Tag Archives: religion

May 10, 2009 · 4:05 am

Grace and Faith and the Manifestation of the Sons of God

The Eternal Spirit (Yahweh) chooses out certain individuals to reveal Himself to, and they, in turn, become a witness for Him.  He chooses them out through no merit of their own.  There is nothing they can do before the fact to warrant His election of them.  They have already been selected before they ever came out of their mother’s womb.

It is not to the strong or swift in this world.  He elects or chooses, in fact, those who are weak in this world’s eyes.  In other words, when He was choosing out His disciples, He did not choose the emperor Caesar, the Roman governor, or the Jewish High Priest.  He chose out lowly, “uneducated” fishermen from Galilee.

God Does the Choosing (Electing)

He does the choosing; we don’t.  “You have not chosen me,  but  I  have  chosen  you  and  ordained  you  that you should go and bring forth fruit,” said the Savior.

So He chooses out certain people in the earth to reveal His plan and Himself to.  He “favors” these people by revealing Himself to them.  He gives grace unto them—spiritual gifts.  He deals with them and shows them of Himself.  Without this favor, they are nothing.  Without His favor (grace) they remain the walking dead.  Without Him favoring them by showing them His plan, they would remain lost in the daze and maze of this world system.  Without His grace, gifts, and favor man remains in the guilt and depravity and bondage of his sinful carnal nature—remaining there in that prison until the light of day deliver him—by His grace or favor.

How do we find this favor, this grace?  It is to be found in the Savior, who was “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).  “Grace and truth” came by Him.  Knowing who the Savior really is and what He accomplished for His people is the key in understanding His favor.  But the kicker is that one can’t comprehend His favor unless He has given that person favor.  One has to have His favor in order to eventually comprehend it.

Predestination

Some human beings are “predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son.”  These are the “greatly favored” ones.  They have a singularly marvelous calling, a magnificent fate in Him.  And yet, all of us who are called and chosen share in God’s favor.  For the “manifestation of the sons of God” is the final harvest of the Tree of Righteousness that Yahweh the Husbandman has planted some 6,000 years ago.  When the 144,000 sons of the living God stride forth in their resplendent immortal glory, they will be the final harvest that all of the prophets, patriarchs, apostles, and us have sowed toward for all these millennia.  We all have shared in and have been blessed by Yahweh’s incomprehensible favor or grace.

For  He  is  the Potter, and He makes the human vessel the way He wants to.  And to be created a vessel unto honor—for Him to mold us, a mere piece of clay, into something that could hold the living spiritual water that is His essence—is humbling, yet thrilling.

The Savior was “full of grace (favor, gifts) and truth.”  Our favor is found in and emanates from the Savior.  For “grace and truth” came by Him.  It is a favor, a gift, a benefit, a grace from Him that our sins could be blotted out, that we could have “no more remembrance” of past sins.  “Your sins and your iniquities I will remember no more,” He said.  “And I will write my laws upon your heart.” That is a promise and a favor unto us.  Deliverance from darkness is a gift, a grace, a favor from Him to us.

(This is an excerpt from Chapter 5 of my book, The Unveiling of the Sons of God found here:    http://www.yahwehisthesavior.com/sonsch5.htm or click “My books online in the right column under “Blogroll”)

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May 3, 2009 · 12:29 pm

“My Grace Is Sufficient for Thee”–So What Is Grace?

“Grace” is one of those biblical words that have been so overused that for many, it has lost its true original meaning.  Every denomination has its own spin, but what does it really mean?

To find out we go to the apostle Paul’s writings.  We find him enduring a severe trial which has caused him great suffering.  False prophets at the church in Corinth are slandering him.  They have said that he is a false teacher, that he is taking for himself the offerings that have been collected for the poor believers in Jerusalem.  They are challenging his apostolic authority.

And so he feels that one more letter is necessary to help those there.  This second letter to them will be a vindication of his apostleship, for he knows that if they do not believe him about the Savior, then they will be the losers.

But Paul will not be caught in the trap of appearing to be bragging in a carnal manner.  He will tell them about the visions and revelations that he has had of Christ without boasting according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 12: 2-5).

The Messenger of Satan

Paul also relates to them that he realizes that God sent to him a messenger of  Satan  to  torment  or buffet him “lest he become exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations” that God had given him.  God first blesses him with wonderful visions of Him and then out of love uses Satan to keep Paul humble (v. 7).

Paul says that he asked God three times to take the evil agent out of his life, but was only told by Him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (v. 9).   The spiritual strength that I want to demonstrate through you cannot be perfected unless you are weak, according to your flesh, God was telling him.  So Paul was content with having physical hardships and weaknesses.  For he knew that then God’s power would rest on him.  “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (v. 10).

So What Is “Grace”?

But Jesus (Yahshua) had said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you.”  What is this “grace” that is our sufficiency?  “Grace” is translated from the Greek word charis, #5485 in Strong’s.  Definition: “Of manner or act, especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life, including gratitude: Ie—acceptable, benefit, favor, gift, grace(-ious), joy, liberality, pleasure, thank.

In 2 Cor 1: 15 charis is translated “benefit”—“I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit.”

Charis is also translated “favor” six times.  To Mary the angel said, “…Thou are highly favored,” or graciously accepted, or much graced.  “Thou has found favor with God” (Luke 1:28, 30).  Luke later says that the Christ “increased  in …favor with  God  and man,” still using word “charis.”

The word for “gift” or “gifts” is directly from this same word and is used more than twenty times.  It is #5486, charisma.  It is used to speak of God’s gifts unto men and the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12: 1-31.

So we see that God’s grace to us is his favor to us, his goodness to us in giving us the truth.  He favors (graces) us with the truth, teaching us that “denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.”

It is through this grace that God chooses out His future sons and daughters, who are called “the elect.”  He fills them with His Spirit, and they become His witnesses in the earth for these latter days.  Theirs is a destiny preordained “before the foundation of the world.”  They will walk His walk in the earth and, thus, help bring in God’s new government.  They will do this by faith—believing this eternal purpose, having not first seen it with their natural eyes.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

(This is an excerpt from Chapter 5 of my book, The Unveiling of the Sons of God found here:  http://www.yahwehisthesavior.com/sonsch5.htm If this has been helpful, share it with others or make a comment.  Bookmark this site, and please visit again)

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April 29, 2009 · 11:42 am

TV Series “KINGS” Based on Bible’s King David and Saul Story

Those  watching the TV series Kings are witnessing a rare event–a series based on a story in the Bible.

Kings chronicles the downfall of an evil king and the rise of a young man of humble origins, destined to ascend to that very throne. Of course, this is the story of Saul and David, found in the book of   I Samuel.

I couldn’t help but wonder just how close the writers of the show were following the story.  They have Rev. Samuels taking the prophet Samuel’s part in the story.  King Saul has become King Silas, who is an ex-general like Saul was.

David, the shepherd king, has become David Shepherd, a young man in the army who takes out an enemy tank named “Goliath” and becomes a national hero.  This earns him, like in the Bible, a spot in the king’s court.  Instead of playing the harp to soothe the king, David is a pianist.  He falls in love with Michelle, the king’s daughter, whose character parallels Michal, Saul’s daughter.

I certainly don’t blame the series’ producers for wanting to adopt this story.  The rise of King David is a wonderful story.  I would hope that it will prompt viewers to go back and read the original story in the Bible.  There is so much revelatory truth to be received.

Setting the Scene in  I Samuel

In I Samuel, we find the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob already in the Promised Land of Canaan, being persecuted by the Philistines around 1060 B.C.  God has allowed this because of their sins.

Instead of loving and reverencing the LORD (Yahweh), they ask His prophet Samuel to anoint for them a king, like the other nations around them.  Here the people want to have one of their own rule them as king and not hearken to the prophet of God, who had been guiding them for decades.

The LORD (Yahweh) speaks to Samuel, Do what the people want.  They have rejected Me–not you.  But warn them from Me as to what their new king will do to them (I Samuel 8: 5-9).

So Samuel told the people: King Saul will “take your sons” and put them in his army to fight foreign wars.  He’ll have you fabricating “instruments of war.”  He will “take your fields” and tax you and “give it to his servants.”  He will, in other words, redistribute your wealth.  He’ll make you his servants (8: 10-18).  Sounds eerily familiar, as in what President Obama is doing and will do.

But the people loved their new king, and rejected the man of God’s warning.  And so, Samuel anoints Saul to be king of the 12 tribes of Israel.  Saul was a “choice young man,” standing taller than most.  But he did evil in the sight of the LORD, fulfilling all that was prophesied of him.

This Speaks to Our Day

The parallels are striking.  By studying divinely inspired writings, we may clearly see our own time.  For the scriptures are applicable for us in the latter days.

Our current President is like King Saul.  He carries himself like a king.  He is popular, trusted, and well-spoken, but he serves the interests of men who are against the principles of our forefathers, as Saul did.

Like Saul, his origins are tainted.  I think of Barack Obama sitting in Jeremiah Wright’s church, soaking in those spewings of hate, prejudice, and resentment for twenty years.  Whatever a man joins himself to, that he becomes.  For “how can two walk together except they be agreed?”  And yet, the sheeple still follow blindly this new “anointed” king Obama.

Oh, how America has fallen from the precepts of our ancestors.  And we, like they of old, will pay the price.

But out of the ashes will arise the spiritual sons and daughters of God, who will help Him usher in His Kingdom that will supplant the current puppet-masters’ world government scheme.

So, yes, study the story in I Samuel.  For it speaks to our day, of a new King coming, of which David, the shepherd king, is a type.  Christ, the Anointed One, shall return.

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April 22, 2009 · 12:48 pm

It’s Just Your Great Love That Helps Us–A Poem/Prayer

It is just Your great love that helps us–

That reaches down through the ether,

Invisibly touching our hidden center of being,

That calmly holds us from the precarious perches

That we force ourselves onto.

Your love holds us close–

Now safe from falling,

Now safe from sliding back

Into the mire of mud-soaked sin.

You, who hold the key to our safety,

Have now transported us

On Your very own wings,

On which we now ride

Into the pastures of heaven.

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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April 20, 2009 · 1:59 am

Taking the LORD’s Name in Vain–What Does It Really Mean?

One of the Ten Commandments reads, “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD in vain” (Exodus 20:16). We were taught that this meant to not curse out someone using the phrase “G—d— you.” That is a sound teaching for all of us to follow. However, upon further investigation, this commandment really does not mean this.

First of all, we now know that the King James translators substituted the title “the LORD” for the Hebrew name of God, YHWH, or Yahweh. So it should read, “Thou shalt not take the name of Yahweh in vain.” “God” is a title and not His name.

But to “take” the name Yahweh—what does that mean? Looking up the word “take” in Strong’s Concordance, we see that it is translated from the Hebrew word nasaw, #5375, meaning “to lift up, to extol.” In too many references to mention, it is translated “to lift up,” as in, to lift up voices to heaven, to lift up hands, eyes, hearts, etc. In one place it is translated “extol.”

So, with this in mind, we can now read the commandment, “Thou shalt not lift up the name of Yahweh in vain.” Looking up the phrase “in vain” in Strong’s, we see that it means, “false, falsely.” The same Hebrew word is translated “falsely” in many passages.

The More Correct Meaning of This Commandment

Putting this knowledge into the commandment, we now can read it with true meaning: “Thou shalt not lift up and extol the name of Yahweh falsely.” His name is holy—“hallowed be thy name.” So, using His name in a false way, for false purposes, is breaking that commandment and is a sin against Him. His name is to be praised, for our very lives and salvation are coded into His name. Consequently, knowing how precious and powerful His name is, for us to invoke His name for selfish reasons would be breaking this commandment.

A blatant scriptural example of this comes to mind. Someone once said that no man’s life is absolutely worthless; it can always serve as a horrible example. Such is the case of Simon the sorcerer. Simon, who had bewitched the people into thinking that he was a “the great power of God” was witnessing the true ministry of Philip. Philip preached “the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Yahshua, the Messiah” (Acts 8:12). Simon’s followers believed Philip’s message, along with Simon himself, who was baptized, and followed Philip, “beholding the miracles and signs which were done.” The apostles in Jerusalem “heard that Samaria had received the word of God,” and they sent Peter and John, who prayed for the new believers, that they might receive the Holy Ghost. When Simon saw that the people received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands, he offered the apostles money to buy this power. Of course, they rejected and rebuked him for his sin and folly. The point here is that he was lifting up Yah’s name in a false manner, for false pretenses and purposes, and it was sin.

I have to ask this question: Seeing that the phrase “taking the Lord’s name in vain” does not mean what we were taught growing up, how many other things about God have been erroneous? Kenneth Wayne Hancock

{You may read more about the Sacred Names in my online books found here: http://yahwehisthesavior.com/  or click on “My books online” on the Blogroll in the right hand column. Make a comment; share your thoughts with thousands worldwide. If this has been helpful to you, book mark it and share it with others}

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April 17, 2009 · 12:57 pm

YAHSHUA–In His Name–What Does It Mean?

{Order your free copy of Yah Is Savior or my new book The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. It is totally free with free shipping to my readers. Just send your mailing address to my email address: wayneman5@hotmail.com   Specify which one.}

     One of the most trite and worn-out expressions in the English language is “in His name.”  We are to “do all in His name,” but what does that really mean?  We have uttered that phrase or a variation of it like, “In Jesus’ name” or “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”  But is that all there is to it? Just to use that phrase as an incantation or magic words to get answers to our prayers?

     No.  Profound meaning is hidden in this phrase; we must dig deep to find it. Now let us investigate and study these three words in a new light.  “In His name…” We’ve got to go in, inside, within the true name.  He is pointing us to go into His name, but it has to be into His Hebrew name, Yahshua, and extract the meaning from it.

    His name Yahshua means, “Yah is salvation” or “Yah is Savior.”  But to all who received him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become the children of God. John 1:12, RSV. Here, “receiving Him” and “believing in His name” are synonymous.

A Message in His Name to Be Believed

   

    “Believing in His name” implies that there is a message to be believed, a truth inherent in His name. We have seen that Hebrew names are prophetical. We have seen that the Savior was named Yahshua because “He shall save His people from their sins.”  And Yahshua means “Yah is Savior.”  So what is the message contained within His name?  That message is “Yah is the Savior.”

     “Believing in His name…”  The children receive the Spirit by believing in what His name means (by believing in His name).  We believe the meaning of His name—that Yahweh or Yah, the Eternal Spirit, came down to earth and poured His essence into a specially set apart human form who would become the sacrifice for the sins of mankind—so that mankind could take on His spiritual nature.

     Listen to the Spirit speak through the prophet Isaiah: For I am Yahweh thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour…I, I am Yahweh, and besides Me there is no savior…Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. Isa. 43:3, 11; 45:15.

     Yes, Yah did hide Himself well in a flesh body some 2,000 years ago.  But He makes it very clear from the above passages in Isaiah that He, Yahweh, is the Savior; He is the Creator.  The apostle John makes it very clear that the Spirit-filled human flesh body that he had walked with for three and a half years did the creating.  In the beginning was the Word…All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made…He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not…And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…John 1:1, 3, 10, 14.

Believing What His Name Means

There is no contradiction here.  Yah did the creating, the forming, the redeeming and the saving.  And Yah, clothed in human flesh, took the name “Yahshua,” Yah-Is-Savior.  The very name of the Messiah points to the fact that it is the Father Yahweh who is doing the saving.  Yah was in that vessel, the Messiah, “reconciling the world unto Himself.”  The Spirit, Yah, pours Himself into His temple and works out of it to the world.  Yahweh in Yahshua of Nazareth is the Son.

    When a person believes in the name of Yahshua, he is believing what that name means—that Yah is the Savior in human form.  In fact, the act of believing in the name of Yahshua is a miniature of the Creator’s plan of kingdom redemption.

     If one has really received Him, that person will have believed in His name, which is to say, will have believed that the Father Yah was in human form, and that combination, Yahshua, is bringing salvation to the world.

Believing in Him Is Believing in His Name

     He who believes in Him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. John 3:18. When one does not believe in the Messiah, he is not believing in the meaning of His name.  For He said, “He that rejects Me, rejects Him that sent Me.”  If you reject the Son, you are rejecting the Father that dwells within the Son, for that is exactly where the Father Yahweh is.  “Know ye not that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” He asked.

     The unbeliever in the Messiah is already judged for one reason: he has not believed in the name of Yahshua, which is saying that Yah was not in him, saving mankind through His death, burial, and resurrection.  Not believing in Messiah’s name, then, is equal to not receiving the Spirit of the Creator.

Not believing in the meaning of the name of Yahshua is equal to rejecting the light that is come into the world, and cleaving unto darkness, saying, I have no need for Yah in human form to save me (see John 3:19).

    The phrase “in the name,” then, has profound meaning and carries a weighty message.  First, we cannot believe  in  His  name  if we do not know His name.  If we seek, He will reveal to us His true name.  This knowledge, in turn, is an important key that will unlock the door that is keeping us from continuing our journey down the road to immortality.

     The Savior’s name is Yahshua, Yah-Is-Savior.  To believe in His name is to believe what His name actually means: Yahweh, the self-existent One that cried through Isaiah, who appeared and spoke to Noah, Abraham, Moses, and many others, offered up His perfect human incarnation and became the Author of eternal salvation for His people.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

{This is an excerpt from my book Yah Is Savior: The Road to Immortality, ch. 9.  You can read more, just click ebook at top of homepage}


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April 5, 2009 · 10:35 am

Overcoming by the Word of Our Testimony

Those who overcome the evil do it by “the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony” (Rev. 12: 11) {See March 30, 2009 post}.

Faith in the cleansing power of Christ’s blood will set us into the position of being a testimony of God’s power in the earth.  First, to overcome we must be cleansed from sin, and then give testimony that God is real in our lives–that He is in control, that He is all powerful.

In other words, we must be a witness as to what He is doing, where He is going and taking us all, what His plan and purpose is, what He expects from His creation, what is His endgame.  We must go on record; we must take the witness stand here on earth and give our testimony as to what God has done in our life, and what He shall do in the lives of His true believers, and to those who will not believe in Him.  That takes surrender, study, and prayer.

It Is All About “Christ in You”

The “word of our testimony” is the same thing as this:  “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”  It is all about “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  It is all about the Spirit of the living God walking around in us.  This is the word of our testimony.  It is when we grow to a point when our actions are the Spirit of Christ living out His life in us.  Then we are poised for the final overcoming, or the final victory.

The first victory is the victory over sin and sinning.  By believing this testimony that God gave us of His Son–that those who have faith and believe that God placed mankind’s sins on Christ, and when He died, our old heart and spirit died.  And when Christ was buried, our old lives were buried.  And when Christ was raised from the dead, we also were raised from the dead! A new life, a new walk, a new way, a new purpose–now poised to receive the ultimate blessing reserved for all of His overcomers–nothing less that immortality!

The Seven Levels of Overcoming

The outline of the seven levels of overcoming are found in the church ages in Revelation 2 and 3.  These two chapters detail what we are to overcome in this new life and what the rewards are for the victors.

And those who are victorious to the end have this astounding prophecy given over them by Christ Himself: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne” (3: 22).

Those that are unafraid and go on to overcome all things–they will sit as princes and princesses on God’s own very throne!

And if that were not enough, we who get this  ultimate victory, we who allow God to fully manifest Himself in us–we shall inherit all things.  “He that overcometh shall inherit all things” (Rev. 21: 7).

Who Will It Be?

So–somebody will sit with Christ on His throne and will inherit all things–the greatest of which is immortality.  The question, then, is this: Who will it be?  Is it you or I who have just met on this page?  Will we be there as the immortal possessors of the universe, the sons and daughters of the King of the universe?

Or will we be among the “fearful and unbelieving”–those who will soon be eternally forgotten–those who wind up as just another broken common vessel that the Potter has discarded–broken potsherds having never made it to the kiln, never glazed with glory, never used to beautify His house. Kenneth Wayne Hancock

{Be sure to bookmark this site.  Share it with others.  Make a comment and share your thoughts about  these things with people worldwide.  To read more on this see “my books online” in the blogroll in the right column}

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March 30, 2009 · 12:54 pm

Overcoming by the Blood of the Lamb

People are pressed down by this old world system.  The world’s economies are skidding down into a gigantic depression.  People are under extreme pressure, some even going crazy, killing their families and themselves.  They are losing their jobs, their homes, cars, their lives as they know it.

In lieu of all this, Christ’s words ring with the crystal clarity of truth: “In the world, you shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

But here is a newsflash:  We shall overcome also!  But how do we overcome the world and all of its tribulation, trouble, and anguish?

The First Overcoming

The first overcoming, which leads to all of the overcomings, or victories in Christ, is the victory over sin in our lives.  It is a direct victory of the power of the devil in our lives, for “he that commits sin is of the devil.”  But to get rid of sin in our lives was the “purpose the  Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3: 8).

How is this done?  “They overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony” (Rev. 12: 11).  Our victory over the evil comes through these two things.

Many talk a good Christian ballgame, but few deliver through the lives that they lead.  Many claim to follow Christ, yet they still do secret sins, which emanate from the dark recesses of an unregenerated heart–a heart that is old and carnal–a heart that has not climbed Calvary’s hill to submit to the death of the cross along with Christ.

By the Blood of Christ the Sacrificial Lamb

He is the sin sacrifice–the “Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.”  He takes away the sin of the world. When He gets through, we don’t have it anymore.  But we must identify our old sinful heart with Him that day of the Lamb’s death some 2,000 years ago.  This is how the Lamb’s blood cleanses us.  When it drained out of Him, the life and energy and power of sin died out.  When His blood was all spilled out, then the lifeforce of sin in us drained out as well. This is how we overcame the devil.  It is from this cleansing of sin through the death of our old nature, of our old spirit, of our old heart.

Yet, sadly, chances are very slim that you will hear this in today’s church houses and Sunday schools.  It is “too strong, too harsh.”  It is not politically correct and is a sure fire way for the hired preacher to lose his pastorship.  But the old preachers of past centuries taught these very things I have shared here.  John Wesley taught it, yet you won’t hear this in a modern Methodist church.  Martin Luther taught it, but today’s Lutherans won’t hear it in church.  Spurgeon taught it, but most Baptists won’t hear this stark message in their churches.

But this is how we repent from sin.  The very first apostles’ doctrine was “repentance from dead works.”  Sin, the breaking of the 10 Commandments, is a “dead work,” for it leads to death.  And getting rid of sin in our lives is the very cornerstone in the sure foundation Christ talked about.  Without this start in Christ, the foundation is shaky, and the house will fall when the devil winds blow.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

{Be sure to bookmark this site.  Share it with others.  Make a comment and share your thoughts about  these things with people worldwide.  To read more on this see “my books online” in the blogroll in the right column}

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March 26, 2009 · 3:19 pm

“Though Our Outward Man Perish”–On Becoming Older in the Kingdom of God

In the world of men, the older one becomes, the less valuable they become–especially in American culture.  For only the outward appearance is esteemed.  But in the kingdom of God, as our earthly bodies age, it ofttimes yields a needed wisdom on the inside.  And with wisdom, one finds much spiritual treasure.

A Sense of Our Own Mortality

As our earthly body begins its corruption through aging, we begin to get a sense of our own mortality.  When we were young, we never thought that one day we would expire–that one day we would have breathed our last breath of earth’s good air.  We careened through youthful roads with a reckless abandon, never contemplating the delicate balance between life and death.

And then one day, we wake up and realize that we cannot do the physical feats we did in our youth.  And if we are blessed, we will then turn to the inward spiritual country, a land prepared by the Master Surveyor, laid out for those of us who will seek that rare realm.  This great land of the heart is called “the Kingdom of God” and it “is within you.”

Feeling the Need for the Spiritual

And as we turn to go there, we begin to feel the need for the spiritual food to sustain on our journey.  We see the futility of clamoring after things for just our earthly bodies, and we begin to respect and reverence the Spirit that fathered us anc created and placed us down here on earth.

Becoming older brings wisdom, for the dreams and schemes of youth have run their race cars into a wall of disillusionment.  Survivors of the crash walk more circumspectly, more grateful for more time to now think about the eternal things of God. It takes time’s erosion of our earthly strength to help us realize that God has an eternal purpose in all our trials, temptations, and tears.

The Fisher of Men

God allows us spools of line as a fisherman does a giant, fighting fish.  And with that extra line and time, the fish flips and flashes and flaps and flails until all his dreams and schemes of his own vainglory are surrendered to the will of the Great Fisherman.

And so it is with us.  He gives us great latitude to pursue our own way of non-surrender.  As the years pass, some will work so hard to wrestle free from God, that He allows them to throw off the hook.

But a chosen few will realize that they are destined for greater things, spiritual things, “things kept secret from the foundation of the world,” and they will surrender to His will.  They will see that “though the outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”  And because of this, these few will not look at the outward appearance, which shows the mere temporary things, but they will look on the invisible, into that dimension which is eternal (II Corinthians 4: 16-18).

And thus God brings them into His ship, into His heart, giving them a new spirit and a new in life–His life.

So becoming older can mean becoming wiser.  For with age comes spiritual clarity and more reverence for the Great Fisherman.  Youth are more likely to trust in the “arm of flesh,” which never has the strength to carry us down the road to immortality.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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March 21, 2009 · 5:34 pm

The Fall of Satan’s Kingdom (The One World Government) As Seen in Psalm 2

Satan’s got a kingdom?  Christ said that he did.  Christ, who even the atheists and agnostics say is a great teacher, confirmed this fact: “And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?” (Matt. 12: 26).  Luke quoted Satan saying that he held the power “of all the kingdoms of the world” during the temptations of Christ (4: 5).

Satan then has a kingdom, which is comprised of all of the world’s governments.  That is from the scripture of truth, which “cannot be broken” (John 10: 35).  I don’t care how much “the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing” (Psalm 2: 1-12).

And it is the governments of this world system, who are in the grips of Satan’s power, that are coming against the LORD (Yahweh) of heaven, their Creator.  “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed (Christ)” (v. 2).

But God is not worried.  He is even laughing about the keystone-cop rulers of this world, for He “shall have them in derision” very shortly (v. 4).  For God’s wrath is soon to come up on Satan’s divided kingdoms; he will “vex them in His sore displeasure” (v. 5) and will “break them with a rod of iron..into pieces like a potter’s vessel” (v. 9).  For He has set up His Son Christ as His King (v. 6), and God has left all judgment to Him, to sort it all out during the 1,000 year reign of Christ.

And yet, despite the coming vengeance of the LORD on the ungodly at the end of this age, He in His great mercy still extends a hand to those in power who will come to Him: “Be wise now therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth.  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled…” (v. 10-11).

But “how hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God” (Mark 10: 24).

Right now as we write this, the rulers of this world who “trust in riches” are in derision.  They are clamoring in their money schemes for a one world government that will be totally devoid of the love of Christ.  Many factions are wrestling against each other, jockeying for the ultimate position of power in Satan’s government.

Just look at the big powers: The Western international banking houses who have Europe and North America and the Israeli state in their hip pocket, China and the Asian block , the Middle East, Russia–all these powers are divided, for they all want to be the top dog in the coming one world government spoken of by God’s true prophets.  They are divided; these egomaniacs will help bring on their own fall.

The fall of Satan’s kingdom is coming  just before the Prince of peace Himself comes back to establish His wonderful rule in the earth–where there will be no more war, greed, nor evil allowed to ravage the innocent who scratch the bloody earth with their withered fingers.  No more empty smiling promises from jaded politicians.  Even so, come quickly, LORD.         Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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