Category Archives: old leaven

June 18, 2016 · 2:52 pm

The Spirit of Truth Gives the Gift of the Word of Wisdom

We have seen that God’s eternal purpose is to reproduce Himself. He is a Spirit that is the action of Love. We have learned that He has a definite plan to accomplish His purpose. He thought the plan through and spoke it and wrote it all down in a Word. And this Word was God, the Spirit of Love. And this Word was the Logos and it was “made flesh and dwelt among us.”

And God’s plan to reproduce Himself is all contained in His Son, the Word or Logos of God, which acts as a Seed. And the Son/Seed “fell into the ground and died,” like all seeds do in the earth. And the Seed Son was resurrected out of the earth after three days and three nights. And through His act of laying down His life for others, He showed the greatest Love.

Now human beings are enlisted by their Creator to simply believe this report of His Son, and in so doing, their faith energizes that same resurrected spirit of love in their hearts. For they will have laid down their old lives as He did His, thus showing the greatest love, also. They let their old sinful selfish lives die on the cross with Christ, and by believing in His resurrection, they receive a new life powered by His Spirit.

And just like the seeds in the garden grow to bear much fruit, God’s children do grow through proper nourishment to become just like the original Seed/Son. That is His plan for reproducing Himself in a nutshell.

The Problem

Someone will say, It is simple to understand, the way you put it. Why has it been so difficult for the world to see this?

It is because of the enemy, the devil. He has “transformed himself into an angel of light” and has spread many erroneous teachings called “old leaven” by the apostles. These false teachers started their lies about Christ while the original twelve disciples still walked the earth.

They get the people worried about themselves–whether or not they are going to heaven or hell. They scare the people in the pews, “promising them liberty while they themselves are the servants of corruption.” They never speak of God’s purpose and plan to reproduce Himself, for their center is on self.

Moreover, they promise the churchgoers earthly prosperity if they give abundantly to the church organization. “Get all you can get from God,” they say. They think that’s all God has to do is bless them materially. But Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel weren’t in it for themselves. They were all about furthering what God wanted to accomplish. That is the reason  we still read of their exploits two and one half millenia later. They did not think of themselves, for they denied themselves to further God’s cause.

The Promise of His Spirit

Still God’s arms are outstreched, desiring to embrace all those who embrace Him. And we embrace Him when we cease thinking of our own petty little lives and “look to the Rock from whence we are hewn.” We do that by believing in what He believes in and helping Him to accomplish it.

To those who do this, He has promised to come to us. When we believe that the Father was in the Son, then He says that we will do “greater works than what He did.” In fact, the Son of God commanded us, “Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me.” When we keep this new commandment, then He will ask the Father to send us the Comforter, which is the Spirit of truth, which is the Spirit of Christ, which is the Father, for “God is a Spirit” (John 14: 9-20; 4: 24).

The Son of God continues, “When He ,the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16: 13). This is His promise–to not leave us alone out here, but to comfort us with truth as to what is happening on this sin sick planet. The Spirit of truth will teach us “things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 13: 35). And these “things” are the mysteries of God’s purpose and plan.

When He comes to us, the Spirit of truth will guide us into all truth by giving us gifts. The very first gift of the Spirit is the “word of wisdom” (I Cor. 12: 8). [For more on “wisdom” go here: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2011/04/13/book-yah-is-savior-the-road-to-immortality-chapter-2/ ]

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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May 21, 2016 · 4:13 pm

Knowledge of God’s Plan Reveals the Bible’s Mysteries

God says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” This is God’s knowledge that was offered to them, but was rejected by them (Hosea 4: 6).

But what knowledge exactly? It is nothing less than the knowledge of His thoughts that comprises the vision of His plan to fulfill His purpose of reproducing Himself right here on earth.

Anything biblical is part of this plan. Any biblical concept or precept like “grace” or “testimony” or “salvation” is a piece to the puzzle. “Salvation” is not God’s plan and purpose. It is an important first-step-part of His plan that God is doing, which is reproducing Himself.

The denominational churches are hung up on salvation. You go to a service in a small church. Everybody is saved in the congregation. And yet, the preacher feels compelled to have the organist play “Just As I Am” and invite the people to be saved. Why do they do this? It is because this is all they know. If they knew and believed God’s thoughts about His plan and purpose of becoming just like Him, then they would be seeking and teaching about growing up “into Christ.” They don’t know that Christ is coming back to earth the same way He left, and that He is coming to establish His government, and that the “dead in Christ” are coming with Him in new spiritual bodies.

Oh, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge!

But “whom shall He teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine?” (Isa. 28: 9). It is certainly not the pastors and preachers that are drunk on the wine of false doctrines about God. “Wine” is universally recognized to be a symbol of doctrine or teachings. God cannot teach true knowledge to those who follow and teach false doctrines about God. “They also have erred through wine…the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink…they err in vision, they stumble in judgment”  (28: 7).

The old leaven false doctrines cause Christians to “err in vision.” And as long as these are not purged out of one’s thinking, He will not be able to teach them true knowledge.

To whom then can He teach His knowledge about His plan to reproduce Himself? God will teach “them who are weaned from the milk” (28: 9). Thinking spiritually, babes in Christ need the “milk of the word.” They need the fundamental doctrines of repentance from sin and faith toward God. When these teachings, called the “milk,” are solid in their hearts, then they may move on to the meat. Spiritual “babes in Christ” are mostly alive for what they can receive of the the Father. That is the definition of a baby or small child. We need only look at the natural to see the spiritual. We are admonished to grow up and be no more babes and get into the meat of the word [For more on the “milk of the word” https://themilkoftheword.wordpress.com/ ].

Many Christians in the pews of the churches are little children. Their spiritual concerns are revealed in their prayers, which are mostly about themselves and how things affect them and their families. They rarely pray for God’s kingdom to come, populated by “many sons unto glory.” They rarely pray for God’s will to be done, that He would be “all in all,” that His glory would fill the whole earth. Most don’t pray for the “manifestation of the sons of God” to become a reality. Most prayers are burning incense, infused with the acrid fumes of self.

So, God lays it out to the people a little at a time. “For precept must be upon precept…line upon line, line upon line…here a little and there a little” (Isa. 28: 13). God in ancient times  revealed His vision to only a few men who spoon fed small bits to the people, for the time of the fulfillment of His vision was very far away . But now He is sewing these remnants of knowledge together to make a coat of many colors that will cover the sins of countless generations.

Knowledge of His vision of His plan to fulfill His purpose of reproducing Himself in the earth is the key that will unlock the mysteries of the Bible. For every precept presented therein is a part of the vision to accomplish His purpose. Once we see it, we can begin to connect the dots, for each biblical concept is a dot to be connected to the others. This knowledge of which we speak connects those dots.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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April 23, 2016 · 4:45 pm

“Walking in the Spirit”…of Truth

Simple, really, isn’t it? Understanding the plan of God. Yes, simple to comprehend once He opens our eyes and anoints them with His eye salve.

Anoints. That word is so abused in today’s Christian circles. Preachers boasting about “having the anointing” while being eaten up inside by false doctrines and concepts. It is  enough to make the angels around the throne of God weep and say, “How much longer, O Lord?”

Do they not know that the “anointing is truth”? We are anointed with the truth when the Spirit of truth comes into our lives. Question: Does someone have the “Spirit of truth, the Comforter” when they are still practicing false concepts and false teachings about God? “Truth” and “false” (I John 2: 27).

How can a Christian have the Spirit of truth and still walk in false teachings? Christ said that a good tree does not bear corrupt fruit (Luke 6: 43). We are told to “examine ourselves” and to “purge out the old leaven” of false teachings. It is only then that we will be anointed with the Spirit of truth, who will lead us into all truth.

This takes courage to start with “the man in the mirror,” and to be brutally honest with ourselves about purifying our walk with God.

The “simplicity of Christ.” We are admonished to not corrupt it (2 Cor. 11: 3). “Simplicity” is from a Greek word meaning “free from pretense” and hypocrisy; sincerity, single minded and not double minded. How can it be corrupted? Through the same deceit that Satan used to beguile Eve, the apostle Paul says (v. 4). Satan taught falsehoods about God in the Garden, and we know how that ended. Paul goes on to warn us to beware of those who preach another Jesus (Yahshua), and those who receive another spirit, and those who teach another gospel than the one that Paul taught.

The Masses and Their Teachers Are Asleep

So, how can we corrupt the simplicity of Christ? By interpreting God’s precepts using the worldly wisdom of the sleeping blind.

“For the LORD has poured out on you
The spirit of deep sleep,
And has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, namely, the seers” (Isa. 29: 10).

The religious teachers of the people today–today–are in a deep sleep and cannot see what God is doing in the earth. The blind are leading the blind, and the people, incredibly, are asking to be deceived.

“The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?” He’s talking about our time, the “latter days” (Jer. 5: 31; Jer. 23: 20).

In our day, brothers and sisters, the people will be so deceived that they will be demanding of their preachers, pastors, priests, and prophets to teach them false teachings about God and not the truth. The Spirit of Christ in Isaiah says the people will “say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits” (30: 8-10).

There is a deep sleep of deceit that covers the people, according to Isaiah and Jeremiah. And until God awakens His people out of the darkness of their first natural life, they stammer, unable to read the book that contains the vision of God. Most of the masses sincerely speak words trying to get closer to God, but they “have removed their heart far from” [Him]. They teach and learn about God, but it is taught by the precept of man (Isa. 29: 9-14).

The book that details the vision of God’s plan to carry out His purpose of reproducing Himself is sealed and closed and cannot be read without the Spirit of Truth really operating in one’s life. And to have the Spirit of God operating in one’s life, one has to “walk in the Spirit”–the Spirit of Truth. If a person is still walking in falsehoods about God and His plan, how, pray tell, can they be walking in the Spirit of Truth?

Walking in the Spirit

How do we do it? When we answer this question: “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” (Amos 3: 3). We will walk with God when our hearts agree with Him.

Before we can agree with anyone, we first must know what they are about, what they stand for, what their purpose is, what their goals and philosophy of life are, and what their thoughts are. It is the same with God. We must not only know these things about Him, but we must change our thinking to match His thoughts. That’s the difficult part.

We must have a deeper knowledge of God and His mind to be able to agree with Him.  We must change our thinking to agree with His thoughts. We must submit to Him. And when we do this, He will meet us there in that spiritual neighborhood. And He will walk with us because we went to where He is. When we repent of the false teachings and agree with His thoughts about what He is doing in the earth, then He will meet us there and will walk with us in Spirit and in truth.

And with the agreement comes the walking in the Spirit, which yields many benefits. Abraham walked with God, and he was called the “Friend of God” (James 2: 23).

Friends with God. God’s friends. That is what is ahead for us. Christ said that a mere servant does not know what  their Master is really doing. “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” (John 15: 15).

Christ’s Spirit will give us the knowledge of what the Father wants us to agree with Him on. When we agree with our whole hearts, then we will walk in the Spirit and become the friends of God.

But let us all be forewarned.  If we do not purge out the things that don’t agree with God’s thoughts and truth, then we will not be His friend. For example, what will we tell Him on Judgement Day when He asks, “What about the green tree that you have brought into your home during the winter solstice?” How would we answer? (Jer. 10).

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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February 20, 2016 · 5:51 pm

Faith He Rose Not Enough–With Him We Rose, Too

It is not enough to believe that Christ died, was buried, and rose from the dead. We must believe that our old Adamic nature died with Him, was buried with Him, and by believing in His resurrection, we too are “raised to walk in a newness of life.”[Romans 6: 4].

This is what He requires us to do. It is not difficult to believe that Christ existed and went through what the scriptures said He went through. “Even the devils believe in one God and tremble” [James 2:19]. But He is requiring His followers to go all in, to lay it all on the line, to get skin in the game. And we do that by giving up our old lives, ambitions, haunts, addictions, habits–you get the idea. He tells us to “count the cost” to see if we have the right stuff to complete the spiritual growth process He wants us to go through in order to become like Him. I’ll repeat that: to become just like Him.

We must first realize that the moment Christ expired on the cross, your sin nature and mine died along with Him. That was us dying there. He took our sins upon Him and through death eradicated them out of existence. All the sins of every human being, along with the old nature that gave rise to the sin, died when He died [Romans 6: 1-15]. This is precious knowledge that is seldom heard on Sundays around the world.

And then Christ was buried, and with Him was buried all the sins of mankind. Your sins and my sins, along with our old sinful nature that generated the evilness in the first place–they died and were buried.

And then we believe that Christ rose from the dead. But it wasn’t just Him that rose, but we rose too! He is so merciful to provide a way for us to have a new life–before our physical body goes back to dust. He rose, we rose, by believing it so. He said it; He wrote it; we are now  just to believe it.

So it is not just believing that only Christ rose from the dead. We rose with Him. But all we have are His words promising this new life if we believe the above. We must believe words that express this truth, written down by Christ’s followers almost 2,000 years ago. And that takes faith, which is believing having not seen the evidence beforehand.

The Seed Germinates

When we really believe in our own death, burial and resurrection, which happened simultaneously with His, then the light of truth ignites within our hearts. It is like when a seed is planted in the garden. The warmth of the sun combines with the moisture in the earth and then–a miracle happens.

The old seed ceases to exist in its original state. It dies, losing its old identity. Its old outward shell goes back to dust as its new inner life springs out to the light and warmth of the sun. We as God’s offspring are given birth like those garden seeds. It is a miracle.

The original spiritual Seed is the Word of God. Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith. An author writes the script. And this Author wrote the play of Life having Himself come in flesh and give Himself as a ransom for all of us. And He would be the Word of God enacted on the earth. And that Word became the Seed. And when that Word is believed by us–about Him and us as outlined above–then we become “new creatures in Christ.” We become part of the enactment of the Play. We are in it! Or rather, He is in us, enacting the love one to another, which is His nature and is an integral part of the Script.

““Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain” (John 12: 24). That wheat seed that Christ was talking about was Himself. If He does not go to the cross, then He would remain alone. But if He dies, then many more grains–just like Himself–will be produced. He would have reproduced Himself through the self-sacrifice.

The same thing is true for man. If a person chooses to not die with Christ, then he will face the  lonely, dusty tomb of death.

But if we choose His way of life, then our old sinful heart dies and we are freed from its clutches. We were slaves to sin and sinning, but we now are liberated from the slavemaster sin.

And like that seed in the garden, through belief in the word of promise that the Son/Word/Seed proclaimed, we newly sprout up with the very power of the Creator surging with life through our new being.

Sprouted Wheat Grows into Grain

We like freshly sprouted wheat are together become potential grain that the Master mills into flour which He uses to make the spiritual “bread of life.” But we must grow to full maturity till we “come to seed” and can become flour for baking that bread.

For all this to happen, we must grow from that little sprouted blade of wheat. Christ explains that the kingdom of God is like the earth that brings forth fruit of itself. A man sows the seed, and it comes up–“first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head” (Mark 4: 28).

Brothers and sisters, we are His seed; we are God’s children. And we are meant to grow. That is our destiny: to become just like Him and to be used to make the bread of life. If we are not growing into maturity, something is wrong!

To mature like this, we must “purge out the old leaven” and the false teachings that well meaning people have passed down to us. We must be ready to “dig deep” and study His word diligently and do it in the face of the opposition that will come–mostly from those of our own family and circle of friends and acquaintances.  Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

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February 6, 2016 · 6:45 pm

The Difference Between 1st and 21st Century Christianity

The difference between 1st and 21st Century Christianity is vast. The God worshiped is the same, of course. But it is a question of focus.

The central point of the early church teachings was to introduce to both the followers of Judaism and to the pagan masses the Savior and His Passion. Neither of the two audiences believed the story of the Savior and His death, burial, and resurrection upon first hearing.

In the early disciples’ writings preserved for us in the New Testament, we find the “apostles’ doctrine,” which is the teachings of Christ concerning His kingdom and our place in it. To the Jews they taught that Christ was the Messiah prophesied of old and that He is the Son of Yahweh of the Old Testament writings. To the Gentiles they taught that Christ is the true God and Savior of the whole world. They were powerful advocates with His Spirit confirming with many signs and wonders.

The Difference

The early church was starting at ground zero. Most Jews rejected the Messiah, and the pagan masses clung to their false gods. So they told them about Jesus Christ of Nazareth and His love for them. This was a message that they had not heard before.

But today it is different. Hundreds and hundreds of millions of professing Christians reside all over this planet. It’s like that commercial: Q: Did you know that Christ is the Savior of the world?  A: Yes. Everyone knows that.

Today billions of Christians don’t need to be introduced to Christ and Him dying for us. What we need to know are the spiritual intricacies of what His death, burial, and resurrection mean in our own lives and how that ties into the greater plan and purpose of God reproducing Himself–in us! We need to know how His plan and purpose will come to pass since we as Christians are smack dab in it; we are, after all “the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that fills all in all” (Eph. 1:22-23). Oh, we do need to know how to get from being puny and powerless little babes in Christ to being the “fulness of Him.” In other words, to be like Christ.

And the early apostles planted the seeds on how to get there in our spiritual growth. But man’s religious Christian leaders have been stuck in the First Century, continually teaching their flocks today about Christ, seldom mentioning how to ignite the power of the Spirit in a believer’s heart and how to grow to become part of the “manifested sons of the living God.”

Why are the pastors and priests today still preaching sermons about Christ and not about how to become like Christ? Most don’t know, for they were never taught by their mentors. And if they do find out, they become afraid of their jobs, for most are hirelings, and they did not “count the cost” to fully follow Him. They are purveyors of weak pablum, for they have not “purged out the old leaven” of hypocrisy and falseness.

And yet, the early apostles sowed seeds for our growth as Christians in the 21st Century. They told us what would thwart our attempts to grow spiritually. Yes, they gave us the timeless truths of His salvation, but they also warned us of the treacherous times to come. They warned us of the blasphemy of some in the last days who would be selfish, ungrateful, unholy, hateful, and be “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” They warned of evil seducers and how it would get worse and worse in their deceiving of Christians (II Tim. 3: 1-13). They called them “false prophets” and “false teachers” that will definitely “bring in damnable heresies” into the church congregations (2 Pet. 2; Jude 3-12).

And this is the tough one to swallow; they warned us that these deceivers would come to us as Christian pastors and teachers. Even in Paul’s day, the heresy had already begun. “False apostles and deceitful workers” were already “transforming themselves into the apostles of light. And no marvel: for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11: 13-15). I believe that many pastors today are sincere and have been deceived through the false teachings that started way back in the day.

And so these old leaven teachings are passed on down from generation to generation. That is why the deeper things are not taught. Our adversary does not want them taught; he does not desire God’s plan for His body to come to fruition. Satan does not want us to grow. He does not want us to dig deep and grow up into Him.

Some Deeper Things

We all know that through His great love for us, Christ offered up Himself on the cross unto death. However, it is not enough to believe that He died, was buried, and was raised from the dead. We must believe that our old sinful nature died with Christ on the cross. When He died, all the sins of every human being died, also. When He gave up the ghost, our old heart, old spirit, and old nature died along with Him. Then we are buried with Him, and then we are “raised to walk in a newness of life.” It is all right there in Romans 6.

“He that is dead is freed from sin.” When we truly believe in His resurrection, we are believing in our own resurrection. For at the moment of Christ’s death, He took on Himself the sin of us all. He died as a sinner. He was our scapegoat offering for sin. That was us up there on the cross. That’s why the apostle Paul tells us, “You are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God” (Col. 3: 3).

But this message is not preached very often. Not many anymore want to be told that they have to “reckon themselves dead” on the cross and let their old sinful selves die, and then by faith in Christ’s resurrection, be risen with Him (Col. 2: 12). Not a popular message. Most would rather hear about Christ dying, not them dying.

Now when we really believe this, astounding things happen. The hand that stole, steals no more. The eye that lusted and coveted no longer yearns for things it cannot have. Cursing vanishes. Joy replaces bitterness and despair. We become new creatures in Christ.

This transformation, of course, is provided by our Savior through His great love and mercy. This is wonderful, but it is only the first step in “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” But this puts us on the right track, on the way to growing up and maturing into the full grown sons and daughters of God.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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January 9, 2016 · 7:08 pm

Lord’s Prayer–“Which Art in Heaven”–He Is from Above, Not Beneath

Our Father is the God of heaven. That is a profound thought that is easily passed over. In other words, the true God is not born of the imagination of earthly man.  This is what we are to take away from the words in the Lord’s prayer, “Which art in heaven.”  There are “gods many, but for us there is only one God.”  These “gods many” are conjured up by natural unregenerated man–“cunningly devised fables,” false conceptions of Christ.

And the masses are deceived.  “Satan deceives the whole world.”  How can he do that?  “For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness” (II Cor. 11:14-15). But every “Christian minister” will tell you that they are a teacher of the truth. Just ask them. But they all cannot be right because they disagree so wildly in their doctrines. So we must ask ourselves: Who then are Satan’s ministers who speak about Christ and yet deceive the whole world with their teachings? Since there is no idle word in God, somebody is fulfilling this word right now!

Wait a minute.  Paul has just said that Satan will come as a messenger of truth and light by having priests, pastors, and preachers bringing forth sermons about Christ and His righteousness!  Satan’s ministers will be preaching about Christ in the last days.  But it will not be the true “gospel of the kingdom of heaven.”  It will be “another gospel” other than the one that the apostle Paul preached.  It will not be from heaven, but it will be from beneath.

It will be a gospel concocted by the vain imaginations of natural thinking men.  It will be based on “what God can do for you,” and not “what God can do through your vessel.”  They will claim to be His servants, but at the end, He will say, “Depart from me you workers of iniquity.  I never knew you.”  You wanted prosperity instead of Me. You wanted your spin on the end time and not My timetable.  You wanted a rapturously easy way out of the hard times ahead and not “to endure hardness as a good soldier of Christ.”

This false gospel from beneath will emanate from an “earthly, sensual, and devilish” wisdom and not from heaven above.  This false gospel will spout “in Jesus’ name” but their hearts will be far from the God of Heaven and far from His heart.

This false gospel comes in many colors and flavors.  Most people shop around until they find a church with their kind of “Jesus” in it.  Most depend on the pastor to do their studying for them.  Few dig deep and “prove all things” with the Spirit’s help. This false gospel of Jesus is not from our Father, which is in heaven.  It is not from above, but from beneath. {Note: Church is a way station only on our pilgrimage to the Holy City.  We must eventually leave the way station, grow out of it, etc.}

Our Father and His plan of reproducing Himself in His sons and daughters is from heaven, not from sinful man’s imagination of what they thought God meant.  No, our Father emanates from the finer spiritual dimension we call heaven.  He is far above the selfish, conniving imaginations of un-spiritual man trying to be religious, leaning to his own understanding.

His thoughts are not our thoughts.  “It is a heavenly vision, a heavenly faith, a heavenly destiny, a heavenly plan, a heavenly purpose, a heavenly blueprint, a heavenly way, a heavenly thought of a heavenly Father, who is above all this on earth and is in us whom He has called”   (quoted from The Unveiling of the Sons of God  https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/ebook-the-unveiling-of-the-sons-of-god/ ).

We must keep this in mind in our communication to Him because He is “Our Father, which art in heaven.”  He’s from above and not from beneath.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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September 5, 2015 · 4:43 pm

Living in the “Now”–Having the Mind of Christ

Now is the only sliver of time we have to actually live the life God wants us to live.  Right now is when we really live in the Spirit.

Yesterday is but a memory of a “now” long past, an aging “now” that was already lived. The “past” is a fruitless tree for the hungry pilgrim today.

And tomorrow is a hoped for “now.” It is a dream of what a future “now” might be. But tomorrow’s promise is empty for most, for it rarely delivers our desire of what we would have the future hold. It usually does not work out as anticipated. So when “tomorrow” finally comes, it becomes “today.” It becomes a “now’ that is disappointing, for it rarely measures up to our imaginations of what it should be.

And so today’s “now” does not satisfy individuals who ponder their pasts and futures. Their “now” becomes blah. And because their present moment is not fulfilling, their minds race yet again to the past and future.

Monitor your mind for thirty minutes, and you will see it jump to thoughts of things and situations that have already occurred or things that might occur in the future.

So there is only one thing to do. Right now we should open our eyes and see the sun’s rays reflect light off of the trembling leafy mirrors of the pear tree. We must inhale the song of the boisterous blue jay clothed in myriad shades of azure. We should listen to the bubbling of a toddler’s joy, reaching down to hold their trusting hand. In a word, we should experience our own “now” with its accompanying sights and sounds and tastes and smells and touch.

It is this “now,” which is free from the fears, frustrations, regrets, and anxieties of our pasts and futures, that is the only environment in which we may hear that “still small voice” of God. He will not try to compete with the cacophony of nonsense our thoughts portray. They will drown His voice out every time. It is only the quiet mind, listening in the “now,” that He will speak to.

For prayer is not just us speaking to God, but it is a conversation. He would like to speak a word to us, too. He wants to speak to us right now, but we can’t hear Him if we are thinking about our pasts and futures.

Radio Noise

Our minds are like a radio, receiving thought-signals constantly. If we are listening to the trivial worldly signals, our lives become a worldly broadcast. If we train our minds to block the thoughts of our pasts and futures, then we quiet our minds to live in this very moment. And it is in this very moment, that God can speak to us.

Other voices speak out of our pasts and futures. When we listen to these interior monologues, we cannot hear clearly God’s transmission to us. We cannot hear the “still small voice,” nor can we hear the “voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD (Yahweh).”

As Christians, we are to “let this mind be in you that was in Christ.” He was not thinking about our pasts and futures.” We are to “arm ourselves with the same mind” as His.

Gaining the knowledge of what was in His mind is half the battle. The other half is arming ourselves with His very thoughts about His plan and purpose, free from worldly imaginations and “old leaven.” This is putting “on the whole armor of God.” And this starts with the purging of our old thoughts and replacing them with Christ’s thoughts, which can only be added in the “now.”    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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August 22, 2015 · 8:03 pm

Exposing the Darkness of Political Correctness–God Is Not P.C.

Something there is that does not love political correctness. Something deep down in the human soul repulses attempts by our fellow man to dictate how we should feel, speak, and act. Perhaps that something is that little spiritual spark that our Creator has placed in our hearts. That tiny luminescence is intended to kindle a fire that will illuminate the path back to our Father’s heart.

Thus, that little light that He has given each person knows that in the end, we all were made for God’s purposes and not to be slaves to the whims of other men.

For in the end, that is what political correctness is–a subtle tyranny of thought control, enabled by fear. For it is fear of retribution from the herd that debilitates most. When their heads raise up in indignation at the despotic dictums foisted upon them by the P.C. police, most merely glimpse the woolly fleece in front of them and continue following, lowering their heads once again in resignation.

But “Something There Is that Does Not Love” Political Correctness

Politics is natural man governing other men. So when a small group of men dictates to the masses what to think and say, and the people acquiesce, then a quiet totalitarian regime is born, and the masses become compliant subjects to the few.

Therefore, it is an honor for me to say that I am not politically correct. For I am endeavoring to follow our Example, the Son of God. He shrank not from those who dictated “correct” thought and speech 2,000 years ago. He followed completely the spark within to its full growth cycle conclusion: the manifestation of the Son of God.

Our Example

And He is our Example, and He has shown us the way to the goal and vision of being just like Him. And He was not politically correct. He did not need for somebody to tell Him how men should think, “for He knew what was in man” (John 2: 25). He stood up and exposed the lies and deceptions of natural sinful man.

He even told the Pharisees, “You are of your father the devil” (John 8: 42-47). Hey, you hypocritical little tyrants, running around here, sitting in Moses’ seat, you stone my followers for loving their neighbor as themselves, and you bind heavy burdens on the people and never lift a finger to help them. Your father is Satan, and you are acting just like him. Satan is a serpent and you are a den of lying vipers just like him.

No, Christ was not politically correct. He told the truth and exposed the bastardized Judaic religion of His day for the hypocrisy that it was. He came against it vehemently. He is our Example. Are we doing what He did? Are we exposing the lies and falsehoods that riddle organized Christianity. Are we purging out the old leaven that puffs up the bread from heaven, the true body of Christ?

Light Versus Darkness

Almost everything Christ said was not politically correct. Take the Sermon on the Mount. He said that we are not to hide the light that He gives us, but to let it shine. Light by its nature exposes and reveals what darkness hides. Light, therefore, is much more powerful than darkness, for it dispels and finally annihilates the darkness.

Political correctness is a form of darkness, demanding its victims to remain quiet and not expose its nature. P.C. says, Don’t let the light of truth and freedom shine because it will reveal just how small and petty I am.

Oh, something there is in the human heart that does not love political correctness. Truth and Love says, Letting your light shine glorifies the Father. For He is the Light, “the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the world” (John 1: 9).

Our wonderful Savior is the Light that has shined into our hearts with His Spirit and spark of new life in Him. He has promised us freedom from the slavery and bondage of sinful man’s expectations of how we are to think and speak in their new world order.

Oh, something there is that does not love political correctness, and that something is a Someone, and He is God. And man was created by Him to be the glory of God.  Our whole purpose is to exalt our King. It is branded into our DNA.

That is why we fairly bristle at political correctness. Agents of the kingdom of darkness impose the ideals of their father upon us. It is against the divine nature that we are to exhibit, which is the righteous spiritual nature that will glorify God. P.C. is against God and His sovereignty in our lives. It totally forgets God and His word and plan and purpose, superimposing “great swelling words of man’s wisdom” in their stead.

Our modern day political correctness is just the latest version of the same spiritual sickness. It is ultimately against God and His desire for us, which is this: He wants us to be exactly like our Example. He is known by English speakers as Jesus Christ, but known by a few as Yahshua, His Hebrew name.

But then, using the name “Yahshua” may not be politically correct in some quarters. I better let Yahweh sort it all out.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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July 25, 2015 · 6:46 pm

Christian Growth–Additions to the Faith (Part Two)

Those of us who believe in the God of the Holy Bible have faith that He created the millions of galaxies and has a guiding hand in His creation. He made us and knows us and has instituted His plan and purpose for us and this earth. We have to believe that much.

Is it then a stretch for us to believe that this all-powerful Supreme Being has left us the map to find the treasures of His Spirit which is to grow up in our hearts? Christ is the truth, and now, if we are His, then His Spirit of truth is in us. Are not then the scriptures of truth, the Holy Bible, a book of written clues to help us find the treasures of His grace, mercy, and pleasure? He did say, Seek and ye shall find. So we have to believe that the Creator God is powerful enough to make sure some of His created human beings would preserve for us in our day a book that contains God’s treasure map.

For the scriptures contain for posterity the clues to the ultimate desire and longing of mortal man–immortality, eternal life, everlasting life. This is the reward Christ promised His followers.

It is all there in the Bible. Why then can’t we see clearly the clues to spiritual growth? Could it be unbelief that we can grow into having the same spiritual power as the early apostles? Like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They like Peter saw that the tomb was empty, but they just did not believe that Christ was actually raised from the dead. And that unbelief blinded them so much that they did not recognize Christ Himself when He joined them on their walk. And after Christ showed Himself to them, then they believed and “their eyes were opened.” Before, “their eyes were holden that they should not know him.” And when He opened their eyes, they said, “He opened to us the scriptures” [1].

God Is the Only One that Can Open the Scriptures to Us

It is all Him, brethren. He opens the door that no man can close. And this door is the door to understanding and enlightenment as to the spiritual growth in His Kingdom. And this door that He opens is the opening of His written word that speaks of Him, the Word, the Logos.

Why are we not walking like the early apostles? It is because we have 2,000 years of false doctrines  and false concepts about Christ super-imposed on top of the initial truth. The early apostles literally saw Christ in action. He made them to be solid in their belief, for He needed witnesses to write the clues down that we would be pondering in our era.

They had the pure doctrines of Christ after He showed Himself after the resurrection. But now we have the traditions of men. That is why we do not grow very much. The mud of man’s traditions have been smeared on the eyes of the sheep of His pasture. And now He is crying to His people, Come home to Me! Leave your old concepts about Me behind. Cut off the traditions of men from your thinking. Repent of your sins, once and for all, and return to Me, and I will show you the new and living way.

Yes, what if the clues to the mysteries of spiritual growth are clearly given to us in the scriptures, and we have but to listen with fresh ears and hungry believing hearts the new thing that God wants to teach us.

For, brethren, there is so much more than what churchianity is teaching us. Let me put this in all capital letters. I hardly ever do this, but what I am about to write is so important. IF THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUR INFORMATION ABOUT GOD IS IN ERROR, THEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH IS NOT SPEAKING THROUGH THEM TO YOU.

That is why our Savior says for us to “prove all things.” Test everything. Examine all things. All things includes also what you think to be false. Prove it out from the scriptures, asking the Spirit of truth’s guidance. Seek and you will find the answers as to what is true and what is false. Getting this right is huge, and every one must bear their own burden of proof. And remember what the apostle John wrote to us: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many  false prophets are gone out into the world.” Test the teachings, for there are many false teachers out there (I Thes. 5: 21; I John 4: 1).

Once the old leaven teachings about Christ are purged out of our minds, then we are ready to add to His faith that “was once delivered to the saints.”  For it is His faith now in us. Seven attributes of His divine nature are to be added–not to just blind faithof ours in something about Christ. But added to His faith that was delivered to us. For there is only one faith, not many (II Peter 1).

Adding more of His divine nature is what spiritual growth is all about. But we must get rid of the false concepts before the Spirit of truth, which is God Himself, will come to take up His abode in us more fully. Which is the definition of real spiritual growth [2].        Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

1. Luke 24: 13-32

2. For more on this, check out these articles: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/category/false-prophets/

[For more on the additions, check out these articles: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/category/additions-to-our-faith/ ]

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July 18, 2015 · 4:45 pm

Christian Growth–Additions to the Faith (Part One)

How does a Christian grow? What steps must be taken to “grow in grace”? What do we need to know and then to do, to spiritually progress to the growth God wants for us?

Somebody will say, Well, obviously you have to pray and read the Bible. But is that all there is to it? That’s a good start, but millions of well-meaning people have been uttering words to God and reading verses daily, and yet, they have not become mighty men and women of valor in God.

Will just praying and reading the Bible and going to church insure real spiritual growth? Millions sit in their weekly pews wanting to grow but remain stagnant and stunted like yellowed spindly  tomato plants, starving for rain and nourishment.

Stages to Our Spiritual Growth

To answer these questions, two major concepts must be understood. First, one must realize that there are stages to our spiritual growth. Christ taught these stages of spiritual growth in parables. In the parable of the sower the good ground (people with good and honest hearts) will bring forth fruit from the seed–some thirty fold, some sixty fold and some one hundred fold. In the parable of the seed cast into the ground, spiritual growth in the kingdom of God brings forth fruit, “first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear” [1].

The apostles taught us about these three stages of spiritual growth. The apostle John wrote unto “children, young men, and fathers,” detailing spiritual characteristics of each level. We must recognize this reality. If we do not understand this, then we will not know how to judge ourselves and examine ourselves [2].

Thirty fold Christians are spiritual children, starting out as babes in Christ. Paul tells us how to recognize a babe in Christ. They are “dull of hearing.” They either have forgotten the “first principles of the doctrine of Christ” or were never taught them. They have need of milk and not strong meat. They are “unskilful  in the word of righteousness.” And they do not have “their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” [3].   They cannot tell the true doctrines of Christ and the false doctrines we are warned about by Christ and all of His apostles.

I am not trying to be callously critical about these. God expects us to grow up into Him. And it takes a frank look at ourselves to see where we need to change. I love the babes in Christ and want them to grow up into Him. I am merely relating what Christ and His apostles said about this growth level. We have to know about this so that we can grow and help others to grow. For it is all about His Spirit growing up in us. I mention this to substantiate this teaching about growth levels. {For much more on this subject read the articles found here:  https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/category/spiritual-life-cycle/ ]

Most neophyte Christians are mostly alive for what they can receive from our Father. They often “ask amiss” to consume their request on their own desires for themselves. Most of the time they are asking for material things–jobs, money, houses, goods–but God already knows our earthly needs. It is the spiritual things that He is most concerned with as in “the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”

The Second Thing–Discerning Both Good and Evil

The second thing that we must exercise  in order to grow is the discernment of “both good and evil.” And to discern these, one must have knowledge of what are  the true doctrines and what are the false doctrines about Christ and His plan and eternal purpose.

To bear the same spiritual powerful fruit that the early apostles did, we must purge out the old leaven false teachings that we have learned growing up on the planet.  They must be repented of and forsaken for good. For believing false concepts about Christ is the main reason young Christians don’t grow into strong, powerful men and women of God. False doctrines will stunt our growth! But to get rid of them takes courage and a love of God, despite the blow back of the foes of our own household. The clinging to traditions of men will hinder us from growing into Him [4].

One of the most damaging faults committed by young Christians is to believe that every church that they choose to go to has what is needed to help them grow and please God. The truth is that many old leaven false teachings and false concepts are taught in the denominational churches. These would include congregations that are non-denominational and yet still teach the same traditions and doctrines.

How can one know the true from the false? Christ said that you will know them by their fruits. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, He said. If they teach things that you cannot prove in the scriptures of truth, then it is suspect. We are to prove all things. Take everything that is taught to you and ask God to help you prove it out whether it is true or false. For in the end, you and I are responsible for our own walk. We cannot blame the preacher. For the Judge will say to us, Why did you not study it out and trust Me to help you in your search for truth?

For His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. If what is taught to you is not helping you grow, ask God to lead you in your search. Ask Him for the Spirit of truth, and He will grant your request. Ask and it shall be given. Once the Spirit of truth abides in you, then He will lead you into all truth.

Hundreds of millions of professing Christians are languishing, caught up on the broad way that leads to destruction. They need proper instruction so that they may grow and not be those who hear the heart-breaking words our Savior told to them who claimed to have taught in His name and done many mighty things “serving” Him: Depart from Me; I never knew you [5].

After Getting Rid of False Doctrines

After we know about the growth levels in the Spirit, and after we begin to throw out the false concepts, what if God has provided for us the teachings to replace them–pure teachings that like strands of golden threads lying on a table, the Spirit of truth now begins to weave them into a golden chain that supports a spiritual locket that is filled with all the mysteries of God? Knowledge of the holy, knowledge fit for the offspring of the King, knowledge that unlocks growth for His future kings and queens?

For the way into the holiest is lighted once the old false teachings are removed. For the false doctrines about Christ spiritually blind us. Remember Paul, a Pharisee of the Pharisees, full of false doctrines, and how when he was enlightened on the road to Damascus, the scales fell away from His eyes? That is what we are talking about here. After the scales fell, then He could see into the pure teachings of Christ.

I believe that He wants to show us these true doctrines and teachings, truth necessary for us to really grow like the early apostles.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

1. Mark 4: 14-20, 26-29

2. I John 2: 13

3. Hebrews 5: 11-14

4. https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2015/01/31/warning-beware-of-mans-traditions-about-christ/

What Prevents Christian Growth–The Deceitfulness of Sin

5. Matt. 7: 23

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