Tag Archives: faith

July 4, 2026 · 3:00 pm

The Omnipresence of Yahweh as the Milieu of the Abiding

Yah’s Omnipresence: Ushers in the Abiding

The Scriptures present a God who is not distant, detached, or confined to sacred spaces, but One who permeates all reality. His omnipresence is not an abstract doctrine; it is the living environment in which His offspring dwell. When the heart perceives that Yahweh fills heaven and earth, surrounds His creation, and sustains every breath, then the mystery of abiding—He in us and we in Him—becomes intelligible. But unbelief in His nearness blinds the soul to the abiding life. This essay explores how the biblical witness to Yahweh’s omnipresence forms the very atmosphere in which His people remain, dwell, and live inside Him.

Yahweh Near at Hand

Paul declares that humanity is meant to “feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:27). Yahweh is not remote; He is near. Paul continues, “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). The preposition en (“in”) carries the sense of inside of. As chairs are in the kitchen—inside its space—so we exist inside God, who is Spirit (John 4:24). His omnipresence is not metaphor but milieu.

Because He is near, the kingdom of heaven is “at hand”—close enough to touch. The King is present, and His realm surrounds us.

The Promise of His Perpetual Presence

Yahweh’s nearness is not merely spatial; it is covenantal. “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). His abiding presence is His promise.

This promise echoes through the patriarchal narratives. To Jacob Yahweh says, “I am with thee… I will not leave thee” (Genesis 28:15). Jacob’s seed would spread to the four winds, yet Yahweh would accompany them in every place. Likewise, Yahweh appears to Isaac, saying, “I am with thee” (Genesis 26:24) and “I will be with thee” (v. 3). His presence is not limited by geography; wherever His people go, He is already there.

If Yahweh vows never to leave His offspring, then His presence must be here—now—surrounding and sustaining us.

The Spirit Who Encompasses All

Job affirms, “In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:10). Our breath is held within His grasp; our existence is enveloped by His Spirit. We live in God. We move in God. We have our being inside His omnipresent Spirit.

John writes, “We are in Him that is true” (1 John 5:20). This is the language of abiding. Abiding is not a mystical achievement; it is the conscious recognition of omnipresence.

Yahweh Himself declares, “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” (Jeremiah 23:24). The One who fills all dimensions surrounds us on every side. We inhale His nearness with every breath.

He dwells in a spiritual dimension not detected by the five senses, yet He is nearer than our own thoughts. His kingdom is at hand because the King is everywhere present.

Solomon confessed, “The heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee” (1 Kings 8:27). Modern astronomy only magnifies this truth: billions of galaxies cannot contain Him. Reverence is the only fitting response.

Omnipresence as the Atmosphere of Abiding

Abiding in Him—and He in us—is a multifaceted mystery. This essay highlights one facet: the omnipresence of Yahweh makes abiding possible. If He fills heaven and earth, then His indwelling is not an intrusion but a revelation. Other facets of abiding include eating His flesh and drinking His blood (John 6:56), and doing the will of God (1 John 2:17). Together these illuminate the mystery Paul names “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

To abide is to awaken to the God who already surrounds us, sustains us, and indwells us. Omnipresence is the atmosphere of communion.

When we believe in His omnipresence, then we become one with His Spirit that is everywhere. We have broken through the maze of the world’s material matrix. We then are called to walk in God’s spiritual dimension. This is the walk of faith/belief. “All things have become new.” Parameters of the old world crumble, making way for believers to walk in a “newness of life.” Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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June 29, 2026 · 3:34 pm

A Book of Remembrance—For Those Who Think Upon His Name

God’s Last‑Day “Special Treasure”

He has a special treasure hidden in the earth. They are a chosen people whom He watches with keen attention as they walk through this world. He takes special note of them.

O, that God would remember us! There is a way for these special ones to be in God’s memory. Yahweh notices these characteristics about them:

(1) They fear Him. They stand in awe of Him. They know who He truly is, what He has done, and they hold a reverential awe toward His majesty.

(2) They speak often one to another. They find each other. And when they do, they “click.” God directs their steps until their paths meet.

(3) God listens to their conversations. He hearkens to their speech as they encourage one another.

(4) And then He remembers them. When they fear Him, He not only takes notice—He commands His angels to write “a book of remembrance…for them that feared Yahweh, and that thought upon His name” (Malachi 3:16–17). He remembers the humble as they remember Him. For His name is a memorial, that we would not forget Him and what He has done for us.

What were they speaking about? We know that whatever we think about, that is what we speak about. These chosen ones were speaking to each other about God’s Name—His Hebrew Name.

This moves God. How can we—little old us—ever touch God’s heart so that He would take notice of us? First, we fear Him; that is wisdom. Wisdom is reverential awe. And then we think on His Name. We ponder His Name, peruse it, explore it, understand the message contained in His Name, and then believe that message.

And this is the message contained in the Son’s Name Yahshua: Yahweh is the Savior (Isaiah 43:11).

He goes on to say that Yahweh will remember His elect “in that day when I make up my jewels” (“special treasure” in Hebrew). And these special ones He will spare.

Spare them from what? Spare them from the tribulation coming upon the earth. He will take care of His own—but not through a rapture. The humble who are in awe of Yahshua’s Name will make it through to the other side of earth’s destruction.

“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Yahweh… But unto you that fear my Name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings…” (Mal. 4:1–2).

His “special treasure” is His elect—those who fear Him and think upon His Name. Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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June 25, 2026 · 1:11 pm

Believing on the Name Brings Answered Prayer and the Abiding

The Way to Answered Prayer and the Indwelling Presence of Yahweh

There are commandments in Scripture that stand like doors. They do not merely instruct; they open into realms of divine experience. One such commandment appears in the writings of the apostle John: “This is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Yahshua the Messiah, and love one another” (1 John 3:23). This is not a suggestion, nor a theological footnote. It is the central requirement for those who desire answered prayer and the abiding presence of God.

John declares that “whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments” (1 John 3:22). And the first of these commandments is to believe on His Name. The Name Yahshua is not a mere label; it is a revelation. It means “Yahweh is the Savior.” To believe on His Name is to believe the message contained within it—that the invisible Yahweh has come in human form to save, that the Father was in the Son reconciling the world unto Himself, and that salvation is the work of Yahweh alone.

Yahweh confirms in many places that He is the Saviour. “I, even I, am the LORD (Yahweh), and beside Me there is no Savior” (Isaiah 43:11). [Compare Isa. 45:15, 21; 49:26; 60:16; Hosea 13:4]

This belief is not intellectual assent. It is the doorway into answered prayer, the gateway into divine indwelling, and the foundation of the abiding life. All of this hinges on faith: believing having not seen as yet.

The Name Yahshua: The Revelation We Are Commanded to Believe

The commandment to “believe on the name of His Son Yahshua” is rooted in the meaning of the Name itself. Yahshua is the Hebrew form of Joshua, meaning “Yahweh is salvation.” The Name is a declaration of identity. It proclaims that the One walking among men in flesh is none other than Yahweh Himself, the eternal Spirit clothed in humanity.

This is why John writes with such gravity: “He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). Condemnation does not come from failing to pronounce the Name correctly, but from rejecting the truth embedded within it. To deny that Yahweh is the Savior is to deny the Father who dwelt in the Son.

Thus, believing on His Name is the first act of obedience. It is the acceptance of heaven’s witness concerning Yahshua. It is the foundation upon which all spiritual experience rests.

Believing on His Name and Answered Prayer

John ties answered prayer directly to obedience: “Whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments” (1 John 3:22). And the first of these commandments is to believe on His Name.

Why is this the condition for answered prayer? Because to believe on His Name is to believe:

  • that Yahweh is the Savior
  • that Yahweh dwells in the Son
  • that Yahweh now dwells in us by the Spirit
  • that prayer is the communion of Yahweh-within speaking to Yahweh-above

Prayer is not a human reaching upward; it is Yahweh-in-us reaching toward Yahweh-in-heaven. This is why Yahshua said:

“If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:14) To ask “in His Name” is not to attach a formula to the end of a prayer. It is to pray according to the truth of His identity—Yahweh revealed in the Son, now abiding in the believer. When we pray from this place of union, our petitions align with His will, and He delights to answer. Thus, believing on His Name is the doorway into effective prayer.

Believing on His Name and the Abiding Presence

John continues: “He that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him” (1 John 3:24). The commandment is to believe on His Name. Therefore: He that believes on His Name dwells in Yahweh, and Yahweh dwells in him.

This is the abiding life Yahshua described in John 15:

  • “Abide in me, and I in you.”
  • “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.”
  • “Without me ye can do nothing.”

Abiding is not mystical passivity. It is the result of believing the heavenly testimony concerning Yahshua. When we believe that Yahweh is the Savior, that Yahweh was in the Son, and that Yahweh now dwells in us by the Spirit, we enter into the abiding union that produces fruit. This is the earthly witness of the heavenly truth. This is the Spirit, the water, and the blood agreeing in one. This is the life of Yahweh flowing through the believer.

The Name as the Convergence Point of Heaven’s Witness and Earth’s Witness

In the previous chapter, we saw that 1 John 5:7–8 presents two witnesses:

  • Heaven’s witness: the Father, the Word, and the Spirit
  • Earth’s witness: the Spirit, the water, and the blood

These two testimonies converge in the believer through the Name Yahshua.

  • Heaven declares who Yahshua is.
  • Earth reveals what Yahshua does in us.
  • The Name is the bridge between the two.

To believe on His Name is to accept heaven’s witness. To receive the Spirit is to receive earth’s witness. To abide is to experience the agreement of water and blood. To bear fruit is to manifest the life of Yahweh. Thus, the Name Yahshua is not merely a theological concept. It is the meeting place of revelation and experience, of identity and indwelling, of heaven’s testimony and earth’s testimony.

The Unified Thesis: The Name Unlocks Prayer and Presence

The commandment is simple: believe on His Name. The promise is profound:

  • Answered prayer — “Whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him.”
  • Abiding presence — “He dwelleth in him, and he in Him.”
  • Fruit-bearing life — “The same bringeth forth much fruit.”

The Name Yahshua holds precious blessings and powers for the followers of Christ. It is the revelation of Yahweh as Savior. It is the key to prayer. It is the doorway to abiding. It is the foundation of fruitfulness. It is the center of the believer’s life. To believe on His Name is to enter into the fullness of what Yahweh has given in His Son. kwh

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June 22, 2026 · 10:55 am

The Two Witnesses of Yahshua

Heaven’s Testimony and Earth’s Testimony in the Believer

There are passages of Scripture that do not merely inform; they unveil. They open like a door into the architecture of divine revelation. I John 5:7–8 is such a passage. In two brief verses, the apostle John presents a pattern of testimony—one in heaven and one on earth—each bearing witness to the identity and work of Yahshua the Messiah. These two testimonies are not parallel lines running independently of one another. They are two halves of a single revelation, converging in the life of every true believer.

The text reads:

“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.” (1 John 5:7–8)

John is not offering a doctrinal aside. He is unveiling the structure of how God reveals Himself and how that revelation enters, transforms, and bears fruit within the believer. When this heavenly and earthly testimony is placed beside the teachings of Yahshua in the Gospel of John—His Name, His Spirit, and the abiding life—the pattern becomes unmistakable. The two witnesses form one unified testimony of Yahweh’s salvation.

Heaven’s Witness: The Revelation of Who Yahshua Is

John begins with the heavenly witness: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. These three bear record in heaven, and “these three are one.” Heaven’s testimony concerns identity. It reveals who Yahshua truly is.

The Father is the invisible, eternal Spirit—the One whom no man hath seen at any time. The Word is Yahweh expressed, Yahweh made visible, Yahweh speaking Himself into flesh. The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of truth proceeding from the Father, the same Spirit who overshadowed Mary, the same Spirit who descended upon Yahshua at the Jordan, the same Spirit who raised Him from the dead.

These three are one. This is heaven’s declaration: Yahshua is Yahweh revealed.

This is why His Name is not incidental. The Name Yahshua means “Yahweh is the Savior.” To believe in His Name is to believe the heavenly witness—that the Father was in the Son, reconciling the world unto Himself. Condemnation, John says, comes upon those who “believe not in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). The Name itself carries the message of who He is. Heaven testifies that Yahweh has come in the flesh, and the Name Yahshua is the banner of that revelation.

Earth’s Witness: The Revelation of What Yahshua Does in Us

John then turns to the earthly witness: the Spirit, the water, and the blood. These three “agree in one.” Earth’s testimony concerns experience. It reveals what Yahshua accomplishes within the believer.

The first earthly witness is the Spirit. This is the same Spirit the Father sends in the Son’s Name (John 14:26). The Spirit enters those who believe the heavenly testimony. He is the inward confirmation that Yahshua is Yahweh. He is the Comforter, the Teacher, the One who brings all things to remembrance. He is the abiding presence of God within the believer.

The second earthly witness is the water. Yahshua said, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (John 15:3). The water represents the cleansing, sanctifying, pruning work of the Word. It is the washing that prepares the branch to bear fruit. It is the continual purification that accompanies abiding.

The third earthly witness is the blood. The blood is the sacrificial life of Yahshua, the life that flows into the believer. “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you” (John 6:53). The blood is union. It is participation in His life, His death, and His resurrection. It is the life of the Vine flowing into the branch.

Together, the Spirit, the water, and the blood testify that Yahweh now dwells in His people. Earth’s witness is the manifestation of heaven’s truth within human vessels.

The Convergence of the Two Witnesses in the Believer

Heaven declares who Yahshua is. Earth declares what Yahshua does. Heaven’s witness—Father, Word, Spirit—reveals the identity of the Savior. Earth’s witness—Spirit, water, blood—reveals the indwelling of that Savior.

The believer stands at the intersection of these two testimonies. To believe the Name Yahshua is to receive the heavenly witness. To receive the Spirit is to receive the earthly witness. To abide in Him is to experience the agreement of water and blood. To bear fruit is to manifest the life of Yahweh within.

This is why Yahshua said: “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.” (John 15:5) Fruit is not human achievement. It is the earthly witness of the heavenly truth. It is the visible evidence that the Spirit, the water, and the blood are at work within the believer. It is the manifestation of Yahweh’s life in a human soul.

The Unified Testimony: Yahweh Revealed and Yahweh Indwelling

When the heavenly witness is believed, the earthly witness begins its work. The Name reveals Yahweh as Savior. The Spirit enters to confirm that Name. The water cleanses the branch. The blood supplies the life. The abiding produces fruit.

This is the agreement of the two witnesses. This is the testimony God has placed in the believer. This is the life of Yahshua made manifest in His people.

Heaven testifies to His identity. Earth testifies to His indwelling. Together they declare one truth:Yahweh has come, Yahweh abides, and Yahweh bears fruit in those who believe His Name. 

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June 1, 2026 · 2:39 pm

The Father’s Will: None Lost, All Raised

 What, exactly, is the Father’s will for His people?

Christ Himself answered it—not with riddles, but with a promise so staggering that it redefines the entire purpose of our existence. According to Christ’s own words, the Father’s will is this: All whom He has given to the Son shall believe; they shall not be lost, and shall be raised up at the last day. Our resurrection is not a possibility—it is the guaranteed outcome of the Father’s eternal desire, which is His will.

Christ declared that His flesh—His real, physical body—would be offered as the one sacrifice that takes away the sin of the world. To believe this is to “eat the true bread from heaven” (John 6:32). He said plainly, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51).

But Christ did not stop at explaining the sacrifice. He revealed the very heartbeat of the Father: “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me” (John 6:38). And then He defined that will with precision: “This is the Father’s will… that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day” (v. 39).

Two truths stand out. First, the Father gives certain people to the Son. These are not random souls drifting toward belief. They are the elect—those foreknown, chosen, and destined to behold the mystery—that Yahweh Himself dwelt in the Son and offered that body on Calvary. Second, the Father’s will cannot fail. Christ will “lose nothing.” Every son and daughter given to Him will be raised incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:52).

For two thousand years, these chosen ones have carried the testimony of Christ. And in the final generation, Scripture hints at a company who will walk in unprecedented power—those who will “do greater works” (John 14:12). Revelation speaks of 144,000 sealed servants who follow the Lamb and proclaim His Kingdom with authority. Their works will not surpass Christ in essence, but in scope—because He will be working through a multiplied body.

Christ repeated the Father’s will again for emphasis: “Everyone which sees the Son, and believes on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:40). To “see” the Son is to perceive Him as Scripture reveals Him—Yahweh manifested in flesh, the fullness of the Godhead dwelling bodily (Colossians 2:9).

Our part is simple, yet profound: believe. Believe that Yahweh came in human form. Believe that His name—Yahshua, “Yahweh is salvation”—contains the promise of eternal life. Believe that His sacrifice is sufficient. When we believe, He performs the Father’s will through us.

Christ said, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (John 4:34). That work is the gathering, preserving, and resurrecting of every soul the Father has given Him. He will finish it. He will lose none. He will raise them up.

And we—His body—are called to eat that same heavenly purpose. To align with His mission. To walk as vessels through whom He completes the Father’s will in the earth. The Father’s will is not vague, hidden, or uncertain. It is resurrection. It is transformation. It is the raising up of a people conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). And Christ Himself guarantees the outcome: “I should lose nothing.”     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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May 29, 2026 · 10:31 am

When Family and Friends Become the Furnace of Love

Nothing tests the reality of our conversion like the people who know us best. Their resistance becomes the very fire God uses to forge His love in us.

When our friends and family reject our newfound faith, we must not grow frustrated. Christ commands us to forgive, bless, and love them — and in doing so, His Spirit grows within us.

Christ said, “A man’s foes shall be they of his own household” (Matthew 10:36). It is often our families and closest friends who resist us the most when we begin to share the gospel. Their pushback can feel like a deep wound, especially when our hearts burn with new faith and we long for fellowship with them.

The Birth of Agape Love

But we must understand something vital: our Creator includes this resistance as part of His plan for our spiritual growth. Through these painful moments, He is cultivating agapē love in us. This is how we add love to our faith.

By faith we seek God, and by faith we receive into our spirit the love that flows from His divine nature. Agapē is described in 1 Corinthians 13 — patience, kindness, humility, endurance. These qualities are not learned in comfort. They are formed in us through suffering, especially through rejection.

Our loved ones “rub” against us. Through their unbelief they withstand us, just as Cain withstood Abel, Esau resisted Jacob, and the Pharisees opposed Christ. David faced pagan nations, but he also endured Saul and Absalom and his wives — enemies from within his own house. Without this friction, there would be little spiritual growth. Our spiritual muscles grow when we forgive.

Christ taught that our enemies would arise from our own home. Yet He also commanded us not to reject them, not to curse them, but to bless them, pray for them, and love them. They are not obstacles to our maturity — they are instruments of it.

Did not Christ say, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you” (Matthew 5:44)? And why? “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven” (v. 45). When we respond with divine love, we grow into His likeness. When we bless instead of retaliating, we mature. When we forgive instead of resent, we bear fruit. This is walking in the Spirit.

Christ gave us a new commandment: love your enemies. When someone puts us down, the old spirit of vindictiveness tries to rise. But this is the moment to exercise the divine nature within us. He has given us power to resist the old reactions that ruled us before our conversion. This is the first step in the journey of spiritual growth — knowing, doing, and being — the path toward 30‑fold, 60‑fold, and 100‑fold fruit‑bearing. This is what Christ was teaching in the parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:1-23. And it begins right where it hurts the most: forgiving those closest to us.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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May 9, 2026 · 6:00 am

Woe to the Shepherds: Returning to Yahweh’s True Gospel

Scripture calls Israel’s religious leaders “the shepherds of Israel.” Yet through the centuries these shepherds—rabbis, priests, pastors, ministers, prophets, and teachers—have failed to feed Yahweh’s flock with truth. They have concealed His identity, hidden His true name, and clouded His purpose of reproducing Himself in His elect.

Another Gospel

They replaced the true message with “another gospel,” another name, and a distorted vision that contradicts the prophets and apostles. These false shepherds enrich themselves by exploiting Yahweh’s people, promoting systems built on error and myth rather than the Creator’s truth.

Because of this, Yahweh spoke through Ezekiel: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?” (34:2). They benefit from the flock but do not heal, gather, or nourish them (vv. 3–4). Ezekiel’s message spans centuries and reaches directly into our time.

Today the Spirit repeats the warning: “I am against the shepherds; I will require my flock at their hand.” He will stop false pastors from feeding on His people and will rescue His flock from their mouths (vv. 7–10). It is a fearful thing to have the Creator oppose one’s ministry.

We have been taught by these false shepherds doctrines like the rapture, the prosperity gospel, and the veneration of pagan holidays, to name only a few. We ministers must reexamine the doctrines we teach. If we do not have it right, then God has already pronounced a “woe” upon us. If we are teaching others about God, then we had better have it right.

But how many of us have taken the time to prove the teachings handed down to us? It is too easy to say, “Well, Brother Jones told me this, so it must be right.” Yet we are commanded to “examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith.” The true faith—His faith—not merely our faith in Him. It is His faith now come down into us! It is His belief in Himself-in-us, not little old us mustering up a smidgen of belief in Him.

The True Faith and the False Faith

There you are—faith—with all of its false conceptions.

Take the cross. Christ is not our substitute; He is our example. He died; therefore we die with Him: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Christ” (Romans 6:6). He was buried; we were buried with Him. He was raised from the dead; and now—HalleluYah!—we are raised with Him by believing in His (and our) resurrection.

(HalleluYah means “Praise Yah” in Hebrew. You’ve been using His true name all these years without realizing it!)

Now we are raised from the dead, never to serve sin again. “For he that is dead is freed from sin” (Romans 6:7). And “through faith in the operation of God, who has raised Him from the dead,” we now walk in newness of life (Colossians 2:12).

This is the entry-level message the sheep need. We must teach this. This is the truth of the cross—but do we preach it? Do we teach it? Hardly. Not like this. It is too blunt, too straight.

“Hey flock. Got a message from God this morning. He says we all need to get on the cross with Christ, let our old sinful nature die, and receive His new spiritual heart so we can be freed from sin and sinning.”

What would they say to that? Would I lose my job? I’ve got bills to pay. You start preaching, “Deny yourself! Die on the cross!”—no way. That won’t fly. People want, want, want. They want prosperity. They like the broad, wide-open way. Romans 6 is too straight and narrow.

You see what I mean? Who will cease to be one of the shepherds upon whom God has pronounced a woe? Who will repent, prove all things, turn to Him and His Spirit of truth, and become one of His people through whom He gathers and heals His sheep? Who will become a shepherd in His elect company? Who will become His sons and daughters walking in all His ways?

“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12). Believing on His name equals receiving Christ. But how can you believe something you do not understand? John was referring to the Savior’s Hebrew name, Yahshua, which means “Yah is Savior.” If you believe the message contained in His name, then you have received Him—and God will give you power to become His actual offspring.

Conclusion

The book of Jude warns that “certain men crept in unawares,” and their influence continues in our generation. But Yahweh is raising up a remnant—men and women who will cast off inherited lies, embrace the true faith of Christ within, and boldly proclaim His name and His purpose.

The question is not whether deception exists; Scripture already settled that. The question is whether we will stand with the Shepherd who gathers, heals, and restores His flock. The time has come for true shepherds to rise, to feed His people with truth, and to walk in the power of the sons and daughters of God. May we be found among them.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock [All this and much more is in my book Yah Is Savior available free here: Ordering My Free Books in Paperback | Immortality Road Be sure and share, like, and subscribe]

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April 23, 2026 · 8:48 am

Dying With Christ, Living Through Him: The Miracle of the New Nature

It is not enough to believe that Christ died, was buried, and rose again. Scripture calls us to believe something far more personal: that our old Adamic nature died with Him, was buried with Him, and that by believing in His resurrection, we too are “raised to walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). This is His requirement for true discipleship.

It is not difficult to believe that Christ existed or that He endured what Scripture records. “Even the devils believe…and tremble” (James 2:19). But Christ calls His followers to go all in—to lay everything on the line, to put real skin in the game. That means surrendering our old lives, ambitions, addictions, habits, and identities. He tells us to “count the cost” and see whether we are willing to undergo the spiritual growth process necessary to become like Him. Not merely improved versions of ourselves, but like Him.

We must first understand that when Christ expired on the cross, your sin nature and mine died with Him. That was us dying there. He took our sins upon Himself and, through death, eradicated them. All the sins of humanity—and the old nature that produced them—died when He died (Romans 6:1–15). This is precious knowledge, rarely heard in pulpits today.

Christ was buried, and with Him was buried every sin ever committed. Your sins, my sins, and the old nature that generated them were laid in that tomb.

And then Christ rose from the dead. But it was not only He who rose—we rose with Him. In His mercy, He provided a way for us to receive a new life before our physical bodies return to dust. He rose; we rise—by believing His word. He said it. He wrote it. Our task is to believe it.

So the issue is not merely believing that Christ rose. It is believing that we rose with Him. All we possess are His words, written nearly two millennia ago, promising this new life. Believing those words requires faith—trusting what we cannot yet see.

The Seed Germinates

When we truly believe in our own death, burial, and resurrection with Christ, the light of truth ignites within us. It is like a seed planted in the soil. The warmth of the sun and the moisture of the earth work together, and then a miracle occurs.

The seed ceases to exist in its former state. Its outer shell decays, returning to dust, while its hidden life breaks forth toward the light. So it is with God’s offspring. We are reborn like those garden seeds—by 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 by coming in flesh, giving Himself as a ransom, and embodying the Word on earth. That Word became the Seed. When we believe that Word—about Him and about our union with Him—we become “new creatures in Christ.” We become part of the divine drama. He is in us, enacting His love, which is the heart of the Script.

“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). Christ was that wheat seed. Had He not died, He would have remained alone. But by dying, He produced many grains—many sons and daughters in His likeness.

If a person refuses to die with Christ, he faces the lonely tomb of death. But if we choose His way, our old sinful heart dies, and we are freed from its tyranny. Once slaves to sin, we are now liberated.

Like that garden seed, through belief in the Word of promise, we rise with the Creator’s life surging through our new being.

Sprouted Wheat Becomes Grain

We, like freshly sprouted wheat, become potential grain the Master mills into flour for the spiritual “bread of life.” But we must grow to maturity—“first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head” (Mark 4:28).

We are His seed, His children, destined to grow into His likeness and to be used in His purpose. If we are not growing, something is wrong.

To mature, we must “purge out the old leaven”—the false teachings handed down by well‑meaning people. We must “dig deep,” study His word diligently, and endure the opposition that will come, often from those closest to us.

This is the path of the Seed. This is the way of growth. This is how Christ reproduces Himself in His people.

—Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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April 15, 2026 · 10:30 pm

The Parables and the Hidden Architecture of the Coming City

When Jesus says His parables conceal rather than simplify, He is doing something profoundly consistent with His promise of New Jerusalem: He is revealing the mysteries of the Kingdom only to those who have ears to hear — the very ones who will inherit the God‑built city Abraham longed for.

When Christ began teaching in parables, He was not offering simple illustrations to make spiritual truths more accessible. He said the opposite. His disciples asked, “Why speakest Thou unto them in parables?” He answered, “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given” (Matt. 13:10–11). The parables were not meant to clarify but to separate — to reveal the Kingdom to the faithful while concealing it from the indifferent. They functioned as spiritual filters, sifting those who merely heard from those who truly sought.

This dynamic is essential to understanding how the parables relate to Christ’s promise of New Jerusalem. The parables unveil the inner workings of the Kingdom, the very Kingdom that will culminate in the descent of the God‑built city. Christ was not simply describing moral lessons; He was revealing the hidden architecture of the world to come.

The parable of the mustard seed shows a Kingdom that begins invisibly but grows into a vast, sheltering reality. The parable of the treasure hidden in a field speaks of a Kingdom so valuable that everything else is counted loss. These are not abstract spiritual ideas; they are descriptions of the process by which God prepares a people for the city He has prepared for them.

Psalm 48 sings of that city: “Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness.” The psalmist describes a city marked by divine stability, joy, and holiness — a city whose glory causes kings to tremble and whose beauty is to be “considered” and “told to the generation following.” This is not the fragile Jerusalem of history but the eternal Zion, the Kingdom‑mountain Daniel saw filling the whole earth. It is the same city Abraham sought, the same city Hebrews declares God has prepared, and the same city John sees descending from heaven.

Our Savior’s parables are the blueprints of that city. They reveal how the Kingdom grows, how it gathers, how it judges, and how it separates. The parable of the dragnet shows the final sorting of the righteous and the wicked — the very separation that precedes the unveiling of New Jerusalem. The parable of the wheat and tares describes the coexistence of good and evil until the harvest, when the righteous “shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” — language that anticipates the radiant glory of the Lamb’s wife, the holy city.

In this way, the parables are not detached teachings but prophetic disclosures of how Christ will fulfill His promise. They describe the Kingdom’s hidden growth now and its visible manifestation when the city of God descends. The mysteries He revealed to His disciples are the same mysteries consummated in Revelation: a Kingdom prepared, a people purified, and a city built by God, descending in glory to fill the earth with His presence.

Thus, the parables, Psalm 48, the patriarchal promises, and the vision of New Jerusalem all converge into a single narrative. Christ’s parables unveil the Kingdom’s inner life; Psalm 48 celebrates its eternal city; Abraham longed for its foundations; and Revelation shows its final descent. The God‑built city is the culmination of everything Christ taught — the full flowering of the Kingdom He hid in parables and revealed to those who follow Him. For the Son of God said this about the parables: “I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 13:35). They are the secrets and mysteries of the Kingdom of God. And the Kingdom is the very thing that we should seek first.

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April 4, 2026 · 9:48 am

How Christ Abides in Us—Getting to His Sustained Presence

This knowledge is extremely important—if you want to walk with Him.

Seekers of God must believe He wants them to grow. Without that faith, they remain spiritually immature, blown about like leaves in the wind. Christ has given clear commands for growth: “Abide in Me” and “Add to your faith” the seven attributes of His divine nature (II Peter 1).

These commands—and the seven additions—are explored in my books The Eleventh Commandment and The Additions to the Faith. These attributes are attainable; if Peter, Paul, and John grew into them, so can we. [Get your free copy here: Ordering My Free Books in Paperback | Immortality Road]

Some may think, “Here he goes again about becoming like Christ.” But Scripture says teachers exist to mature the saints until we reach “the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11–13). Growth into His fullness is our calling.

This abiding is the indwelling of His heart and Spirit. “Christ in you, the hope of glory” becomes reality as we learn and practice the seventh addition—agape love.

Recognizing a command is one thing; learning how to obey it is another. We abide in Christ by believing His words about His presence through the Spirit of truth. He is the vine; we are the branches. Remaining in Him produces “much fruit.”

This aligns with the seven additions. When they are added, we are never barren but full of fruit—“much fruit.” Abiding and adding work together to make our calling and election sure.

Abiding is the sustained presence of the Spirit within us, made possible by these seven qualities, culminating in divine love.

But how do we abide? How do we add? What is the actual way forward?

Christlike Prayer

We abide in Christ through prayer—but not self-centered prayer. True prayer aligns with Christ’s own prayers and with God’s interests. Worship must be “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).

Our words to God should reflect what matters to Him. Christ taught this in the model prayer. Prayer shaped by His priorities gains His ear.

Dale Carnegie once wrote, “Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.” If this works with people, how much more with God? Self-focused prayers—“Bless me, help me get this job”—miss the mark. But if we speak with Him about His plan, His purpose, His Kingdom, He will listen.

Christ said the Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask. We ask—not command. When we pray according to His will and His plan, He abides in us.

God’s interests are revealed in the words of Christ, the prophets, and the apostles. He thinks about His Kingdom and His righteousness. Why not talk to Him about these things? Few do.

Thinking His thoughts is abiding in Him. Continuing in His teachings shapes our minds into His mind. Paul urges us, “Let this mind be in you.”

We gain His thoughts through knowledge taught by His servants, and we sustain His thoughts through prayer and study of His purpose.

Prayer becomes the rudder that keeps our minds on course toward the New Jerusalem and toward God Himself.

Abiding in Him

Love for Christ grows from gratitude for deliverance. “We love Him because He first loved us.” Because we love Him, we keep His words. Then He and the Father “make their abode” with us (John 14:23).

There is a progression: gratitude → love → obedience → abiding presence. He fulfills His promise: “I will never leave you.”

One of His commands is “pray.” Scripture emphasizes prayer repeatedly. It is essential. Praying according to His plan keeps us abiding in Him and bearing much fruit—fulfilling God’s purpose of reproducing His nature in us.

Christ promised that if we abide in Him and His words abide in us, our prayers will be answered (John 15:7). Abiding produces the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.

Spiritual Growth

Abiding in Him ensures spiritual growth. Look at Peter and Paul before and after the resurrection. If they grew into spiritual powerhouses, so can we. Their teachings—and Christ’s—center on abiding.

Conclusion

Abiding in Christ is not a mystical feeling but a deliberate walk of agreement with His mind, His words, and His purposes. As we pray according to His interests—His Kingdom, His righteousness, His plan for the nations—we open our hearts to the very thoughts of God. In that communion, His Spirit settles in us, shaping our desires and empowering our obedience. This is how Christ abides in us: through a steady exchange of His thoughts for ours, His will for ours, His love poured into our hearts. When we pray His way and think His thoughts, the vine’s life flows into the branches. Fruit appears. Growth becomes inevitable. And the Father’s purpose—to reproduce His own nature in His children—moves steadily toward fulfillment.

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