You Are Nothing, and You Will Be Happy

Here’s some gospel good news for you: You are nothing. Not just you. Me, too. I received this stupefying information from the apostle Paul, who wrote, “He who plants is nothing and he who waters is nothing, but it is God who gives the increase” (I Cor. 3:7).

If you are sowing the word, spreading the good news of Christ, you are still nothing. If you are not sowing the word of truth out into the good earth, you are still nothing. If you are watering the seed, the word of God, then you are still nothing. There is no place for one’s vaunted pride in the Master’s Regiment.

And he who waters what is planted, he who teaches and expounds on the spiritual truths that have been planted—he is nothing (I Cor. 3:6).

A few people reading this will notice a bit of bile rising in their craw when first being taught about our common spiritual state of nothingness. I call it the “good nothingness,” the nothingness born of truth and nurtured in love. Not the “bad nothingness,” that despondent nihilism, that dark and desperate and hopeless nothingness.

Conversely, the good nothingness is liberating. We are free to dance between the fingers of God, egoless, unconscious of those standing in selfish little pools of hubris, standing there judging the dancing David. For he danced knowing that he was nothing, and his father Yahweh was Everything.

For the Great Something is He who “gives the increase” in this life. Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights (James 1:17). He has called and chosen you and me to sow His word. We sow His seed/word, knowing that it is the power of his resurrection that causes the seeds we plant to spring to life.

If we are “in the picture,” and we think that we are something, when we are nothing, we deceive ourselves (Gal. 6:3). At best, we are a warm vapor distilling into the “voice of one crying in the wilderness.” And that voice plants and waters the seed, but it is that great, stupendous, and radiantly shining Everything, that shows us the way.

Being nothing begins at the cross. It is the beginning of our new spiritual life, and it is the ending of the old selfish life. We are nothing. After all, it is a “good nothingness” that brings happiness. There is no reputation to uphold, no sword of honor to fall on, no luxuriating in the “wonderfulness of ourselves.”

Rather, we are to have the mind of Christ. Though His destiny was to sit on the throne of the universe, He “made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:7). He did say to his disciples, “Let the greatest among you be servant of all.”

[Let’s all say it together out loud: “I am nothing. He is Everything.” Now, that wasn’t so bad. I bet you’re smiling right now. See, I told you that you would be happy…]

With agape— Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Foundation Is Important

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

With agape love,

Wayne

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

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

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

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

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

Being Called and Chosen

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

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

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

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

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

The Apostle Paul Explains

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Heart Preparation for the Abiding of His Spirit

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

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

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

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

What Christ Taught Them

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

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

Christ was teaching them things about spiritual growth.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Sitting on Christ’s Throne–The Second Conditional Promise

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

God’s Rebuke

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

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

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

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Two Promises from God—Conditional, but Powerful (Part 1)

Christ made two great promises. But they are conditional. If the condition is met, then we are catapulted into the 60-fold and 100-fold spiritual growth (Matt. 13:3-23). This is the growth that Christ and His apostles walked in. Yes, this is the ticket for entry into His inner circle, the Round Table, if you will. {Please take a moment and hit the “Subscribe” button.}

Some of you may not believe me about being like Christ and attaining Christlike growth. Yet it was the King Himself who said, “He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do because I go to the Father” (John 14:12). What “greater works”? The miracles! This is the spiritual growth that the early apostles had: The power to raise the dead and heal the impossibly and terribly sick.

[This is what you have prayed and asked God for. You’ve asked Him for a great move, that He would fill you with His Holy Spirit, that His church would awaken. He is showing us how He is doing it. He is coming back for “a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27). To be ready for His coming, we must stand faultless, cleansed of all spiritual spots and moral blemishes. We must be holy and worthy to be immersed into the Holy Ghost and fire (Acts 2:1-4).

The First “If…”

Christ said, “If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). “If a man love Me…” Here is the first condition. The person that loves Christ will “keep His words.” If we love Christ by keeping His words, then the Father will love us. And the godhead will come and stay and dwell within us. This is the abiding!

This is a powerful promise. The Father Himself has promised to live in us—if we keep Christ’s words! We want this relationship, to have the Father living in us and doing His works (Acts 2:33).

So, how do we “keep Christ’s words”? As we have seen before, the word “keep” is translated from the Greek word meaning “to guard, to preserve, to protect.” And the word “words” comes from the Greek word logos, which is the plan and purpose of God spelled out from the beginning. We know that Christ is the Logos, the Word “made flesh” that dwelt among us and still does in the Spirit. Christ is the Purpose enacted for us all to see. [For more on this, see links at the end of this article.]

A Higher Love

Someone will say, “The Father already loves us.” Yes, He does. But now He is talking about a higher love. The depth of this love for us comes after we love Christ by keeping His words.

For, you see, the Father loves us in our spiritual infancy. But the Father’s love for us in this context is a deeper kind of love. It is like in the natural world. Our love for an infant is on a certain beginning level. Our love for a baby is not based on the same criteria as for a mature human being walking in the Spirit, making their “calling and election sure.”

The Father’s love for us as seen in John 14:23 is deeper, based on our hunger for His knowledge and our performance of His desires. God’s love at this stage of growth is a profound appreciation of our walk of faith, trusting Him, even though the trials are daunting. We are spiritually talking about young men and women in spiritual growth.

John wrote to “young men because you are strong and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one” (I John 2:14). John is not writing to a “babe in Christ.” He is writing to the spiritually strong, to those with the word of God dwelling in them, having overcome Satan’s tricky ploys. This is 60-fold fruit bearing. They know God’s plan and purpose of reproducing Himself in a body of sons and daughters. They are strong with the Spirit abiding in them. They have overcome the devil.

The trouble is this: Most children of God want to remain spiritual baby Christians. They are content to bask in the Father’s love. They are mostly alive for what they can receive from the Father. But He wants them to grow in wisdom and understanding that they might learn how to love Him like He loves them. But most really don’t want to grow; they want to be happy and not face any trials and problems. God sees this as being “lukewarm.”

To show that we love Him more deeply, He tells us to guard, protect, cherish, and preserve His words, the Logos. We are to watch and guard His eternal purpose, which was with God in the beginning. And His purpose is this: God is reproducing Himself in us. When we guard the Logos, the Father will love us, and God will feel welcome to abide, stay, and remain in us. This process brings the abiding.

Why isn’t this happening much more often in the world? Because before you can guard and preserve His eternal plan and purpose, you must know what His plan and purpose is. We are talking about “knowledge of the holy.” Those that love Christ will learn of the Logos (November | 2024 | Immortality Road; Guarding the Logos | Immortality Road).

God loves those who guard, cherish, and protect the logos, the mind of Christ. He promised that He would dwell and abide in us! A wonderful promise!     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[For more: “Love Makes Known the Plan of God” | Immortality Road; abide | Immortality Road ]

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AI Confirms Our Deliverance at the Cross

Although artificial and a machine, AI can explain from the Bible how to repent of our sins and become righteous followers of Christ. Even AI knows that our old sinful self is dead. The following is Co-Pilot’s response to this prompt: “Explain Romans 6:1-12”

“Romans 6:1-12 addresses the transformative power of grace and the believer’s new identity in Christ. Here’s a clear and concise explanation:

1. Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase? (Verse 1): Paul begins with a rhetorical question, challenging the idea that believers should continue to sin to experience more of God’s grace.

2. By no means! We died to sin (Verse 2): Paul emphatically rejects this notion, stating that believers have died to sin and should no longer live in it.

3-4. Baptism into Christ’s death (Verses 3-4): Paul explains that through baptism, believers are united with Christ in His death. This signifies the death of the old, sinful self and the beginning of a new life.

5-7. United in His resurrection (Verses 5-7): Just as believers are united with Christ in His death, they are also united with Him in His resurrection. This means that the power of sin is broken, and they are no longer slaves to sin.

8-10. Alive with Christ (Verses 8-10): Paul emphasizes that if believers have died with Christ, they will also live with Him. Christ’s resurrection ensures that death has no mastery over Him, and similarly, believers are freed from the power of sin.

11. Consider yourselves dead to sin (Verse 11): Paul urges believers to view themselves as dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. This perspective is essential for living a righteous life.

12. Do not let sin reign (Verse 12): Finally, Paul exhorts believers not to let sin control their lives or obey its desires. Instead, they should live in the freedom and righteousness granted through their new life in Christ.

In essence, Romans 6:1-12 calls believers to embrace their new identity in Christ, rejecting sin and living in the transformative power of grace.”

There it is—what I have been saying for decades. Even AI understood Romans 6. For AI did not base its response on denominational dogma. It just read the text and revealed what it said.   Christ’s followers should be able to share these major points to the lost. But the vast majority of pastors will never teach Romans 6:1-12. You cannot teach what you do not know, I suppose. A pity, for these verses form the bedrock foundation of the temple of God—us. We must have the cross experience—and be able to explain it.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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There Is Only One Faith–God’s Faith in Himself

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Why the Masses Are Not Listening to Your Testimony

“But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted” (Ezk. 3:7).

As followers of Christ, we are concerned. Like the prophet Isaiah, we have answered the call, and we have shared the gospel with others. And we wonder, “Why don’t the people we’ve witnessed to, respond?

He said that the people have eyes that do not see. They read the scriptures, but the truths therein are like white doves that flutter and lift off, and glide back up into the blue heavens from whence they came. They see only the natural, obvious things in the 3rd dimension, but not the spiritual operations behind the scenes. They hear His words, but they do not perceive the inward cause of the sounds.

Isaiah 6:9-10 in the Greek version: And he said, “Go and say to this people, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend.’ For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes—so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.” [Compare Matt 13:14-15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; Acts 28:26-27]

In a word, they are spiritually blind, deaf, and naked to the truth as to where we have been, where we are, and where we are going (Rev. 3:17-18).

“They Will Not Listen to Me”

This is difficult for us to understand—that God as the Author of our faith would write the script as seen above. And, yet, we have heard that “His ways are past finding out.” His thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are not our ways (Isa. 55:8-11).

But we can study and pray, and He promised that He would send the Spirit of truth to lead us into all truth, until we realize that all things are of God (I Cor. 8:6).

It is God’s will that the people have their hearts hardened so that they cannot see his truth. At this time. It seems that God has a certain time in the future when the people will turn to Him. It is a question of timing.

But Isaiah cries, “How long, Yahweh, will they be blind? Until the cities are wiped out and depopulated. Sounds like the Tribulation Period. “How long, O Yahweh?” Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste (Isa. 6:11).

And so, we must ask, “What if the concepts of Christianity have been taught by people who “have eyes but cannot see and ears that cannot hear and understand”? What if they have it all wrong?

Thousands of denominations attest to this, for all of them cannot be right in their concepts. Somebody has got it wrong. What if “the blind are leading the blind”? Christ spoke this about the leading religious denominations of his day.

Likewise, today we see that mainstream Christianity has not uncovered a clue in solving the “mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.” They continue to apply third dimensional thinking. Their theology throws together doctrines that are not evidenced in the Bible—doctrines like the rapture. How convenient to fly away before the devastation hits! They pin their spiritual future on the word “rapture,” a word not even in the Bible. Moreover, they have a godhead with three persons instead of the Holy One of Israel [The phrase “Holy One of Israel” appears 31 times in the scriptures. Read all 31 verses and see if three persons appear. Yahweh speaks to this: “I am your Savior and shield. I am the Holy One of Israel.” Read them here: Blue Letter Bible – Search Results for KJV.]

Mysteries abound in the Bible. Most denominations have a very narrow view of the Bible story and are closed to “new” revelations through fear of being deceived. Also, confessing that you are mistaken in believing what they taught you about the Father and Christ and the Holy Spirit is the hardest thing to do.

And so it goes. But they will one day in Yahweh’s timing turn with broken hearts to your voice, my brothers and sisters. When the people you’ve ministered to have lost all their material goods that they trusted in, then they will see and hear you. Their day of humility will come as it did for Joseph’s brothers, who hated him and betrayed him. But Joseph waited on Yahweh for the time to shower his love and show mercy on his brothers. They were destitute through a famine.

Though few will listen to the Spirit’s voice that moves our lips, you and I keep on being that faithful witness to those He loves. Until a great shaking covers the land, we remain faithful to His cause. Only He can prepare hearts for the words that we shall continue to speak until that day.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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Need to Get Closer to God? Here’s How

We are to “come before His presence with thanksgiving” (Psa. 95:2)

Since “God is a Spirit,” He is not impressed with material things used in a “worship service.” Candles, money, offering trays, cups, wine, wafers, incense, bulletins, et al…All these material things God does not want. What He desires is a grateful and thankful heart. As we thank Him, we seem to meld into Him; the portion of His Spirit, the “earnest of our inheritance,” merges with His Spirit. This is approaching and coming to Him.

“Come before His presence.” How? With thanksgiving. We are to offer “the calves of our lips,” giving thanks to his name (Hosea 14:2; Hebrews 13:15).

The simple expression of giving thanks and is what God longs to hear. Thanking Him for His great mercy and love in saving us from a disastrously selfish life and redeeming us by His blood on the cross, wherein we were cleansed from all unrighteousness.

Since God is omnipresent, he is right by our side—touchable, close at hand. His presence is immediate. Nothing separates us from His love. He is profoundly near, approachable, a door whose key is a thank you. For thankfulness is a spiritual thing. To thank the invisible God is a spiritual offering. It is how we come to him. It is an act of humility. It recognizes Christ as Supreme, the One who makes it all happen in our personal lives–the “good” and “bad,” and the ups and the downs of life.

Yes, this is the One we are thanking. It is He who has commandeered our earthly ship, leading us  through both calm and chaotic seas. It was always our Father, with such patience to have endured our obdurate hearts.

We will thank Him for His delivering love, the One who loves us all. And, thusly, we receive what most people say that they want—to feel God’s presence. As we thank Him, we begin to perceive that He is getting nearer. Thank You for everything. HalleluYah! Praise Yah!

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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