Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

April 16, 2016 · 3:11 pm

Exploring the Mind of God–His Love, Purpose, and Plan

Distilling the mind of God into the ink of a single page is like trying to put a cloud burst into a coffee cup. After the torrent, we see a bit of the water of heaven captured in a small finite vessel, a symbol of the moisture poured forth on the thirsty land.

That cup of truth may satisfy the parched souls of only a few pilgrims who stop for refreshment. Hopefully this cup of rain reminds them of the firmament from which it fell.

The mind of God. How do we begin to consider and relate such ethereal thoughts? Perhaps when our finite minds decrease and His infinite wisdom increases in them.

The Hebrew God has left us a record of His thoughts that emanates from His mind as revealed to His prophets of old. This record of His thoughts were written down and miraculously preserved through the millenia for us in the last days. They are called the “scriptures of truth,” or the writings of truth.

Thousands of years ago, God spoke His mind to His people using the prophets, who wrote it down. Now God speaks to us by His Son, the heir of all things, the King of God’s Kingdom (Heb. 1: 1-2). The prophets knew the mind of God because the “Spirit of Christ…was in them” (I Pet. 1: 11). These prophets “spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (II Pet. 1: 21). They had the Spirit of Christ in them and were longing for our day, the day when the Spirit of Christ is multiplied and reproduced into a body of “many sons [and daughters] unto glory”–right here on earth!

The Spirit of Christ in the prophets of old longed for that time about 2,000 years ago for the Father Yahweh’s Son to come on the scene. For with His arrival, the Seed Son then could be planted in the earth. They knew that there could be no great harvest without the planting of the Seed Son into the earth. Christ, reflecting on His date with death, said, “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 NKJV).

Without Christ’s death and resurrection, there would be no harvest of “grain,” no reproduction of seed. By definition, grain is reproducible seed. And in this case, Christ is teaching us that by believing Him, we become just like the original Seed that was planted. The harvest is not a harvest of little immature seedlings. No. It is a harvest of seeds, like the original, ready to be planted for their own harvest.

With Christ’s planting of Himself literally in the tomb in the earth, we have the inevitable harvest of Seed just like Him! That is what He said. And He is speaking the mind of God. He is speaking the thoughts of God about His purpose, which is this: God is reproducing Himself in a group of people called and chosen for this purpose.

That is worthy of repeating over and over in our finite minds. God is reproducing Himself in a body of people from all over the earth. He is calling them and choosing them. It is all His doing. It is all Him. They did not work for this honor. To the contrary. He has chosen the weak, the foolish, the low, and the despised of the earth to bring to nothing the world and its thinking (I Cor. 1: 27).

The Plan Is Found in the Scriptures

If you peel back all the layers of the Seed, you will find the seminal heart to be Unselfish Love. God is Love, and Love cannot by its very nature do anything but share. God is sharing Himself.

And in the very beginning, God, of course, realized this about Himself. He knew that the wonderful thing that He is is Love, and Love shares and magnifies and expresses and ultimately reproduces itself. That is what unselfish love, the love from above, is.

So this reproduction of Himself, which is Love, became His Purpose and Life. In His Mind of Love He created thoughts comprised of words. And with these words and thoughts He created the Plan to make His Purpose happen.

Using His thoughts, comprised of words, He created the  concept of “seed time and harvest.” And He made the original Seed His Word, and He made it incorruptible (I Pet. 1: 23).

We must pause a moment and realize that this whereof we speak was in the beginning before this dimension in which we breathe existed.

God created the Plan to carry out His Purpose of Reproducing Himself (Love). And this Plan is laid out in the scriptures of truth. To the prophets and apostles He revealed a precept here and a precept there, but we now have the privelege of seeing all the pieces to the puzzle spread before us. And with the Spirit of Christ within us, we through His help can comprehend the mysteries of God’s Plan.

His Plan, which is expressed in words, becomes the Word, the Logos. And this entire Plan of His Purpose of Reproducing Love is all poured into the Son of God. “And the Word (Logos) was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory…” (John 1: 14).

The Plan and Purpose is all in the Seed, who is the Word, who is the Son of God. The Father, whose thoughts we have endeavored to explore, poured His everything into His Son–His very nature, His purpose, His plan. It is all there in Him. That’s the reason the apostle Paul says, “He is before all things, and by Him all things consist (Col. 1: 17-18).

And Christ is our Head, and we are His body. He now needs His body to agree with His Mind, the Mind of God. And God’s Mind becomes our mind when we agree with His thoughts.      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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October 17, 2015 · 4:34 pm

Some Have a Royal Destiny in Christ’s Kingdom

God loves all of us His children. All of us are precious in His sight. The Spirit operates in some degree in all of us. But there are “differences of administrations.”
There are “diversities of operations” but the same Spirit “working through all of [us]” (I Cor. 12: 4-13). Responsibilities differ for each member of His body.

Some may pastor small congregations, and others may teach at church. And some write articles and letters of edification and instruction to many throughout the world. Such was Paul’s calling.

The point is that we are His one body, and we all have our place in His body. And we are all being “transformed by the renewing of [our] mind” as we serve him in the capacity that He has called us.

We all have our gift from Him to the other members of His body, the church. How and why are there differences? Each differs “according to the grace that is given to us” (Rom. 12: 6). “Grace” is God favoring us in some way.

God shines His grace, His favor, on individuals in His body in different amounts and at different times in their lives. Some will have a problem with this, so let me explain.

Two Parables Reveal Wonderful Secrets

Consider the parable of the talents: “For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey” (Matt. 25: 14-29).

Parables reveal secrets about God’s literal kingdom soon to come to this earth. Christ is in the “far country.” And He gave talents to His followers. The amounts differed according to their ability.” Some could handle more responsibility than others. The one with five gained five more. The one with a lesser amount of two did gain two more. And the Lord praised both of them and rewarded them with rulership over many things.  But the servant with only one talent was afraid and had no faith in his master, and he was banished and shamed for his error.

The one with two talents did not complain, but with a good heart did his best out of love for his Lord. As did the one with five. The fact remains here that grace/favor was given in different amounts according to the particular abilities of each servant.

We should tie this in with the different spiritual fruit production rates as seen in “The Parable of the Sower” (Matt. 13: 3-9). Christ reveals a secret when He tells us in this parable that some Christians will bring forth thirty fold fruit, some sixty fold, and some will bear one hundred fold fruit.

We see in these two parables that in His kingdom, He gives grace in different amounts, and this grace yields different amounts of spiritual fruit production.

Some Will Become Like Peter, James, John, and Paul in Our Day

Here it is. Some members of Christ’s body are predestined to be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8: 29-33). Some will be the first to be glorified and transformed into an immortal state. Some will bear this 100 fold fruit and be like the Son of God. In fact, Christ will be formed fully in them. This is God’s choosing. We cannot work to be awarded this honor. These are His chosen ones for this honor. These are His first fruits, and they will overcome all things and will sit with Him on His throne (Rev. 3: 21).

Not all Christians are chosen for this. Some will spiritually mature later. They have their part to play that is very important. It’s like this. At Boeing Corporation, engineers design a new jet airliner. Machinists actualize their blueprints into real parts, and workers put the parts together to make the plane.  And the executives procure the financing, personnel, and materials to make the big picture happen. Everyone is important and indispensable in the process. All are needed to fulfill the plan and purpose.

And we all in the body of Christ are needed to fulfill God’s plan and purpose. We have His Spirit operating in us according to His grace and direction.

A Greater Need We Share

Look, we all need each other. But there is a greater need that we all share. It is to know in detail God’s Master Plan as seen in the scriptures of truth. God’s plan is not born from the imaginations of TV evangelists or their clones on every corner.

If God reveals to us that He is bringing some in the body to sit with Him on His throne and to rule and reign with Him for 1,000 years–should we not all hunger and thirst for more knowledge about their rise in these last days before the King’s return?

Should we not all aspire to become one of those who will reign with Christ? Should we not at least help them fulfill their calling–at least be supportive by first studying and praying for their arrival on the world’s stage?

For the whole creation is waiting “for the manifestation of the sons of God” (Rom. 8: 19). Should not all of us then have that same “earnest expectation” of this glorious event?

God’s elect are the ones God has chosen to be the first to completely come to maturity in God’s spiritual life cycle. They are destined to come to full fruition in these latter days. Their arrival on the scene is a surprise event that the world will not be ready for.

The question is–will we be ready? Will we embrace this light and help and edify them in their calling and election. If we do, then we will have passed the “selflessness test.” We will have proven that it is all for God and His plan. For we should all seek first His kingdom, which includes the King and kings who will be the “rulers over many cities” that He speaks about in the parables. We should all seek His will concerning this. And we should embrace His plan and purpose–even if we are not to be one of those who will bear 100 fold fruit. We should want to help them get there. In this we will show our love for God.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

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August 8, 2015 · 6:15 pm

Abiding in Christ = Bearing the Fruit of the Spirit = “Walking as Children of Light”

The apostle Paul says that we are light, and we are to “walk as children of light” (Eph 5:8).  Then, in the very next breath he says, “For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness…”  This thus signifying that “light” is equal to bearing the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (Gal 5:22-23).

We become the children of light when we have His Spirit abiding in us, bearing the fruit of the Spirit.  Light is what makes something known; therefore, God will be manifest in us when others see and experience His love, joy, and peace coming through us.  We are the light of God when we have the fruit of the Spirit because others will see God in us.

We bear this spiritual produce when we abide in the Savior Christ.  We are commanded by the Savior to “abide in me,” and let Me abide in you.  Let my Spirit live and flow through you.  Then you will bear much fruit (John 15: 4-5).   Much love from above, joy, and peace will flow down from Him by His Spirit within us and out to others.

How Does His Spirit Abide in Us?

Yes, we are told by the Savior to let the Spirit of God come and flow through us.  But how does this happen?  Is there something that we, His children, need to do to effect this?  How will His abiding presence come into us so that we can bear this fruit of His Spirit?

The Savior Jesus (Yahshua) makes a conditional promise to us concerning this.  “If a man love me, he will keep my words…” (John 14:23).  Good things will come to the man who loves the Son of God.  Loving Him will mean he will obey his words and what He tells us to do.  “If you love Me, keep my commandments”.  If we do this, then He will give us the Spirit!  And the Father “shall give your another Comforter; that He may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth…for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14: 15-17).   This is the Spirit of God coming down into us!

He just said, those that love Him will keep His commandments.  “He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loves Me” (John 14:21).   The person that loves the Son of God understands just what He requires of him, just what He wants him to do.  This person that loves the Son of God will comprehend that doing this prerequisite must happen before we can receive the  in-dwelling Spirit of truth.

What exactly are these commandments that Christ wants us to keep?

Most initially think that these commandments are the ten commandments. But Christ talks about “new” commandments (John 13: 34). The first new thing that He commands us to do is, “Believe Me.”  That is a command, which is a commandment. Real simple.  Not complicated.  Even a child can comprehend this.  He is saying, Believe Me when I tell you about my relationship with the Father.  “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me.”  That is a command.  Those of us who take this to heart and do it will receive His Spirit in a reality and bear much fruit of the Spirit.

He did not request mythic gargantuan tasks to prove that we love Him.  He merely gives us a simple command: “Believe me that I am in the Father and believe me that the Father is in Me” (John 14:11).  We are to believe that He was in the Father’s will, heart and mind, soul and body.  And we are to believe that the great Spirit Father, Yahweh Himself, was walking around doing the great miraculous works through Christ!

That’s it in a nutshell.  That is what the book says.  This is worshiping God in spirit and in truth.  This is the truth:  The Father dwelt bodily in the man Christ Jesus (Yahshua) of Nazareth.   “For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Col 2: 9)… “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father…I and my Father are one…God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself…”

There is so much riding on this.  If we get this one, then the gates of heaven will open, and we shall be the recipients of His very Being in our bodies!  He goes on, “He that believes on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works  shall he do!” (John 14: 12).  Because the Father will be abiding in us, too!  HalleluYah!  This is how we get the Father to come down and live in us: we must first believe that the Father was dwelling fully in the Son of God.

We get this right and great joy, great peace, and great love will come down through us and on out unto the world.  Believing that the Father walked around in the Son of God and did the works is the first step in us receiving the Father and having Him walk around in our bodies here on the the earth.  It will be He loving others through us.  He will be touching others with peace and joy.

Christ goes on and confirms it again: “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” (Jn 14:23).  This is how the Spirit will come down and abide in us.

“He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit…”  Much love, joy, peace and all the rest, coming down and through us to the love-starved world.  This is how we glorify the Father–that we bear much fruit of the Spirit (John 15: 8).   These fruit-bearers will be His disciples.

Once the belief has begun–belief that the Father is in Christ fully–then “whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”  We now have confidence to ask for more of His presence, more of His Spirit, so that it can be channeled out to others who need to know that God is real.

In this way the light of God’s Spirit will shine so that all men can be drawn to God.  “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me.”  We are then to “let your light so shine that others may see your good works and glorify your Father (which is walking inside of you, doing the works).

Why is this so difficult for us to comprehend?  It is because of the old leaven, the old teachings about the Father and Christ taught by the false prophets and teachers throughout the centuries.  They have made it mysterious and difficult to understand God through subtilty, lest our “minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (II Cor 11: 3).

Here it is. The God of the Old Testament, the God Yahweh that the patriarchs and prophets served–that Great Invisible Spirit/Creator/Father came down here to earth and took up His abode in the person that English speakers call Jesus Christ. And though all powerful, Yahweh-in-human-form through humility showed us how to treat each other in love. And through His physical walk on earth, He was reconciling the world unto Himself, being a Savior to all. When we obey what He commanded us to do–“Believe Me that the Father is in Me”–then we will bear the same fruit of the Spirit that He did. God will be glorified, for He will have been multiplied in and through us!

This revelation is huge. Reread it. Restudy it. Don’t delete it if it does not quicken  right away. It is precious and is the key for more of His Spirit coming down and through us, thus enabling us to grow into the manifested sons and daughters of the King.       Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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July 25, 2015 · 6:46 pm

Christian Growth–Additions to the Faith (Part Two)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

1. Luke 24: 13-32

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

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

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July 8, 2014 · 3:02 pm

“Seek First the Kingdom of God,” the Government of the Invisible Spirit

The phrase “kingdom of God” has been used so much by so many people from so many different religious backgrounds that its real meaning may have been lost.  Heretofore, most  have understood the phrase to mean “God’s kingdom,” or the kingdom that belongs to Him.  And this is true, it does belong to Him and His children.  However, there is another way to look at that phrase, and that is “the kingdom of the Spirit.”

It says in John 4 that “God is Spirit.”  Therefore, “kingdom of God” can be construed as “kingdom of Spirit.”  Or, in other words, it means a form of order and government headed by a Sovereign entity that is comprised of Spirit.  The Master did say that “the flesh profits nothing; it is the spirit that makes alive.”  “All is vanity,” in other words, except the invisible spiritual things.

We are admonished that we should seek first this invisible spirit kingdom.  Also, the only true worship of the Father is in spirit and in truth.  It is not any old spirit worship, but it must be spiritual and truthful. It won’t be anything remotely having to do with earthly natural things.

True worship is an invisible connection between our spirit in the human heart and the Eternal Creator Spirit.  It is the connection you cannot see.  You cannot legislate it, tax it, build fine buildings in order to coax true worship into your midst.  It is an invisible agreement between the Creator and His special spiritual creation, Adam.  “The true worshipers must worship the Father in spirit and in truth.”  They must find out the truth about His invisible Spirit reign within, for “the kingdom of God (Spirit) is within you.”

It is a realm of the heart, an inner sanctum full of true thoughts about the true nature of things.  “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation.”  You can’t see it with your fleshly eyes.  It is not of this earth.  Consequently, when we look out over this earth, anything we see, be it ever so religious, cannot be or have anything to do with the kingdom of Spirit (God).

“Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights.”  The kingdom of God is a dimension and realm that our five senses don’t pick up on.  It is not of this earth.  It must first be believed on, and then it will begin to manifest itself to the understanding of our hearts.  We will never see it first with our earthly eyes and then believe.  Faith must be exercised—believing having not yet seen with the fleshly eyes.  The kingdom of God is a government of God, who is Spirit, and who rules in our hearts by His very essence, which is spirit.      Kenneth Wayne Hancock        {For more on this topic see this earlier article  https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2008/03/14/not-of-this-earth/ and the one dated 3/17/08 }

 

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April 12, 2014 · 4:26 pm

Having the Mind of Christ–Key to Staying Focused

We know as Christians that we should have our thoughts on the things of God. For “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee,” the Spirit of Christ in Isaiah tells us (26: 3). But, let’s face it, our minds wander to things of this earth, trivial things, things that do not matter in God’s big picture.

How then do we get our minds to think on the things of God? How do we prevent them from wandering? Is there a focal point that will help us?

He admonished us to “let this mind be in you.” And that is the mind of Christ. But what was in His mind? What does He think about? Paul tells us to think on the things that are lovely, just and of a good report (Phil. 4: 8).

Of course, it all starts with grateful thoughts toward our Savior for delivering us from our decadent old lives. What love our God has for us! Beyond our finite thoughts to comprehend such care for us!

Things That Are Just

But does His mind stop with His interaction with us in His love for us in saving us, as wonderful as that is? Or is there more in His mind? Do His thoughts transcend the personal and enter into the geo-political–even into galactic concerns?

We know that He is a just God, a righteous Judge. Justice is His hallmark; fairness is His eternal standard.

As the righteous King, could Christ be thinking about His soon coming return when He will “rule all nations with a rod of iron”? Do not most every earthly king in exile prepare his heart and mind for his return to the throne, his seat of justice for his people?

Of course, they do. Christ tells us to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” The very first thing that we Christians should be seeking is God’s kingdom. First, we should be studying His word to see just what the kingdom of God is–to see if what we have been taught by the churches about the kingdom is correct. For Christ has much to say about His kingdom.

But we Americans and most people of the world have been too long removed from being a king’s subject. We are individualistic, self-willed, and self-centered. A monarchy is foreign to us after 225 years with our present government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Of course, our republic is a definite improvement on the despotic king George. However, our experiment in governing ourselves is not the kingdom/government of God that the scriptures speak of.

Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, is returning to earth and will rule and reign right here on earth for 1,000 years, according to the scriptures. That is the kingdom/government that we are admonished by Him to seek after.

We must simply stop thinking about God’s kingdom as some mystical ethereal heavenly realm that we are going to escape to. No. Christ is coming back to earth for 1,000 years, and sitting on the throne with Him will be God’s royal offspring, the over-comers. He promised, “To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I overcame and am set down with My Father in His throne (Rev. 3: 21).  Somebody will fulfill this His promise, for He does not speak idle words.

Help us, God, to let this vision of rulership with Christ permeate our hard hearts. Help us believe and cleave to your promises, for they are your thoughts; they are the creative seeds that emanate from Your mind to us.

We simply must begin thinking in terms of Christ as this regal sovereign Monarch and how He will completely change the geo-political dynamic.

His kingdom is the good news. Personal salvation provided us by Him, though precious, is but a first step that enable us to first “see” and then “enter into the kingdom of God (John 3: 3-5).

Personal salvation enables us to become a “babe in Christ,” but like an earthly baby, a young Christian needs to grow up spiritually into full maturity. Some of His followers will mature into kingship and will sit with Him on His throne.

This is what our exiled King is thinking about. He is all about preparing and then sharing His throne with His elect. Read His words now with all this in mind, and you will see into His wondrous thinking. We should be filling our minds with these thoughts about His return and rule. These are the things that are true and honest and just and pure and lovely and of a good report. And we are to think on these things, as Christ does at this very moment, and “the God of peace shall be with you.” For He is the living Word. And His words to us are the very Essence that comprises His thoughts. And these thoughts of His will keep us focused.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

 

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January 18, 2014 · 4:24 pm

The Five Offices of God–For Our Perfection

Unto man has God “put in subjection the world to come.” Man. That’s us, brethren. In the world to come, the next age, the time in the history of this earth after Christ’s return to rule it for a thousand years—God has ordained that some of us human beings will be rulers with Christ in the government that He will establish (Heb. 2: 5).

To rule and reign with Christ in His kingdom/government—that is the high calling. Brethren, are we ready? Have we grown spiritually that we would be strong and pure enough to take on that mantle of responsibility for the King, to be His administrators, His regents, His arms and hands, His heart and mind in the myriad matters of ruling the King’s earth?

To help us fulfill this “high calling” of God, Christ came “that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (2: 9). And Christ will be made complete and perfect by His act of “bringing many sons unto glory” (v. 10). And this glory is us being glorified, which in turn brings final glory to the King and Master. Christ will be fully glorified when He fulfills His final destiny, which is bringing His chosen ones to full spiritual maturity.

He did say, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone. But if it die, it brings forth much fruit” (John 12: 24). We are the “much fruit” that He refers to on the road to His glorification (v. 23).

And because we, Christ’s followers, have come out of the matrix of “flesh and blood, He also Himself took part of the same.” Why? So that He could pave the way for our immortality, made possible by the destruction of the devil. Christ destroys the devil when He destroys sin in our life and gives us a new life by faith (Heb. 2: 14). That’s the foundation to build the temple of God on. Since we are His temple,that is where we start.

And Christ brings us to that full mature spiritual growth by sharing His Spirit with His body of believers. He shares His Spirit with His teachers, and they then impart the necessary knowledge to Christ’s brethren, for “He is not ashamed to call [us] brethren (2: 11).

Why God Gave Us the Five Fold Ministry Offices

In fact, Christ set in His spiritual body of believers five offices: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. And Christ established these offices “for the perfecting of the saints [the brethren, us], for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4: 11-12).

Let’s savor this a moment. God has chosen out from among all the Christians in the world a few to be in these offices. Why? What is their purpose? First, they are necessary “for the perfecting” of the members of Christ’s church, which is His body of believers. The Greek word (G2675) translated “perfecting” here means “to be fit, prepared, to be mended and repaired, and ethically, to be complete and perfect, and to make one what he ought to be” (http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=G2675&t=KJV).

The true offices of God will help us by the Spirit within them to become prepared, ready and fit to assume the duties in Christ’s kingdom—royal duties to be assigned to us of our Father. For this is really the “work of the ministry” that Paul refers to here. The “ministry” of Christ is the administration of His government that will fill the whole earth, according to the prophet Daniel in 2: 44 and 7: 18: “But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.” That’s a long time to be in the presence of the King of kings (that’s us with the little “k”). And we “shall take the kingdom and possess it forever.” We. Us. Ruling with Christ the King.

That’s the gospel, my brothers and sisters. That’s the good news that man needs. Getting rid of the corruption caused by the sinful hearts of the leaders of this present world system and replacing it with righteous rulers who contain the Spirit of Christ in their bosoms. That’s the gospel; that’s the good news. It is the “gospel of kingdom” (Matt. 4: 23; Mark 1: 14-15). But how the gospel has been watered down at best by preaching only a tiny portion of His plan! How it has been poisoned by the preaching of false concepts like the prosperity doctrine! Well did the prophets cry, “Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, Saith the LORD.” And, “My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray.” But then He promises finally, “I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding” (Jer 23: 1; 50: 6; Ezk 34: 2; Jer 3: 15).

How Long Will They Teach Us?

These Spirit-led apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in our day will continue to teach “till we all come in the unity of the faith” (Eph. 4: 13). They through the Spirit will teach His pure concepts until we Christians are on the same page, until we have His vision. They will teach by His Spirit until the body has the true “knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man” (4: 11).

They will continue to teach the truth until we are fully grown, walking in the Spirit like Peter, James, John, and Paul did after the Resurrection. “Perfect” here means a completed spiritual life cycle growth. They will teach until we all have the “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (v. 11).

But don’t just take my word for it. We must prove all things through study and prayer to see if the things expounded here take root and grow in our hearts—to see if this vision of a royal heritage quickens like a seed in warm rich soil which loses its lonely first state and dies, only to be reborn as a green lively plant nourished by the living waters, alive now to reproduce itself, as the Creator has reproduced Himself in us.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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June 8, 2013 · 4:46 pm

On Fasting–Conversations with the Seer

The Seer was speaking unto us about fasting.

“Right now you are basking in the light of Christ’s words flowing through the one who He has sent to call out and instruct a people for His name. And that is well and good and is as it should be.  As Christ said unto His followers, The time will come when I will be taken from your midst; then you shall fast.”

“Why didn’t His disciples fast like John the Baptist and his disciples?” one of the brothers asked.

The Seer replied, “That is a very good question. The answer is instructive as to why fasting is even on God’s docket at all.  As long as the Master Teacher is personally with you, you do not feel a need to fast, Christ was saying.  But when He is gone and no longer is physically there to hand feed you the milk and meat of the Word, then the need to fast will become apparent.  This should reveal to us how God uses fasting in our lives. For fasting is reserved for that time that will come for the elect.”

“What time are you talking about?” I asked.

“There is coming a time in all of your lives in God when I will no longer be here with you, serving as your teacher and guide. There is coming a time when you all sitting here will be dispersed to the four winds for one reason or another, and you will look out the window at the leafless trees and the brown grass and the grey sky, and you will remember this day when I told you about fasting.

“For, you see, fasting is not necessary in God’s plan when His teachings are fed to you by another. It is when you are alone and hungry for God’s truth, and you turn around and finally realize that there is no other human being to take your hand and comfort you and feed you in your lonely hunger. You realize that you will have to seek the Spirit within you for sustenance found only in the spiritual bread of truth. Then you will fast, successfully and meaningfully fast, and not before.”

“We fasted a very long fast two months ago,” another brother said.

“Yes, you all did, and God is not forgetful and appreciates your intent to join me in the fasting I must undertake. But the real reason to fast hinges on doing it not as just the thing to do. But rather we are to fast for specific reasons. The prophet Isaiah expounded on it in the 58th chapter where the Spirit through him tells his readers and listeners that the fast that God has ordained is one to accomplish His purposes in the earth. And that includes helping to deliver His people from the clutches of the evil world system that still has them in bondage. This is the only food that will sustain His sons and daughters. Being a part of His magnificent plan to ‘loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke.’”

“Who are the oppressed that need to go free?” someone asked.

“The fast that God has chosen is to do these things. Like Daniel in the ninth chapter when he prayed ‘with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.’ He was confessing the sins of God’s people, how they had failed Him, and how they had fallen into great bondage under the heavy yoke of the Babylonians and were in slavery to them, carried down into Babylonia, and how they had lost their homes and were completely desolate. Read all of that chapter and you will see Isaiah 58 in it.

“Daniel was laying it all out for God’s sake. Nothing was in it for himself. He finally could only ask God for His mercy to come for one reason: ‘for thine own sake and for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.’  Do you see? Daniel fasted and prayed, yes, for the people, but the people did not earn or deserved to be delivered and saved. Daniel honored his Creator God and asked God to deliver them for God’s own sake! That is the kind of heart that God wants in his sons and daughters! A heart that loves Him!

“And that is the kind of fast that Yahweh has chosen for us His sons. We should fast with His will in mind, and His will is His plan and purpose to deliver those in bondage. And this is what should be in our minds, to have the mind of Christ, which was, Not my will but thine be done, Father.

“It is this type of supplication that God will hear. This is the coming together of love of God and love of your neighbor. We are loving God when we pray and fast for our people–that they would be delivered from the slavery to sin and sinning. That they would be free from this devilish economic system based on debt, ruled by the rich men and bankers. That they would be delivered from hopelessness and despair and superstition and pervasive darkness.

“For make no mistake. The current inhabitants of the world are in the chains of darkness of the god of this world. They are enslaved in a faithless sunken pool of quicksand that is slowly taking them under. Their institutions have failed them and have even furthered their demise.  Those dark days are here now. For BABYLON THE GREAT, the world system, has the people in its clutches, and it is strangling them.

“And you young men, perhaps many years hence, will peer out your window at some grey horizon, and you will remember these words about fasting.  And the meaning of it will dawn upon you.  And you will bring that burden for those lost in darkness into your spirit, and you will wish you had your teacher there again to help you to know just what to do next.

“At that time, remember that your teacher is still  there with you. For He is the same Spirit that has taught you through me.  He is the Comforter, the Holy Spirit within your very heart, and He will bring all things back to your remembrance. Even to the point that you will no longer need a man to teach you, for you will have the Spirit of truth to teach you and guide you and help you.   Then you shall fast, even as Christ said we all would. And then you will pray for the oppressed as Daniel did.

“And to confirm that what happened to Daniel flies on down through the centuries and has relevance for us today, consider this.  At the end of  Daniel’s fasting and prayer and supplication, Gabriel, the arch-angel appeared to him and expounded many secrets of the coming of the kingdom of God to this earth, even foreseeing the crucifixion of Christ and the coming of Christ’s counterfeit, the Anti-Christ, the man of sin, which is for our day.”     KWH

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February 4, 2012 · 9:13 pm

The Spirit of God and the Spirit of Antichrist—How to Tell the Difference

The human mind of a child of God wants to be sure—wants to not be deceived, wants to know that what is said to it is sincere and true.  It is our nature for this to be—nothing less than the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help us God.

And this is especially so when it comes to religious things.  Any time someone tries to tell us something about God, we fairly bristle with our protective coating—shielding us from a possible onslaught of deceptive devilish communication.  We don’t want to be deceived and are so afraid of being so used that we just might miss a true word from God.  We are, after all, warned by the prophets and apostles about false teachers and false prophets, “who shall bring in damnable heresies,” said Peter.  Unfortunately, many will see a teaching new to them as false simply because it did not come from “our church.”  Little do they know that many false teachings like the prosperity doctrine, the rapture, cheap grace, Christian sinners, not to mention the hocus-pocus heresies of the church of Rome–these not only stunt the babe in Christ, but they will shipwreck and sink the new Christian.

How Can We Be Sure?

Consequently, how can we know for sure what thought is from God and what is not—what is from the Spirit and what is from the spirit of antichrist?  There is a passage of scripture that tells us how to discern between the two.  This scripture shows us how you will know if it is the Spirit of God speaking through a human being or not, or if that uninvited thought that seemingly pops into our mind is from God or not.  “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God” (I John 4:2-3).

In order to know what these verses mean, we must know that “Jesus” was not the Savior’s actual name [See my books which you can find at the top of this page.  Just click “Ebook…”].  His true name contained the Father’s name, for he came in His Father’s name.  His name was Yahshua, which means “Yah, the Self-Existent One, is Savior” and is the same name as the patriarch Joshua.  So, looking at this again, we see that the person who confesses that Yah is the Savior and the Anointed One and is come into His human abode in the Messiah—that person has the Spirit of God.

Denying that the great Spirit Yahweh was in the flesh of the Messiah Yahshua is the spirit of antichrist.  They are anti-christ, or against this Anointing, which is truth (I John 2: 27).

We must always remember: The Messiah’s name was to be called “Immanuel”–meaning “God with us” (Isa. 7: 14; Matt. 1: 23).  Yahweh with us.  Yahweh in human form walking in our midst.  Believing that in its simplicity opens the doors to His heart.  All the other mumbo jumbo of so-called Christianity is so much manmade window dressing, ‘signifying nothing.’

We must all go back to the “simplicity that is in Christ.”  “Simplicity” here means “absence from pretense” with a sincere belief in the truth that is in Christ.  And that truth is that the great invisible Spirit called Yahweh by the patriarchs took up His abode in His Son, and they are one, and He will rule the literal Kingdom of God forever and ever–right here on earth (Luke 1: 32-33).

This sincere belief is the bow that will launch us as His arrows toward the glorious target of eternity–straight and true, just like He planned in the beginning.  It will help us discern the Spirit of God and the spirit of the wicked one.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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