Tag Archives: spiritual growth

November 10, 2025 · 7:27 am

How Trials Become Opportunities for Profound Spiritual Growth

A growth toward becoming like Christ

God’s greatest blessings often come wrapped in the paradox of divine distress—those unique circumstances that, though deeply challenging, become the very ground where agape-love is cultivated within us. These trials and tribulations are in fact opportunities of profound spiritual growth. They provide us with the inescapable chance to love our enemies, to rise above instinct and pride, and to embody a love that is not of this world but of God Himself.

The process by which agape-love is birthed within us is what the Scriptures term “SonPlacing”—the divine intention and plan that God has for every believer. This love, however, is not kindled amid laughter, comfort, or abundance. Like all births, it comes forth from travail, pain, and endurance. The apostle Paul, in his famous discourse on love in 1 Corinthians 13, describes this love as enduring and patient. He writes that love “does not seek after the things which are its own, is not irritated, provoked, exasperated, aroused to anger, does not take into account the evil which it suffers” (1 Corinthians 13:5, Wuest). This passage paints a picture of love that is not reactive, but proactive—a love that transcends circumstances and personal offense.

At the heart of agape-love is forgiveness. The maturation of this divine love is triggered by the experience of being sinned against. If you desire to possess this love, the only appropriate response to hurt or injustice is forgiveness, no matter the situation or depth of the wound.

In Scripture, the words translated as “forgive” and “forgiveness” come from four distinct Greek terms, each rich with meaning. Collectively, they convey the ideas of “sending forth,” “sending away,” “bestowing favor unconditionally,” and “releasing.” Forgiveness, in this sense, is not merely letting go of a grudge or forgetting an offense. It is an absolute annulment of transgression and its consequences, akin to a debt that is not just paid but completely canceled and erased from all records.

Letting Go

This radical form of forgiveness requires that both the failure and any thoughts of retaliation are forever released, as if thrown into a supernal incinerator—never to be retrieved or remembered. Forgiveness, then, is not just about letting go of what was done to us, but also about creating a new reality, one in which the offense is as though it never occurred.

As the psalmist writes, “Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” This is the heart of forgiveness: an act so complete and transformative that it rewrites the narrative of our souls.

A Liberating Experience

Forgiveness, fundamentally, is not a human invention but a divine act. It originates in the heart of God and is extended to us through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. When we accept this sacrifice, we experience an unconditional release from the penalties our fallen, carnal nature has accrued. The apostle Paul reminds us, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Yet God’s forgiveness is not merely a legal pardon—it is a personal, liberating experience that the church has long called “Salvation.” As we turn our lives toward God, our infractions are erased, and we become spiritually washed, free, and invigorated with new life and energy.

This forgiveness is, at its core, the ultimate gift of love. When we receive forgiveness from God, the seed of divine love—agape—is sown into our hearts. Jesus illustrated this truth in his parable when he asked, “Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?” Simon answered, “I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most.” To receive great forgiveness is to be moved to great love. This initial blossoming of love is what Scripture calls phileo-love—a joyful, grateful affection that springs from having received something wonderful and undeserved. It is, however, only the embryonic stage of agape-love, which is deeper, more self-giving, and unconditional.

Jesus further clarifies this process: “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” This passage reveals that the depth of our capacity for love is directly linked to our experience of forgiveness. Forgiveness received from God for the “good” in our lives produces phileo-love, an affectionate and responsive love. But the journey does not end there. To mature into agape-love, we must extend forgiveness from ourselves, especially in response to the “evil” or wrongdoing we endure from others.

To Love as God Loves

This is the critical transition point in the development of divine love within us. To love as God loves, we must move from being recipients of forgiveness to being dispensers of it. It is not enough to bask in the joy of being forgiven; we must also become agents of forgiveness. This is perhaps the greatest challenge and highest calling of the Christian life. It demands that we forgive those who have hurt us deeply, those who have betrayed or wronged us, just as God has forgiven us. In doing so, we participate in the life of God Himself, becoming channels through which His agape-love flows into the world.

Practically speaking, this transformative process often unfolds in the midst of our greatest struggles and heartaches. The “battlefields” of life—those moments of conflict, disappointment, and loss—are not merely obstacles to be overcome but are opportunities for the birth of something holy within us. When we choose to forgive, to let go of resentment and to release both the offense and the offender into God’s hands, we are shaped into the likeness of Christ.

Our capacity for agape-love expands, and we come to embody the very love that once saved us. In summary, the journey toward agape-love is a path marked by both receiving and giving forgiveness. It is a process initiated by God’s mercy and sustained by our willingness to forgive others as we have been forgiven.

Each circumstance of divine distress becomes a sacred invitation to practice this love, to transcend our natural inclinations, and to participate in the very heart of God. Ultimately, it is through forgiveness—the letting go, the creation of a new reality, and the refusal to keep score—that agape-love is born, matures, and overflows from our lives, blessing not only ourselves but all those around us. [A summary of a portion of Garrison Russell’s book SonPlacing found here: https://sonplace.com/xulon/sonplacing/sp_chp15.htm ]

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January 27, 2025 · 2:13 pm

Heart Preparation for the Abiding of His Spirit

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

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

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

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

What Christ Taught Them

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

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

Christ was teaching them things about spiritual growth.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{Subscribe, share, comment, like. May Christ bless you with His thoughts}

Kenneth Wayne Hancock

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July 15, 2024 · 9:15 am

Are You Longing to Know Christ’s Secret to a Joyful Walk?

If we listen to His “still small voice,” we may hear Him share a secret that few ever hear. It is a challenge to our present belief system. Our joy issues from His joy, which rejoices at the truth.

Right now, as we speak through these earthly bodies, we have another body. Yes, another body. It is a body that is celestial in nature. It is, in the pure sense of the word, extraterrestrial, for it is outside the scope of the earth. In fact, mortal eyes have not seen it, nor has its reality even entered into the hearts of mortals. What has not entered into our thinking? “The things that God has prepared for them that love Him (I Cor. 2: 9).

And what are those “things” that God has already provided for us? They are our heavenly bodies. And as we gaze into the mirror at our earthly bodies and lament their descent into mortality’s final sad scene, we cannot help but groan under the burden of our bodies’ betrayal of us. And we yearn for our other body to come and clothed us with immortality.

This present mortal state in which we live is the perfect environment, however, to nurture the Spirit within us. As we overcome in battle the devil’s onslaught, the Spirit within us grows with every victory. As we vanquish our enemy, who is designed by our Creator to dispense just the right amount of resistance each day, we grow according to the loving hand of our Master. Knowing about our heavenly immortal body is our ace in the hole and gives us great confidence that He has our backs. It is His ball game; He will win. He has already won in heaven, and now we are a part of the witness here on earth.

Our Victory Is Believing the Unseen

Our victories begin in believing that we have His Spirit within us, that He is guiding us, and that He loves us and wants us to grow to be like Him. He is our treasure that we now have in these weak, fragile earthly bodies. Our bodies seem to be hurdling back into earth. It seems that they want to return to the soil. Our bodies are not us, for they careen in an opposite direction than what our hearts would dictate. Our earthly bodies want to dissipate, but we want to live vibrantly in love and harmony.

Our “outward man” may be perishing, but our “inward man” is being renewed each day. Compared to the glorious future that He desires to shower upon us, our current afflictions pale in importance. Our afflictions are “the sufferings of this present time,” the sufferings we must endure that we may reign with Him (II Tim. 2: 12; II Cor. 4: 16-17).

We must not look at our mortal bodies thinking that this is all there is. There is no hope in seeing our flesh wrinkle and get old, our muscles failing of the strength of youth. Looking at our earthly bodies and pondering their demise is not faith. For faith is being assured of “things not seen,” not things which we do see.

We should not see those “things” in the mirror that stare back at us. We should rather look at “the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporary; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (4: 18). When we walk in the Spirit, we behold as in a mirror the glory of Yahweh, and we are changed thereby “into that same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit…” (II Cor. 3: 18). We will not experience this by looking at our earthly body, but by looking at those things that are not seen.

So, what are these things? These things are bodies, for it is bodies that the Spirit through Paul has been talking about all throughout the whole letter.

“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Most have interpreted that to mean that we are going to heaven. It actually says, however, that we have another house in heaven waiting for us. We have another body, a celestial one, a glorified one prepared for us by our Creator (II Cor. 5: 1-4).

Our earthly bodies that we see are temporary dwelling places for the Spirit of God to grow in. They are important and indispensable, but disposable. He made them that way, of course. And as the painful treachery of our bodies increases, “we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven.” Our burden is not to be “unclothed,” as in a lightening of our load, but rather “clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.”

Thus, the Spirit speaks of our heavenly body as clothing. As we ponder the word “clothing,” we see where He has promised the over comers clothing called “white raiment.” We see a picture of this in the transfiguration of the Son of God when “his face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light.” We see a picture of us after being clothed with our heavenly body. We look to that time when we “are changed into the same image from glory to glory.”

Faith is being assured that we have this heavenly body prepared for us, even though we cannot see the evidence of it right now with mortal eyes. This is the secret that His still, small voice is conveying to us (Rev. 3:4-5; Mt. 17: 2; II Cor. 3:18; Heb. 11: l).

[This is Chapter 16 of my latest book, The Additions to the Faith. To order your free copy with free shipping, email your name, address and title of the book to wayneman5@hotmail.com If this chapter has helped you, please help me get this to more people by you hitting the like button, commenting, and subscribing. Thank you.]

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May 14, 2024 · 10:24 am

An Exhortation to Read “Additions to the Faith”

[I am interjecting this exhortation into the middle of the current study of God’s will. We, the future manifested sons and daughters, God’s elect, are told to “search the scriptures.” We are to “dig deep” and “study to show ourselves approved unto God.”

But how does one begin to study out such vastness? Just reading the Bible is not searching, digging, and clawing as after hidden treasure like we are told to do. A child of God soon gets frustrated without a map to that treasure.  Especially when trials come, which is like the sun going down into a darkness of difficulty and dismay. The child of God clings onto the feeble flakes of knowledge that the denominations have provided, but boredom evolves into blind duty, and they lose interest. For some, seeking God has become a weekly chore that one must do.

However, a teacher sent from God, one who is free from error, can part the dark clouds and reveal the path to spiritual growth. Knowledge of truth must be contextualized. “A sure foundation” must be laid. This begins to fulfill our royal destiny on earth.

My latest book, The Additions to the Faith, has two sections. Part One contains foundational principles for spiritual growth. These include getting the vision of becoming like Christ and the apostles, thus fulfilling the harvest. For the Father is grooming His elect for kingship. He promised this: “to him that overcomes 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” (Rev. 3:21-22). Those who can understand this, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to his true church. This is knowledge of the foundation to be built upon.

Part Two reveals the seven additions that the Spirit through Peter shared with us (II Peter 1:4-11). Part Two shines light on these seven specific additions to our faith. They are weighty things. The Holy Spirit through Peter says that adding them will make us fruitful, thereby making our “calling and election sure.” And here’s the heavy, weighty part: He that does not add them “is blind and cannot see afar off” and will miss the Big Show.

Five Wise and Five Foolish

A tearful parable illustrates this sad event. We have ten Christians in the body of Christ. They have an equal start in spiritual growth. Virgins all. All ten were in. But the five wise brought oil [the Spirit]. The foolish brought little and ran out. They did not listen and study. When the five foolish went out to get oil, the bridegroom came. And the foolish pleaded with the Master to open the door. But Christ said to them, “I don’t know you.” I don’t know you for this high calling and honor (Matthew 25: 1-13).

This should send a sickening shiver down into the pit of our hearts. Christ means business. His business. It is sad that most do not know Christ’s business; they were never taught it. But if they had searched with all their hearts, they would have found it.

Someone still dabbling in old leaven doctrines [false teachings] is running the risk of stunting their growth. It is like going to a stadium rally where Christ is about to speak. You are outside with a million people crammed around the venue because you did not send for tickets in time. You are so far away that you cannot even see the stage. And you are kicking yourself because you know that you had a chance to be on the stage with Him, observing His smile and shaking His hand. You had a chance to be in His cadre, in his inner circle. He wanted you to be one of His ambassadors sent out to heal not just individuals, but whole nations. For He will begin to restore the earth after the great tribulation. You “could have been somebody” in Him. If only you had hearkened to His Spirit and studied His truths and not the pablum of putrid teachings.

We have got to shake ourselves, and it starts right here with me. This is what it will take to be one of the overcomers. This is Christ’s vision for you and me. This is why I have said: You need this book. It is free with free shipping. Send your name, mailing address, and title of the book to my email: wayneman5@hotmail.com   kwh

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October 22, 2022 · 8:23 am

Know Where Your Spiritual Growth Is–30-fold, 60-fold, or 100-Fold

All about the Fruit

The Spirit admonishes us: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (II Cor. 13: 5). We test ourselves by answering this question: Do we know and believe that it is the Spirit of Christ that dwells within us by the love that is shed abroad to all? I.e., we are examining how much of Christ’s Spirit is flowing through us.

Someone will ask, “How do we know how much of the Spirit of Christ is in us?” The short answer: If we are in the “knowing” stage of most things, then it is 30-fold growth. To distinguish 30-fold from 60-fold growth, one must look at 30-fold fruit from a childlike perspective. Just like natural children accumulate knowledge of their surroundings and nature and other people, children of God are doing the same in the spiritual realm.

A 30-fold fruit bearing child of God is attaining truth and how it relates to them personally. They are “knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him” (Rom. 6: 6). And they will “know the truth and the truth shall make you free…Whosoever commits sin is a slave to sin…” (John 8: 32-36). That’s the knowledge that the child of God is gaining. A natural child is mostly alive for what he can receive from his father. So, it is with the spiritual. A child of God is interested in receiving from his Father—receiving peace, contentment, joy, and love. And this only comes when our old self is crucified with the Lamb of God.

A Christian, bearing 60-fold fruit, has matured to the point where he or she desires to not just receive the fruit of the Spirit, but rather channel to others of those fruits. It is the developing of interpersonal relationships. One bearing 60-fold fruit is mostly alive for what they can do for the Father.

The 100-fold Christian is like Paul and Peter and John. They have Christ’s Spirit of agape love being manifested to others. They are agape love, insomuch as Christ is manifested through their vessels. They have the mind of Christ, and the will of their Father, foremost in their thinking. And the Father’s thoughts are rarified. Only a few will attain this position with Him. And they are those who are doing the will of the Father. They will be spiritually seated at His round table. They will know His purpose and His plan to accomplish it. They are His cadre who He will use to implement His government. Their thoughts are His thoughts, for their vision is His vision—a vision that subsumes and transcends national, international, worldwide, galactic and universal concerns. Christ is the exiled King, and “of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end” (Isa. 9: 6-7).

Those who grow spiritually into 100-fold fruit bearers will be in His inner circle. And don’t tell me that Christ does not have an inner circle. Think about the twelve disciples. And now there are positions to be filled. They will be leaders and administrators and ambassadors of the King as He establishes righteousness and judgment throughout the earth after the tribulation subsides. You will know that you are on the right track to become one of these princes or princesses of God if you are thinking His thoughts—His kingdom thoughts.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[Order my new book The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. It discusses these things and will be a help to you and your spiritual growth. It is free with free shipping. Just send to my email with name, mailing address and the title of the book, and I will get it right out to you.   wayneman5@hotmail.com

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December 8, 2021 · 10:58 am

Yahweh’s Joy Is Our Strength

On those dark and painful days of doubt, we sometimes wonder, “Where will I find the strength to carry on? I know that I am weak, and deep down I know that God is my source. But how does it happen? What is the spiritual mechanism that transfers His strength to us?

In the end, strength to weather the world’s “whips and scorns” does not come from us. We are the weak ones in the equation. We are the ones manufacturing a grim quizzical look toward our troubles. But this faux face of courage ultimately fades as God backs us into a tight corner to face down our personal enemies—Doubt and Unbelief. These culprits prevent us from getting strength. But God’s elect will overcome all doubts and unbelief.

The elect are those whom He has chosen to be the first to tap into and manifest the full strength of the Spirit. They are “a kind of first fruits.” They are the first humans that He will fully show His secrets to during this, the time of the end. They will learn how their old, weak, sinful nature dies on the cross with Christ. It has already died on the cross with Christ. “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Christ, that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6: 6). And then we are “buried with him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with him” by just believing that God has “raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2: 12: 13). Just believe in the Resurrection? Yes, both Christ’s and now yours, too !

Halleluyah! Faith! Belief! It’s God’s faith in His resurrection plan, not our puny faith. The truth is, there is only one faith—His (Eph. 4:5). It is the “faith of the Son of God.” That’s where we tap into His strength.

The Joy of Yahweh

The “joy of Yahweh is our strength.” At first glance, that sounds good. The joy of God. He has joy; we don’t, as seen in the previous scenario. And then we begin to see that when we are down, weak and without strength, we can look at our Creator’s joy, and we can wait and wait and, alas, somehow it is not becoming our joy. We do not get strengthened by this. We don’t understand about how to tap into His strength.

There’s a deep revelation here. Yes, the “joy of the LORD is our strength,” but it is when we realize and believe that it is no longer I that lives but Christ that lives in me (Gal. 2:20). We will rejoice with great joy when we believe this: We no longer live in our flesh bodies, which now is His body. We are dead and our “life is hid with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). It is the Spirit that now lives in our earthly bodies. When we really believe this word of God, great joy will abound and gush through us like rivers of living waters of joy and with it, strength.

This is the revelation simply put: We are dead. We have, however, through belief in his resurrection, a new life living inside us. It is eternal life; it is Christ that lives within us now, even when we don’t feel like it.

We are now members of a spiritual body called “Christ.” We now live in Him, and he lives in us. We must not look at Him after the flesh, but after the Spirit, this spiritual way that the apostles saw Him. When we believe that it is no longer us that live, but Christ that lives in us, then we will see wonderful strength-giving things. When He has joy, we have joy because it is Him exulting in us. When He strengthens, we get strengthened because that’s what the one Spirit does; He shares His strength, along with many other things. We need only to ask the “great cloud of witnesses that have walked with Him. They will tell us.        Kenneth Wayne Hancock (from a Journal entry 12-7-21)

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April 2, 2016 · 5:09 pm

Christ’s Promise of a Great Destiny for Us

Christ makes an astounding promise to His followers. “To him that overcomes 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” (Rev. 3: 21; vs. 14-22). Overcome  what? A whole list of shortcomings that future monarchs must change in their lives to be holy enough to be trusted with the King’s business.

But the point here is that somebody–possibly somebody you know, maybe even yourself–somebody will be sitting on the throne alongside Christ during the Thousand Year Reign! In fact, several overcomers will be granted this precious destiny.

In order to be prepared for this high calling, one must be taught about kingship and how to rule in righteousness as one of God’s kings. He did say that He is the “King of kings” with a little “k.” Did we honestly think that we would just wake up one morning and mystically know how to govern with the Spirit of Christ fully formed in us–us just hitting the ground, magically knowing how to be a king in His kingdom? But then most Christians have never pictured themselves sitting on that throne with Christ. Most have never heard it preached. Most just see themselves going to heaven with no further responsibilities. Really? Is that all there is?

How do I know this to be the case? Because no one ever talks about this destiny of kingship. Once you see it, you will begin to speak excitedly about it.

Much to Learn

There is such a learning curve. We future kings must know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. We must understand His secrets, mysteries that not just anybody can know. He only reveals the secrets of His spiritual governance of the universe to his servants the prophets. “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but He reveals His secret unto His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). Prophets? He wants us to be His prophets?

Yes. We are to be His mouth to utter His thoughts, His purpose, and His plan to this last day generation. That is what a prophet of God does. “But the wise shall understand” (Dan. 12: 10). The wise are those in reverential awe of God and His purpose and plan.

We are talking about the deep things of God, the things kept secret from the foundations of the world, even the hidden mystery, hidden from “ages and from generations,” and that mystery is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Matt. 13: 35; Col. 1: 26-27). Christ formed in us. Love fully formed in us (Gal. 4: 19).

There is much to learn to fulfill this destiny–to have the Spirit of Christ fully formed in us, with Him using our bodies to teach, minister, rule, heal, and administer righteousness in His kingdom of righteousness. There is much to learn.

Prince Charles of Great Britain has been preparing to become king for decades. How much more should the future overcomers be educated and prepared to rule with Christ?

We must learn the mysteries of the parables, which contain the aforementioned secrets of how God will reign in His kingdom. And to learn them we need one of the offices of God to instruct us. We need a teacher of God who is specifically trained for imparting this knowledge  (Eph. 4: 11).

After all, we needed our elementary school teachers to teach us the fundamentals of reading, grammar, composition, math, history, and science. How much more do we need a teacher, ordained and sent from God, to teach us the foundational teachings that will prepare us in humility to be elevated to such a high position in His government.

Yet, most people know very little about His kingdom, which happens to be the true gospel (Mark 1: 14). God’s people are “destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hos. 4: 6). Most only believe what they have been taught: get saved, escape hell, and go to heaven, and try to tell others the same.

This limited vision of the kingdom of God closes up all the secrets and mysteries of God from entering one’s mind. Vast passages in the Bible are closed to the people because of this narrow conception of God and His rule. It is difficult for them to conceive of this truth elucidated in the scriptures: Jesus Christ (Yahshua), the Son of God, the King of the Kingdom of God, is coming back to rule for 1,000 years–right here on earth. And some of His followers will be ruling alongside Him.

Nevertheless, for some, this message will resonate with hope in becoming one of His rulers sitting on the throne with Christ. Some it will not. Christ did say, “He that has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says” (Rev. 3: 22). If a person is able to comprehend this message, then let that person do it.

The point is this. No matter what one’s spiritual growth is, no matter how far they are destined to grow spiritually in Christ–God’s plan and purpose is for them. It is bread and meat for the hungry soul. And so let those so inclined eat at the Master’s table and learn of Him. And it all starts with knowing His eternal purpose of reproducing and multiplying Love, which is God, and knowing His plan to implement this purpose.

But His plan is not for just our little life, but for the whole universe. For this is His vision, of His plan, to fulfill His purpose, comprised of His Thoughts from His Mind, and poured into the Word, and translated into the Seed. And the Seed was made flesh and dwelt among us. And the Seed was God, and the Seed was Love. And the Seed germinated in the fertile soil of good and honest hearts, and it grew as a tree and grew and grew until it filled the whole earth with Love.  And this is all contained in the Mind of the Son of God. Hallelujah!           Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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February 20, 2016 · 5:51 pm

Faith He Rose Not Enough–With Him We Rose, Too

It is not enough to believe that Christ died, was buried, and rose from the dead. We must believe that our old Adamic nature died with Him, was buried with Him, and by believing in His resurrection, we too are “raised to walk in a newness of life.”[Romans 6: 4].

This is what He requires us to do. It is not difficult to believe that Christ existed and went through what the scriptures said He went through. “Even the devils believe in one God and tremble” [James 2:19]. But He is requiring His followers to go all in, to lay it all on the line, to get skin in the game. And we do that by giving up our old lives, ambitions, haunts, addictions, habits–you get the idea. He tells us to “count the cost” to see if we have the right stuff to complete the spiritual growth process He wants us to go through in order to become like Him. I’ll repeat that: to become just like Him.

We must first realize that the moment Christ expired on the cross, your sin nature and mine died along with Him. That was us dying there. He took our sins upon Him and through death eradicated them out of existence. All the sins of every human being, along with the old nature that gave rise to the sin, died when He died [Romans 6: 1-15]. This is precious knowledge that is seldom heard on Sundays around the world.

And then Christ was buried, and with Him was buried all the sins of mankind. Your sins and my sins, along with our old sinful nature that generated the evilness in the first place–they died and were buried.

And then we believe that Christ rose from the dead. But it wasn’t just Him that rose, but we rose too! He is so merciful to provide a way for us to have a new life–before our physical body goes back to dust. He rose, we rose, by believing it so. He said it; He wrote it; we are now  just to believe it.

So it is not just believing that only Christ rose from the dead. We rose with Him. But all we have are His words promising this new life if we believe the above. We must believe words that express this truth, written down by Christ’s followers almost 2,000 years ago. And that takes faith, which is believing having not seen the evidence beforehand.

The Seed Germinates

When we really believe in our own death, burial and resurrection, which happened simultaneously with His, then the light of truth ignites within our hearts. It is like when a seed is planted in the garden. The warmth of the sun combines with the moisture in the earth and then–a miracle happens.

The old seed ceases to exist in its original state. It dies, losing its old identity. Its old outward shell goes back to dust as its new inner life springs out to the light and warmth of the sun. We as God’s offspring are given birth like those garden seeds. It is a miracle.

The original spiritual Seed is the Word of God. Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith. An author writes the script. And this Author wrote the play of Life having Himself come in flesh and give Himself as a ransom for all of us. And He would be the Word of God enacted on the earth. And that Word became the Seed. And when that Word is believed by us–about Him and us as outlined above–then we become “new creatures in Christ.” We become part of the enactment of the Play. We are in it! Or rather, He is in us, enacting the love one to another, which is His nature and is an integral part of the Script.

““Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain” (John 12: 24). That wheat seed that Christ was talking about was Himself. If He does not go to the cross, then He would remain alone. But if He dies, then many more grains–just like Himself–will be produced. He would have reproduced Himself through the self-sacrifice.

The same thing is true for man. If a person chooses to not die with Christ, then he will face the  lonely, dusty tomb of death.

But if we choose His way of life, then our old sinful heart dies and we are freed from its clutches. We were slaves to sin and sinning, but we now are liberated from the slavemaster sin.

And like that seed in the garden, through belief in the word of promise that the Son/Word/Seed proclaimed, we newly sprout up with the very power of the Creator surging with life through our new being.

Sprouted Wheat Grows into Grain

We like freshly sprouted wheat are together become potential grain that the Master mills into flour which He uses to make the spiritual “bread of life.” But we must grow to full maturity till we “come to seed” and can become flour for baking that bread.

For all this to happen, we must grow from that little sprouted blade of wheat. Christ explains that the kingdom of God is like the earth that brings forth fruit of itself. A man sows the seed, and it comes up–“first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head” (Mark 4: 28).

Brothers and sisters, we are His seed; we are God’s children. And we are meant to grow. That is our destiny: to become just like Him and to be used to make the bread of life. If we are not growing into maturity, something is wrong!

To mature like this, we must “purge out the old leaven” and the false teachings that well meaning people have passed down to us. We must be ready to “dig deep” and study His word diligently and do it in the face of the opposition that will come–mostly from those of our own family and circle of friends and acquaintances.  Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

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April 12, 2015 · 5:37 pm

The Milk of the Word

The spiritual growth life cycle revealed in scripture is like the natural human life cycle. We all start out in our new life as babes in Christ.

After that first flush of joy of entering into our new life, we start growing and we are hungry. Just like a baby. Peter admonishes us, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.”

But what exactly is the “milk of the word”? The spiritual milk is the “first principles of the oracles of God.” Paul the apostle uses this phrase in an admonishment to the Hebrews. He was concerned with their lack of growth, saying that they should be out there teaching the newcomers in Christ. But they had “need that one teach [them] again which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and have need of milk, and not strong meat (Heb. 5: 11-12).

Two “needs” are mentioned here–a need to be taught the first principles and a need for milk. So we see that they are one and the same: milk = first principles.

So What Is the “Milk”?

What are these first principles? The next verse says that if a Christian is still on the spiritual milk, then they are “unskilful” and lack spiritual experience, “for he is a babe.” Strong meat  is for mature Christians, meaning that their senses have been “exercised to discern both good and evil.” In other words, a babe in Christ finds it difficult to tell the difference between good and evil. Babes in Christ need to be taught the difference between the true doctrines of Christ and the false doctrines. And there are many (5: 13-14).

The “first principles of the oracles of God” are the “principles of the doctrine of Christ.” They are found in the next two verses of Hebrews. We are to learn them and then leave them! We are to walk in them but not circle the same old mountain like our forefathers did. Rather we are to do them, incorporate them as good spiritual habits, and then “go on to perfection,” which is spiritual maturity. That’s the place where there’s no more need of milk but strong spiritual food (6: 1-2).

And then Paul lists these principles of the doctrine of Christ, which is the milk of the word. “Not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.” That’s the milk that when fully consumed and digested, will bring us into a higher walk with Him.

These are the first principles of Christ’s doctrine, and we should know them backwards and forwards and be doing them. Yet, some churchgoers say that they do not want doctrine–they just want Jesus. Sorry. You can’t have Him without His teachings. He is the Great Teacher of Righteousness, after all.

These teachings comprise the milk of the word, and they are wonderful stuff and very much needed, but it should not be our spiritual food forever!

The New Blog

For those of us who do have need of the milk, I will be sharing a series of articles in a new blog with the working title The Milk of the Word. It will be there for new Christians as well as those in the body of Christ who desire to firm up the foundation of Christ’s doctrines, which will help us all to go on to perfection. “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4: 11-15). But first, let us imbibe the pure and sincere milk of the word.

{I will be announcing the new blog The Milk of the Word shortly here on this blog}

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January 17, 2015 · 8:47 pm

What the World Needs Now Is…Agape Love

Life is really all about love. Rather, a fulfilled life is all about love. Books, songs, poems, and most artistic masterpieces have as their major theme something about love. It is “what the world needs now.”

So we have the thinkers and poets penning down for the masses the hidden longings of the heart, for love. Although they may not realize it, mankind’s longing for love is really a desperate desire for God on some level. For there is only one entity in the universe that actually is love, and that is God, for “God is love” (I John 4: 16).

Thus, mankind’s search for love ends when he finds God. Seeking to be loved from another individual is seeking an earnest of God that He has placed in man and woman, who was created in His image.

The Hebrew prophets and apostles speak of just these very things. The Son of God Himself spoke of love, living it out dramatically through His Passion. He is Love incarnate, for He exhibited the greatest love that a mortal can ever do–to lay down his life for his friends.

This act of self-sacrifice for another instantly touches the human heart like no other act. The Son of God presented Himself the sacrificial Lamb for our deliverance, and now He asks His followers to do the same. But this time we are “to present our bodies a living sacrifice.”  Through this humble service to our King, we will not become self-centered proteges of this world system, but we will be “transformed by the renewing of our minds.” We will change into His image through thinking His way, by His Spirit. (Romans 12: 1-2).

Now His Holy Spirit of Love multiplies and abounds in us when we do what He did, which is lay down our lives to help save mankind from a life without love (God). It is not so we can escape hell and go to heaven. That is not why He laid His life down. To follow Him, we must do it for the same reason.

How Do We Lay Our Lives Down Like Christ Did?

He wants us to join Him on the cross. The moment just before Christ died, all of the sins of mankind were place upon Him. He wants us at first to join Him on the cross. This signifies that our old haunts and sinful desires and deeds coming out of our old heart die with Him. Our old sinful nature died with Christ that day. And “he that is dead is freed from sin” (Romans 6: 7). We are free from the enslavement to sin and sinning that was our old selfish life! The problem is many just do not believe it. They have not heard of it and are loathe to believe anything “new.” They think that it is impossible to be rid of sin in a Christian’s life. But is anything too hard for God? To him that believes, aren’t all things possible with God? (I John 3: 9).

Dying with Him is the initial baptism or immersion into His death. Then we  believe that we are buried with Him. And then we believe that He was raised from the dead after 72 lifeless hours in the tomb. It is through believing in His resurrection that enables us to believe that we are raised from the dead, too! (Romans 6: 4-5). This is His faith, His belief. When we also believe this great act of the greatest love, then we receive His Spirit of life and love, and we walk “in a newness of life”! And love!

His resurrection power is born of love. For it surges forth after the selfless act of laying down His life for His friends, the greatest love. Our conscious act of following Christ in doing this is met with the resurrection power of love (God), now in us.

Spiritually Growing
And then we, “as newborn babes,” are to spiritually grow in Him. Or rather, we will spiritually grow as the Spirit of Love grows in us.

“Babes in Christ” need the “sincere milk of the word” in order to grow properly. They are, of course, mostly alive in their new life for what they can receive from the Father. Their prayers reflect this, for their petitions  center on their own needs. This is why Christ teaches all of us to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” and all of our earthly needs will be supplied. But it takes a spiritual growth to become mature in Him enough to do this. A growth that the milk and then the meat of the Word will accomplish. For we all must be taught His thoughts, desires, and will, in order to grow (I Peter 2.2; Matt. 6: 31-34).

But herein lies the problem. Instead of the sincere and uncorrupted milk and later meat of the Word, they are fed with half-truths, imaginations, and traditions of men about God and not the “food that is needful for [them]” (Prov. 30: 8). Thus, the little children of God, lamentably, are stunted in their spiritual growth in Christ, stunted by erroneous concepts of the Savior and His plan for this world.

But a “babe in Christ” is like a child fed only with junk food their whole life. When the white sugar, corn syrup, and white flour products are taken away and a wholesome diet is place in front of them, they will say that the old junk food is  better. “And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ” “Wine” is universally accepted to be a symbol of “doctrine” (Luke 5: 39).

Warnings about this problem in the last days fill the writings of the apostles of Christ. All of the New Testament writers, along with the prophets of old, expressed their concerns.

But Some…

But some will break out of the stunted pack, pulled by a strong yearning for the answer to life’s riddle. God has called some according to His purpose. He foreknew and conferred on them a destiny “to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8: 28-29). He has chosen them “in Him before the foundation of the world, that [they] should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” Agape Love (Eph. 1:4).

These chosen ones, invisibly guided by His Spirit, will answer the “high calling.” They will decrease so that He can increase His presence in them to the point that Love (God) will express Himself fully to every one on earth–through them.

These He is calling. They have already been chosen. And they will respond and become the over comers of all things like the the corrupted half-truths and traditions of men about God. Fed with the sincere truth of God’s plan, they will grow fully to express Christ in human form again. They will believe Christ’s words: “Greater works shall you do than what I have done.”

They will be the princes and princesses in God’s kingdom, soon to be established earth wide upon His return. Filled with Christ’s Spirit, during the 1,000 Year Reign, they will be His viceroys, governing the provinces of the earth after the dust and ash of Tribulation settle.

How Will They Grow?

This vision of the “gospel of the kingdom” is what will feed and nourish young Christians so that they can spiritually grow to be just like Christ.

And the growth of God within them is the growth of love within them. Christ’s words confirm this: “All men will know that you are My disciples if you have love one to another.”

The last days are upon us. All these promises of sonship are written for our time, brothers and sisters. We are living in the time of the latter rain of His Spirit. Are we the ones who will shake off the chains of Christian mediocrity and free ourselves from spiritual infancy? Will we stand up and answer this highest of His callings–to sit with Him on His throne? Not every Christian will. Consider the five foolish virgins (Rev. 3: 21; Matt. 25: 1-13).

Or will we recede to the rear near the nursery and hide our talents in the earth, only to be chided by the Master, “You slothful and unprofitable servant.”

Sadly, this will come upon some Christians, all because they did not dig deep and prove all things and study for themselves the “new things” presented to them along the way. Christians who don’t grow will never express the greatest love, the love that comes from above, that heals the poor and needy, that rights the wrongs of human depravity, that restores God’s righteous judgements in the earth, thus incarnating God (Love) once again to a love-starved earth.

It is this kind of love that we are to finally add to the divine nature within us now. “Agape love is the bond of perfectness.” It is that last attribute of God’s divine nature that makes us complete in Him. It matures us, for when added, we will have been “conformed to the image of His Son.”  {My readers, I have poured it out for you. Can a brother get an “Amen”? Tell me what you think about these things. Did they make you think? Did they inspire you? Did they make you angry? Make a comment. Let me know your thoughts about these things. Holler at me. I need your fellowship.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock}

 

 

 

 

 

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