Tag Archives: sons of God

Patience–Enduring the “Sufferings of This Present Time”

As the sons and daughters of God, we are to add certain spiritual attributes of God’s “divine nature.”  This is how we become “partakers of His divine nature” (II Peter 1: 4-7).  This assures our inheritance as His sons and daughters. These attributes are added in sequence–in layers, if you will.  To our faith we add virtue, and then knowledge onto it.  Then we add temperance to that knowledge.  Then we add patience onto the temperance.

Patience.  Patience.  Oh, how we all need patience in this hurry-scurry world!  This world that careens through our conscious hours robs us of this important godly essence–patience.  The swirling, rushing pace of our 21st Century lives conspire against us in our search for truth.  Patience is needed to even read this simple article on patience.

For all that we see and hear is temporary.  We will be able to temper the appetites of our earthly bodies more easily when we realize how transitory–how utterly perishable our bodies are.  When we believe this and wholeheartedly acknowledge the need for God’s promise of our immortal house from heaven, we will more easily shift our focus from the temporary to the eternal.

The Next Step in Adding the Divine Nature

And that next step is adding patience to the temperance.  But in order to add patience, which is the ability to endure the sufferings of Christ, we must understand just what those sufferings are.  Paul speaks of them when he writes, “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8: 18).  This “glory” is, of course, that destiny of God’s elect after they have grown spiritually to full maturity, which is the evidence of them partaking of the divine nature.

But those “sufferings” spoken of by the apostle is the sojourn we are experiencing in these mortal earthly bodies.  For “we have this treasure [of the Spirit] in earthen vessels” (II Cor. 4:7).  And that is the root of our current spiritual problem.  Our bodies are, alas, mere temporary bottles holding the water of the Spirit.

“This present time” in which these sufferings are being endured is our time now  in our earthly bodies.  Our perishable fragile mortal bodies will too soon return to dust.  Now is our time of waiting with long patience, trusting God will deliver us from the long sleep that awaits us, tucked in dust in the tomb of the earth.

Temporarily housed in our earthly tabernacles at “this present time,” we have a universal thirst that yearns to be quenched.  And that desire is to live on.  And whether cognizant of it or not, we are waiting in “earnest expectation…for the manifestation of the sons of God” (Rom. 8: 19).

And so we who have a portion of His Spirit, for a dry season at present, find ourselves trapped in a shell that will die soon.  And so we wait for our forerunners, the sons of God to be unveiled first, for they are the firstfruits.  And so we are waiting for these offspring of the Almighty to come onto the scene.

For they will give His other children great hope when they are seen striding this earth–a hope that they, too, can be “delivered from the bondage of corruption,” which is the cruel slavery that our present mortal bodies inflict on us in our new spiritual journey.

Slaves to Our Own Mortality

Our earthly bodies are decaying as they grow older each day, and we are not free to ascend and descend at will.  We are on a timetable, slated to expire, most likely before the age of 80–whether we want to or not.  That’s slavery; that’s being in bondage to our own mortality.  That is the “bondage of corruption.”  In the earthly sense, we are slaves to our own decay and impending death.

In our youth we were not aware of this impending decay of our earthly body.  Hence, we thought ourselves invincible and immortal.  But as we get older and see our bodies deteriorate, we see that we become the slaves to our own bodily limitations.  We begin to admit that we cannot do what we once did.  Our age, brought on by the ravages of time, becomes our master and limits us and dictates to us what we can and cannot do.  This is the “bondage of corruption.”

Aging is the accumulation of many miles and years on the human body.  Aging is that onerous sign announcing our impending physical passing.  But this daily physical decay of our bodies does not work on our spirits.  We can take heart in this, that “though our outward man perish, our inward man is renewed day by day” (II Cor. 4: 16).  And this renewing is the “partaking of the divine nature,” the adding to our faith of which we speak.

So why death?

And so we ask God, Why do we have to die?  Why give us a mortal body, God?  Why subject us to all this suffering?  The short answer: God created us “subject to vanity.”  He deliberately subjected us to mortality in hope that we would be delivered into immortality.  He made us to suffer this mortal existence in hope that we would seek Him, who is Life Himself, and in so doing find eternal life, which is the fulfillment of His promise to them who seek Him and love Him.

God has dangled death ever before us so that we would seek Him.  He reasoned that our looming demise would spur us to seek Him for answers to our dilemma.  Surely we would call on Him, the Giver of Life, to help us solve this problem of mortality if we were confronted with the sadness of first, the loss of loved ones and then, finally, ourselves.

God provided a law ingrained into the universe, as sure as gravity, that if we seek Him for the truth, we would find it.  “Seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you,” Christ promised (Matt. 7: 7).

And so, confronted by the sufferings of our mortal worries, we turn to God.  And His words resound through the ages to our hearts and tell us the answer to the riddle of our faint existence.  He tells us that He is the Fount from which the blessing of immortality flows.  And it starts with believing in the resurrection of His Son.  And latching onto that faith in Him begins our own new life, ending in the complete inheritance of a new spiritual body that will swallow up this old earthly one (I Cor. 15).

He seems to be saying, Surely when they see my Son arise from the dead, they will turn to Me in great hope that My resurrection power will one day raise them up as well.

His resurrection is our hope to escape the dusty tombs of death.  And yet, the sufferings continue.  And as He teaches us and helps us to endure all things, we add patience.  For patience is that part of God’s nature that endures.  It lasts.  And as we continue our sojourn in these earthly vessels, He grants to us patience by infusing us with experiences that helps us endure, that gives us rather things to endure.

Yes, “tribulation worketh patience” or “suffering produces endurance” (Rom. 5: 3).  Earthly wisdom shuns all sufferings.  The wisdom from above prescribes it.  That is why He allows us to suffer–so that we can become like Him.  For He planned those very steps of suffering for Himself, and if we want to be His sons and daughters, we must suffer with Him.  That’s a tough one.  That is why “few are chosen” (Matt. 22: 14).  Those chosen are the elect, and they will submit to the plan along with its sufferings, much like those chosen for our Special Forces endure the sufferings that the training entails.  It all comes with the territory.  To reign with Him we must suffer with Him (II Tim. 2: 12).   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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The Elect of God–Gifts of the Spirit Are the Identifying Signs

Recently a reader of this blog asked, “But while the sons of God  will know who they are, how will others  know who they are?”

I responded by saying that the manifested, 100 fold fruit bearing sons of God will be the culmination of the Law of Harvest spoken of in Scripture: “first the blade, the ear, the full corn in the ear,” able to reproduce out of itself–some “thirty fold, some sixty, and some  one hundred fold” [1].   These are the levels of growth of the Holy Spirit within the sons and daughters of God.  John refers to these degrees of growth as “children, young men, and fathers” [2].

When “Christ be formed” in them, signs will follow [3].  Gifts of the Spirit will flow, which includes healings, miracles.  Right now God’s timing calls for the first of the gifts of the Spirit to be given through the elect to others: “the word of wisdom” and “the word of knowledge” [4]  Without the truth contained in those first two gifts,  a brother or sister cannot “come out from among them and be separate” [5].  This foundational truth helps to purge the “old leaven” teachings  (contained in the parable of the woman putting leaven in three measures of meal or flour–leaven meaning the hypocrisy and insincerity of the Pharisees and their ilk [6].

I have wrestled with this question: God, why aren’t there more legitimate healings and miracles being done like what happened in the first few chapters of the book of Acts of the Apostles.  Answer:  We need some true men of God like them who have all their ducks in a row spiritually speaking and have “purged out the old leaven from their thinking, which includes all of the old false concepts and teachings and doctrines we all grew up with.  Then I realized how important it is to let the word of wisdom and knowledge flow unrestrained.

When the time comes, God will do something special in their lives–something absolutely astounding in the power-giving category.  All the way through the Bible He did just that.  There is no reason to believe that it will be any other way in these latter days.  After all, He said, “I am the same yesterday, today, and forever…I change not…” [7].

The sons-of-God-to-be, the elect, which means “the chosen ones,” may not at present know their destiny that has been pre-ordained by God.  Right now they may only know that there is this pull to know the truth.  There is this longing for justice and truth that won’t let them go.  Other things of this present world system may tug at them, but a hook is in their jaw, and they are being reeled in by the Great Fisherman, who right now is teaching some how to be “fishers of men” [8].

And they do look just like everyone else.  But to themselves, they are learning to look “after the Spirit” and not the “outward appearance” [9].  By faith they are looking upon the “things that are not seen,”  which is the Spirit [10].  And yes, they will be transformed, but they will go through a spiritual growth cycle as referenced above.

Knowledge of this growth process is lacking in Churchianity today.  The people in the pews want “It” right now.  They are used to instant pudding and mashed potatoes, instant messaging and internet input.  But growth in Him is His growth in us.  It takes time for the seed “to fall into the ground and die” and germinate, and pop through the ground as a perfect little blade of grass, a perfect little “babe in Christ” [11].  And this babe in Christ needs the “sincere milk of the word” that it may grow [12].  But this takes humility in giving up the old life and thoughts and habits.

That is why the Master told us, If you are going to follow Me, you better “count the cost.”  For it costs everything.  It is easier to sell your earthly possessions; it is much more difficult to sell or get rid of your self with its personal materialism, which is idolatry [13].    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

1. Matt. 13: 23; Mark 4: 8; 4: 28

2.  I John 2: 13

3.  Gal. 4: 19

4.  I Cor. 12: 4-11

5.  II Cor. 6: 17

6. I Cor. 5: 7; Matt. 13: 33; Luke 12: 1

7. Heb. 13: 8; Mal. 3: 6

8. Matt. 4: 19

9. I Sam. 16: 7; Rom. 8: 1-4

10. II Cor. 4: 18; Heb. 11:1

11.  John 12: 24

12.  I Pet. 2: 2

13. Col. 3: 5; Luke 14: 27-33

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Partakers of the Divine Nature–The Holy Calling to Be the Sons of God

True Christianity is not about a person striving to attain a collection of good deeds and contributions like regularly praying, attending church, paying tithes and offerings, or volunteering time.  The true walk with Christ is not an accumulation of good deeds in hopes of having a better relationship with God.  It is rather a remembering what we already had with Him before our time on earth began.

Our salvation and deliverance from sin and the evil in our old life was given us by God before we were ever born here on earth!

We were called by God to walk with Him on this earth in our earthly bodies before we were ever born here on earth!

Sounds crazy, I know, and you are probably thinking, Wayne, you are going too far now.  Come back to us.  You are drifting up too far into the stratosphere.

But bear with me a minute.  God has called us with a holy calling in accordance with His own plan and purpose, and we were in His plan and purpose and grace before our mothers gave birth to us here on earth!

Some may be asking, Where did you get this idea from?  It’s right there in the Bible–the same one grandma and momma had.  And this is what it says: “God who has saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (II Tim. 1: 9) [Compare this to my paraphrasing of it in the above paragraphs].

This “holy calling” to be God’s son or daughter does not come down to us “according to our works.”  We do not attain it because of anything we have done or could do, but because we were already included in His purpose–His plan to favor us that way.  It is called grace, and this grace was given to us in Christ before time began on earth.  Remember what Christ said: “You have been with me from the beginning” (John 15: 27).  The word “beginning” in the Greek is the same one used in John 1: 1: “In the beginning was the Word…” denoting the timelessness of the origin of all things.

We must remember how the LORD (YAHWEH) questioned Job intensely about the creation: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?…Who laid the cornerstone thereof when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38: 4-7).

The “sons of God” rejoicing at the creation of the earth?  Yes.  Isn’t that kind of like before the world came into being?  Yes.  And who are these sons of God?  The word of God says that we are the sons of God!  “Beloved, now are we the sons of God…and when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (I John 3: 2).

Also, we know that “as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8: 14).  That’s us, brethren!  Things are going to work out great for us that love God.  If God is for us, who can be against us?  For “we are the called according to His purpose.”  He knew us before!  He gave us this destiny before!  This destiny “to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8: 28-29).   Hey, I know I’m not the only one getting this right now because it says “many brethren” are going to be just like Him!

And let’s just say it out loud: We who He has “predestinated” to be like Christ–He has called us, “and whom He called, them He also justified, and whom He justified, them He also glorified”! (v. 30).

Glorified us!  Notice this is in the past tense.  Already done in God’s way of reckoning and doing things.

Wow!  It is truly difficult sometimes for us to wrap our sometimes doubting little minds around these astounding promises, but there it is.  His words, not mine.  The “exceeding great and precious promises that Peter spoke of.  That we “might be partakers of the divine nature” (II Pet. 1: 4).

And this is all in Christ.  When we believe and trust in Him, then our inheritance manifests itself.  Let us walk on in faith and assurance of these promises, not letting worldly man-thoughts hinder us from achieving what God already has spoken into existence for us.  Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

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The Elect of God and the Latter Rain

I have come to the point where I have stopped asking God questions like,  God, where are your elect in the earth?  And, when and how will they get on the same spiritual page so that they grow to a point to be able to do the 100 fold exploits that You said they would do in these latter days?

I am talking, of course, about His elect, His chosen few, His firstfruits, His princes and princesses, His “little flock,” His 100-fold fruitbearers in this final age before Christ comes back to earth to rule and reign for 1,000 years.

The Latter Rain

They go by many names in the scriptures, but few, sadly, in churchianity, speak about them.  Few know of these who are spoken of in Revelation 7 and 14, and in many books of the Bible.  Few believe that a group could “follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes” and “be strong and do exploits in the land.”  But many in churchianity will tell you that you cannot be like Christ.  Such negativity!  To them we must say, Well, if you won’t let me be like Christ, will you let me be like Peter, James, John, and Paul?  They started out just like us, and when infused and filled with the Holy Spirit, they were used mightily to heal the sick, raise the dead, and teach the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  To be like the early apostles–that will be close enough.

Yet Christ’s apostles were a type and a foreshadowing of the “glory that shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 18: 8).  Remember when Christ sent His twelve disciples  out and gave them power to heal and cast out devils?  That was a miniature glimpse of His elect going out all over the earth preaching the kingdom of God just before Christ’s return.  All the healings and miracles done by them were a miniature snapshot of the magnitude that will transpire in our day.  Later, that outpouring of His Spirit at Pentecost was the early rain of His Spirit, which came down moderately.  It came down on just a few 2,000 years ago.  The latter spiritual rain in our day will fall abundantly in order to cover the now seven billion people on our aging planet.  For all will see God’s Spirit moving through His manifested sons and daughters.

So I’ve stopped wondering when and where and how they will come forth.

Awaking Out of the Deep Sleep

The point is that they will come forth, for God will awaken them out of the worldly slumber that has anesthetized them with the drug of forgetfulness.  They at present don’t remember what they already were with Him in ages past (Eph. 1: 4).  But they are now stirring out of their comas, and they are waking up hungry for spiritual milk.  And they will suck the spiritual milk of His doctrine until they “are no longer children, tossed to and fro, and carried by every wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4: 14).  And they will desire the “stong meat” of the word of God.  And then they will fully realize and believe that God has chosen us “in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.”

God is leading His elect into greener pastures of heavenly truth.
And they will long to know and do the truths that they have been called to do.  And in doing so, they will be.  They will become His fully manifested sons and daughters, “prepared unto every good work.”

They are out there.  I know that these words flowing out the tips of my fingers will be read by some of them, for I do believe that His word will not return unto Him void, but will accomplish what He sent it to do (Isa. 55: 11).

His elect are out there, scattered all over the earth.  Some are perhaps reading about themselves right now, their hearts being stirred by the movement of the waters of the Spirit of life, hearing about their destiny and becoming “established in the present truth.”

How do I know that they are growing and developing?  His word says that they are.  For He “opens a door that no man can shut” (Rev. 3: 8).  And no one can enter into that door of sonship except God open it.  It is all Him and His doing; it is His choosing and His favor that He showers on the blessed “few.”   That’s right–a few.  As Christ said, “Narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt. 7: 14).  It is the Father that chooses us.  He’s the Great Fisherman, and when He sets the hook in our jaw, we shall be reeled in.

So knowing all this, it gives me peace to know that God is in charge of getting His body together and imbuing  them with power to get done what He wants done.

So, I’ve stopped agonizing about it all.  Patience is one of the fruits of His Spirit inside us.  It’s going to take patience to wait for His harvest to come.  My job is to write His plan with clarity the best I can and share it with those who are interested, and to rest, knowing that He will bring it all to pass in His own sweet time.      Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[For much more, visit my other website that contains my two books online which you can find at the top of this page.  Just click “Ebook…”]  Also, read “We Were with Him in the Beginning” found here:   https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/we-were-with-him-in-the-beginning/ ]

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The Lost Sheep, The 144,000–God Searching for His People

God is searching for His people in these latter days.  Granted, He loves the whole world and everyone in it, but there is only one people on the face of this big wide earth that He is actually searching for.  It is the people He chose way back in Abraham’s day, who would be called by Abraham’s grandson’s name—Israel, meaning “Prince with God.”  Yes, salvation is open to all of His creation, but He has “not cast away His people which He foreknew.”   He is searching for them now.  To understand His heart and the importance that His people have in His plan for our day, we must rehearse their trail through Bible history.

You know the story about His chosen people—how Yahweh the Creator chose out a people to reveal Himself to and through—a people who came out of the loins of Adam and Eve about 6,000 years ago, a special creation with a special purpose in the mind of God.  How Abraham and Sarah were promised a miracle son in the book of Genesis—how he would be called Isaac, and he would have Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel.  And Jacob/Israel had 12 sons, and they multiplied and remained the chosen people of God.

And then for most people it gets fuzzy.  Most remember a few “Bible stories.”  Few study the Bible in depth to see where the thread of prophecy leads.  The 12 sons married and multiplied into small clans or tribes. Jacob/Israel’s favorite son Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers.  Famine gripped the land and Jacob/Israel and his 11 sons and their families had to go down to Egypt to buy food.  In the mean time,  Joseph had by the miraculous hand of God become the governor of Egypt, Pharaoh’s right hand man.

Joseph, a type of the Messiah, has mercy on his brothers and their families, forgiving them and setting them up.  The Hebrews then stay in Egypt and have it good there and grow over the next 400 years to 3 million, a country within a country.  In the course of time, these 12 tribes of people, all the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel, are enslaved by the Egyptians.  Moses, a Hebrew child reared as an Egyptian prince by Pharaoh’s sister, is called by Yahweh to deliver the children of Israel (all 12 tribes).  Through many miracles like the parting of the Red Sea, Moses leads God’s people into the Promised Land, into the land of Canaan.

After much adventure and misadventure, Joshua, Moses’ protégé, leads them on in, and they conquer the land.  Each of the 12 tribes gets an inheritance of actual real estate and they take up residence.

Their form of government is a theocracy—God ruling them through His representatives, the prophets and the judges.  They are, however, extremely unruly, and seek after other gods and provoke Yahweh to anger and jealousy.  When things go bad for them, they cry out to Yahweh and He comes to their rescue.  When things are good, food and prosperity plentiful, then they forget Him and, what He calls, “whore after other gods.”  He likens them to His wife.

This goes on for about 500 years, from about 1500 B.C. to 1,000 B.C.  At this time they want to be like the other nations around them; they want a king like they have.  And so, against Samuel the prophet’s warning, God gives them King Saul, who is later deposed for His sins, and then has Samuel anoint “a man after God’s own heart,” the illustrious David, the son of Jesse, the ancestor of Jesus/Yahshua.

Later, David’s son Solomon is crowned King of Israel, meaning he is the king of all twelve tribes of  Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel.  Solomon was a great man, but his kingdom would be torn in two because of His idolatry.  For he “loved many strange women…of the nations concerning which Yahweh said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go into them…” (I Kings 11: 1-2).  So God told Solomon that because you have done this, “I will surely rend the kingdom from thee” (v. 11).  For David’s sake, Yahweh waited until after Solomon’s death to divide the 12 tribed kingdom.

In about 975 B. C., a civil war broke out and it split into two kingdoms, the Kingdom of Israel with ten of the twelve tribes, and the Kingdom of Judah with the other two tribes.  The Kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) lay to the north with its capital Samaria.  The Kingdom of Judah lay to the south with its capital Jerusalem.  They both had their own kings, with their own religious and political systems.  In fact, one can read about  them at war with each other in many parts of the Bible.

Yahweh warned them that He would punish them for their evil ways going back hundreds of years.  And really nothing changed after the split.  Both Houses, both the House of Israel (10 tribes) and the House of Judah (2 tribes), kept doing evil in God’s sight over the next 300+ years.  They kept breaking His 10 commandment law.  Yet He was faithful, sending prophets to both kingdoms, admonishing them to turn from their evil ways.

Until, finally, Yahweh had had enough.  For His chosen people’s own good, He would do the unthinkable.  He would scatter them to the four winds.  He would raise up terrible nations to sweep down upon their little kingdoms, and to gobble them up and slay some of them and to lead them into captivity.  He had warned them through His prophets of this very detestable thing, yet they would not hearken.  Prophets like Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, among many others cried unto them, reminding them of the great heritage, and warning them to repent and turn their hearts back to God, but they would not hear of it. They were smug in their assurance that their new way of worship was proper.  But they had other gods before the true Creator God, and had forgotten the Rock “from which they were hewn.”

And so, in 721 B. C., the fierce Assyrian Empire swooped down upon the northern Kingdom of Israel (ten tribes) and led them back east to their capital city of Nineveh.  And these enslaved offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel became lost.  They lost their identity as part of God’s chosen people.  They disappeared into the mists of time, and modern scholars are hard pressed to shed light on just where they went or what happened to them.  But “God has not cast away His people which He foreknew” (Rom. 11: 2).

They are mentioned in the “New Testament,” however.  Christ said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel” (Matt. 15: 24, NIV, ESV, RSV).  He spoke no idle words.  The lost tribes of Israel are extremely important to Christ, and consequently, to the Father.  And the apostle James addresses his book “to the twelve tribes scattered abroad, greeting” (1:1).  That has to be the descendants of the Kingdom of Israel (ten tribes) or to the whole House of Israel (12 tribes).  James, who had the same mind of Christ, cleared that up by writing to the 12 tribes that were already scattered all over the world.  Also, the apostle Paul said that as of A.D. 62, the twelve tribes were not only in the earth, but were “instantly serving God day  and night” in hope of the promise of the resurrection of Christ (Acts 26: 6-7).

Kingdom of Judah Carried Away

That same fate that happened unto the northern Kingdom of Israel (10 Tribes) happened to the southern Kingdom of Judah around  603 B. C. by the Babylonians.  Citizens of this two-tribed kingdom, by now called “Jews,” were carried away captive, but they did not lose their identity.  The original Hebrew religion instituted by Moses had by now changed into the beginning of the modern religion of Judaism, which, according to the Savior Yahshua, was hypocritical, evil, and was not pleasing to God (John 8:44).  By 29 A.D. many Edomites (Idumaens) had converted to the Mosaic religion and had changed it into something altogether repulsive to Christ.  In fact, He told them, “You are of your father the devil.”  Judaism had become now the religion of the “serpents” and “vipers,” the Pharisees and Sadducees, who are the progenitors of the modern Jewish religion today.  This is the “synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie,” spoken of by Jesus/Yahshua Himself (Rev. 3: 9).  85% of modern Jewry are not from the loins of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Arthur Koestler, The Thirteenth Tribe). 

Because the Israelites (10 tribes) were lost to history, people now think that the only Israelites left are Jews.  But the true Jews made up only two tribes out of the original twelve.  That leaves the vast majority of the “lost sheep of the House of Israel” out here in the world, their identity lost, waiting for God to reveal it to them.  For these of the lost ten tribes do figure prominently in prophecy for these latter days.  144,000 of them are detailed specifically in Revelation 7 and 14.  12, 000 from each tribe are mentioned by name.  “Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand.  Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand.  Of the tribe of Gad…” and on through Benjamin “were sealed twelve thousand,” to a total of 144,000.  So a remnant of the lost tribes will be revealed in these latter days in order to fulfill these scriptures.

The 144,000 from the Lost Tribes of Israel

These have a very precious and wonderful calling, for they will be sealed by God as His servants before His throne (7: 3, 15).  They will have “their Father’s name [Yahweh] written in their foreheads” (14: 1).  They were “redeemed from among men,” meaning that they are not super heavenly entities, but came from the loins of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  They were washed in the Lamb’s blood like every other Christian, but they have grown to full spiritual maturity and are the “firstfruits unto God” (v. 4).  They are “without fault before the throne of  God” (v. 5).  Without fault!  Perfectly mature manifested sons of the living God!

And they come out of the twelve tribes of Israel.  That may not be politically correct to say, but that is what Revelation 7 says.  This is the reason that it is extremely important for us to study the prophecies concerning the “lost sheep of the House of Israel” out.  Christ said that He was sent to them!  It was important to Him.  Is it important to us?

Some doubters will say that the 12 tribes are lost, and “What difference does it really make anyway?”  Well, it would not make any difference if the future of His chosen people did not matter to Him.  God says that His manifested sons will come out of these twelve tribes, and it does matter to Him.  He said, “My ways are not your ways; my thoughts are not your thoughts.”

We are told to seek the mind of God.  Know His thoughts.  What is He thinking about?  Is He still thinking about His people, the lost sheep of the House of Israel?  Yes.  “Has God cast away His people? God forbid…The gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:1, 29).  Yahweh called them and a remnant of them will come back to Him in these latter days.  The question for us is this: Are we one of them?  Will we be one of the “firstfruits of God” who are very close to the Lamb and do the greater works that He promised some would do?

Kenneth Wayne Hancock   {Please make a comment.  I would love to hear from you and where you reside in the earth.}

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Faith–How to Walk in It–How to Partake of the Divine Nature of God

How do we do it? How do we let the old self die? We reckon it done by faith/belief. How do we start walking in a brand new God-given life? We reckon it done by faith. Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Yahshua Messiah our Master. Rom. 6:11.

We’ve got to reckon it done! The word “reckon” is #3049 in Strong’s. It means “to account it, to count it as such.”  God wants us to reckon it so, but He does it first! When we turn to Him, then He counts us righteous in His eyes even in our imperfect state. This is the way our Creator is. This is part of His nature—faith, belief. In fact, faith is the foundation of Yahweh’s divine nature, for we are admonished to be “partakers of the divine nature” by adding to the faith once delivered by Yah to his set-apart ones, virtue, and to virtue knowledge, on through agape-charity-love, the very essence of Him. But His nature starts with Faith. It is His nature to “call those things that do not exist as though they did.” Rom. 4:17, NKJV. If He is this positive, then He would want His children to be the same.

He wants us to follow in His footsteps! God “accounted” righteousness to Abraham because of his belief—before Abraham was righteous! “Accounted” here is the same word as the one translated “reckon.” We are commanded to RECKON some things done. Now we have to reckon our sinful self gone—by belief—as though it were already done—for that is how Yah looks at it! By belief! Reckon it done through Him and His faith. He said it. Let it be done. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Rom. 4:3. Yahweh imputed, reckoned to Abraham the ability to live in a upright manner, keeping Yahweh’s laws and not sinning, by just believing that Yahweh had done it! We make it so hard through our hard heart of unbelief. He is looking for childlike faith, the belief of a small child. All we have to do is just believe that Yahweh has provided a way for us to actually put the old life to death and start living a new life in Him.

But the main reason that many do not want this is because they do not want to give up their old lives. Yah has provided everything for us to get the sin out of our lives, to clean out the temple so that He can take up His rightful abode. But people want to keep sinning and still be the people of God. They may claim it in words, but it is in words only and not in reality as far as Yahweh is concerned.

God must be getting tired of hearing how powerful sin is in our lives. I know that He wants to hear out of our mouths how great the power of Yahweh is—powerful enough to keep us from sinning. We must quit glorifying sin!

Do we think that Yah is pleased to hear our unbelief when we say, “I sin everyday. We all sin every day. We can’t live without sinning.” Oh, we are so quick to say that, almost as if it were an excuse that He would accept.

That’s like saying that the giants are too big; we can’t take the land. Is the giant Sin too much for us, or are we going to believe that Yahweh in us can slay that giant Sin in our life? Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof….For sin shall not have dominion over you. Rom 6:12-14. We’ve got to reckon our old man, our old self, our old nature dead to sin in the same way that Yahweh reckoned or credited righteousness unto Abraham because of his belief in the promises. Are we going to stagger at the promise that we can live a righteous life now?

But someone will say, “But we just can’t live without sin.” Yah knows that we can’t on our own strength. The question is, “Where is God in that statement?” What happened to, “I can do all things through Messiah Yahshua that strengthens me…” What about, “And nothing shall be impossible to you.” Nothing. Which is to say in reality, “Anything is possible. With God all things are possible.” All things means with His help even living without sin. Where’s our belief in His promises?

Paul believed that we should live in a righteous manner before God right now. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. Titus 2:11, NIV.

Some have used God’s granting of grace as a possibility to keep on sinning and still get forgiveness. Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase. By no means! We died to sin: how can we live in it any longer? Rom. 6:1, NIV. On the other side of the fence, some practically throw out God’s grace in reckoning righteousness to us by believing Him because of the “cheap grace” people. The second group believe that we have to really work at this thing; we have to keep the laws and ordinances. This is true, but it is no longer “I” that lives, but Messiah’s Spirit that lives in me! He helps me to keep His laws—by His Spirit! The sad part is that both of the above camps still are in sin.

Where is our belief, our faith that overcomes the world? “My grace/favor is sufficient for you,” Yahshua said. My favor is all you need. That’s how important it is. Him choosing us out of the dunghill before the world ever was, writing our names down before we were ever born—that’s all we need.

Don’t say with a sad countenance, “I hope my name is written down in His book on that day.” Where’s the word of faith that Paul preached in that? Where’s the confidence we have with Him? Speak the word! That kind of timidity reveals a lack of belief that your name is there.

It is very near us, even in our mouths! Say it! Speak it into existence! Be like Him! Reckon it done! Count it as such in our own lives. Which takes more faith? Him counting us righteous or us reckoning our old man dead unto sin? For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with…Rom. 6: 6, NIV. Instead of all the unbelief in His love to us, we need to thank Him for the absolute abundance of mercy and favor He has smiled down on our undeserving heads, and the power to bring forth fruit worthy of repentance.

Get off of this “we can’t do anything.” It is He that works in us! When are we going to get out of the way and let Him work in us? As long as we think it is ourselves either doing or not doing whatever, then He can’t do the job in and through us. We must decrease to nothing; He then will increase in us.

We will show our belief (faith) by what we do. We will believe Him for His Spirit, to do His laws and statutes. We are not going to impress Him, however, by doing “good Christian deeds” as if they were our duty while we still harbor doubts as to His ability to raise us up to walk in a newness of life—doubts as to the efficacy of His love and mercy and grace/favor towards us. He loves us. Loose Him and let Him go on out of the tomb of our bodies and unbind Him (the Spirit). Let him arise in our hearts, and let (we must reckon it so) the light so shine.

God who has “commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts…” (For what purpose?) “…to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Yahshua Messiah.” 2Cor 4:6.

To keep us humble now for a season, Yah has us having the Spirit, Himself, the treasure, in these old earthly bodies, that we may know that it is Him and not us that does anything good in and through us.

2Cor 4:10–Always carrying with us the fact of Yah’s earthly sacrificial death (since He died for our sins, now we die, following His example) “that thelife also of Yahshua might be made manifest in our body.” The life of the Savior may be made known to the world in our earthly body. (Now someone will say, limiting Elohim and giving glory somewhere else, “Yes, He will make known His life when He gives us our spirit body at the resurrection.” One problem with that statement; that is not what it says! Go to verse 11. “For we which live (present tense–time is right now) are alway delivered unto death for Yahshua’s sake, that the life also of Yahshua might be made manifest IN OUR MORTAL FLESH.”

There. “In our mortal flesh.” You and I are mortal, and the apostle is telling us that it is possible for us to make known Yahshua’s life in our bodies. And His life does not include sinning.

One thing, though, is guaranteed; if you say today in your heart or out of your mouth, “I can’t show forth His life in my mortal body of flesh, then you will not! And you’ll go down as a “nay-sayer,” but all the promises of Yah are “yea.” Yes. Yes. Yes. Say it. Speak it into existence. By believing what is already there, reserved in heaven for you. By faith/belief. The giants are not too big. You have just got to reckon it so.

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Prove All Things with an Open Mind and Pure Heart, and the Spirit Will Lead Us into All Truth

 Chapter 18 from the book Yah Is Savior: The Road to Immortality

We have come to a mysterious place on the road to immortality. Each step henceforth is veiled in secrecy and shrouded in mystery. God has purposely made the truth of His purpose difficult to see. In so doing He is weeding out the pretenders from the contenders.   His eternal purpose and plan of reproducing Himself is only given to a chosen few. “Few there be to find this way of truth.” From here on out the truth will be given only to those who are of an open mind and pure heart.

In fact, it is better to not come to this rarified knowledge if one is not prepared to go all the way. “For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.” II Peter 2:21.

 It is only the openness to new truth that allows the Spirit to lead us into all truth. In John 16:12 the Master said, “When the Spirit of truth is come He will lead us into all truth.” If we had not been open a few short months ago to new truth—new to us, anyway—then we would not have been able to receive the present truth we now have. We would have been ossified, stratified, and hardened up like a rock in our hearts to receive something new.

 There is a tendency for human beings to reject something that is new. There is a temptation when change is brought upon us to hold back and not get into it.

 If new truth is not being revealed to us, then usually one of two things is happening. Either that person believes they have all the truth and therefore have no need of truth, or the Spirit of truth is not leading them into all truth at that particular juncture in their life. So the exhortation is to us all: remain open.

 He said to prove all things. Not just the things we think are the truth. We also need to prove things out that we may not at first think is truth. He said to prove all things that come into our seeking. Because praying to Him and asking Him for guidance to discern if something is the truth or not will enable us to not miss some truth that comes our way. We need to ask Him to reveal this new thing, His plan to reproduce Himself, to us. He did say, “I will do a new thing in the earth.”

 For instance, the sacred name of Yahweh is an old thing, but it is new to us. By staying open and trusting Him for discernment, we can prove all things that come our way, whether they be truth or falsehood.

 In order to begin to take in the great and precious promises that Yahweh gave to our fathers the patriarchs, we first must realize that Yahweh wants to reproduce Himself. Reproduction cannot take place without a seed. We only have to look at the earth to understand this. John 1:1 could have read: “In the beginning was the Seed.” He is the Word, the Seed. The Master said, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone.” He would have been alone had He not fallen into the tomb three days and three nights. And now by doing that, He brings forth much fruit. He lays it all out in a very simple situation with “first the blade, then the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear.” Mark 4:28. KWH

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“Heavenly Offspring from God’s Earthly Creation: How God Multiplies Himself”–Chapter 17 of the book YAH IS SAVIOR: THE ROAD TO IMMORTALITY

Chapter 17     Heavenly Offspring from His Earthly Creation

You believe that God created man and woman. You would not be reading this if you did not. But have you ever wondered why He created us in the first place? Why did He make us the way we are, making decisions, as it were, on matters of life and death, with the power to accept or reject our Maker and His plan for us. You have heard it said, “Why didn’t God just make us robots and spare us all the pain and misery brought on by our own doing?”

The key to unlock the answers to some of these questions comes in Yahshua’s reply to the Sadducees in Matthew 22:30. They did not believe in the resurrection and were trying to stump Him with a hypothetical story about seven brothers who had died in succession, each passing on the first brother’s barren wife to the next brother as each did in turn. They had all had her as a wife, but in the resurrection, whose wife would she be? It was a trick question, so the Master told them that it proved that they did not know the scriptures nor the power of the Creator.

The Sadducees presumed through their earthly thinking that if there were a resurrection, that humans would be mating and having children just like here on earth, for they said, “Whose wife would she be?” But he said in verse 30, “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.” After man and woman are made immortal, they will be like the angels who do not marry nor mate. No reproduction will take place by the immortal ones. This takes place after “this mortal shall have put on immortality” (I Cor. 15). When this earthly body is “swallowed up of life,” when this earthly corruptible body of dust is changed into an incorruptible spiritual body, then at that time there will be no more reproducing.

“Marrying and giving in marriage” is synonymous with having children or reproducing. “Be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth,” is the command to the first earthy Adam. But the “last Adam is the Lord from heaven,” or the sons of God with their resurrected spiritual bodies. And they will not be reproducing or multiplying; they will be like the angels of heaven that way.

Reproducing heavenly offspring from His earthly creation

After the resurrection, some will be changed from mortal to immortal. We will not be of this earth anymore. This earthly body is a temporary housing for the faithful who will receive a spiritual body at that time. God, then, will have reproduced Himself !

We human beings are the only scriptural way that God can reproduce His spiritual body, and have heavenly offspring. He has to do it here on earth. How ironic! How it seems to be one way and it is really another. How it seems that we have our own little earthly life and we reproduce and take much satisfaction and joy in our children, and eventually we return to dust, and our children do the same, and theirs also, and very few human beings are remembered in history. And that is that. How it seems to be that way. But in reality, God is with great patience actually in the process of reproducing heavenly offspring out of His earthly creation!

How God Multiplies Himself

“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. Yahshua the Savior was the seed, the corn of wheat, that came to earth and died, that through His death much fruit will come forth; many spiritual sons and daughters will become like Him and achieve immortality.

Yahshua said that He was the first and the last, the beginning and the end. He created all things while He was in His original form, the pattern in whose image man was created. But just like the literal seed grain must die and thereby lose its identity and its initial life in order to bring forth much fruit, so did the Word, the Seed. The First, the Original Form, Yahshua, divested Himself of His celestial, spiritual body and poured His Essence into a word, into a sentence (“In the beginning was the Word”) that was to be carried and pronounced by one of His messengers into the ear of a maiden name Miriam (Mary) of Bethlehem. Because He was a Spirit Being and not material, the pre-existent Yahshua could pour Himself into a word (“The words I speak, they are spirit and they are life”). And that word, carried by the archangel Gabriel entered her ear and it took root in her heart and in her womb by faith, and she became with child of the Spirit. And He would grow up and eventually give His life for us that we might be His offspring—immortal heavenly children, made right here on earth by His resurrection.

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The Elect of God–The Seekers of Truth

It is like we, the elect of God, are down here on earth where God has placed within our hearts a thirst and hunger for the truth.  We have to know the truth.  This search for truth is what keeps us going.  It is the only thing seemingly that matters to us.  Everything else is just cosmetics and window dressing. 

“Great is the mystery of godliness,” the scriptures say, God being the greatest mystery of all.  And so the seekers search Him out.  And throughout the expanse of the earthly years that He has given us, we discover little bits of truth like pieces  to the puzzle.  We are like children adding a crystal to our tin box that it might lay with a seashell or a discarded brass key.  We know these bits of truth are a special treasure and we hold them dear.

And these little bits of truth, if we endure, begin to add up and, like a jigsaw puzzle, begin to take shape.  A picture of the landscape of spiritual reality emerges as we put things together. 

We begin to see this panorama of God’s purpose and plan to reproduce Himself inside His sons and daughters.  And then we begin to walk in it, thereby exercising His Spirit in us.  And then He smiles, pleased with our belief, and says to those around Him, “See there.  They are getting it!  They are believing my word, and so I will answer their cries and grant their requests.”

And so our faith grows as we see that God really is real and personal.  It is no longer just book learning intellectualism.  No.  He is real, and no one can take that away from us.

And so our appetite for the truth about who God is and why we are here is whetted, and our hunger is unabated.  We need more of Him, who is the Truth.  That is it.  That is the truth.  I am the way, the truth, the life…Thy word is truth…God is truth…

God has placed within us this unquenchable need to know the truth, which is Him and His plan, which entails the heavens and earth and all that is therein.  This need for truth within us was placed there by God.  It is His doing.  And someone will say, What about the others who are not desperately seeking the truth?  To that we must say that we are not to judge another man’s servant.  They were created by God for His pleasure, and although our eyes are dim as to all mysteries, we will continue to trust Him that He knows what He is doing.  He is our Father, and we are His children.  We will submit our finite thinking to His mind, which is magnificent.

For it is all His doing.  “His ways are past finding out.”  Just knowing that it is all summed up in His name, which is holy and is to be reverenced.  For the secrets of His universe are expounded in His name–His original Hebrew name–Yahshua, “for there is no other name given whereby man must be saved.” Find out what it means and you’ll have the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.   KWHancock

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Book: YAH IS SAVIOR: THE ROAD TO IMMORTALITY Chap. 1

[Below please find the first chapter of my book, Yah Is Savior: The Road to Immortality. I will be serializing it as posts in this weblog, ImmortalityRoad. After posting each chapter, I will be placing them in a page at the top of the blog, saying, BOOK–YAH IS SAVIOR: THE ROAD TO IMMORTALITY.]

Step One— Wisdom

“And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom…” Job 28:28.

 

fear, n. A feeling of reverential awe, especially toward God.  New Century Dictionary.

Chapter 1

 

Getting Wisdom, The Main Thing

 

The first step we need to take on the road to immortality is to somehow get wisdom. The scriptures say that “wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting, get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7.  With these words, the Spirit is telling us that the absolute main thing that we need to receive is wisdom.  We cannot get to God without it.  We cannot find Him without it.  It is the principal thing!  He didn’t say to first get love or peace or go to meetings or tithe or anything of the kind. He said that wisdom is the main thing.

To get into a treasure house literally overflowing with rubies, emeralds, sapphires, diamonds, and gold, all you need—the main thing that you need—is the key that unlocks the door, that opens the way into the treasures. Wisdom is that key.

And  so  we  see  that  wisdom  is  that   principal thing.  It is the key that unlocks the door to the spiritual treasure house of God.  Without it we cannot get any further in our quest to receive of His storehouse. We’ve got to get wisdom.

Many people have tried to enter into the vaults of the  Supreme  Being where His treasures are stored.  Many  have  wanted  to  explore   the   unsearchable riches of the Messiah, without wisdom.  Many people have tried to clone the Messiah or make temples and buildings to please Him, without wisdom. Mankind sometimes uses interesting but futile chants, hums, repetitions, songs, shouts, “slayings-in-the-spirit” and the like, but the Almighty is not impressed by them. He seeks people to worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

Many have twisted the word “riches” to mean only money: filthy lucre, mammon, riches of this world, wealth that  the  world  and  Satan  can  give  (“I’ll  give you all the kingdoms of this world if…”) . And yet, Wisdom cries to us in Proverbs 8:18: “Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.” The durable riches, those that will last, are with wisdom.  And the righteousness that will last and endure is with wisdom, as well.  In the end man will be destroyed “that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches…” Psalms 52:7-8.

The true riches

 

Wisdom says, “Riches and honor are with me.”  What riches?  We know that it’s not this world’s riches.  It’s not money.  We are  to seek after wisdom

and understanding as we would jewels and gold and silver.  What are these true riches that come with wisdom?  Paul says in Colossians 2:3 that all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in the Savior.

The “true riches,” simply put, is nothing less than the full glorification of many sons and daughters  at  the  culmination  of  this  age.  We are talking about immortal offspring walking the face of this earth in the image of the heavenly One who also tread this earth some 2000 years ago.

The Messiah appeared many times to the patriarchs. He walked and communed with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob/Israel, Moses, Elijah, and many other prophets before His incarnation almost 2000 years ago.  Immortality, communing with the Creator—that is what the true riches are.  That is what comes with wisdom.  Wisdom is the key that unlocks the door to receive the true riches.

 

The mystery of the unjust steward

 

The Savior spoke of the true riches in a parable in Luke l6, the parable of the unjust steward.  The manager was wise in that when he found out that he was going to get fired, he cut all the people who owed his boss money a sweet deal.  This reduced the amount of debt owed to his boss.  It was his last act before his dismissal.  And the Master commended him because he had done wisely. Because in worldly money matters, in things not of the Spirit, unrighteous people are wiser than His spiritual little children.

There is a way to handle money wisely and in a righteous manner.  We live on earth in earthen vessels.  Money buys food and sustenance. We are to  be a good and honest caretaker of someone else’s goods. “If you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon (riches), who will commit to your trust the true riches?  And if you have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?” Luke 16.1-12.  If we can’t in an honest manner take care of the earthly things like money and goods, then He will not give us the true riches which is our own inheritance. And this inheritance is his nature, his immortality and life within us.

It says that the dishonest manager was wiser in his generation.  Sin and dishonesty were generating his actions out from within his corrupt heart.  But he had a “wisdom.”  There was a wisdom that this dishonest man had that children of the Father do not have.  What did he do that was so wise in the unjust realm?  He had respect of the power of the rich men that he had to work for.

If his current boss were going to get rid of him, news would leak out as to why he was being fired. It would soon get around that he was untrustworthy and dishonest.  So, he used that same dishonesty to help his employer’s  creditors, to discount what they owed to him.  This, of course, endeared him to those other rich men, for they had saved money through him.  This would help him find a new job with one of them.

The Lord says that we need to be wise in a righteous  and  honorable  way, the way he was wise in a dishonest way.  We need to have awe and respect of our boss, the Creator, who is the Father of spirits, so that when the time comes when we are  put out of the stewardship of our earthly bodies, He will grant unto us the true riches of immortality and His presence.

If you desire a copy of these trade paperback books, you may order them from Amazon.com or directly from the author at a discount.  Suggested donation is $12.00 per copy.  Send to Kenneth Wayne Hancock/ 475 W. Norwood St./ Norwood, MO 65717 
 

  

 

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