August 18, 2018 · 5:35 pm

The Sabbath Rest in God’s Temple

We become the temple of God when the Spirit of God begins to dwell in us. Things happen, and after our initial conversion, we may not feel it sometimes. We might be going through a trial that tells our mind something that is against the truth of His word that said, You are the body of Christ, the temple of the Holy Spirit, Yah’s dwelling place.

Speaking of trials—they are for the purification of our faith. Peter says that these “fiery trials” burn out the dross of our faith, which he likens to gold. It operates in a cycle. Revelatory truth comes flooding over us, and we exult in the thrill of getting a little closer to God. But then the thrill is gone for a while. It is like low tide and high tide—ebb and flow. And then the fog lifts, and our hunger for truth returns, and we seek and then find more truth once again. We love the flow, but not the ebb.

Many young Christians are unaware that God’s plan uses this technique for our growth in Him. So, “Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you…” It is not strange at all. We should rejoice because we are “partakers of Christ’s sufferings.” These sufferings are prerequisite for ruling with Him (I Pet. 4: 12; Rom. 8: 17).

The Mind of Christ

We are the body of Christ. Why? Because He said we are. Any thought or action or word that supersedes this reality—that we now are God’s house, that He is living inside of us—is against the truth. For it is His thought that places us in Him and Him in us, not our own imagination. Christ thought it and then said it, and His apostles wrote it down. It is His word; we just believed it. And that last four words—that is the faith that He is looking for in us.

Once we believe that our old sinful heart is crucified with Christ, and once we believe that we have “been raised to walk in a newness of life” with our risen Savior, then we are agreeing with God’s thought straight from His mind. I mean straight from the glorious brain of our Creator! Such power! Such glory! And He wants to place this creative power fully in us. But to receive fully we must believe fully. There is a growth in all this.

His thoughts do not change or deviate from the Logos (Word) which comprises the Mind of God. How does God see us? He sees us not as the pathetic selfish sinners we once were, but as His dwelling place.

Through belief, we surrender to Him and His plan. When we do this, we find refuge and enter into His rest. When we believe Him and begin to live for Him and His plan and not for our little plans, then we do enter into His rest because we have ceased from our own labors for ourselves.

This rest is our Sabbath rest. Just by believing Him and walking in the Spirit, we enter into rest and keep His Sabbath. Scurrying around, wondering if we are breaking the Sabbath is not entering into His rest. To many “law keepers,” the Sabbath is treated like a petulant old rich man who demands reverence of his every whim. That is not it, folks.

When we realize that the Sabbath was “made for man and not man for the Sabbath,” then we will rest from our own old-man-Adam-works. I pondered upon these passages in Hebrews 4 for many years, and now they are being revealed. The Sabbath day is part of the Law, and the “Law is not made for a righteous man.” Besides, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes” (Rom. 10: 4).

Entering into His Rest

As we believe His word, we do enter into His rest. And His rest is His confidence and belief that the plan contained in the Seed/Word/Logos has come, is coming, and shall come to pass just like He created the “incorruptible seed, the word of God” in the beginning.

He believes in us more than we believe in Him. Or rather, He believes in His plan working itself out in our lives–even though we don’t even understand it fully as of yet.

He knows that His thoughts, which are formed into words, “will not return unto Him void, but will accomplish” what He sent them to do. And believing this solidly, God now rests and waits with great patience on us to finally believe the same thing.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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August 5, 2018 · 9:48 pm

Christ Went “All in” and Magnified the Law to Set the High Standard

Christ is not a milk toast fence-straddler. He went “all in.” He laid it all on the line, “all” seeming to be the operative word. He said that all would be fulfilled in the law (Mt. 5: 18); that all our needs would be met if we seek His kingdom and righteousness first (6: 33). He healed all that were sick (8: 16). He preached the gospel of the kingdom in all the cities (9: 35). This is just to name a few.

In fact, the word “all” appears 105 times in the book of Matthew alone. “All” appears 5,621 times in the whole Bible (https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=all&t=KJV#s=s_primary_0_75).

Christ pegs the needle as He commands us to “be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.” As a newly reborn babe in Christ, one might respond with, “Yeah, right.” Yet the Spirit commands us to do some very difficult things like “pray always” and “pray without ceasing.”

Christ Magnifies the Law

Christ taught that to be like Him, we would have to do much more and go much deeper than just what is written on the surface of the letter of the law, the Ten Commandments. More is expected of us in order to be the manifested sons and daughters of the King. We are talking about being like the Father here, the Father in human form, as in “each seed bears its own kind.” We are born of the Spirit and have the Spirit now in our hearts. Much has been given to us; therefore, much is required of us. A grave responsibility has been attached to our walk with Christ. He expects us to go all in. And He shows us what He expects from us when we do that. His expectations for us are in the Sermon of the Mount (Matt. Chapters 5-7).

Christ magnified the law in that sermon and thereby created a standard of what a full grown Christian looks like. The Greek word translated “perfection” indicates completeness of the growth cycle or maturity. Several translations have it as “maturity.”

Christ was saying that it wasn’t enough to just not murder someone. That is what the law required. But even unregenerated sinners can do that. He put it like this: “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, You shall not murder… But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.” Anger is the spiritual root cause of murder. Christ was showing that the Father’s offspring will have a heart like His, a heart of love and not anger and hostility (5: 21-22).

Christ magnified the law when He spoke of worship. It is not enough to go to a house of worship every week, faithfully paying your tithes and offerings, if your brother has something against you. He said, “First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift at the altar.” Here Christ puts agape love for each other over formal church giving (5: 23-24).

It is not enough to not commit adultery. He continues, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” There it is. It is in the heart. God looks on the heart. It is all about the heart. Many people down through history have lived a life without committing the physical act of adultery. Some can do it in their own strength for whatever reason. He shows us that it takes the Spirit of God within us to not look on a woman and secretly desire her. We see again here how Christ magnifies the law as He digs down into the heart of the matter (5: 27-28).

Moreover, Christ tells us that it is not enough to love those who love you. He elucidates, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?” And then Christ sums it all up with this command: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (5: 43-48). Grow to the point where you are spiritually mature like the Father who was in Christ and His apostles and who is now in you.

Christ Is Showing Us His Nature in Action

Christ in this sermon shows us what a fully matured Christian will look like and how they will act. In fact, He is showing us how we will be when the Father is fully formed in us. He is demonstrating how it will be when the Father has fulfilled His purpose in us. And what is His purpose? He is reproducing Himself in us. He is agape love, and He is giving us the standard of the ultimate growth in God.

The apostle Paul knew all about the Father’s purpose of multiplying and reproducing Love—Himself. He taught that we are to be “glorified together” with Christ; that we are waiting for the manifestation of the sons [and daughters] of God; that we are waiting for our redemption, which is our new spiritual immortal bodies—just like Christ’s; that “we know that all things work together for good…to them that are the called according to His purpose”; and that because of that purpose, we are “to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8: 17-33).

Setting a High Standard

Christ’s magnification of the law sets a high standard of spiritual conduct. It describes how we will be when the Spirit has grown up in us fully. This growth should be the desire of every Christian—to be like their example, to walk as He walked.

But this 100 fold growth will not come until we thoroughly know and do Christ’s teachings, which became the apostles’ doctrine. It is through His doctrine that we learn how to grow.

So we must study His teachings. I know; you thought you had finished school. So let me welcome you to the School of the Apostles and Prophets. It is only through prayerful study of His teachings that we may receive God’s approval—that He would consider us His friend and an able and valuable worker in His vineyard, and that we might not be ashamed, and that we would be spared the heartbreak of being rejected as an “unprofitable servant,” who was afraid and hid His Master’s talent in the earth… (II Tim. 2: 15; Matt. 25: 14-30).

The early prophets and apostles saw Christ’s vision and embraced it and studied it and taught it. And they wrote it down and left it for us to walk in, thereby fulfilling God’s  purpose for our day. We have a great responsibility and have much to learn. Studying the apostles’ doctrine is how we will get that knowledge. Those who go “all in” will study it all out and will come to this revelation: It is no longer I that lives but Christ that lives in me, “and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2: 20).

The first two teachings of the apostles’ doctrine are found in that quote.

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July 28, 2018 · 5:55 pm

Christ Formed in You–Making Our Calling and Election Sure

You would not be reading these words if God had not been dealing with you in many ways. You feel that there is so much more than what the churches are teaching you. Many of you have already left the denominations in search of deeper truths. When you read in these pages about how Christians can grow to be like the early apostles and even Christ Himself, you rejoice and long for this to truly permeate this earth.

That first rush of excitement and fervor upon hearing these things ignites a fire that soon burns down to embers and for some cools to ash. Two things are the fuel to keep our hearts ablaze for God.

Two major principles that we must add to our walk will help us “make our calling and election sure.” The first one is to “Get the Vision.” This is not just getting a vision for God. Nor is it “getting a leading of the Spirit” for some endeavor. No. It means “Get the Vision that God specifically has for us.

The second major principle that helps us grow up spiritually to eventually become the manifested sons and daughters of God just like the early apostles, is to obey Christ’s admonishments. He told us specific things to do in order to grow. He told us to add certain spiritual qualities to our faith, things that will help us “make our calling and election sure” (II Pet. 1: 5-11). Few know what these additions to the faith are.

He told us to “purge out the old leaven,” which are the false doctrines and teachings about God that we grew up with. Few have done this, mainly for lack of knowledge. Babes in Christ are inadvertently given tainted milk by their caregivers. We need the “sincere milk of the word” so that we can truly grow.

We are to learn and to continue “steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine,” called “the first principles of the oracles of God” (Acts 2: 42; Heb. 5: 12; 6: 1-2). The future manifested sons and daughters of God must not only know these teachings, but do them. But most Christians when asked, do not even know what they are.

We are told to have the mind of Christ and to think like He does. Yet few have explored what is really on His mind. He gave us a model prayer, called the Lord’s Prayer. Instead of analyzing each part of the prayer to mine out the jewels of communication with the Father, man has made it a ritualistic, repetitive incantation. And there are so many more things that we are to know and then do to prepare our vessels to become one of His princes and princesses in His kingdom.

Back to the Beginning

To make sure our calling and election sure, we must go back, back, back to the beginning—back before the earth and the heavens were created. We must travel back to the very heart and mind of God. To be like Him, we must think like Him. We must know His thoughts.

For His chosen ones, His elect, will know Him from the beginning. The apostle John had this intimate knowledge of the Father. He was taken to that rare dimension called “the beginning,” before anything was ever created—back to the Father’s thoughts, back to the very core of who He was and is and will always be.

As God’s manifested sons and daughters to be, we must go there. To “know Him from the beginning,” we must go back to our Father’s first thought. We must boldly go where few dare to go—into the Mind of God. He made our minds, and we use only 10% of the brainpower. So, yes, we can go back to His mind and thoughts before He created anything. We must leave behind the physical trappings of churchianity and get back to the Word that was in the beginning.

John wrote about “that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life” (I John 1: 1). That place is where we are going—back to the beginning. To be His true offspring, we must be as He was and is. We must know His thoughts, His purpose, and His plan that He had in the beginning, in order to fulfill them.

Three Growth Levels for Christians

In His first letter, John wrote to three groups of Christians, categorized according to their spiritual growth. He wrote specific messages to “children” and to “young men” and to “fathers” (2: 12-14).

To the fathers, who are the most mature Christians, he wrote, “I write unto you, fathers, because you have known Him that is from the beginning” (v. 13). You fathers are fully matured followers that know God’s secret thoughts and plans and purpose.

Those chosen by God to overcome all things and to grow unto kingship with Christ are these “fathers.” That standing is what we are called to become. That’s us, brothers and sisters.

But in order to grow to this point, we must get back to the beginning, to the original thoughts of the Father, back to His nature, His plan, and His purpose. It must be crystal clear, clean and dazzling in our hearts and minds. This is “knowing Him that is from the beginning.” This is nothing less than arriving at the Mind of Christ, for His thoughts were only His Father’s. The Spirit is now taking us there.

A Few Notes before Our Pilgrimage Back to the Father’s Heart

As we dive deeper into His wisdom and knowledge, and as we seek what we had with Him in the beginning, we will encounter main ideas and major concepts first created in the Mind of God.

These precepts are the core principles of His faith. Yes, He believed in His own genius first, long before we were created. It is His faith in His own magnificence that we later agreed with when we came to Him initially. We must remember that it is “the faith once delivered to the saints.” The one faith is His faith in His own power and glory and genius. When we begin to believe what He believes, then we have the one faith.

These divine concepts are not separated by vast oceanic mysteries, standing isolated from each other. These things are the thoughts of His mind, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and, beginning with His nature, are the essence of the agape love that He is.

All of these concepts emanating from the Mind of God blend together. Because God is one, it is difficult to speak of just one concept without mentioning others. The Oneness of God permeates all. “There is one body, and one Spirit…one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4: 3-7).

The major concepts we must learn while going back to the beginning with God are these: Love, Purpose, Thoughts/Mind,Word/Logos, Plan, Seed/Son, Planting, Harvest. All these yield The Vision that God has for the universe. When we see these concepts with spiritual eyes and believe them, then we will have seen The Vision.

When we have a working knowledge of these, we will only begin to understand the Mind of Christ. We then can begin to think His thoughts, which are the Father’s. Then we will begin to “know Him that is from the beginning.”

The next few chapters will help us get His Vision.

[This is Chapter 2 of my latest book The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. If the above intrigues you, send for your free copy with free shipping. I wrote it specifically for  you. Instead of putting my dollars in some church’s offering tray, I send books to those who are hungering for these things. Just send your mailing address to my email: wayneman5@hotmail.com  Kenneth Wayne Hancock]

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July 18, 2018 · 5:42 pm

Apostles’ Doctrine Explains How God Reproduces Himself—In Us

God is reproducing Himself. This is His eternal purpose that has been “kept secret from the foundation of the world.” He revealed His purpose to His holy apostles and prophets in the early rain era, and now He is revealing His plan to us in the latter rain era. The seven teachings of Christ that became the apostles’ doctrine explain how the Father will accomplish His purpose—in us. [For much more on this, order your free copy with free shipping of my latest book, The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. Send your snail mail address to my email wayneman5@hotmail.com  No gimmicks, no follow up, just love from above, down and through. You need this book].

Yes, His purpose is to multiply Himself. He likens the process to the law of harvest where a man plants a grain of corn in his garden. After harvesting that lone seed, hundreds of seeds—just like the original—are ready to be either eaten or replanted. Quite elementary are these teachings of Christ, and yet they are profound. Christ’s doctrine spoke of the growth cycle in nature, a metaphor of the spiritual growth that transforms natural man into the “manifestation of the sons of God.” In fact, it is through viewing nature’s “seed time and harvest” cycle that we get our first glimpse of Christ’s doctrine of “the resurrection of the dead.”

In nature, a tiny seed loses its identity by being buried in the earth, and then the resurrection power from God surges into that seed, causing it to spring to life. It is a rebirth, a classic type of life out of death. It is from this matrix that we may extrapolate the spiritual life cycle of man. It is all about life out of death.

God is Love, and He is reproducing Himself through you and me. We have seen that “the seed is the word of God.” And seeds are created by God to grow. And they grow until harvest, when His word in our hearts comes to full fruition. This is when His word is magnified, and through it He is glorified when He sees Love expressed one to another through us. Our destiny is the harvest of many sons and daughters just like Christ.

Christ’s Doctrines Explain How God Is Reproducing Himself

Using this truth as a jumping off point, we look to Christ’s doctrine that He taught His early apostles. They learned from the Chief Apostle and High Priest Yahshua. His doctrine became His apostles’ doctrine. These seven specific teachings are extremely important, for they explain how God reproduces Himself. Each one of the seven sheds light on a facet of how He produces light out of darkness. Through the apostles’ doctrine, Christ shows us how He takes the dark heart of a selfish wretch and transforms him into a shining minister of light. “Let there be light,” is the seed/word from God in Genesis. And sure enough, that scripture is fulfilled in our hearts. He earnestly wants this for us all. But, if we do not have thorough knowledge of His doctrine, then it is doubtful that He will use us to fully reproduce Himself. I.e., we will lose our opportunity to become a member of God’s first fruits, the first to have Christ fully formed in us.

It was asked, “I understand, but what if we follow this way and die before Christ returns, and Christ is still not fully formed in us?” Then we join the other apostles and prophets awaiting Christ’s return to earth. He has promised that He will resurrect His followers upon His return. Those who are alive when He returns to earth will be changed “in a twinkling of an eye.” So whether we live, we are living His plan, and whether we die, we expire having lived and worked for His plan to come to fruition.

It All Begins with the Seed

It starts with the Seed, the word of God, being planted in our hearts. The sower sows the seed by telling others about Christ’s love for us all. The Seed is the Word, and in that word is a promise of a new clean life, free from the sin that has darkened our actions toward others. When we believe in Christ’s resurrection, He energizes that very word, and like a seed, it begins to grow. Seeds grow. That is their destiny. And now that the Seed of God in the form of Christ has taken root in our hearts, we begin to grow.

But like any seed, the new spiritual man inside of us needs good soil, water and sunshine to grow to its potential. Good soil is earth that is free from contaminants. The problem with quick spiritual growth is that our new man sits in a mind that has been contaminated. What are the contaminants? Erroneous concepts concerning God’s purpose and plan and kingdom, salvation. You name it. Almost anything you have heard about God needs some straightening out. All of the apostles and prophets of the Bible warn us incessantly about false prophets, false teachers, and false pastors.

But you rarely hear a word on Sunday morning about it. The people in the pews are told to accept Jesus, go to church, pay your tithes and offerings, pray, support your local communities, and just be a better you. All of which sounds so correct and good.

Especially the last one. Be a better you. What’s wrong with that one? You may ask. Christ did not tell you to be better. He said that there was no one righteous, no not one. He said, Take up your cross and follow Me. Back in the day, that meant only one thing. You would be dying very soon on that cross. Be a better you? No. In fact, He says that “you” must spiritually die with Him in revelation on the cross, the place where your sinful nature finally expires. There is no “cleaning up your old self.” No. For He says that “our righteousness is as filthy rags.” To be better, we must submit to death on the cross and then receive His Spirit into the new heart that He gives us. Our vessel gets “better” when we are no longer there [we must decrease] and when He is growing in us [He must increase] (John 3: 30). That is the message. Everything else is just smoke and mirrors and falls woefully short of what the Master requires.

Nevertheless, “Be a better you” sounds so right to the natural man. However, we must get rid of the old concepts about Christ. The truth found in the apostles’ doctrine contains the nutrients that we need to grow spiritually into Him.

For we see that Christ is the Seed, the Word that was made flesh and that walked among us (John 1: 14). And He fell into the ground and was raised up the third day. His resurrection power now courses through our mortal flesh. “God is a Spirit,” and He now lives in us, and through Him we are raised up with Him and now walk in a brand new life (John 4: 24; Rom. 6: 4).

The early apostles stayed in Christ’s doctrine, making it their own. They continued in His teachings because they knew that they contained the secrets of sonship. Christ’s teachings explain how God will reproduce Himself in us. If we are serious about going all the way and being like the early apostles, then we must do what they did. They studied Christ’s seven doctrines and got rid of false teachings. That is the bottom line.      Kenneth Wayne Hancock

{Brothers and sisters, you made it through the 1,300 words to this short addendum, proving that you, like me, are hungry for the meat and are tired of playing church house games. The Spirit is going deeper and deeper, explaining His plan and guiding us into all truth. The above is a chapter in the new book The Apostles’ Doctrine. I am writing it to leave to you, that you would have a guidebook that will afford you comfort and instruction for the long journey to the end of this age. It is for you who desire to overcome all things and sit down with Christ on His throne. This calling of manifested sonship (and daughtership) is a rare spiritual commodity, and it takes a rare breed of cat (a Lion, perhaps) to enter through its doors into the Father’s good graces. I have great respect for the future manifested sons and daughters who will “rule and reign with Christ” right here on earth upon His return. It is my privilege to be able to share with you a little milk and meat of the word to strengthen you on your quest. Keep studying. Dig deep, for only those who do will be approved by God to do great things in the earth. Can you hear Him knocking? Can you hear His voice?}

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July 11, 2018 · 5:52 pm

The Resurrection of the Dead–The Many Levels of the Fifth Doctrine of the Apostles

When someone first hears of the “resurrection of the dead,” they think of Christ’s resurrection. And rightfully so, for without His resurrection from the dead, our faith, our preaching, and our hope of eternal life are all vain and utterly of no profit. And like Paul said, if there is no resurrection, “…we are of all men most miserable.” However, Christ is alive; He is risen, and He is our only hope of immortality (I Cor. 15: 12-19).

And yet, Christ’s doctrine, The Resurrection of the Dead, which became the apostles’ doctrine, encompasses a vast array of miraculous pulsating life, from the smallest garden seed to the new heavens and a new earth that He has promised.

Belief in His resurrection opens the door to the light of His resurrection power. Belief in Him raising from the dead after three days and three nights in the tomb—that is the seed beginning of our yearning “to know Him and the power of His resurrection.” For His power commands light to spring out of darkness, creating a new heart in us where once the darkness of selfishness dwelt.

Back to 1971

I remember when I was twenty-four, I went through a life-changing experience, and Christ’s resurrection was at the center of it all. As a child I had heard many times the story of the Savior and how He rose from the dead. I had walked the aisle at ten, being swiftly baptized into that Baptist church. But later as a teen I left the church after my parents’ divorce. I surmised then that something was terribly amiss; there was no love and peace in Big D. In my tortured teenage angst, I figured that the message the church was teaching was not strong enough to hold my parents together, so I moved on.

Yet, everyone at the church had said that I was “born again,” but booze and cigarettes and Playboy magazines became my cheap little gods. I realized later that I had never risen with Him from the state of being dead in sin. By 1971 my old nature had grabbed the steering wheel of my life and was drunkenly crashing into everything. It was then that I first heard that my old sinful nature “is crucified with Christ.”  And that I am buried with Him, and by believing in His resurrection, I, too, am raised from the dead (in sin). I was raised to “walk in a newness of life.”

I had skin in the game this time. I was presenting my body as a “living sacrifice,” trusting in the power of His resurrection to sustain me in this new sinless walk of life. I had a great teacher who told me that “he that is dead is freed from sin…and in Him is no sin.”

Powerful truth is found in His word. But, first, someone’s got to stand on the wall and proclaim it in the face of the gainsayers. And then it must be believed. It is by faith in His resurrection that the surge of new life comes into our mortal bodies.

So, I went home and tried to think upon these things. But the first thought that came piercing into my mind like a sharp arrow was this: You don’t really believe that Christ was actually raised from the dead, do you?

This thought shattered me. My existence fell like shards of glass to the floor. I felt the terror of one who was hopelessly lost, rudderless, adrift in an empty sea of nihilism.

The next day I related all this to my mentor. He told me that the voice was Satan’s and that Satan knows that belief in the resurrection is the crux of the whole matter. If he gets you to doubt the resurrection, he wins, and you lose. I have not forgotten that day so many years ago. I was blessed; I had someone who loved me and helped me to overcome the first of Satan’s assaults.

From Personal to the Universal

The early apostles continued in the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. They had the ultimate mentor, the “Author and Finisher of our faith,” Christ. He taught them that the resurrection has many levels, from the personal level on up to the universal level. Christ’s resurrection power is shown when a humble little garden seed sacrifices its identity and yields to that invisible creative power that is God, and then life bursts from that seed. Such is the word of the Spirit; such is the Seed, the Word of God, when it springs forth in our hearts.

From the personal the “resurrection of the dead” grows into a national scope. Remember how Christ was always teaching about the “lost sheep of the House of Israel”? For forty days after His resurrection, Christ taught them “the things pertaining to the kingdom of God”?  And the foremost question on their minds was this: “Lord, will you at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” The national restoration of the lost tribes of Israel was on their minds, and they continued speaking on this theme because it was one of the main doctrines of Christ (Acts 1: 3-6). This restoration of the lost tribes of Israel is a resurrection of their nation spoken by the Spirit through the “mouth of all of His holy prophets since the world began.”

The next level of the apostles’ doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is worldwide. The earth will have gone through the Great Tribulation Period; the world system will be destroyed. The earth will have gone through a devastation that the world has never seen. The earth and its inhabitants are the walking dead by the end of this horrendous seven year period. This is when God will resurrect the whole earth through the establishment of His government and kingdom.

But there is another resurrection that takes place on a galactic scale. The Spirit speaks of a planting of the heavens. “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth…And of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end…We look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness” (Isa. 51: 16; 65: 17; Dan. 2: 44; II Pet. 3: 13). God will sow His seed, planting us with life giving power to resurrect cold dead planets, translating them into the gardens of God.

This resurrection of the universe is so grand and glorious, that my small mind struggles to taste it. It brings to mind Paul’s quote of Isaiah: “But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him. But God has revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God” (I Cor. 2: 9-10).            Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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July 4, 2018 · 3:24 pm

If You Ain’t Knowin’, You Ain’t Growin’

A wise voice once spoke to me, “If you ain’t knowin’, you ain’t  growin’.”

And so later I asked myself, “Knowing what exactly?” And then a few scriptures came to me.

“Be still and know that I am God.” First, be still. Get out of the traffic of your life, slow down, and take that country road and pull over, and with a calm mind, know that He is God.

But which God, or rather which version of the God of the Bible? “What is His name?” Moses asked. “I AM THAT I AM” was God’s reply. YHWH in the Hebrew. And it was the same I AM that spoke through Christ when He said, “Before Abraham was I am.” Know that “the fullness of the godhead dwelt bodily in Christ.” “Be still and know that I am God” (Psm. 46: 10) [For much more on this subject, read Chapters 11-14 in Yah Is Savior: The Road to Immortality found here:  https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/book-yah-is-savior-the-road-to-immortality/ ].

Knowing and growing in Him. And then the much quoted passage from Christ’s lips came to mind: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8: 32). But free from what exactly? He answers that two verses later. “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.”  I.e., if you are sinning, it is because you are Sin’s slave. Sin is your master. You do Sin’s bidding. You are not free from sin. You don’t know the truth that will free you from sin and sinning (the breaking of the Ten Commandments [I John 3: 4]).

To know the truth that will free us from having to sin. What is that knowledge that will liberate mankind from sin’s slavery? HalleluYah! This is gigantic information!

“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin” (Rom. 6: 6-7). Same verses in the NIV: “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.” We have got to know that our old sinful first nature “was crucified” with Christ on the cross. It is already accomplished! The only thing that we need to do is believe it. That is all. And through believing it, we know that it is done by Him. It just takes faith/belief.

I don’t get it. This is so fundamental. Why aren’t pastors and ministers preaching this in their churches? Oh, I don’t know. Could it be that they just do not believe it? And it is not a very popular message. Hey, people, repent of your sins and die with Christ on His cross! Not real popular. Probably it will get you fired. Hirelings get fired. God’s prophets and apostles and teachers don’t. They are not in it for the salary. And so, the pastors and ministers blather platitudes about Christ and never by His Spirit speak of this knowledge.

Brothers and sisters, we’ve got to know this: God gives us His word that if we submit our old sinful selves to spiritually die with Christ on the cross, that He will free us from sin and sinning. Because “he that is dead is freed from sin.” And now we also know that being spiritually buried with Him, and being raised up with Him secures a brand new life in Him, free from the bondage to sin and its consequences. It is all laid out there in the sixth chapter of Romans. This is where the knowledge of the truth that will free us from sin is crystallized.

Of course, there are many passages of scripture that deal with knowing. But I will close with one that seems to fit nicely here, again from Christ’s lips: “If you know these things, happy are you if you do them” (John 13: 17). And we are growing when we do Christ’s things. Knowing and doing equals growing. “If you ain’t knowin’ you ain’t growin’.”       Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[Order your free copy of any of my books—free with free shipping in the USA. Just email me your snail mail address, mentioning which book—the latest being The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect.  wayneman5@hotmail.com ]

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June 21, 2018 · 9:52 pm

Four Major Concepts Illuminating God’s Plan for the Jews Today

One of my readers asked some very important questions concerning the Jews and their place today on the world stage. He asked, “So Jews no longer exist in the OT sense as world history? Does the evolution of God’s Plan through Jews no longer exist.”

Discussing anything about Jewish people is a touchy subject. I want to say up front that I love all peoples of the world. That is what I am told to do by our Master Christ. I am a student of history and so I will limit my answers to sharing historical facts and the Holy Scriptures. Most theologians do not believe nor teach the following things in their seminaries. Because of this, trying to understand anything about the Jews is like untangling a skein of yarn that has many loose ends.

To answer these cogent questions, we must clarify just what the word “Jew” means. Most people think that any descendant of the Hebrew patriarchs is a Jew, which they are not. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel were never called Jews in the Bible. Jacob had a son named Judah, and it is through him much later that his offspring began to be called “Jews” (II Kings 16: 6, c. 740 B.C.). “Jew” is to “Judea” as “Texan” is to “Texas.” Actually, “Jew” is another word for a “Judean.” Judea was the promised land that the descendants of Judah inherited upon entering.

So, to gain understanding that will answer the questions, four major concepts must first be clarified.

First, many peoples down through history have converted to Judaism. About 85% of Jews today do not descend from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, according to Arthur Koestler in his book The Thirteenth Tribe. That may be a jarring statement for some, but it is true. Many Jews today claim that they descend from the Hebrew patriarchs, but the vast majority of Jews today are descendants of ancestors who converted to Judaism. History confirms this. The whole nation of Khazaria, a Turko-Mongol tribe in southern Russia during the Middle Ages, converted en masse to Judaism.

Furthermore, the Edomites, the offspring of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob, were  converted to Judaism in 125 B.C. under the Judean king John Hyrcanus (“Edom,” Wikipedia). The Jewish Ency. backs this up saying that “Esau is in modern Jewry.”

This knowledge has profound prophetical importance for the last days. The man Esau in the Bible hated his brother Jacob and terrorized him throughout their lives. Consequently, Yahweh declared, “I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste” (Mal. 1: 2-3; Ezk. 35: 1-15). Moreover, the whole book of Obadiah speaks of the complete destruction of Esau and his descendants. We read of this destruction during the time of the end in Revelation 18. Again, Yahweh is doing the hating here; He told me to love all people, and He told me to above all love the truth.

Esau’s descendants converted to Judaism in 125 B.C. By the time Christ appeared on the scene, they had taken over the power positions of high priest and headed the major religious factions, the Pharisees and Sadducees. Even Herod the king was Idumean or Edomite. Understanding this major point explains why Christ exposed them for masquerading around as the true offspring of Judah. Christ told the Pharisees, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do…He that is of God hears God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God” (John 8: 44, 47). Christ later references those who “say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2: 9; 3: 9). This is some heavy stuff that our Savior was saying. It is left to each of His followers to connect the dots.

Second, the true Jews are the offspring of Judah and Benjamin (with some Levites).  Today they are the 15% of the total Jewish population. The apostle Paul was a true Jew of the tribe of Benjamin. Because they lived in Judea, they were called Jews, short for Judeans.

Descendants of Judah and Benjamin are definitely in the earth today. Biblical prophecy mentions their important appearance in the latter days. Of the 144,000 servants that the angels seal in Revelation 7, 12,000 are of Judah, and 12,000 are of Benjamin, and 12,000 are of Levi.

Third, Judaism of today is not the religion that Moses introduced to the twelve tribes of Israel. Judaism today is based on the Talmud. The Talmud is “the collection of Jewish law and tradition consisting of the Mishnah and the Gemara and being either the edition produced in Palestine a.d. c400 or the larger, more important one produced in Babylonia a.d. c500” (“Talmud,” Dictionary.com). The Talmud contains some very anti-Christian rhetoric, denying our Savior’s divinity. Many of its claims are blasphemous, according to Christian theology, and I will not quote them here. You need to do your own research; many will be shocked and dismayed. Most of the tenets of Judaism is based on the Talmud and not the Old Testament of the Bible.

Fourth, the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel are in the earth today, and they are not Jews. They are Israelites, descendants of the ten tribes of Israel that made up the Kingdom of Israel when the twelve tribes broke into two separate kingdoms (I Kings 12).

700 plus years after their dispersion, Christ said, “I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the House of Israel” (Matt. 15: 24). Paul mentions them, saying that they were “serving God day and night” (Acts 26: 7). The book of James is written “to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (1: 1). If you and I are not one of the twelve tribes, then we are reading someone else’s mail when we read the book of James.

The Lost Tribes of Israel are lost as to who they are in God, but God has a plan to restore them to Himself, as in the parable of the dry bones (Ezk. 37: 11). This is the “whole house of Israel” not just the two tribes of the Jews. The same goes for the future joining of the House of Israel and the House of Judah, the two sticks (Ezk. 37: 16-28). Here we see that the Jews of the House of Judah are not the Israelites of the ten-tribed House of Israel.

Proof that the Lost Tribes are in the earth today, we go back to Revelation 7. We see that the tribes that are sealed in the future include the “lost sheep of the House of Israel.” They are mentioned by name by the heavenly angel that spoke to John.

Finally, defining clearly all of these historical terms—Jews, Israelites, Lost Tribes of Israel, Hebrews—is paramount in understanding “the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter” (Rev. 1: 19). The past is the crystal ball illuminating the present and the future.

Jewish people today do have a prominent role to play for the end time. The problem is that the truth as to their identity has not been taught. Confusion reigns, and we know where that comes from.  Furthermore, the Jews are not the only players. The ten tribes of Israel are in prophecy to be restored back to God (Rom. 11: 1-1-6), too. And don’t forget all the nations of the world.

Knowing the truth about the House of Judah and the House of Israel—that they are not the same–is important to understand God’s plan. The elect of God, who will become the 100 fold fruit bearers, will unravel this puzzling ball of yarn.      Kenneth Wayne Hancock

{I recommend that readers unfamiliar with these things look them up and prove them whether they be right or not. Some will be offended because the above does not agree with what they have been taught…Send for my latest book, The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect, which is free with free postage to all who ask. In the USA, just send your mailing address to my email: wayneman5@hotmail.com and I will send it on to you. Chapter 42 has much more on the above.}

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June 14, 2018 · 9:44 pm

The Hidden Manna Versus Yesterday’s Manna

Yesterday’s manna will not feed the hunger of today’s sons and daughters of God. Yesterday’s manna will not sustain them on their spiritual quest to be like Paul, Peter, James, John and—yes, like the Son of God Himself. Yesterday’s bread from heaven that was given hundreds of years ago to the churches will not strengthen the future manifested sons and daughters of God. They have a higher calling than to just receive salvation. They are pressing “toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus/Yahshua” (Phil. 3: 14).

Yesterday’s manna was the perfect food for those who had never heard of Christ back in the early days. Tell them the story of how He died for them. Introduce them to Christ; tell them about His great love for them. Tell them about salvation through faith in Christ. But now God has a people, a chosen remnant, who have heard this story since childhood, and they need something more than an incessant introduction to Christ. They need the meat of the word to satisfy their spiritual growing pains. They need Him, the truth. They need the hidden manna in the form of His full purpose and plan to fulfill it.

His Purpose Is the Bread of God that Is Hidden

But what is the end product of God’s purpose for these who have the “high calling”?  They are  “the called according to His purpose.” They are being called right now to be used by the King to fulfill His purpose. “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son…” (Rom. 8: 28-29).

We see here that God knew these before. Look. He is the Creator—omni-everything, “knowing the end from the beginning.” Of course, He knew beforehand what they would become, much like a novelist creates characters and knows their destinies before the book is published. Furthermore, He gave us a destiny before we were ever born into the human mire.

We have a forerunner and an example. Speaking to Jeremiah, God said, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jer. 1: 5). Somebody is saying, “Well, that was Jeremiah. He was a great personage of God, and I’m just little old insignificant me sitting here…” But that is not how God looks at us. God knew us before we were born; He has given us a destiny before we came to earth. And what is that destiny? “To be conformed to the image of His Son”!

To be like Christ! That is God’s purpose: to reproduce Himself in a body of many sons and daughters through Christ. Christ formed in us! Now before that last line slips unnoticed back into the ether, remember what Christ said, “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19: 26).

God foreknew us and gave us this destiny before we were born. That’s why He called us with this high calling. Then He justifies us (gets the sin out of our lives—first step). Then He glorifies us (become like Christ—full reproduction of God in our vessels) (Rom. 8: 30). We are His elect, His chosen ones. And He will “freely give us all things” in order for His purpose to be accomplished (8: 32).

Becoming like Christ–this truth came from heaven. It is the heavenly manna that is hidden from the masses because of their hard heart of unbelief. Believing this manna is spiritually eating it.

When we cease striving to make our own selfish desires a reality—even in our church and worship–and when we embrace God’s purpose and walk in it, the struggles in life subside. We see clearly now that He is for us, that He is helping us do what He has purposed us to do. By faith in His Spirit coming down into us, He takes over and the love, joy and peace flows. And we no longer feel like it is us having to powerlessly fight everything out there. Frustration evaporates. Things become easier because we begin to realize that “it is no longer I that lives, but Christ that lives in me.” Victory is ours. He has our back because we have His.

The Daily Bread

What do we do right now to get His plan moving in us?  He said to pray that God “give us this day our daily bread.” We are to pray for the spiritual bread from heaven, the spiritual manna that this day and time requires. Right now we need our daily bread, and if we cry out to him for the bread from heaven for our day, will He give us a stone? You know He won’t.

We need the bread of heaven for today, not the doctrines of yesterday that have been tampered with. Yesterday’s manna is full of additives–false doctrines and traditions. It has become another gospel, one that is about Christ and not what He actually taught. It is like the manna in Moses’ day. It physically fed the children of Israel in the wilderness, but it was only good for the day it was collected. It went bad if they tried to eat it at a later date. Yesterday’s manna will not nourish us today. It has gone bad. It has been mixed with pagan motifs and false conceptions and imaginations.

But the true bread from heaven is the Son of God. He is the “hidden manna,” and in Him are His  purpose, plan, thoughts, and desires, which if a man eat, if a man ingest, if a man believe—he will live forever (John 6: 58).

The bread from heaven is hidden from natural eyes; it is the Spirit of Truth that “guides us into all truth.” And the truth is a deep pool that contains one special “pearl of great price” bidding us to swim into the depths until we find it.

Yesterday’s manna cannot help us to grow strong for the end times. Only today’s bread from heaven will suffice us and strengthen us for the arduous quest we are on. Be strong, you mighty men and women of valor!     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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June 9, 2018 · 4:45 pm

Eating the Hidden Manna

Christ makes an exciting promise to His followers who overcome a specific shortcoming that is hindering their spiritual growth. “To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna” (Rev. 2: 14).

“Manna” appears throughout the scriptures. Manna first fell from heaven miraculously for the children of Israel in the wilderness. They called it “What is it?” because it had never happened before. They also called it the “bread from heaven.”

Christ said that the original manna was not the true bread from heaven. “The bread of God is He which comes down from heaven and gives life unto the world…I am the bread of life: he that comes to Me shall never hunger, and he that believes on Me shall never thirst” (John 6: 30-35). The manna in the wilderness was physical; the heavenly manna is spiritual.

“The Jews murmured at Him” in unbelief. The true bread from heaven was staring them in the face, and they could not see Him. The True Manna was hidden from them. For, you see, the Son of God is the “hidden manna.” He is hidden from those whose eyes only see the outward appearance. Because “seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear neither do they understand” (Matt. 13: 13). Unless God opens a person’s eyes, they will be blind to spiritual things—even though they read the same Bible and go to the same church house. Few realize that He fulfilled this scripture: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.” (Matt. 13: 35 NIV; “kept secret” in KJV).

Christ the Hidden Manna

Brothers and sisters, we are talking about the secrets of the universe being revealed! It is there for us. He has laid it all out. Christ is the hidden manna. But, What is it? The true manna from heaven consists of His purpose, His plan, His thoughts, and His dreams about His kingdom of love and joy and peace. The hidden manna is hidden only to those who cannot see. But those born from above do see and enter into His kingdom and governance (John 3: 3-6).

Christ wants to share it all with us. He wants us to eat the true bread from heaven, which is Himself. But how do we partake of the bread of life? Man’s wisdom cannot teach us these things. Man’s wisdom only sees the physical, such as the magical mystical tour of   transubstantiation. “No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden…None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” [And who are the “rulers of this age” that crucified Christ? Obviously Rome, the 4th beast world empire, and those “which say they are Judean, of Judah, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2: 9; 3: 9]. Do not trust these two rulers of this age to guide you spiritually. This is part of the overcoming.

Conversely, the “hidden wisdom” looks after the Spirit and teaches us to spiritually ingest His purpose, plan, words, thoughts, teachings, commands, doctrines, and desires. And we partake of them by believing them, which is believing Him. We take His words into our thoughts, and make our thoughts His thoughts. This is having the mind of Christ (Phil. 2: 5). It’s not a physical thing; it is spiritual. He said, “The words I speak, they are spirit and they are life.” When we believe His words and think His thoughts, then we walk in His Spirit of life; we walk as a member of His body. Christ is still asking us, “Believest thou this?” (John 11: 26).

The Overcoming

To eat of the hidden manna, one must overcome a “few things” that Christ has against us. When Christ appeared to the apostle John on the island of Patmos around 96 A.D., He laid out a series of spiritual growth expectations for His body of believers, both on a personal and corporate scale. “The Alpha and Omega” spoke to John and told him to write down these things that have happened, is happening, and will happen in the past, the present and the future (Rev. 1: 19). In chapters two and three, we see the Seven Church Ages and their requirements for each level of spiritual growth.

Whole books are needed to expound fully their content, but let us glimpse at the third one–Pergamos. Christ is speaking to individuals, church bodies, and historical church movements in His words to the overcomers. He always acknowledges the good that we have done. Then He tells us the things we are to overcome in order to grow to the next level. If we repent of that thing, then He rewards us with a spiritual truth that helps us reach the next level. And so on through the seven ages of growth.

In Pergamos Christ appreciates the walk thus far, but…“I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality…Repent…” (Rev. 2: 12-17).

Background: God in the Old Testament had human beings physically live out a life that He directed. Their physical actions in ancient times serve as types, shadows, and examples. Their actions are a spiritual template for us during the “time of the end.” In short, the false prophet Balaam was hired by the Moabite king Balak to curse the children of Israel. He could not curse what Yahweh had blessed, so Balaam taught Balak to bring on the beautiful Moabite women to seduce the Israelites to go after their false gods.

The Pergamos Overcomings for Us Today

We must overcome through repentance these things in the Pergamos growth level:

  1. Eating food sacrificed to idols. The original OT story has Israelites eating physical food that had been roasted in sacrifice to literal gods of stone and wood. Interesting. They ate food tainted by a false doctrine of worshipping idols. Spiritual application for today: Repent of false doctrines in our worship of the true God. Do not ingest false teachings about Christ. We must repent of the old leaven, the false teachings of churchianity.
  2. They literally “committed sexual immorality” with the Moabite women. To be blunt, they committed fornication with the whorish Moabite women. You may ask, How can this apply to us? The answer is found later in Revelation 17. We see “the judgement of the great whore that sits on many waters: with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication” (v. 1-2). She was richly arrayed and on her forehead was this name written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH…And the woman which you saw is that great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.” We know that city is Rome, whose pope crowned emperors and kings. Even the notes in the Catholic bible say that it describes Rome.

God is warning us and requiring us to repent of the false doctrines taught by the great whore, the Roman Church and her daughters. And we must “come out of her” and not  be in fellowship with others who are saturated with false teachings.

Those who repent and purge out the old false doctrines about Christ will receive a reward. The Spirit is saying this to the churches: To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone” (Rev. 2: 17).

In Summary

Christ is the hidden manna, the bread of life. The word “Christ” means the Anointed One. The Anointing is truth. Therefore, the Anointing is the Spirit of truth. Consequently, the Hidden Manna = the Spirit of Truth. And when the Spirit of Truth comes into your life, “He will guide you into all truth…for He will show you things to come” (John 16: 13).

As we eat the hidden manna, we will find that it tastes very sweet like honey at first, but afterward, it will grow bitter in the belly. The first flush of love, joy and peace is sweet, but as we grow closer to the day of the Lord’s vengeance, the bitter misery of tribulation fills the air.

But right now, let us eat of the hidden manna that He has given us.  Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[Order your free copy with free shipping to the USA my new book THE ROYAL DESTINY OF GOD’S ELECT. Just send your mailing address to wayneman5@hotmail.com]

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June 2, 2018 · 8:40 pm

Christian Growth Is Stunted by False Teachings

Growth. That’s what every living thing needs—especially Christians. To grow spiritually, we need clean spiritual food and water.

But Christians are being fed false food and fetid water, if we are to believe the apostle Peter: “There will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies.” And “many shall follow their destructive ways…In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories” (II Pet. 2: 1-3). Who are these false preachers? It is important to know, for many Christians are following them.

The apostle Jude warns us of them, also. “For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people”(v. 4). They secretly slither in to the congregation, sharing their tainted teachings. The apostle Paul warns us that in the latter days, many will leave the true faith and will be deceived by “seducing spirits and doctrines of devils” (I Tim. 4: 1). In our time false teachers in sheep’s clothing are teaching doctrines about Christ that are straight from Satan. And these are so-called “Christian” teachers, preachers, pastors, evangelists, priests, and prophets!

Sadly, “many” are following these false teachings about Christ and what He is doing here on the earth. The word of God says that many are being fed false spiritual food and are being deceived.  Where are “the many” today? The lambs and sheep of God have been herded into corrals with names like Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Charismatic, et al. Funny thing. The vast majority of these denominations believe that they are just about the only ones with the truth.

Hundreds of millions meet together. But Christ said to be careful not to follow the masses. He commands us to “enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Mt. 7: 13-14).

Most just read over these words, never taking the time to let them sink way down into their hearts. The “wide” and “broad” way is the easy way. The wide, easy way has you to just “accept Christ as your personal Savior,” be baptized, and you are good to go. Conversely, the narrow gate is the cross experience where we place our old sinful selfish heart on the cross with Christ and let it die with Him. Then by believing in His resurrection, we receive His Spirit that raises us up to walk in a “newness of life.” Few get this deep, for they are seduced by false teachings about salvation. And until the day that my lips and fingertips fall silent, I will continue to testify for Christ, whose truth has translated me from darkness to light (Rom. 6).

Why Do We Hold on to the False Doctrines?

How do human beings get stuck in the mire of false teachings? First, no one’s pride encourages them to admit they were wrong. And there is a tendency in human nature to cling to the traditions taught them by their elders. However, going through the “cross experience” cures all this. For when we “die” spiritually with Christ on the cross, we abdicate our own will and desire and fling ourselves into His embrace. We, like a babe in arms, trust Him to care for us. We have faith in Another who is much wiser than we are. And we believe that He will raise us up and give us of His Spirit to lead us and guide us through this new spiritual landscape. This is being “born again” or “born from above.” And thereby the sin nature is gone. And He gives us the Spirit of Truth that “leads us into all truth.” It is His Spirit now within us that helps us know what is false and what is true.

This “cross experience” is there for all of us, whether we came to Christ yesterday or forty years ago. This experience is the narrow gate that allows us to enter into His kingdom. Without it, we cannot see nor enter the kingdom of God (John 3: 3-6).

So dig deep. If gigantic waves of people are following a certain teaching, it is probably a false doctrine. The cross is the starting point for Christian growth. If a person is still breaking the Ten Commandments, then how are they growing spiritually in Christ? Just remember: With God all things are possible—even to be free from sin and sinning.

False teachings are bad food for the flock of God, which stunts their growth. The true doctrine of Christ is a portion of the “hidden manna” that Christ promised to those of us who purge out the “doctrine of Balaam” (Rev. 2: 14). This spiritual bread from heaven is hidden from those who have not entered the kingdom of heaven. But it is being revealed to you and me. It has long been hidden and “kept secret from the foundation of the world” (Mt. 13: 35).

[Be sure to order my new book The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. It discusses these things and will be a help to you and your spiritual growth. It is free with free shipping. Just send your mailing address to my email, and I will get it right out to you. wayneman5@hotmail.com ]

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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