March 27, 2016 · 6:30 pm

36 Hours from Good Friday to Easter Morning–Not 3 Days and 3 Nights

Millions today have gone to sunrise and Easter services and have reverently endeavored to commemorate the Resurrection of the Son of God. Millions have observed Good Friday, also, and they will feel assured that their efforts are pleasing to the Most High God.

However, very few are aware that this 36 hour time frame comes up about 36 hours short of the only sign that God has given us as to who is the true Messiah. When the Pharisees demanded a sign from Christ, He said, “There shall no sign be given…but the sign of the prophet Jonah: for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12: 40-41).

Some will say, So what is your point?  Tomayto, tomahto. 36 hours, 72 hours. No big deal, right? Perhaps if it were not the only sign that we have of the true Messiah. For there were and are many “messiahs” out there, as there are many concepts of the Messiah. Perhaps, it would not be a big deal if the prophecies had declared that the Messiah would rise from the dead somewhere between one and three days after the crucifixion. But they did not.

How Did This Happen?

Something is off somewhere. We need to dig into it. After all, aren’t we told by our very own Savior and Teacher to dig deep and build our house upon the rock. We must go deep, for if we just build our spiritual house on the earth and not dig down to the rock, our  house will not stand the floods of trials that will come, and great will be our ruin (Luke 6: 48-49).

How did this one and one half day gap come down to us in the 21st century? The same way we found out when  to observe Good Friday through Easter services. Somebody told us that those were the days to worship. Our parents said to us, Let’s get dressed up and go to church. It’s Easter! And, of course, we did not question it just like they did not question the pastor, preacher, or priest when they put out the call to worship on those days.

For all ministers were once  children who were told about this Easter weekend. And so, on and on it goes, back, back, back through the centuries to the days of the early church, to the time when somebody in power instituted these dates. And the vast majority, perhaps 99% of Christians have never pondered these things, nor the importance of them.

And so we must ask, Are the times for the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ  important to God? We know the current set up is important to the church organizations and the merchants who sell their candy bunnies and eggs and Easter bonnets, et al (That’s a whole other can of worms you can open and dig into by googling “Easter bunnies or Easter eggs”).

Is all this important to God for His people? We need only remember that He is holy and wants us to be holy and set apart for Him, that He is jealous, that He wants His people walking in the truth, that He does everything decently and in order and will not allow any strange incense on His altar, incense being a symbol of our prayers to Him.

To those who minimize the importance and inadvertently quote a current candidate for President by saying, “What difference does it really make? We are celebrating the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ”–I would say this: Would the following scenario be important to you?

You have gone to great expense to plan a wonderful three day vacation, 72 hours of family fun in the sun. You have purchased all the food and refreshments and paid in advance for the beach house rental with all the extras. You love your parents and siblings and their families, and this is your way of showing your love for them.

Every thing is paid for and provided beginning from Thursday at noon to Sunday at noon. So what happens? No one shows up until late Friday afternoon. You can’t believe it. You ask them, Why? And they say, We just thought this would be a better time. We’re here, so what is the problem?

You just shake your head and say, The problem is that I sent you all invitations with the dates and times clearly stated, and you led me to believe that it was all settled, but now….

You fill in the rest. I dare say that it would make a big difference. I think that it makes a big difference to God, as well.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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March 19, 2016 · 4:39 pm

THE ROYAL DESTINY OF GOD’S ELECT–“Introduction” of the New Book

A book’s title should reveal what that book entails. It should contain a mini-thesis of what will be proven. The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect gives evidence that God will fulfill His eternal purpose by choosing certain individuals for His specific purposes of governance.

Everyone knows that He has set in His church, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers for His specific purposes (Eph. 4: 11). He does this. Those whom He has chosen respond, fulfilling a destiny foreordained by their Creator.

This destiny has royal implications. Moreover, this destiny of His elect involves the greatest transformation imaginable, one that will take human beings from the muddy chains of sinful depravity to the throne room of the King of kings Himself. For the elect of God will be changed from a slave-to-sin to a righteous king made in the image of their Father.

There is no greater calling in the universe. This is the ultimate: to be like Christ in every way. Or better put: to have Christ formed in you (Gal. 4: 19). For Christ will invite the elect to sit down with Him on His throne and to be His viceroys and ambassadors. Their rule will extend to the furthest reaches of the earth. For all nations will flow into the kingdom of God–literally.

The pages of this book endeavor to prove the thesis contained in its title. It is with fervent hope that these pages will inspire the elect to fulfill their calling and election. May this book inspire all of us Christians to help these future kings fulfill God’s plan and purpose.

The Vision

The Spirit through the prophet Habakkuk admonishes to write the vision down so that those who read it may run. We are running in a race to win Christ, that Christ would be formed in us (Hab. 2.2; I Cor. 9: 24; Heb. 12: 1; Phil. 3; 8-14). We are on the clock; it is a timed event.

The vision is what God has purposed and revealed to His prophets and apostles in the written word of God. It is what God will accomplish on this earth in the near future. These pages share a small portion of that vision He has shared with me in hopes that God’s people cross the finish line. All of God’s children have a portion of His Spirit, and with His help, we will see the wonderful things He will do in these latter days.

NOTE: Some readers will become upset at the idea of these “super-Christians” coming on the scene. They will think that I am saying that God is an elitist and partial to a few. God is fair, but He can and will do as He pleases with us His creation. He is sovereign, after all. The scriptures of truth speak in depth about different spiritual growth levels of Christians (Matt. 13; I John 2: 12-14). They speak of “babes in Christ” all the way up to apostles and prophets. It is all about the growth of the Spirit within us.

So, yes, He is fair and impartial. He offers salvation from sin to everyone in the earth. He rains on the just and the unjust. Everyone has a chance to become a citizen of His kingdom.

It is like being a natural born citizen and a naturalized citizen of these United States. We can all enjoy our citizenship with the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But just as every citizen cannot become a medical doctor or astronaut or professional athlete or President, even so in God’s kingdom He will grant governmental appointments to certain of His followers.

They will be spiritually educated in His true ways. They will have studied to “show themselves approved unto God.” Our exiled King will fill these appointments with those like the five wise virgins, who had oil in their lamps and were ready when the bridegroom came at midnight. They were chosen by Him because they were ready for service;the five foolish virgins were not ready. They were all virgins, all His followers, but only five who had oil were invited on into His inner sanctum (Matt. 25: 1-13).

Simply put, if we want to be one of these overcomers that sit with Christ on His throne, then we must educate ourselves and prepare ourselves to “make our calling and election sure”(Rev. 3: 21; II Pet. 1: 10). It is my hope that this volume will help all those who have chosen to run the race.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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March 3, 2016 · 8:26 pm

In the Beginning Was the Seed, the Word

Faith is likened to a small seed that germinates and grows into a large tree. Because the words “faith” and “belief” come from the same Greek word, we see then, that “belief” is like a seed (Matt. 13: 31).

Belief can only happen when the thing to be believed is put into words. “In the beginning was the Word,” the Logos. God formulated and then spoke words in the beginning outlining just what His eternal purpose and plan entailed. This is the Logos; this is the Thought-of-God. This is the Mind of God, and these words detailing His plan in all phases is the Word. And this Word, expressed in words and actions is what is believed.

These words of God include His promise to His people, who are the human beings that He created for His pleasure. The Word is the Son of God, who is the Seed, who first fell into the ground and died and then was raised up 72 hours later (John 12: 24).

The Son of God is the living Word. He is the embodiment of the Plan and Purpose that was created as thought in the mind of God and later written and spoken millennia ago. He is the “express image of the invisible God, the Father, His Father, and our Father.

When We Believe

When we really believe the words of the Word, who is the Logos, then that Seed, which is the Word, germinates in our hearts. It springs forth in our inner spirit and in our heart, and this belief of the Truth/Word/Seed engenders a light that is switched on in us.

Through believing, we at once become one with the Author and Writer of the Play. We find ourselves on the same page with our Creator, who is the Word, and the Word is comprised of a detailed description of what the Son of God has done, is doing, and shall do in the future.

When we believe the words of the Logos, the Word, we cease fr0m our own works for our own little selves and rest in Him. We are not fighting against the truth anymore; we are engendered by the words of truth about Him and His Plan, and we are begotten from above. The Word through His words about Himself and us–that Word begets us with that creative power that was in the beginning. By believing the Word’s words, we are “born again,” which in the Greek means “born from above,” or engendered from heaven or born from the beginning. It is only in this state or spiritual transformation that we can “see” and “enter” the kingdom of heaven, which is the environment of His Plan.

The Seed Reproducing Himself

The word of God is the incorruptible seed (I Pet. 1: 23). “Logos” means “Word” in Greek. So, the Logos = the Son = the Seed = the Word = the Eternal Plan and Purpose = God Reproducing Himself. That is His Plan. Always has been.

If there are any doubts about this, we need to ask ourselves one question: What is a seed for, except to reproduce itself? Christ is the Seed Son. He said, “Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone. But if it die, it brings forth much fruit.” Reproduction of Himself. Just look at Peter, James, John and Paul in Acts.

In order to reproduce Himself, God would have to decree just what He wanted to do. He outlined His Plan that would enact and realize His Purpose of Reproduction. Since He cannot fail, He set it in motion.

He created the worlds as the setting for His grand plan of Self-reproduction. He established Laws to rule the environment and milieu we find in our present dimension. He laid it all out and manifested it in His Son, who is the Seed, the Word, the Logos made flesh.

The Father then created the earthy medium for the Seed/Word to grow in, which, of course, is the human being. He created us with just the right amount of nutrients and intelligence in order for us to believe the Word-made-flesh and the testimony Christ would give us.

But He also allowed us first to fall into a wretchedly sinful condition so that we would recognize that we have need of a Savior. Then He called out other humans to tell us about the Savior and His love for us in promising us that if we would just believe the Word-Logos-Plan-Purpose of God that is encapsulated in His Son, then we could not only be delivered from our sinful state, but be able to grow up to spiritually be like Him. We could receive immortality and become just like the Son Himself. In fact, He would actually call us “His body” with Him living His life through us by His invisible Spirit of Love. Hence, God reproducing Himself.

He just asks us to believe the witness of the Word-made-flesh, which is the Logos, which is the Plan and Purpose of God.

These are His thoughts out of His mind. This is His Plan to fulfill His Eternal Purpose. His  thoughts on how He will accomplish all of this is the Word (the Logos, the logical plan He has to do it). All of this is a mystery to most, but it is now being revealed to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. These are the mysteries of God that many prophets and kings have longed to see and hear but it was not time. These are the mysteries of the kingdom of God, encrypted in the parables of Christ and contained in His Wonderful Heart and Mind.

And these things above shall come to pass, according to His word, written down by His prophet Isaiah: “The LORD of hosts (Yahweh) has sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand” (14: 24).     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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February 27, 2016 · 7:44 pm

“All You Need Is Love”–God Is Love

“Nothing you can do that can’t be done.” That famous line from the song “All You Need Is Love” flashed through my mind today.  I then thought of these biblical passages: “God is Love” and “With God all things are possible.”  With Love, then, all things are possible.  Or, with God’s Spirit (which is love personified) in us fully, all things are possible.

It’s possible for Christ’s Spirit (Love) to fully reside in us.  This is the “more excellent way” that Paul wrote about in I Corinthians 13, the “Love” chapter.  For this way is how God comes down and through us to others.  He desires to use us to spread His love.

As I wrote in my book The Unveiling of the Sons of God, this is agape love, from the Greek.  And Paul outlines just what God’s nature of love will look like in us in I Corinthians 13 (“charity” being from the Gr. word agape, which is “God is Love” [https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/ebook-the-unveiling-of-the-sons-of-god/ ].

This agape love is all we need.  It is what every heart is hungry for–the unconditional love that can only come from the Unselfish One. The need to be loved is universal, and only one Being can satisfy that longing, and that is He who laid down His mortal life for us.  kwh

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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 13, 2016 · 4:32 pm

Life Comes Out of Death of Old Nature

“You Gotta Die Before You Live” is the name of the song [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeDb5WdFHS0 ].

That really sums up the gateway into the Christian walk. The old sinful self must die on the cross with Christ, and then by believing in His resurrection, we, too, are “raised to walk in a newness of life.” There is no watering it down; no excuses. “The soul that sins must die.” That’s the law laid down in the beginning. Man is born with unwanted sinful compulsions. In the Adamic nature, he is born into a slavery to sin. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Sin dwells in the unregenerated human, making them do incredibly selfish sinful things to others. Who can deliver man from such bondage to sin? (Rom. 7: 15-25).

We Christians know that  it is God through His Son that has provided the key to unlock the chains of sin from our hearts. He said that He would deliver us from sin, but we have been told that you’ll be a sinner till the day you die, that you cannot stop sinning; just ask forgiveness. Many precious Christian souls are wrestling with the sin question as we speak.

“Sinner till the day you die…” The irony would be laughable if it weren’t so serious. For death is the way out of the slavery of continual sinning. Not the physical death of the body, but it is the spiritual death of the old Adamic heart and nature within. That is the ticket to freedom.

What again is the answer to this dilemma?

Our Old Nature Must Die on the Cross

So how does one get out of the bondage of sin and sinning?  How do we deal with this sin problem in our lives?  The scriptures say that  “He shall save His people from their sins.”  How does this happen?  Can we ever get in a “right” state with God?  What must we do?  There is only one thing to do with the carnal sinful self and that is to confess our depraved state, identify it with Christ on the cross, and let it die.  There is only one way for the body of sin to be destroyed for the old sinful Adamic nature; it must be crucified.  But we cannot really do anything to bring this on.  It is a total work of God that has already been done—at the cross.  We cannot do anything to deserve this wonderful deliverance from this death caused by sin and sinning.  All He wants us to do is believe what He has already done to deliver us from the bondage of sin.

First, we must know this one thing: our old man, our old ego, our old self, our old nature, our old heart, our old carnal nature, the flesh, the depraved body of sin within us—it is put to death with the sacrificial Lamb.  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. Romans 6:6.

Paul did not say that our old sinful nature was going to be taken care of some day when we all get to heaven.  No!  He said that it is dead, already put to death on the cross! That is not a misprint or a mis-translation.  The sacrificial Lamb of God took our sins upon Him at the time of His death.  He was our scapegoat, as when the Levitical priest laid hands on the goat transferring the sins of the people onto it.  Christ died as a sinful lost man that day, for He “was made to be sin for us, who knew no sin that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him” (II Cor. 5:21).

He wants us to believe this—that our sinful nature died with Him on the cross, and that we was buried with Him, and that we were raised up with Him as well.  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Romans 6:5.

Is this hard for us to believe?  Is it hard to have faith in this teaching?  Yet the elect will believe this word.  The others will fall as the children of Israel did through unbelief.  For you see that God is not asking us to do anything except believe what He has already done for us.  He first believed in His work in us long before we got here on this earth.

Entering the State of Being Right with God

And if we believe His word on this, then He will reckon a righteous status unto us. He will lay to our account that we are righteous in His eyes.  For it is God who makes the dead-in-sin come to life and imputes righteousness unto them because they believe Him.  Even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.  Romans 4:17.

Our part is to surrender our old sinful selves unto the cross.  Because of our faith in His redemptive sacrifice by surrendering unto death our own sinful heart, then He says, “You are now my child, and you are now righteous in My sight.  You are welcome into my arms of love and mercy.  Just walk in it by forgiving others and doing my words.  For it is not you that are doing it, for you are dead now, my sons and daughters.  It is the Spirit of the living God that I have dispatched into your hearts.  It is the Spirit of Christ within you who I recognize as the one motivating spirit of your life.  And soon you will be able to truthfully say what Paul said to the Galatians.”  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which 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.

When we simply believe His apostle’s word and identify  our  depraved  carnal  nature with the Lamb that day, and surrender to the punishment of death to that old selfish way of life, then He is pleased.  That faith pleases Him very much, for we believe the report that He has given us concerning the Savior.

“Righteousness” is the upright walk in God’s ways and laws.  If one is righteous in God’s eyes, then He approves of their walk of faith.  Our old carnal Adamic nature can never please God, for it cannot keep the ten commandment law.  But there was one who did, even the Savior Himself.  Our part is to just believe that He is living within, for He is the Spirit, and His Spirit within keeps us in that righteous condition in God’s eyes.  Remember that He is the one who “calls those things that be not as though they were.”  He believes in His own sacrificial power; He can’t go back on it.  If we believe what He believes about us in our redeemed position with Him within, then we are walking in faith.

[The above is an excerpt from The Unveiling of the Sons of God. You may read a portion of it here: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/ebook-the-unveiling-of-the-sons-of-god/ or you may order a free copy of the trade paperback–details here: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/donate/ ]  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 30, 2016 · 4:10 pm

Being Alone on Your Christian Walk–“Look to the Rock”

Don’t think it strange that you feel like you are on a lonely road in your walk with God. So walked the prophets and apostles of old. Actually, those on the right path will feel this way, for “few there be to find this way of truth.”

In this pilgrimage we may take solace, for there trod those men and women of God who serve as our examples. On the one hand, many miracles were wrought through their faith: they “subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, and quenched the violence of fire.” But then many of them were mocked, scourged, tortured, imprisoned, stoned, and many “wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth” (Heb. 11: 33-38).

They were “strangers and pilgrims on the earth,” desiring “a better country,” which is a heavenly country. They were looking for the heavenly city (11: 13-16).

They are our heroes; they are our examples as to what this walk on earth is all about. So, yes, we will feel very lonely in the midst of a crowd. But we will endure as “good soldiers.”

Many People, Little Fellowship

I was thinking about how there are so few to fellowship with. Don’t get me wrong; there are many everywhere to love. But to fellowship–to get into the depth of the living waters, to dive in and swim together into the deep things of God. To not be limited to just us floating on top of a chlorined pool with our little plastic flotation devices that preachers have passed down to their people through the centuries. The prophets and apostles of old did not kick back and just float during their sojourn. They dug deep, and the kicker is this: they did it all for us their children (Heb. 11: 39-40).

I crave others to rejoice with me concerning His glorious righteous government soon to come to this troubled earth, and concerning the great deliverance from sin that He has wrought in our lives. My God, thank you. My life now in You is completely different because of Your cleansing power.

Yet, I know that even now, though we “walk that lonesome valley,” the day will come when the few will come together and become His cadre of rulers with Him on His throne, as He promised to those who overcome the present Laodicea church age (Rev. 3: 14-21). Until that time we wait; we endure, as they did of old. Many were shepherds, on a hilltop pasture at night with their flocks, looking up at the wash of stars pulsating across the heavens, and wondering, Oh, God, why me? Me? Me sit with You on Your throne some day?

And God says, Yes, I have chosen you as one of the few to find this way of truth (Matt. 7: 14). Yes, few will find the way because it is a narrow path where all who will hike it must count the cost to see if they have what it takes to make it.

And so we ask, Which way? The way to manifested sonship. The way to become just like Peter, James, John, and Paul. The way to become like God-in-human-form–Jesus/Yahshua. We must remember that “with God all things are possible” (Mark 10: 27).

Waiting on the Burning Bush

Take Moses. Banished from Egypt at forty, he endured with patience much suffering, waiting on God and the power He would give to execute His will. The way entails these sufferings, for they purify our faith as gold tried in the fire. Moses endured the sufferings of Christ for another forty years. He felt alone in the calling he was given and he waited. And then it happened at eighty years of age–the burning bush experience.

Moses waited forty years before God commissioned him to be the deliverer of His people. He learned that until God empowers us to run, we run in vain; we build churches in vain; we huff and puff and burn ourselves out “for God” in vain. For unless He builds the house, it is built in vain. For as He says to us, It is “not by might [your might], not by power [your power], but by My Spirit” (Zec 4: 6).

Carved out of the Same Granite

By the same faith as our spiritual ancestors, we as His children are of the same spiritual stuff that our God is–Spirit. And we are to look to the Rock from which we are hewn (Isa. 51: 1-2) believing this. We are to look to Abraham and all the others, that “great cloud of witnesses” that have gone on before us.

We are hewn from that same rock. Is not that chip of granite at the foot of the boulder, freed by the block by the stonemasons–isn’t that chip of the same substance, the very same molecules as the boulder?

We, then, are a piece of His body as much as Abraham and all the rest in Hebrews 11. We are His body with a spirit within us given directly from Yahweh’s heart. We are a piece of eternity, though at present wrapped in fragile flesh. But one day, we will receive our marching orders as Moses did and we will stride forth throughout the ravaged earth, declaring His righteous kingdom to all who will believe.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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January 23, 2016 · 4:49 pm

“Thy Kingdom Come”–His Kingdom Is the Gospel

Sometimes we just do not know what we should pray to the Father about. “We know not what we should pray for as we ought,” but the Spirit is there to help us (Rom 8: 26). And He helps us to know through the ideas presented in the “Lord’s Prayer.” Christ’s example prayer presents the thoughts of the Almighty Father. We are to understand its precepts and communicate with God accordingly. We are not to use the “Lord’s Prayer” as an exercise in rote regurgitation–no matter how sincerely it is repeated.

“Thy kingdom come” is the next precept Christ is teaching us from His example prayer. What is the Father’s kingdom? Is it just when we on a personal level are “born again”? Is that the extent of the Father’s governance in the earth? Personal salvation is wonderful and is truly the seed beginning of His kingdom in this earth. But that seed grows.

In fact, “the kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed…which indeed is the least of all seeds, but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof” (Matt 13: 31-32).

The parables reveal the secrets and mysteries of the Father’s kingdom (Matt 13: 11). And the big secret revealed in the mustard seed parable is that the Father’s kingdom grows into a gigantic spiritual and political entity that is so powerful that the other nations (birds of the air) seek shelter in its branches.

This is the same government originating from heaven that Daniel saw in the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The king had a terrifying dream that showed the fall of all the satanic governments of the world, caused by the coming and full fruition of God’s government, the kingdom of heaven. Daniel told him that “there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets and makes known…what shall be in the latter days” (Dan 2: 28).

The latter days. That’s our time. The world Gentile empires are coming down, brought about by the coming of “the kingdom of heaven” to this earth. We know the dream with the great image of gold, silver, brass, and iron, signifying the four world empires in history. And there came the stone kingdom from heaven that smashed into the feet of the image, and it came crashing down. “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Dan 2: 44). The Father’s kingdom is not just an invisible feel-good-in-the-Spirit kingdom, but it is literal and political, as well as spiritual. It is a government ruled by a benevolent Monarch. It is coming to earth in the latter days–in our time.

So, “thy kingdom come.” The Father in Christ is coming back to this earth to govern, insuring peace throughout the far flung corners of the globe for a thousand years. And He “shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” This is the good news. This government, this kingdom brought here by our Father through His Son–this true gospel is the good news of our Father’s government literally coming to fill the whole earth with His righteous ways.

Christ in this section of the “Lord’s Prayer” teaches us the importance of the Father’s kingdom.  A kingdom is a literal form of government headed by a monarch.  He is the King.  Thy kingdom come…in earth as it is in heaven.  His kingdom already rules in heaven; shortly it will rule completely on earth.

This is the good news proclaimed in the four gospels in the so-called “New Testament” of the Bible.  Many scriptures back this up.  “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15).  Believe what gospel?  The “gospel of the kingdom of God.”  He is saying, God’s government is here.  Because it is at hand, you need to repent from your old selfish life, and believe this good news of God ruling on earth.

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matt. 24:14).  It is this gospel, this true gospel of the kingdom of God that must be proclaimed throughout the whole world before the end of the age will come.  The gospel preached by the vast majority of pastors is “another gospel” about Christ. It is a shallow shadow of the good news. It focuses on “getting saved” and does not mention a peep about the grandeur of His world wide rule. Salvation is precious, but it is just the first step. It is the germination of that mustard seed, but there is so much more after that.

Thy kingdom come. We, then, should pray with this glorious vision that Christ has, when He taught His disciples to pray.  His kingdom is a vision of an earth free from corruption and cruelty–free from addiction and selfishness–free from hunger and desperation–free from greedy leaders who cast the poor in chains of lies and deceit–free from husbands and wives betraying those who love them the most–free from broken-hearted children thrown out like trash by selfish parents–free from the evil that pillages every soul on earth–

This is the gospel of the Kingdom of God.  This is the good news that will fill the earth when Christ comes back and sits down on the throne of our invisible Father.  And His sons and daughters will sit alongside Him in His kingdom right here on earth.  And He will dispatch us His princes and princesses out into the ravished earth to rebuild and restore what the evil ones wasted.

“Thy kingdom come” evokes much about the glorious vision God has for His earth.  We need to pray toward this end.  He told us to not ask for things for ourselves, but rather, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”       Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

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January 16, 2016 · 8:52 pm

“Hallowed Be Thy Name, Yahweh”–More from Christ’s Example Prayer

The so called Lord’s Prayer is not an incantation, to be repeated like a chant. It is a model prayer, each phrase having great revelatory truth to be used in our communication with our Father. Our Father’s name is Yahweh–if we consider ourselves children of the Hebrew God of the Bible.

“Hallowed be Thy name.” Christ is saying in the “Lord’s Prayer” that the Father’s name is “hallowed,”which is holy and extremely special.  How can Christians appreciate it and sanctify it if they don’t even know what it is?

Not many know that the Hebrew God of the Bible was known by Moses, Daniel, Isaiah, and all the rest of the prophets and apostles by His name Yahweh.

“The Hebrew national literature centres in the thought of God. It is Yahweh who is all and in all, the father, the leader, the hope, the hero of his people” ( www.1911encyclopedia.org/Christianity ).  This quote is from the article “Christianity” in the Encyclopedia Britannica, entirely on-line at this link.  There are 142 others articles that mention Yahweh (www.1911encyclopedia.org/index.php?q=yahweh&title=LoveToKnow_1911%3ASearch&site=1911&fulltext=LoveToSearch ).

We’ve been told that “God” is His name.  But “God” is a common noun that has been capitalized.  “GOD, the common Teutonic word for a personal object of religious worship. It is thus…applied to all those superhuman beings of the heathen mythologies who exercise power over nature and man…The word “god,” on the conversion of the Teutonic races to Christianity, was adopted as the name of the one Supreme Being, the Creator of the universe” (www.1911encyclopedia.org/God).  It was adopted, but God is not the name of the Father.  Yahweh is His name.  “This is my name forever,” Yahweh said to Moses (Exodus 3:15).

Some think that the Father’s name is “LORD.”  But “LORD” is merely a title of the Father.  This started when the King James translators substituted “the LORD” for the Hebrew name “Yahweh” over 6,700 times.  Only once did they leave “Yah” (the shortened form) in Psalms 68:4: “Sing praises to his name…Jah.”  The editors of the New King James Version corrected “Jah” to “Yah” ( https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/book-yah-is-savior-the-road-to-immortality/ ).

When Christ teaches us how to pray by saying “hallowed be thy name,” He wants us to revere, keep holy, consecrate, and venerate the Father’s name.  That is what the word “to hallow” means.

But first the Father’s name must be restored to our knowledge.  We cannot truly make His name holy and consecrated in our hearts if we don’t know His name.

And the Father’s name is Yahweh.  We must keep this in our minds when we communicate with Him.  For His name is extremely important to Him.  So it should be of extreme importance to us His princes and princesses.  Or how else could we address the King? When we do this, we will join the ranks of the Biblical men and women of God who prayed to Yahweh and spoke His name.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the Creator Himself remembered us and wrote down our names and thought of us in a special way? He will do just that for a few. Who will they be? “Then they that feared Yahweh spake often one to another: and Yahweh hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared Yahweh, and that thought upon His name.” That thought upon His name. Those of us who are in reverential awe and that speak and think upon His name–those He will remember (Malachi 3: 16). He is saying, Those that are not ashamed of My name and will remember me by using it, then I’ll remember them. He will set an open door that no man can shut before those who “have kept my word, and have not denied my name” (Rev. 3: 8). But He will shut the door on those who deny His name through unbelief, and great shame will be their reward. Just ask the “five foolish virgins” (Matt. 25: 1-13; verse 10 especially).

Armed with this knowledge, the scriptures about His name will open to us.  It is a key.  But be forewarned.  The knowledge of the Father’s name is a pearl, a gem.  And Christ warns, “Cast not your pearls before swine, for they will turn and rend you with it.”  Be careful who you share this with.  It is dynamite knowledge and needs to be handled carefully.  You will be vilified and derided for sharing this knowledge–usually by those close to you.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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