their languages, through the apostles. It was not “unknown” languages. The Spirit was speaking through them in known, living everyday languages (Acts 2:4-12).

Christ’s lambs and sheep earnestly desire the true experience of the Spirit filling their vessels, but all of us must get our ducks in a row first. We must get an answer to this question: What are these “things pertaining to the Kingdom of God” that Christ, the resurrected Savior, was teaching them? If Christ appeared to us tonight in a vision and asked us, “What are these ‘things’ pertaining to my Kingdom?” How would we answer Him?

Christ was teaching them things about spiritual growth.

Christ speaks no idle words. Christ was teaching “things” to his disciples, as the Spirit of truth directed. It seems like a divine mystery, right? But it shouldn’t be. The disciples wrote down the “things” for us, that Christ had spoken to them about.

I submit to you that these “things” are lessons on how we are to grow spiritually. This gets us ready to be “filled with the Holy Spirit,” like the early apostles experienced.

These “things” are about how we are to go through God’s spiritual life cycle of growth. The parables of Christ teach us about growing from a babe in Christ to apostleship. In the “Parable of the Cast Seed,” the man sows; the seed comes up and grows. “First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear” (Mark 4: 26-29). Spiritual growth is also when he likens the Kingdom of God to a grain of mustard seed and how it grows and matures (4:30-32).

“And when they were alone, he expounded all things to His disciples” (4:34). Christ spoke to them “of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.” He explained it to them.

And then there is the Parable of the Sower, who sowed the seed, the word, into four different soils. The birds ate up the seed that fell by the wayside. Some seed fell on stony ground and was scorched by the sun. And some seed fell into thorns and was choked out. But some “fell on good ground, and did yield fruit…some thirty, and some sixty, and some one hundred” (Mark 4:3-8).

This great parable is all about spiritual growth. It is so important to understand, for it unlocks the rest of the parables (4:13). Christ explains the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4:14-20. It is all about growing and bearing fruit.

The Spirit is expounding to us His word about how He grows in us. In retrospect, nearly everything published on this site is a connecting dot concerning spiritual growth, from the sprouting of the seed, the word of God, in our hearts to the harvest of that seed.

The last phase of God’s growth in our vessels is what The Abiding is all about. It is about the “things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.” The complete abiding will come as we do the new commandments, and add to the faith, and put on the armor of God, and continue in the Apostles’ Doctrine.

Christ’s teachings on the Kingdom of God are lessons on spiritual growth, guiding believers from spiritual infancy to apostleship. Parables like “The Cast Seed” and “The Sower” explain sowing God’s word and nurturing it to yield spiritual fruit. Embracing these teachings allows God’s Spirit to flourish within us, helping us partake of the divine nature.

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Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Sitting on Christ’s Throne–The Second Conditional Promise

The first conditional promise brings on the abiding of God within us, with the power that Christ and his apostles had. This enables us to receive the second promise: to rule with Him in His soon-coming Kingdom.

When conditions are met, the second promise takes us to the throne of God. Not to just view it, which would be enough for me, to just see Christ in His glory. But to be invited to sit on Christ’s throne! Next to Him! He has promised us to be seated as a monarch with living authority, working with the King Himself! He has promised us a seat on His throne upon His return to earth. He sees us as benevolent viceroys, a “royal priesthood,” (I Peter 2:9).

This is what Christ is offering to His elect—if the conditions are met. He has promised this royal seat with Him if we meet the conditions. But do we, the ones He has chosen, believe this? Very few, if any, speak about it. With this conditional promise, He has forced us to make a choice—to dwell in the 3-D world as little vulnerable babies in Christ or walk down the royal road to immortality, just like the apostles and prophets did.  

So, what are the conditions for receiving the second promise?

The body of Christ in this last church age of Laodicea has got some repenting to do. Sitting with Christ on His throne is promised to those who overcome. They must overcome being lukewarm (Rev. 3:15-16). They act like they don’t need God’s plan and purpose.      

Here are Christ’s words: “You are neither cold nor hot…because you are lukewarm…I will spue you out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:15-16). These are self-proclaimed Christians He is talking to.

Christ does not like His followers lukewarm. And what makes them lukewarm? Christ explains: “Because you say, I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” We as a nation have become fat. Both spiritual pride and materialism permeate everything in this last age of the church. “The deceitfulness of riches” deceives the church into thinking that they do not need God’s deeper walk.  

Christ will tell us what to overcome, and how to do it. “So, I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also, buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see” (Rev. 3:18 NLT). He is the only One who sells these spiritual commodities. The world does not have them. They are selling a different gospel.

God’s Rebuke

To do these things, one must endure His rebuke and chastening. We must be “zealous and repent.” Repent from what exactly in this context? We must repent from laissez-faire lukewarmness of desiring the earthly things and turn to the spiritual by buying from Christ the gold, the white raiment, and the eye salve. “Gold” is faith purified by trials; “white raiment” is the righteousness of the cleansed ones; the eye salve is the unction of truth so that we may see into His heavenly spiritual dimension, where everything is possible. The elect will study these out. [See Gold Tried in the Fire–Overcomers and the Time of the End | Immortality Road.]

The Promise: To sit on the throne with Christ! Many are called to this honor of becoming a son or daughter, manifested in power and glory as Christ is. Sadly, few will answer the call.

The Conditions: Repent of lukewarmness. Buy from Christ the spiritual gold, white raiment, and eye salve. It is called “buying the truth with sacrifice.” And it starts with study and prayer. The hungry will get on fire to learn of Him and make the spiritual changes He desires for us. Lukewarmness will evaporate in His fire. To sit on Christ’s throne with Him is a stupendous future that He has promised us. We can meet the conditions. We must meet them—for His sake and the Kingdom’s sake.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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