Category Archives: kingdom of God

The Prosperity Doctrine Debunked

[Turn on to any of the televangelists, any time of day or night, and the vast majority will be preaching the prosperity doctrine. Simply put, it goes like this: Support them with your dollars, and God will bless you financially in return.]

As the Spirit of Truth shines more light into the “unsearchable riches of Christ,” it is easy to get sidetracked, wandering down side paths in His glorious garden of knowledge. And then there’s the constant Sirens’ song enticing the pilgrim to believe their false teachings about Christ. By wandering around, we can lose sight of the central purpose of God, which is a compass that leads us north to His throne. And that purpose is, of course, that God is using us to reproduce Himself in. He calls it “the manifestation of the sons of God” (Rom. 8: 19). His purpose should be our meditation.

We must keep God’s truths in context. Knowledge of Him must be tempered with decency and  order (I Cor. 14: 40). We are “to know, and by knowledge to lift up the mind from the dungeon of the body to the enjoying his own divine essence” [1].

Hundreds of denominations are born because someone thought that they had received some insight on “faith” or “grace” or some other idea, and they built an organization around that soundbite, and it became a denomination. And the kicker is that most of the time their “revelation” was unscriptural and just plain wrong. One of the most insidious and onerous of these false doctrines is the prosperity doctrine. Exulting over this teaching is against God’s word, and it needs to be repented of.

The Prosperity Doctrine

Christ’s very first warning when He gave prophecy about the time of the end was this: “Take heed that no man deceive you.” And they will speak about Christ, but they will deceive many (Matt. 24: 4-5). The preachers are slick. They concoct convoluted doctrines of how money will pour into your life. The prosperity teaching is pervasive and is a perversion of the law of harvest. They say that your offering or tithe of money is the seed of faith that must be sowed. They say that this is the way to show your faith in God. They say that giving money to keep their church house doors open and their TV airwaves humming is a seed of faith that God will give back many more dollars as a harvest blessing.

The Problem

There is only one problem with this teaching. It is against Christ’s teachings. Let me explain from the scriptures.

Yes, the law of harvest with the word “seed” and “harvest” is in there, but “money” is not the seed. The seed is a spiritual thing that we sow with God—not a material thing like money. The apostle clears this up. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap…For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Gal. 6: 7-8). God wants spiritual change, not pocket change.

The “seed” in the passage just quoted is a spiritual offering, not a fleshly one like money. And the harvest is eternal life not financial blessings. Besides, our offering should be our very lives. We are to “present [our] bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God” (Rom. 12: 1).

God Warns about Preaching for Money

Moreover, the Spirit of Christ in the prophet Micah makes it very clear what God thinks of pastors, preachers, evangelists, bishops, priests, and prophets who get paid for ministering. Yahweh says, “Concerning the prophets that make my people err.” While they lead the flock into error, they are devouring them. Therefore, God will not give them His vision. “The sun will go down over the prophets.” There will be “no answer from God.” He is also talking to the heads of the house of Jacob and the princes of the house of Israel (Ten tribes), you “that abhor judgement, and pervert all equity” (3: 5-9). He is castigating the political leaders as well as the religious.

Here is the warning about preaching for money. Yahweh continues, “Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they look for the LORD’s support and say, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster will come upon us.” Political  leaders are corrupt, taking bribes. Religious leaders preach and pastor for money. Cut their salaries off and see if they are around in a couple of Sundays. And the televangelists today give prophecy for money. The people in the pews are getting fleeced, and they are not being fed the milk of the word (Micah 3: 11).

This false prosperity doctrine is a snare, couched in Christian terminology. Our center should not be on material blessings. Our Savior told us to not be concerned with the physical and material things. “Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat; neither for the body, what you shall put on…neither be of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after… But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Luke 12: 28-31.

This prosperity doctrine is a trap. Giving money to pastors and preachers is a modern day example of the old pagan worship. The people offered their flocks, their grain, and even their children to their pagan idol gods in hopes of a bigger harvest of grain and animal fertility for the next year. We all must take this very seriously and repent from this dead work, which is the first of the apostles’ doctrines.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

  1. Sir Philip Sydney, The Defense of Poesy, “Poetry, Philosophy, History.”

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Filed under apostles' doctrine, eternal purpose, false doctrines, false prophets, false teachers, kingdom of God, knowledge, Law of Harvest, old leaven, prosperity doctrine, repentance, vision

Seeing and Entering the Kingdom of God

Oh, how we need the Prince of Peace to return! Our hearts break when we see a toddler’s legs reduced to jelly in a Syrian minefield, when we see a sobbing volunteer who could not save her. Oh, how we need Him to come and rule with a rod of iron the forces who have strangled the earth with merciless savagery! We need His righteous judgement on the masters of war, the rulers of darkness. Oh, how we need His Love to rise like the sun across the blood-soaked earth, and with its light begin to heal our wounds and dry our tears. We here on this crimson plain ask You to come back soon. We need your kingdom to come. Come back and heal us. Take away our fears of each other. Banish hatred from the land. Sow in its stead tender grains of love and peace. Everlasting Father, please help us. We won’t make it without your touch. We won’t make it without your righteous government coming to earth.

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With a broken spirit, we will begin to see the kingdom of God after being born from above (translated “born again” in the KJV). We then may enter the kingdom of God after being born of water and of the Spirit (John 3: 3-5).

We receive a new heart and new spirit, and this is the start of His kingdom within. For now a portion of the King’s Spirit dwells inside of our hearts. He begins His rule within us. Our desires change for the better. We are less and less selfish; we begin to think of others instead of ourselves. When He is ruling in our hearts, the kingdom is present in us. His Spirit of Love enters our hearts, and God’s reproduction of Himself in us begins. The kingdom of God is the spiritual and physical location where this reproduction is taking place.

The kingdom of God starts small like a tiny grain of belief in Christ in a person’s heart. Then this little light, this little seed of faith grows as others are won to His cause. But they will only seek Him desperately when their creature comforts are taken away. Then they will find  Him. It was always so. As more respond to the kingdom message, then it grows into a nation, which is Christ’s body of believers. Inside them, Love (God) is growing and maturing by His Spirit within them. Then this kingdom goes national, international, worldwide, galactic and universal.

The Spirit in Isaiah speaks eloquently of the King of this Kingdom: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (9: 6-7). The underlined and bold words prove that the Kingdom of God is a government with political as well as religious overtones because it institutes peace and not war.

Let us dig deeper into this passage. Everyone agrees that the “child” referenced above is Jesus Christ, Yahshua the Messiah. But let us see what the Spirit says about His kingdom. The kingdom of God is a “government.” And it is Christ’s government, for He is its sovereign ruler. He shoulders all of the responsibility of rulership. He is called “The everlasting Father” because the Father Yahweh resides fully in Him. He is called “The Prince of Peace” because through His rule, 1,000 years of peace will permeate this planet. And there will be no end to Christ’s government and peace, for He will be “upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom.” Christ will rule here on earth with righteous judgement and justice forever. The zeal of Yahweh will make it all happen.

Being a Citizen in His Kingdom

The Kingdom of God at present a spiritual one. Upon Christ’s return to assume His throne and rule, it will add a political dimension, for He will rule all nations. For now, to be a part of His government/kingdom, we must give up our earthly life with its lusts, desires, and aspirations for self. That is what it costs to be a citizen in His kingdom. Then we must replace our petty desires with His desires. We must take Christ’s yoke upon us and pull the plow with Him, never looking back.

What are we plowing with Christ? He’s plowing up the whole earth in order to plant His righteous word everywhere. Unregenerate man is the ground that is plowed and then planted. When the Sower begins to sow the seed, only the broken ground will receive the seed (Matt. 13). The broken ground is a broken heart and a contrite spirit in a humbled person. That is the ground that is able to receive the seed, the word of God.

Many nations and peoples will flow into His government. And He will bring some of us to His throne room. Those chosen for this honor will sit with Him, and He will make them “rulers over ten cities.” If chosen for this honor, we will be viceroys, ambassadors, and administrators for the King (Luke 19: 17; Rev. 3: 21; Isa. 2: 2-4).

It’s All about the Kingdom

For 1,300 days, both pre- and post-resurrection, Christ taught exclusively about His Kingdom. He spoke of Himself as a soon-to-be exiled King. His teachings are centered in the government/kingdom of God. His doctrine separates the good and true from the bad and false concepts, ideas, and assumptions of false teachers. By purging the doctrinal errors, He brings His subjects into a closer walk with their King.

The Kingdom is the place where God is growing. His Kingdom is the realm of His influence. He is not fellowshipping with those in error. He commands all people everywhere to repent from what they are doing and who they are serving because the Kingdom is here. Right now the King through His Spirit of truth has taken up residence in the hearts of His saints. His presence is growing and will grow until His kingdom fills the whole earth.

Many Are in Error

Many professing Christians are in error. Christ has harsh words for those who claim to know Him and fail to seek first His kingdom. Again, His kingdom/government is utmost in His mind. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’(Mat. 7: 21-23).

There will be much weeping on that sad day for lukewarm Christians. These professing Christians thought that they were worshipping and serving God. They knew the lingo and the outer trappings, but not Him and His purpose. They will be rejected by Him and they will weep bitter tears. It would have been much better for them to have wept for the widows and orphans and little children who were being slaughtered in the killing fields of this wicked world system—much better had they sobbed and cried out for Him and His kingdom to come and end the injustice and suffering. Much better had they not relied on the pastors’ and preachers’ faulty vision for them.

Nevertheless, upon being rejected, millions of people will try to justify their brand of Christianity to the King Himself! And they will weep in shame after He says to them, “I never knew you.” And why will this happen? Because they did not know Him as He really is! They did not believe the Son’s own witness about Himself, when He commanded us, “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.” They had Him as a third person of a Trinity; they did not believe that the fullness of the Father dwelt bodily in Christ. They missed it. They missed His oneness; they missed the “Holy One of Israel.” That will be a sad  and dreadful day.

Only the one who does the will of my Father” will be allowed to enter the kingdom. And what’s the Father’s will? “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life…” And to “believe in Him” one must believe His words, especially His words about Himself, which are these: “The Father is in Me” (John 6: 40; 14: 11). And, of course, this further proves that God is One and not three. Simple belief in what He says about Himself emanating from a clear mind free from false doctrines—that is all He wants us to do. That’s the kingdom walk.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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What Christ Taught–The Kingdom of God

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We have learned that the anointing is “truth and is no lie.” And we know that Christ, the Anointed One, is the truth, for He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Christ expressed this with words; He is, after all, “the Word made flesh.” And this fact makes these words come alive: “Thy word is truth.” Consequently, to be anointed by God is to have God’s word of truth in one’s heart and pouring through one’s mouth. If preachers are operating in falsehoods, fabrications, and imaginations about God, then they are not anointed by Yahweh. Period. And they are legion. For the anointing is no lie (I Jn. 2: 27; John 14: 6; John 1: 1, 14; Dan. 9: 25-26 NIV).

Christ Is the Truth and the Word

So what did our Master, the greatest Teacher, teach? What words came out of His mouth when He was speaking? He is the Anointed King, so what truths came forth from Him? They were the Father Yahweh’s words. “The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, He does the works” (John 14: 10).

And what exactly did Yahweh’s words coming out of Christ’s mouth say? In other words, what exactly did Christ teach? And by extension, what should we all be teaching?

  • “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It is right here, right now on this earth (Mt. 4: 17). When He began to preach and teach, these were His first words.
  • “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” The very first thing in our search should be His kingdom and righteousness (Mt. 6: 33).
  • Christ came “preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.” The good news is the kingdom.
  • Christ sent out His twelve disciples to preach, and He had them say, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The kingdom message was multiplied through His disciples (Mt. 10: 7).
  • All of the parables that He spoke convey and conceal at the same time secrets and mysteries of His kingdom—what it is like, where it is, when it is to come, etc. Some of the parables are in Matthew 13: 3-52.
  • “…Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven…” The Lord’s Prayer is the model prayer that our prayers should emulate. Having His kingdom come to earth is the first thing that we should ask for. His kingdom is the fulfillment of His purpose and plan and will be accomplished in the earth (Luke 11: 2).
  • Christ spoke constantly about the kingdom of God during His 3 ½ year ministry.
  • The kingdom was so important to Him that He was still teaching it after His death, burial, and resurrection! For forty days He was seen of His apostles. During that time, He was “speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1: 1-3).
  • After the resurrection, the very first question that the disciples asked was this: “Will you at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” They wanted His government to come for their time, in which the fleshly children of the Hebrew patriarchs would receive power to rule the nations. They must have been talking about this, for it to be the first thought and question out of their mouths. This question points to not only a religious government, but also a political one. They said, “to Israel.” And Christ had said, “I am sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” Meat to chew on (Acts 1: 6; Mt. 15: 24).
  • We could go on and on with quotes about Christ’s government coming to this earth. The word “kingdom” appears over 120 times in the four gospels alone. Christ spoke the Father’s words out of His mouth, leaving us an example. Yet, the vast majority of preachers today do not teach His kingdom. The word “kingdom” seldom escapes their lips. But they insist that they have the anointing, the truth, the word of God. They mention Christ, but they do not teach the same words that He taught. Therefore, the Father is not speaking through them, for they speak not His words. So one must ask, Has God anointed them? Short answer: No.

After they had received the Spirit of Truth, the disciples later realized that the kingdom of God is where the Spirit of God is residing. The kingdom is wherever the Truth is. Wherever the King is, the government of God is there. The kingdom of God was foremost in Christ’s mind. It was all about the kingdom. And we are to have the mind of Christ.

Having the Mind of Christ

In order to have the mind of Christ, we must reprogram our thinking. It does not happen overnight. It takes time and study and prayer.

There is a process. God’s little children, upon receiving a new heart, receive “an earnest of His Spirit,” which is a down payment portion of His Spirit. This allows them to see and enter the kingdom of God (John 3: 3-5). This will take them through the thirty fold realm of spiritual growth. This is a beginning part of the kingdom of God. Or better put, the Spirit begins to guide God’s little children.

And as they begin to grow, they are given trials to overcome, which purifies their walk. Then God begins to execute His plan within them. His Spirit grows in them to fulfill His purpose of reproducing Himself, which is multiplying love. We are told, “Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” It is all part of His plan and is part of the sufferings of Christ (I Pet. 4: 12-13). It can be difficult. To grow, there must be painful purging out of old leaven at times. Those who overcome all things will be the citizens of the kingdom of God upon the King’s return.  Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Filed under apostles' doctrine, children of God, Christ, eternal purpose, false doctrines, false prophets, false teachers, gospel, kingdom of God, Parables, repentance, resurrection, righteousness, Spirit of God, sufferings of Christians, The Lord's Prayer, Word

Anointing = Truth = The Spirit of Truth

The term “the anointing” is bandied about in many modern day churches. “I have the anointing,” some will say, but when asked what is the anointing, most will fail to give a cogent scriptural answer.

For many Christians, the anointing has become a kind of amorphous spiritual entity, that when pressed about its identifying signs, many will sincerely attest that you will know it when you get it. The anointing has devolved into being an undefined it for many groups. Others will offer that “it” is the Holy Spirit, represented as the third person of the trinity.

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Notwithstanding all these attempts at gaining an understanding, the apostle John gives us a clear definition of the anointing. “But the anointing which you have received of Him abides in you, and you need not any man teach you, but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie…” (I John 2: 27).

Anointing = Truth

There is much to digest here. We must extract the truth about the anointing because it is the truth. The anointing equals the truth. We can now take this equation and place the word “truth” for “anointing.”

Analyzing further:

  1. We receive the truth/anointing from God [“anointing which you have received of Him”].
  2. This truth abides in us. The truth remains and stays in us [“abides in you”].
  3. A natural man cannot even perceive the things of God. It takes one born of the Spirit with God speaking through him to teach us [“you need not any man teach you”].
  4. The anointing, the truth, teaches us all things. Anyone who has received the Spirit of Truth is anointed, for it is now Christ’s Spirit living in them. Christ said that He is the truth (John 14: 6). And Christ is the Anointed One (Dan. 9: 25-26 NIV). And God’s Word is Truth. And He is the “Word made flesh” (John 1: 1, 14). He is the Truth poured into our flesh bodies.

Setting up this equation now, we see this: The Anointing = the Truth = the Word = Christ = the Anointed One = the Spirit of Truth. No wonder Christ said, “I and My Father are One.”

The Holy Spirit Is the Anointing

We saw where the anointing is the truth and teaches us all things. One of those “things” we are learning is that “the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost [Holy Spirit—same word in the Greek], whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things…” (1 John 2: 7; John 14: 26). The anointing teaches us all things, and the Holy Spirit teaches us all things. And the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, and Truth is the Anointing.

I know. It is difficult to wrap our wee minds around the depth that the apostle John is sharing with us, but we have to stay with it and stretch our finite minds into the realms of the infinite. We are called to crack the code, as it were, embedded in Spirit’s writings through John. To fulfill our calling, to be His sons and daughters who will sit down with the King Himself, we must “know Him that is from the beginning.” We must crack the code.

And the way to do this is by believing His word when He says to us, “I and My Father are one….if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father…Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me…” His word is truth, which is the anointing.

We simply must cast out our doubts and embrace Him as He really is. “Yahweh was manifest in the flesh…Yahweh was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself…” We must rid our minds of false concepts about our Savior [“I, even I, am Yahweh, and beside Me there is no savior…I am Yahweh, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King…” Isa. 43: 11, 15).

Brothers and sisters, please, I am pouring out to you. I cannot extract proofs and meanings any more unfettered from the dungeon walls of man’s thinking than these presented to you. Someone’s eyes are opened. Someone hears my cry. Someone’s eyes are washed with salty rain. Someone sees; someone searches with all their heart. I know they do. He said that His word would not return to Him void; someone sees Him as He’s always been.

Those someones are my brothers and sisters, perhaps adrift at present on the high seas of man’s wisdom. But we all now are being lifted into that stable fishing vessel, our Captain at the helm. We now are sailing with Him. We’ve joined His crew, and now we are gliding on a sea of glass, believing now that with His helping hand, we are arriving in Love’s safe harbor. We are free now—free from the church’s chains that weld us onto false financial fears and demands. We are free, for the Spirit now within us was before man invented filthy lucre and all the temporal things that it can buy. We are free now, no longer bound by that slave master Sin. For Sin is dead, and so are we to his evil ways, thanks be unto our Savior.

Our life’s now hid with Christ in God. And He has anointed us with the truth of His real name and nature. His name bears witness to His nature of oneness. After all, He is the one who said, “I am your Holy One…there is none beside Me” (Isa. 45: 21).

And now, if we will for a moment hush the prattle of our unbridled minds, we just may hear a “still small voice” as He breathes on us these words, “Believe Me, and receive the anointing…”    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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The Promise of the Holy Spirit

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God has not promised to fill us with His Spirit to make us feel good. He loves us, yes, but He created us for His pleasure. If He fills us with His Spirit, it will be for His own purpose. And that purpose is to fulfill His promise to Abraham and to his seed.

He promised Abraham that he would become the “heir of the world.” To inherit the world, one must have eternal life in order to be around for the inheritance. Abraham, the father of our faith, the believer of God’s promises, walked that faithful walk, never doubting God’s reasons for doing what He did. He knew of New Jerusalem and God’s plan to bring it to earth. He understood that it would be home to a “peculiar people, a royal priesthood, a chosen generation,” a people immortal, thanks to God’s granting them everlasting life.

Abraham realized this and searched for this great spiritual city, “whose builder and maker was God.” For he knew the King of this Kingdom and spoke with Him on several occasions. And so Abraham did not doubt the promises made to him by Yahweh-in-His-human-form.

We now, with the same faith of Abraham through Christ, must realize that nothing has changed. The promises are still valid, immutable. Though ancient, heroic edifices crumble under the sand-swept assault of time, and though very few humans are remembered forty years after their demise, God’s promise of filling His children with His Spirit remains a clean, shiny hope in the hearts of his people. For this hope is our silent prayer that we would be spared the indignity of a dark, black future where no one remembers our smile, our tears, our name.

Those who love Him will be spared, for He has promised them that He would shower them with Love and immerse them in His light. His promise to fill us is not to help us escape our lonely trials of these fleshly bodies, but rather to fulfill His purpose. This purpose is to reproduce Himself in us, thus multiplying Love, Joy, and Peace throughout eternity. He will grant the faithful like Abraham a new spiritual body and fill it with His Spirit of Love. That’s us, brethren. We are the children of Abraham.

And Yahweh will, with His residence within our new body, grant us everlasting life, a life that will endure forever, an immortal existence with Him in His kingdom. It is an eternal life, a life that is in His Son.

There we go, getting into the meat of the word again. Unfortunately, as a body of believers, we are not ready for all this just yet. God gives grace to the humble. He favors those with humility. We exercise a desire for humility when we without reservation humble ourselves by deliberately purging out the false teachings that we cling to. That is the humbling that we must endure for His sake. That’s part of the fellowship of His sufferings. We allow (or suffer) sometimes the wrenching pain of parting with doctrines that have been our “buddies” for a long time. It is a trial of our faith. It is in His plan. Only the pure of heart will see God’s way in this. Only those who are contenders and not pretenders will stay the course. It’s the parable of the sower in all three levels of growth.

But the attention span of many in the body of Christ is short. Most are lukewarm when it comes to their studies in His word. When you dig deep, you get blisters on  your hands and aches and pains in your shoulders. For this age of Laodicea, the seventh church age, this lukewarmness will not be welcomed by our King. He said that He would spue them out of His mouth.

And these are lukewarm for they are full of themselves, either because of physical riches or spiritual riches. God has blessed them materially. And, the many spiritual experiences that they have had over the years assure them that God is on their side and that they “have need of nothing.” And they do not know that they are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked.” And so Christ counsels these Christians to buy from Him “gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich,” and white raiment that you be not naked, and eye salve to cure the spiritual blindness. Then in verse 19 tells them, “Repent” (Rev. 3: 14-19). We can’t escape the first apostles’ doctrine: Repentance.

Question: Who reading this will get the concordances out and Strong’s and dig these things out? Those who do will show the King that they are for real and not just pretenders…

Nevertheless, some will continue on their weary way, the grains of time slipping through their fingers. And with death’s smirk lurking just around the corner of their fears, the treachery of the mirror betrays their trust in these fragile, fleshly bodies.

God has promised us His Spirit, which will fulfill His purpose of having righteous inhabitants in His Heavenly City. We are those citizens with everlasting life, His life, and we will once again walk those halls of New Jerusalem. But there I go getting into the meat of the word again.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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“Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees,” Christ Said…But Why?

What was so wrong with their teachings? They were religious, after all. They prayed publicly. They gave money to the poor and homeless, and they supported financially their place of worship. They referenced the law of Moses, the prophets and followed the commentaries of their elders and rabbis. They were devout. So what was the problem at its core? What was this “leaven”?

Christ warned: “Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Lk 12: 1). In a word, they were hypocrites. “Hypocrite” in biblical Greek means “a pretender.”  Christ said as much. “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15: 7-9).

There it is. The Pharisees claimed to be teachers sent from God but were only teaching “commandments of men.” Other translations flesh out what they were teaching: “human rules (NIV), precepts of men (RSV), human commands (CSB), and man-made ideas (NLT). They were hypocrites, for they disguised themselves as God’s representatives. They “transformed themselves into angels of light,” but were only teaching false doctrines out of human imaginations.

These doctrines of men are the “old leaven” that we are admonished to get rid of. “Purge out therefore the old leaven that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened” (I Cor 5: 7-8). We are the unleavened bread; God has faith that we will respond and become un-leavened bread, for He calls things that “be not as though they were” (Rom. 4: 17). We must repent of false concepts that will permeate our whole being, as yeast spreads throughout the whole lump of dough. We are the “unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Therefore the leaven that must be repented of is insincerities, hypocrisies, and falsehoods.

Leaven consists of the list of errors in our worship. God looks at the intent of our hearts. Coming into Christ, we carry old baggage with us. We do not intend to worship Him with false concepts and beliefs about Him. Growing up, we were all taught many false doctrines about God and His plan. However, the gravest error is to cling to them rather than proving from the Scriptures their veracity or not. We must repent of the errors if we are to grow unto full maturity (perfection). If we really desire to go all the way to the throne room to be in His presence, if we sincerely want to walk with Christ as Peter, James, and John did, we have to get honest with ourselves about the leaven and purge it out. Getting rid of the false doctrines is a major part of the apostles’ doctrine of “repentance from dead works.”

Those that don’t purge out the old leaven will be like the five foolish virgins who had no oil in their lamps and were not ready. They will be like those who asked the Lord, Did we not cast out devils in your name and do many mighty works in your name? And He will say to them, Depart from Me; I never knew you. There will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” for those who had a chance to be very close to the King and blew it. Why? Because they were stubborn, and they would not study to be approved of God to be one of His kings in His Kingdom. They hardened their hearts and would not repent of the old false concepts about God.

So which teachings about God are false and have got to go? Which comfortable traditions come from the imaginations of the human mind and which things are from the mind of Christ? How are we to know for sure? The answers will come from the written Word, which is  “given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine…” In this worldly hothouse of emotions, we will quietly trust and “watch to see what He will say” to us out of His word (Hab. 2: 1). For in the end, that is really all we have.  In the end, that is really all we need, for Christ is the Word now being made flesh and dwelling among us–again.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Two Major Concepts Concerning the Apostles’ Doctrine

*****[BE SURE TO ORDER YOUR FREE COPY OF MY NEW BOOK THE ROYAL DESTINY OF GOD’S ELECT. JUST SEND YOUR MAILING ADDRESS TO MY EMAIL wayneman5@hotmail.com for your free promotional copy with free shipping in the USA. If outside the USA, email me and we will see that you get a copy. Put “New Book” on the subject line. It discusses God’s purpose of reproducing Himself in us! He is Love and He has a plan to be Love Incarnate in us. And all this has royal implications for us, the over comers! Don’t miss this book. It is my love gift to God and to you.]*****

Two Major Concepts Concerning the Apostles’ Doctrine

The apostles’ doctrine builds a sure spiritual foundation in a Christian’s heart. These teachings are the “milk of the word” and are the perfect food to help us grow spiritually. In fact, we grow up as “calves of the stall,” fed with the milk of the word of God (Mal. 4: 2). This ensures that we will be ready to receive the more difficult truths to contemplate and believe. The seven general teachings that make up the apostles’ doctrine are absolutely necessary for followers of the King to grow and be strong in God.

For these teachings are the “principles of the doctrine of Christ,” the “first principles of the oracles of God” (Heb. 5: 12; 6: 1-2). And they are the only way to soldier on to full maturity in spiritual growth, which is perfection, the seventh doctrine.

The scriptures of truth are the place where we find His teachings: repentance from dead works, faith toward God, the doctrine of baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, eternal judgment, and on to perfection/maturity. The very first purpose of the Holy Scriptures is for doctrine. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect [mature], thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (II Tim. 3: 16).

Intertwined and Multi-Leveled

This doctrine that the apostles continued in are the teachings that Christ taught. In a rush to get to the “meat of the word,” people have taken them for granted because they are just milk, just so much food for children. They have ignored them in their desperate search for quick enlightenment. Yet God says that everything must be done decently and in order. Skipping to the meat of His word, without having the depth of the milk’s sustenance, leaves seekers unstable and weak, unable to “discern both good and evil.” They will inevitably fall prey to false teachings. They will fall because their foundation is not secured by a deep study of Christ’s teachings.

So as we go on deeper into His teachings, we must remember two concepts concerning them. First, the seven doctrines are intertwined. Like gold is found with silver in a vein of whitish quartz, even so teachings go side by side. Two, three, and four of them can be found in one passage of scripture. Rarely do we find them alone. As we mine the truth from the scriptures, we will see them surface in groups. For instance, you can’t have repentance from sin without faith toward God. Nor can you comprehend and apply baptism without repentance.

Second, Christ’s doctrine is multi-levelled. Each teaching has many spiritual depths. We should know this, for we are contemplating “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3: 8; Rom. 11: 33). The principle of the multi-level harvest in Matthew 13’s Parable of the Sower holds true here. For example, there is a repentance from sin and a repentance from faults. There is also repentance from old leaven false concepts about God learned before our deeper walk began. All of them are applied on a personal, national, international, and universal level. Such is the power and scope of the Kingdom of God and its King. But no matter what level we are walking in, the humility of the cross empowers our way.

We are talking about Christ’s very teachings and how they will dramatically affect lives. “And they were astonished at His doctrine, for His word was with power.” Christ’s teachings are inexhaustible, past finding out, even though we continue steadfastly in studying them. They are a deep well of the everlasting water of life. And He wants us to go after it and drink with great gusto.      Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Why Must the Righteous Suffer?

*****[BE SURE TO ORDER YOUR FREE COPY OF MY NEW BOOK THE ROYAL DESTINY OF GOD’S ELECT. JUST SEND YOUR MAILING ADDRESS TO MY EMAIL wayneman5@hotmail.com for your free promotional copy with free shipping in the USA. If outside the USA, email me and we will see that you get a copy. Put “New Book” on the subject line. It discusses God’s purpose of reproducing Himself in us! He is Love and He has a plan to be Love Incarnate in us. And all this has royal implications for us, the over comers! Don’t miss this book. It is my love gift to God and to you.]*****

For Christ our King, it is all about His kingdom, which is the new government of God that He will set up worldwide after the Great Tribulation Period ravages the earth. Right now, He has established a beach head in the hearts of His followers, and they are sprinkled to the four corners of the earth. Their hearts hold a portion of His Spirit, and He reigns there in that soft citadel.

Moreover, Christ’s followers are growing, applying His teachings, waiting for the culmination of this current world age. They are the “children of the kingdom” growing up into mature wheat, as the wicked tares grow also (Matt. 13: 24-30, 37-43). But they are growing up in a savage landscape, fraught with fear and suffering.

And so, many have often wondered, If the God of peace and love is in                       control, then why all the suffering in the earth? Why does He allow mankind to suffer through thousands of years of man-ruling-over-man? Man’s overlords have financed brutal armies clashing on blood-soaked fields next to villages and towns and grand cities razed and burned to the ground, spawning enslavement, rape, and pillage for the few survivors.

Why? Why does the great merciful Hebrew God Yahweh allow all this? Why didn’t He just create us as mild-mannered righteous beings, incapable of making mistakes, placed in a world that never posed a trial or temptation? Why all the misery?

Short Answer

To accomplish His purpose of reproducing Himself (“God is Love”), mankind would have to suffer the fires of physical and spiritual affliction to purify within himself a spirit unto honor and love and gratefulness.

Let’s just call the condition of man-governing-man over the last 6,000 years for what it is. It is sin. It doesn’t matter which man or group of men rules, they are creatures of sin, which is the breaking of the Ten Commandments (I John 3: 4). And sin is rooted in the old Adamic nature that does not love God or his neighbor.

For instance, let us take Russia’s last 200 years. The Romanov family’s empire ruled over the people, keeping them in serfdom and deprivation. There was no love there. Sinful selfishness ruled. In 1917 the Russian revolution was commandeered by the Communist Party by lying to the people, saying that it was a dictatorship of the proletariat. In reality, three per cent of the population that were Communists would brutally rule, causing starvation, genocide, and famine for tens of millions.

When old man Adam rules other men, sinful atrocities abound, created by the innate selfish nature of unregenerate man. The same holds true for all manmade governments down through history. And it will only change when the Head of State is righteous. And this righteous and just government will only be established if the righteous Head of State has a cadre of righteous administrators who will carry out the King’s plan.

The Bible paints this final scenario like this. The Son of God, Jesus/Yahshua, will come back to Jerusalem and will meet the over comers. These are the first fruits, the 100 folders, the first group of Christians that will have grown to full maturity with Christ’s Spirit fully developed within them.

Christ will send these ambassadors out into the earth to establish His Kingdom of righteousness. They will stride forth into the four corners of the earth doing the greater works that Christ promised they would do (John 14: 12). No weapon formed against them by the survivors on earth during the 1,000 year reign of Christ will prosper, for they will have been changed from mortal to immortal. Their bodies will no longer be composed of moist dust, but spirit. For at Christ’s return, they will receive a new spiritual body, immortal and imperishable. Such is the apostle’s doctrine called “the resurrection of the dead” (Isa. 54: 17; I Cor. 15: 42-57).

Christ will regather a remnant of His Lost Sheep of the House of Israel, setting up His government. And of this “government and peace there shall be no end,” and He shall “establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever.” Here we find another of the apostles’ doctrine—eternal judgment. Throughout eternity righteousness shall reign through Christ’s judgments (Isa. 9: 7).

Christ’s return and the restoration of His kingdom/government will end the present corrupt world age headed by greedy rich men who pull the strings behind the curtain of lies out there. The politicians are their puppets, doing their bidding. This evil system that chains men down in the gutters will be judged and destroyed at Christ’s coming.

By enduring the sufferings, our hearts and minds are being prepared by God to be worthy princes and princesses in His Kingdom. It takes fire to forge the sword of the Spirit within us. That is the “fellowship of His sufferings” that we endure with our King (Phil. 3: 10). For “if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him” (II Tim. 2: 12).    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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The Apostles’ Doctrine–Road Map to Perfection

*****[BE SURE TO ORDER YOUR FREE COPY OF MY NEW BOOK THE ROYAL DESTINY OF GOD’S ELECT. JUST SEND YOUR MAILING ADDRESS TO MY EMAIL wayneman5@hotmail.com for your free promotional copy with free shipping in the USA. If outside the USA, email me and we will see that you get a copy. Put “New Book” on the subject line. It discusses God’s purpose of reproducing Himself in us! He is Love and He has a plan to be Love Incarnate in us. And all this has royal implications for us, the over comers! Don’t miss this book. It is my love gift to God and to you.]*****

To become like Peter, James, Paul, and John and the rest of the early apostles, we must do what they did. Christ left us with not only Himself as our example, but also His disciples. To become like them, we must learn of their actions leading up to and after their receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

We find out their actions in the book of the Acts of the Apostles in our Bibles. We find that Christ “through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen” (Acts 1: 2). Christ appeared unto them for forty days after His resurrection, teaching them about the kingdom of God (v. 3). He commanded them to wait in Jerusalem “for the promise of the Father.” And that promise was that the Holy Spirit would come upon them and that they would receive power to be His witnesses, preaching “repentance and remission of sins” to all nations (Acts 1: 4-8; Luke 24: 44-49).

The thing to take away from the above is that Christ kept on teaching them His teachings. He kept on teaching them His doctrines–even after the resurrection, for forty days. These teachings were and are His doctrines. No idle words were coming out of Christ’s mouth. He was freshly out of the grave, back from the dark and dank tomb. He was not light hearted. He was teaching them the information that they needed to carry on His work in the earth. And His work is ruling His kingdom, and He is sharing the rulership with us!

In fact, for 1260 days, 3 ½ years, Christ taught His disciples about His kingdom. The word “kingdom” is found in the four gospels 120 times and 30 times in the apostles’ letters to the churches. Moreover, the good news is the kingdom of God coming to this earth.

This was heavy stuff that He shared with His apostles concerning His kingdom. He was going into exile, and they needed His teachings in order to carry on His true ministry. Brethren, Christ and His apostles have left us these very same teachings that He shared with His apostles! We have those doctrines. They are called the “first principles of the oracles of God” (Heb. 5: 12-13). They are also called the “principles of the doctrine of Christ,” and they are listed for us (6: 1-2).

They are called one more thing, and this is the key to understanding how the early apostles grew into God’s power houses. Christ shared with them His teachings, His doctrine. These teachings became their doctrine. Christ’s doctrine became the early apostles’ doctrine.

One Verse Contains the Key

Here’s the key: What did the early apostles do to gain godlike miracle working power? “They continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine…” (Acts 2: 42). They continued in the teachings that Christ had taught them. For the “principles of the doctrine of Christ” that the apostles walked in. For the “doctrine of Christ” is the early apostles’ doctrine! If we go “all in” on these teachings, then the same wonderful things will happen through us. If we believe the same things with the same understanding as the early apostles, then the fruit will be the same. Isn’t that what we want? Is that not the law of harvest? Christ—the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Teaching these doctrines that Christ first taught His disciples is what this book is about. The Apostles’ Doctrine is huge. It is what we need to clarify God’s purpose, which is the Multiplying of Himself. Let that person who can receive it, receive it and remain steadfast.

So they continued in Christ’s teachings. Christ’s doctrines show us the thoughts of His mind. We are to have the mind of Christ. This is the way to get there. We must learn what these teachings are and what they mean. And they are lined out in Hebrews and elucidated in all the books: “repentance from dead works, faith toward God, doctrine of baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, eternal judgement, and perfection”/maturity (6: 1-2).

Learning the apostles’ doctrine is the only way to have the mind of Christ. It is the only way to have the “one Spirit” and “one body” of Christ. It is only when we put importance on the things our King cherishes that we will walk in the light of His smile.

And there is a reason that I am stressing the importance of all this. After almost thirty years of teaching high school and college, I know when I am losing my audience. In this case, all I have to do to is mention the word “doctrine.” It is as if it emits an ether-like sleeping potion, that when poured into the ear, the hearer falls into a deep slumber. But His teachings are what the sons and daughters of God need to be like Him.

Christ’s doctrine is there for us. The sections of this book address each one of His doctrines. Just enough understanding of each doctrine will be taught so that you can parlay the information into a deeper walk in His Spirit.

Just remember this. These teachings are Christ’s doctrines and were given to His apostles. Now they are ours to the glory of God.

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Why Most Christians Need the Milk of the Word and Not the Meat

We have been talking about a few concepts considered the meat of the word in the last two or three articles. The meat of His word is the deep things of God. They are difficult to discern and comprehend by minds clogged with worldly thinking. We have seen things about the Kingdom of God and its capital city New Jerusalem, the city of God, literally coming out of heaven and setting down where Old Jerusalem now sits upon Christ’s return.

These are rare things, deep things, that only the Spirit of truth deals with and reveals to whomsoever He will. These rare things are the meat that we should be digesting and assimilating into our spirit and heart.

But most professing Christians cannot digest the meat because they do not have the “first principles of the doctrine of Christ” firmly planted in their hearts. The Spirit of God through His apostle says that because of the dullness of their hearing, he could not expound on the more glorious things of God. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 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: 11-14).

Why Professing Christians Choke on the Meat of the Word

They are dull of hearing because they do not know the “first principles of the oracles of God.” These are none other than the “principles of the doctrine of Christ,” which is the foundation of the temple of God–us (Heb. 6: 1-2). And Christ’s doctrine is the apostles’ doctrine, and it is listed in vs. 1 and 2.

The devil does not want us talking about and studying the doctrine of Christ. The devil works subtly; your eyelids will get heavy and begin to close, and your mind will wander to earthly things. It is not by accident that this happens. Satan wants to prevent us from attaining our royal destiny.

Nevertheless, God wants to take us into the deep waters where the treasures of His heart lay like gold doubloons on the bottom of the sea. In this natural world, many would train rigorously to dive for this gold if given an opportunity by the treasure hunter and his company. Many would go all in to get a cut of the massive shipwreck. But few will get serious and train to become the manifested sons and daughters of God, the future princes and princesses of God’s Kingdom.

Trouble with the Green Tree

God wants to take us there. But as was the case 2,000 years ago, the apostle cannot go into the more glorious things of God, the meat of the word. Can we blame God? If a brother still persists in putting up a green tree in his home every winter solstice, how can he expect God to trust him with the more precious, deeper truths?

Most denominations affirm that the Bible is the written word of God and that they go by it. And yet, in the plainest description in the KJV we read, “Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen…for the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not” (Jer. 10: 2-4). Come on. It’s the Christmas tree. It is a heathen custom, and it is vain to decorate it and “ooh and ah” over it. God Almighty is against it. Period. Yet, take a poll of the 2,400 sects and denominations, and the vast majority of them not only condone, but justify the green tree as part of their winter celebrations.

How can God entrust these participants in this gross error with His pearls of holy knowledge? “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you” (Matt. 7: 6). These people need the milk of the word and not the meat. They need the foundational teachings on repentance, faith, and the baptism into Christ’s death, for starters.

That is why Christ told us to forsake all things from our past—where nothing comes before His way. “Whosoever he be of you that forsakes not all that he has, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14: 26-33). That “all” includes not only material things but customs and traditions of men that one follows. Then a brother will say, “My spouse would leave me if I made a stand on these things!” If he or she loves you, they’ll come back. I know. And if they do not love you…Well,  the greatest revivals often happen when an unbelieving spirit in your midst walks out.

Christ’s Promise to Sup with Us

A few of us have been given a whiff of this savory meat of the word, causing us to hunger for more. Christ has promised to eat supper with us. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with me.” He is knocking right now on the elect’s doors. He is calling us. If we can discern His voice speaking His word and not some manmade traditions, then He will come into that door we open to Him. And then, He promises to sup with us, or to eat supper with us (Rev. 3: 20-22). Do we think that we are going to just have a glass of milk (of the word) with Him? No, He will be expounding on the meat of the word, and we will be ready to partake, or He would not have knocked and entered. Like after the crucifixion and resurrection, Christ will be “speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” to us (Acts 1: 3). Christ is promising a spiritual supper, where He in person will share with us like He shared His vision with the early apostles.

After we partake the spiritual meat with Him, having overcome the worldly traps, He then will grant that we sit with Him in His throne! This is what the Spirit is saying. “To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne…” (Rev. 3: 21).

That’s the meat! No more milk! The milk was important for our growth, but we need the meat now, not baby formula. No more baby cereal! It is on to the throne!

A throne. Wait a minute. Thrones are where kings and queens sit. Monarchs sit as the sovereign heads of governments. God will be sharing this power with a few thousand of His sons and daughters because He can trust them. After all, He has been over for supper. But can He trust you and me?     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

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