CHAPTER 3 APPROACHING WATER BAPTISM

Transcription

1 CHAPTER 3 APPROACHING WATER BAPTISM Earlier we touched on water baptism as being one of the steps we must take on the Highway of Holiness. Now we will expand on the importance of water baptism and truly being born again. John 3:4 7 4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? 5 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. 6 that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again." Much of the church today talks about having a salvation, or born again experience, but do they really understand what Jesus was saying? We just read the statement: that which is born of flesh is flesh, and in reading Isaiah 64: 6 we will find that our flesh is as filthy rags before the Lord.

2 Isa. 64:6 6 But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Rom. 3:23 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, So the scriptures show us that we are all unclean at our birth into the Adamic race! How? Because we are conceived in the womb of an earthly mother, who was born into the sin and likeness of her original parents, Adam and Eve. The forefathers of our race ate the fruit of Satan s lies and become like him. Now all born after them would have the nature of Satan and come under the punishment for sin. What was that punishment? Let us read Genesis 2: to see what God told them. Gen. 2: And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." But what did Satan tell her?

3 Gen. 3:4 5 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Notice the scriptures call Satan a serpent. This is because he is cunning, smooth and deceptive. He looks harmless enough, but in reality he is a murderer and liar. Because of him we are born cursed and spiritually dead. Again, Satan is a liar and the father of all who are born to fallen man. Sinful flesh cannot enter the presence of a holy God. Jesus explains this sad state we are in at John chapter 8, verse 44. John 8:44 44 "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. So if we are all sinners and fall short of God s glory, there is only one thing we can to. We must be born again.

4 John 3:3 3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." SO WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO TO BE BORN AGAIN? As we studied the chapter on cords, we came to the understanding that we must sever the cords of iniquity to the sin and rebellion we were born into, as well as to the sin and rebellion in our families, friends, and the world. We must face the fact that we need to sever the cords that are attached to our Adamic nature. By cutting these cords we are taking the next step to be taken after repenting and experiencing the feast of Passover. In other words, we express our desire to God to be obedient to His kingdom and His laws, and then sever the cords of iniquity and sin that have us bound to Satan s world. This truth, if acted on, will set us free from the lies of Satan that have been producing the fruit of sin and lawlessness in mankind since Adam and Eve in the garden! Then the child of God can be bound or have cords of love to their Heavenly Father. They listen and repeat what their Father tells them, so their message is pure truth!! DO WE HAVE TO BE BAPTIZED TO MAKE IT INTO PARADISE IF WE DIE?

5 No! A person can enter into Paradise the same way the thief on the cross did. Before dying, the thief acknowledged Jesus as the Savior, to which Jesus responded, This day you will be with me in Paradise. Even though the thief had not experienced water baptism, positionally, he did experience the Passover Lamb. John 1:29 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! But this is a circumstance where the thief died before he had the opportunity to travel further up the highway of holiness. We however are still alive and cannot just stop here! THE TABERNACLE S PATTERN Let us go back and examine the diagram of the tabernacle in the wilderness for a better understanding of this event at the cross. The thief experienced the Brazen Altar (as Jesus had already died before him), or had shed His blood for his sins. We see proof that Jesus died before the thief on the cross at John 19: 32 33

6 John 19: Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him.

7 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. So through the death of Jesus (Jesus died for our sins) the thief had experienced Unleavened Bread, but he had not experienced the Laver to be baptized and born again. So in other words, the thief still had to die a physical death also so he could be resurrected to a new life. He was not born again in this world. Adam s race is cursed and cannot enter paradise, so the thief had to become something different from Adam to experience the Feast of Tabernacles where he would dwell with God. Do you realize that this is still the position the majority of the church sleeps in today? They too will have to die a physical death to be able to dwell with the Lord. But we who seek present Truth wonder why we have to die, and ask: Who are those that will not sleep that the Scripture speaks of in I Corinthians 15:51 52? I Cor. 15: Behold, I tell you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, [experience death] but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

8 We should want to be one of those 1 Corinthians 15:51 people! FALSE DOCTRINE HAS STOPPED US You see, many have thought they were saved because they recited the sinners prayer (a prayer formulated to lead one to Christ) but have gone no further even though they were alive and well, and had the opportunity to do so. Then there are others that did go on to be baptized, but were deceived through false doctrines and were not baptized properly. Most fall under this bracket. Yet there is a people that will be changed without dying! We know this because we see them when we read Psalms 102: Ps. 102: This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD. 19 For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary; from heaven the LORD viewed the earth, It goes on to say: Ps. 102: To hear the groaning of the prisoner, to release those appointed to

9 death, 21 To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem, Here is the good news: The "generation yet to be created" is here and He has released those that were appointed to death! These are the ones that are born again and different from the people of Adam s race as the last trump blows. I point this truth directly toward the dead Adamic church of Sardis, whom the Lord speaks of when He says,...i know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. (Rev. 3:1). These poor people call themselves Christians (they think they have a name). They also think they are alive (they do works for the Lord), but sadly, because they are misinformed concerning baptism, they are still going to die physically before they can experience the Feast of Tabernacles. These are also those who are spoken of in Revelation 11:8 as lying dead in the streets. But happily Daniel in chapter 12 and verse 4 speaks of a time when the knowledge of God would increase and the dead would arise. Also the Prophet Joel said in Joel 2:28 that in the latter days God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh. With the infilling of the Spirit there comes the ability to comprehend the deeper things of God. The mysteries will be opened to God s people through those God chooses to reveal them through, and as stated before, the Apostle Paul tells us at 1 Corinthians 15:51 52, Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a

10 moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. So we see, at the blowing of the 7th and final trumpet, the Church is still here on planet earth and being called to wake up and be born again. Side Note : In Ezek. 37:9 12 we see how God will bring all of this about. He will awaken His people from spiritual death by releasing new revelation on the wind (or blow the trumpet) to be carried to the ears of those that have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church! We see this phenomenon foretold in Ezekiel chapter 37. Ezek. 37: Also He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live." 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, 'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off! 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your

11 graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Like the example of Lazarus they will come forth as they hear the voice of God calling them through truth or divine inspiration. (That example is found at John 11:31 34). Let us look at the word breath in the Hebrew language by studying the Strongs Concordance. Breath is number neshamah (nesh aw maw'); from 5395; a puff, i.e. wind, angry or vital breath, divine inspiration, intellect. or (concretely) an animal: Today, in Revelation 11:11, we see this fulfilled. Revelation 11:11 11 Now after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. Or we could say it this way: the vital breath, divine inspiration from God entered them, they stood to their feet and great fear fell on those who saw them. (For a deeper study of these issues see our book on Government of God.) But for now let us move on so we can understand how to be properly

12 born again into the family of God. Let us again refer to our road map, the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. Step one: we cried out to God to save us. He heard and allowed us access to

13 His courtyard. Step two: We repented of all our sins only to find out our whole race is cursed and sinful! But God forgives our personal sin at step two of our journey and gives us the opportunity to sever the cords that have us bound to our sinful race. At this part of our journey we experience the feast of Unleavened Bread. Our sin is covered over by the blood of Jesus at this feast, as was the sin of the thief on the cross with Jesus. To understand how all this happens we must understand His blood. UNDERSTANDING HIS BLOOD The truth surrounding how the blood of Jesus would one day cover our sins was foreshadowed by the children of Israel as they prepared to depart from Egypt. God, through Moses, directed them to slay a lamb and sprinkle the blood on the doorposts and the lintel of their homes. By doing this, the Angel of Death, upon seeing the blood, would pass over their homes. The innocent life of the little lamb that was in the lamb s blood would be sacrificed for the sinful lives of Israel. We see in Leviticus that life is in the blood. Lev. 17:11

14 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul for it is the life of all flesh. So the importance of the blood in God s eyes was that it represented the life of whomever or whatever it flowed through. For Israel to despise it would cause them to despise the life that was in the blood and therefore risk being separated from God forever. All this was taught to show us how precious the blood of Christ (with His innocent life in it) would be when shed for the atonement of our sins. Also, now we can comprehend how His life (that was in His blood) could conquer death by Him dying in our place. His pure and holy life was exchanged for ours. God paid the death penalty for mankind through Jesus and now mankind can take step three. As we take the third step and are lowered into the water at baptism, (one must be completely submerged) we enter into the death of Jesus and die to our old person (Adam). Rom. 6:3 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

15 We are then born again or resurrected into His life. Rom. 6:4 6 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. In other words, our old Adamic person, with all cords severed to the rest of Adam s race dies in the watery grave. The life of Christ then enters our blood when we are born again properly through Him and we are resurrected a newborn creature. 1 Cor. 15:45 45 And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life giving spirit. THE WATER

16 Numbers 24:5 9 5 How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel! 6 Like valleys that stretch out, like gardens by the river's side, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. 7 He shall pour water from His buckets, and His seed shall be in many waters, His King shall be higher than Agag, and His kingdom shall be exalted. 8 God brings him out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox; He shall consume the nations, His enemies, He shall break their bones, and pierce them with His arrows. 9 He bows down, He lies down as a lion; and as a lion; who shall rouse Him? Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you. This prophecy was foretelling a time when Jesus Christ, the Lion of Judah, would bring forth his first born, Israel, to be Trees of Righteousness planted by the River of Life. These first born (or new born) will be the seed of Abraham, walking in the new Covenant and the blessings given to them by God. This seed shall be in many waters. This is fulfilled in baptism when the blood with the life of Christ and the water come together. Let us refer again to the Tabernacle in the Wilderness for a better understanding of this part of baptism also. Even though the Priest offered the animal sacrifice and sprinkled its blood on the Brazen Altar (experiencing

17 Unleavened Bread), he still had to go to the Laver (water) before entering the Holy Place. He had to become a type or foreshadow of what we know today as the born again. At the Laver the Priest, who had put some of the blood from the sacrifice on the Brazen altar on his finger, dipped it in the Laver s water so the water and blood mixed. Thus the water became cloudy. You see, the bottom of the Laver was lined with polished metal or mirrors. As the Priest looked into the Laver he would see his own image, but now the bloody water would no longer allow him to see his reflection. [This caused him to lose his identity.] Much of the church acknowledges that this same thing happens when we go down in baptism. They will even quote the Scripture passage to you found at Romans 6:4. Romans 6:4 4 Therefore we are buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. They read this, but the problem lies in the fact that the church does not really understand what actually takes place in the watery grave. Jesus gave us a glimpse of what happens through His first miracle. A MARRIAGE

18 At the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee, Mary the mother of Jesus came to Him and said, "They have no wine." To which Jesus replied, "Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come." John 2:3 4 Most would say, "How could Jesus speak to His mother like that?" In looking at the time frame, we see that this conversation took place after Jesus was baptized. He was now walking as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. He had cut the ties to His carnal (Adamic) family (experiencing Unleavened Bread). At his baptism, when He emerged from the water, He heard the voice of His Father saying, " This is My beloved son in whom I am well pleased." (Matt. 3:17). He was the first born of a new generation: one born of God. It was as the Son of God, not the son of Mary, that He would begin His ministry. Also the miracle itself of turning water into wine has a far greater significance for us than we ever imagined. John 2: Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast." And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and

19 did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" This miracle is symbolic of the spiritual water of Christ entering the earthen stony vessel of man s heart, where God would resurrect, birth and bring forth His Bride filled with the new and best wine. A blood transmutation is caused as the life of God, which is already on the doorposts of the heart of one that has passed the to Brazen Altar, is covered by the pure water of God. The result of this miracle is the creation of a new generation of people. Let us look at the word water in Strong's Concordance for the understanding of this mystery. We will see that a whole new meaning emerges. Definition of WATER Strong s Exhaustive Concordance number 4325 mayim (mah' yim); dual of a primitive noun (but used in a singular sense); water; figuratively, juice; by euphemism, urine, semen: What we see through this definition is the possibility of water reacting in two

20 entirely different ways. When we studied the section on the cords, we learned that we must cut the cords of iniquity. With cords to Adam severed, we can go down into the water where the semen of God is, totally free from our past, and be born again through God as a new creature. 1 Pet. 1:23 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, 1 Jn. 4:7 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. John 3:6 7 6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 "Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' If we go down into the water with cords still attached to Adam and his world, however, the water becomes urine for us. We come up bound in grave clothes and as filthy as before and certainly not born again through God.

21 THE IMAGE OF CHRIST With the understanding that the blood type is determined by the Father: once His seed covers us and His life enters us, we come up as little gods (elohim) born again and in the image of Christ. This is the meaning of walking in newness of life. The life is in the blood, His life! Now we can realize the fullness of what Jesus' blood and the water that was loosed from His side on the cross means to us. It symbolized the rebirth of Israel. John 19:34 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. As Eve came from the side of Adam, who was in the image of God, so the church or the Bride of Christ was taken from His side. THE REBIRTH OF ISRAEL Acts 17:26 26 And (God) has made from one blood (Christ s) every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth...

22 As Jesus was The First Fruits of many brethren, we can truly call God our Father and become Israel. This is true for all mankind, both Hebrew and heathen or Gentile. Let me explain: Jer. 31:9 9...for I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Ephraim represents the ten lost tribes of Israel that have been scattered through every nation of the world. Since they married into the nations, the blood of old Israel is intermingled with all the people of the world. You see, when the Hebrews married into the nations (by the law of God), the people of the nations became Hebrew. If you married into a family, you were counted by God as part of that family. Thus the saying: "mother in law", "sister in law", or "father in law". The irony of this situation is that Satan meant to lose God s people, but the fact is, as they dispersed throughout the lands, the family of God was growing! Thus the promise that "all Israel would be saved" could be fulfilled. Rom. 11: And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;

23 27 For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins." Heb. 8: Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah 9 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. 10 "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. However, blood lines to Adam and the old Hebrew race must be severed and we must be born again to be saved. Why? Rom. 2:28 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; Gal. 6:15 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails

24 anything, but a new creation. We see this truth again at Romans 9:6 8. Rom. 9:6 8 6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, "In Isaac your seed shall be called." 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. You see, once we are born again in Christ regardless of our known bloodline, we become the seed of Abraham as well as the protected children of God. Gal. 3: For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

25 Is this good news to us, or what? Now look at this! Heb. 2:16 16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Now that we are Abraham s born again seed and have taken on the name of Jesus Christ, we are identified with Him rather than Adam. HIS NAME All the above must be done in His name however, before death and Hades will bow their knee allowing us to live forever. Now it becomes clear why the devil wanted us to buy the lie that being baptized in the titles (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is good enough! But here is what scripture says: Acts 4:12 12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

26 Is that scripture not about as plain as you can get? It is through the name of Jesus, not who God is, that we are saved. Peter explains in Acts 2:38 how we are to be baptized. Acts 2:38 38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. God is faithful to tell us exactly how He wants us to do things. Col. 3:17 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. You see, we are forgiven of all sins through His blood but we are released from death because of the name, and that name is Jesus. Phil. 2:10 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,

27 Even death must bow its knee at the sound of His name! Is it any wonder that Satan wants us to be baptized through titles rather than the actual name Jesus? You see, Jesus is the Word. The Word is Truth. Truth or divine inspiration is the life or breath of God that is in the blood. But it is the name of Jesus that holds the authority of God the creator to cause the rebirth of humanity. Again let us look at Acts 4: 12. Acts 4:12 12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." John 1:1 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Now let us look at the third and fourth verses: John 1:3 4 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

28 So you see, the new, born again ones are created through the authority of God that is in the name of Jesus to create things. Now let go back and read Colossians 2:9 10. It is very important that we see this. Col. 2: For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. Now we as new ones are in the image of God through Jesus once again, and not in the image of Satan through Adam. 1 Cor. 15: The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. So, God was in Jesus to forgive us, reconcile us back to Himself and cause us to be reborn into His image.

29 2 Cor. 5:19 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD He is the Father that created us. He was in the bodysuit of Jesus to redeem us from our sin and He is the Holy Spirit that enters into us at baptism, allowing us to be reborn into something He can love. Jesus explained how He would return to mankind as the Holy Spirit that would live in them. John 14: "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever 17 "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

30 That is, He will enter us if we are free of the cords to Adam and take on the name at baptism that He chose for us, and that name is "Jesus". Look how the apostles baptized people. Acts 10:48 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days. Acts 19:4 5 4 Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Jesus makes this promise to those who love Him and are baptized in His name: John 14:14 14 "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

31 But again this promise is in effect only if you take His name at baptism! Here is a fact! Absolutely everywhere in the Bible that people were baptized they used the name of Jesus rather than the titles, Father Son Holy Ghost. In fact, if you will look closely at the one and only scripture that even speaks of the titles in connection with baptism, you can get the truth of the statement there. Let us look at Matthew 28: 19. Matt 28:19 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, It said to be baptized in what? In the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, in the name of the Holy Spirit. Now let us go back and look at a scripture that prophesies about who all the Son is: Isa. 9:6 6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And again at Matthew we see:

32 Matt. 1:23 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." 2 Cor. 5:19 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. So it was God in Christ restoring mankind, as it is now Christ in us restoring mankind to His image. Col. 1:27 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. So, God is in Christ. Col. 2:8 9 8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit,

33 according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; And now Christ is in us also: 1 Cor. 3:16 16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? And again: 1 Cor. 6:19 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? So the life of God was in the blood of Christ to atone for our sins at His death, but the authority in the life of God is in the name after His resurrection to recreate a new generation of people. We need His blood to be forgiven, but we need His name to be born again without dying a physical death. And since we are reborn in the image of Christ we become a temple that God can live in just as He lived in Jesus two thousand years ago.

34 SIDE NOTE: WHY GOD HATES BLOODSHED Let us go back to the early years of mankind. Cain, the firstborn of Adam and Eve was an evil man. He killed the second born to Adam because Abel was good. Cain was cut off from God and his family, just as God told Israel that they would be cut off for not rightly discerning the importance of the blood. Let us look at what God said to Cain. Gen. 4: "So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 "When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth." Today, new Israel can expect the same response from God for our not recognizing the importance of the blood. Jesus told the Pharisees of His day that the blood of the innocent would be on their hands. Why? Because they did not repent or walk in the truth that He was teaching, and they killed the

35 people of God that did. This blood or their life would cry out to God, as did Abel s. The Pharisees would pay the price, as did Cain. Luke 11:51 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation. Why would he cut them off? Let us look at the answer in verse 52. Luke 11:52 52 "Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered." (or they killed them!) The key of knowledge is the Word, the divine inspiration that is the life of God! It will be required of today s generation also that refuses to admit they are wrong in what they are teaching as new truth is revealed and they choose to not change. These same ones also, like Cain, attack those Jesus reveals and teaches through, the ones that have the keys of knowledge. They kill them spiritually by ruining their validity with God s people that are trying to learn from them. They do not see the Christ in these ones that is manifesting

36 through them on behalf of mankind. Every time they accuse and come against one that is a chosen vessel with God s Word or life living through them, they attack God Himself! As I said before, they are crucifying the Christ that is in them all over again! There is no forgiveness for that! It is blasphemy! Heb. 6:4 6 4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift (been born again), and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit (filled with His Spirit), 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come (or the authority of God), 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. We must be very careful who we accuse. Again we are not just accusing people, we are accusing the Truth in them and coming against God and His authority! Look closely at this scripture now. Matt. 12:31 31 "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men".

37 Again, this is the Spirit of Jesus that is in each of us when we are born again. We are told to love one another. FURTHER TRESPASS OF THE LIFE IN THE BLOOD THROUGH COMMUNION Sadly we also find the church today partaking of communion without proper revelation of the blood, water or the name. Therefore they are not receiving the benefits and blessings that God meant for them to have. He cannot fulfill the new Covenant with today s church without them fully understanding the Covenant and being in complete agreement with it. As we look at I Corinthians 10:16, Paul tells us that the cup of blessing that we bless IS the communion of the blood of Christ. 1 Cor. 10:16 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? He goes on to tell us that we cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils or commune with any other life than that of Christ. We must be a

38 faithful bride. 1 Cor. 10:21 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons. Let us look at the word communion in the Greek language to see what we really do when we take communion, or drink of His blood. The word Communion is number koinonia (koy nohn ee' ah); (koy nohn ee' ah); from 2844; partnership, i.e. (literally) participation, or (social) intercourse, or (pecuniary) benefaction: Should we not want to be separate from any other life than that of Christ? In summing it up, Paul says that the sick remain sick and the people continue to die because they drink unworthily, bringing damnation on themselves. 1 Cor. 11: For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

39 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. We must be repentant and free from the cords of iniquity to Adam s race. We must also die in the watery grave and be resurrected through God to experience a new birth. We then must recognize God s family and the Christ that is within them and love them as our family before we can take the communion worthily and continue our journey up the highway of holiness. 1 Cor. 11:27 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. PENTECOST As new creatures, we leave our past experiences behind and travel on down the highway. We are not quite sure what is next. Suddenly five posts appear in front of us. We again refer to our road map, the diagram of the tabernacle, and check to see what the five posts are about.

40 We see first that there us a name on each one. The first post has apostle written on it, the second prophet, the third evangelist, the fourth pastor and the last teacher. The road map calls this the fivefold ministry. It is beginning to look like we are going to have to pass through at least one of these to

41 progress forward. As we get closer, we recognize the one called evangelist. He was the one that was there when the Lord first called us from the world to the courtyard and the person next to the evangelist, the pastor, was also there as we ate the Unleavened Bread and First Fruits. Which one should we talk to now about how to continue on? I guess probably the teacher could teach us about the mysteries that lie ahead of us. As we pass through the posts between the pastor and teacher, we walk into a most incredibly beautiful light. There is a huge lampstand that we walk up to. The presence of the Holy Spirit is so intense that we are literally filled with this presence and all of a sudden another language comes to us. At this point of our journey we are baptized by the Holy Spirit (or the Spirit of Jesus) so that we can develop into His image. We become bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh at the beginning of the journey. Now He will begin to shape us into His children and His Bride. He gives us His ability to function in life as He blesses us with nine new gifts. Nine fruits are fed to us at this feast as well. Let us look at our gifts first before we inspect the fruit.

42 THE GIFTS Looking at diagram three, we see that our born again spirit man is alive and

43 connected to God. Now we can draw from the mind of Christ rather than the mind of Satan to make life decisions, as did Adam and Eve before their fall. The first gift is Word of Knowledge. This knowledge comes straight from God to our mind. It is a thought from Him. Word of Knowledge is not the result of our thinking. It is knowledge sent directly from God to our thought pattern. In other words, word of knowledge is God s thought transferred to us. When we do not know what to do, this is a most useful gift. For instance, if we lose something: Holy Spirit, where did I lose my whatever? The thought that comes is word of knowledge. Another example: We may be talking to someone that we feel the Lord wants to draw to His Kingdom by using us to witness to them. We do not know anything about them however, and do not know what is the best way to go about it. If He is really drawing them, then He knows exactly what He wants said and the information that comes to you is word of knowledge. Now that we have this thought from God, should we share it right away? Is this His timing? The thought that will enter our mind and guide our heart is us experiencing the use of His second gift Word of Wisdom. This verdict or decision is not the result of our mind putting together facts and circumstances to tell us what to do, it is the end result of God s thinking. His thinking is pure wisdom and we have the awesome privilege of tapping

44 into this wisdom. How? By simply asking for it! It is a gift! 1 Jn. 5:15 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. As long as we remain in a good standing or right standing with God this wisdom is always there for us. Adam and Eve walked through God s wisdom until Eve, on her own, talked to Satan and ate the fruit of his lies. Rather than seek God s advice, she listened to Satan s. Satan told her she did not need God s wisdom, she could think for herself. He (Satan) would help her. Believing this lie, Eve birthed the intellect of man into being. She thought she was thinking her thoughts, but they were actually being fed, now through the thinking of Satan. Word of Wisdom was traded for her intellect, guided by the lie: You can decide for yourself good from evil. Satan convinced her she no longer needed the gift of Word of Knowledge or the gift of Word of Wisdom, so she lost the third gift as well: the gift of discerning of spirits. She would never have been fooled if she had sought the mind of Christ, but she wanted control of her own destiny. As she approached the forbidden tree (Satan) and ate the fruit of his lies, his anointing or presence came over her. Her spirit man died at that moment and she was born again and resurrected in the image of Satan. He became her father as she was born again through his

45 lies and was now in his image. He would be as her husband that would cover and guide her. Adam followed her example. The Spirit of God left them both so that now they would no longer be able to discern what spirit was operating around them or which spirit was operating through them! They could really be deceived! They would not be able to discern which force was involved in a circumstance any longer, and would for the most part do exactly what Satan wanted them to do. But the born again ones have turned their backs on Satan and those he guides by severing the cords of iniquity to them, and so God has blessed them with the gifting again to seek His will and not be deceived by the wrong spirit. They are able to discern through the gift of discerning of spirits. Since the born again can discern, the Spirit of God is more and more sought by them in their everyday lives. Therefore the power of God flows through their lives bringing the gifts of healing, faith and miracles. These gifts seem glorious and supernatural to us, but to God they are just natural. God knows who He is so there is only faith. There is no doubt in Him. He is completely holy and pure so all He touches becomes healed from Satan s touch. This is miraculous to us, but it is a way of life to God. As we His children walk deeper and deeper into His highway and become more and more in His image, the supernatural will become natural to us also. These gifts are ours! Are you beginning to like this feast? There is so much more! The old saying: If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it must be a duck holds true

46 for the child of God. We become more and more in His image. We look like God. We walk led by His Spirit so we walk like God. Guess what? We are truly becoming like a true child of God! THE GIFT OF TONGUES As we continue to open the gifts and begin to use them, we become more and more prepared to be His wife. For instance, our spirit communicates with His Spirit through the gift of our prayer language. This is known as speaking in tongues. No one understands this language, not even our soul man, but our spirit knows what it is saying to its Father. Then there are times when we are assembled together that God s Spirit will speak to us in tongues and there will be an interpretation in our native language, so we can know what He had to say to us. This is called the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues. Then there is the gift called diverse kinds of tongues. This is where we can speak in our language or natural tongue, but the person we are speaking to hears it in a language foreign to us, but native to them. Many missionaries use this gift frequently. CONCLUSION

47 To sum this all up, word of knowledge, word of wisdom and discerning of spirits are gifts Jesus gives us to think properly. Faith, healing and miracles help us to act correctly and function properly. Our prayer language, diverse tongues and tongues with interpretation help us to communicate with God, and they allow God to communicate with man. These gifts may be found listed in 1 Corinthians the 12th chapter. As we become comfortable in the gifts, we find ourselves walking more and more like Jesus did, but there is something else the Lord wants us to accomplish at the Feast of Pentecost. He wants us to develop a nature like His, rather than the nature we had as Adam. The qualities of the Lord s nature are known as the fruit of the Spirit. We find these fruits at Galatians 5: Gal. 5: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self control. Against such there is no law. For a glimpse of Satan s fruit that manifests through Adam s nature, let us look at Galatians 5: Gal. 5:19 21

48 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Admittedly, experiencing the Feast of Pentecost is a wonderful experience. We begin to feel very close to the supernatural and our relationship with God becomes much deeper, but at the same time we begin to look at the fruit in our lives through the light of the Menorah, and we realize we must travel to the next feast to mature. Our destination is the Feast of Trumpets.

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