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The modern
Christian church currently teaches that
man has “free will.” By exercising this will, man can allegedly
overpower the will of God. This idea makes the mind of man the supreme
power of the universe. Thus Modern Christianity believes in the
sovereignty of man, all the while dismembering the sovereignty of God.
This
doctrine of man’s sovereignty is called Free Moral Agency . A Free
Moral Agent believes that man’s choices determine his spiritual
destiny. This concept allows your choices to take preeminence over God’s
decisions, as though he had somehow abdicated his throne in favor of
your wisdom. This preposterous delusion propels the carnal mind of man
above the throne of God, thwarting his plans, nullifying his choices,
demeaning his wisdom, dismantling his power, impugning his judgment,
and trashing his sovereignty.
The absolute sovereignty of God is scripture. But Free Moral Agency is unscriptural religious dogma. To believe that your ultimate destiny is determined by your own choices is the utmost in idolatrous arrogance. Yet this egotistical concept has become the cornerstone of modern idolatry, the very foundation of Organized Christianity.
Free Moral
Agency is a doctrine espoused only by self-righteous Christians. These
people believe that their own free will has procured their present and
future tranquillity. Since they have already made the correct choice
to love God, their doctrine of free will can do them no harm.
This
doctrine then, is principally used to condemn the unbelievers. Once
you finally find God and become enlightened to his goodness, Free
Moral Agency is only a belief that damns everyone else. The doctrine
of Free Will is not good news to the sinner! It is a scaffold of
execution erected by the Nominal Christians who are infected with the
carcinogen of self-justification. And this to the desecration of God’s
perfect plan for every life, his unassailable power, and his boundless
love.
Do you
believe that you can alter in any way, your ultimate destiny with God?
If so, then you believe that God has spent eons directing the most
important project of his existence, and now at the climax of his work,
he has suddenly passed all control and decision making to you.
You believe
that at this moment, God fearfully waits, trembling at your actions,
teetering at your choices. Fretful and worried, he is on tiptoes,
watching helplessly as your bestial mind determines the fate of his
work.
Now you
command the future of the universe, deflecting the power and wisdom of
God by your wavering whim. Through your tiny and meaningless choice,
you plunge his work into failure, or thrust yourself into the highest
heaven. What ridiculous dribble. God has not abandoned his rulership
of the heavens, or the earth, or your life. Nor has he transferred his
sovereignty to you.
“Free will”
is the carnal mind’s objection to God’s sovereignty. It is based
on three precepts. The first is that evil is created by Satan and man.
The second is that man controls his own desires. And the third is that
God does not have a plan for every life.
Those who
believe in Free Moral Agency think that evil is created by Satan and
by their fellow man; never by God. Accordingly they believe that Satan
and mankind are now running around loose in the universe, wreaking
havoc with God’s good plans.
These people
cannot comprehend that God is the creator, sustainer, and orchestrator
of all things good and evil. They do not recognize that all evil
originates in God. Instead they think that God is at war with evil,
and that the rumor of his total sovereignty is a myth. This doctrine
is the deification of Satan, and elevates the carnal mind of man to
the status of creator. Who changed the truth
of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than
the Creator.
The truth is
quite the opposite. God is not at war with evil, he empowers it. If
God has an enemy, it exists in your mind. Satan is a created being who
does the bidding of his master like a whipped dog, and you are no
better. Neither you nor Satan can modify God’s plan in any fashion
at all. Nothing in this universe happens except by God’s command.
All things are in accord with his supreme wisdom. Nothing can violate
his will. All the actions of Satan and man have been foreseen and
arranged by God.
This does
not mean that “evil” is “good.” This means that evil is God.
You should not condone sin in any form at any time, but you are not
God. God’s privileges are far greater than yours. You must come to
recognize that every evil action has been ordained for a supernatural
purpose. Evil works the work of God. It is part of his plan and it
exists to accomplish his will.
The second
precept of Free Moral Agency is that man controls his own desires.
This too is erroneous, for every desire of man is spiritually
originated and energized. The spirit of God instigates the desires of
men, whether unto good and life, or unto evil and death. Both of these
forces manifest the glory of God and exist for his pleasure. The
LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the
day of evil.
Behind the
desires of men, lie the purposes of God. These desires then give birth
to the actions that God has ordained. All of your desires and works
manifest his pleasure, as you apprehend the destiny that he has
prepared for you. Thine eyes did see my
substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were
written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was
none of them.
But those
who cannot perceive the grandeur of the invisible God, are also in
their situation by the choice of God. They have been “appointed”
to their blindness. But unto them which be
disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made
the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of
offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient:
whereunto also they were appointed.
The third
precept of Free Moral Agency assumes that God does not have an
ultimate plan for every person. This is a direct assault on the
omnipotence and omniscience of God. For even the most dreadful sinners
alive today have not missed the plan of God. They are part of God’s
plan, just as much as you are. Sin and failure in you and in those
around you, is part of God’s plan to bring forth a cadre of Sons who
are born in his own image.
God is not
now in the business of “saving” all men. Right now he is only
bringing forth a firstfruits. He is carefully plucking only a few from
the carnal insanity of earth. The gestation of these firstfruits
requires that they be matured in an earthly environment of sin and
death. This is the only environment in which agape-love can grow.
During this
present dispensation, only those whom God has predestinated to hear
the truth will be gathered into his spiritual habitation. The rest of
mankind will be matured in the next dispensation. What
then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the
election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
Free Moral Agency is the nonsense of organized religion. It is self-justification within the organized church, and condemnation for those outside. It is exaltation for the carnal mind, and denunciation for God’s plan and purpose. It is the sovereignty of man, at the expense of the sovereignty of God.
The truth is very different, for in reality God is the creator of both good and evil. He instigates the desires of men, and he has a plan for every life, even if you do not understand it.
Your
spiritual standing is the result of God’s predestination, not any
action you have committed or omitted. Though a man might seek God with
all his heart, yet he may still be rejected.
This was
demonstrated by Esau. After Esau sold his birthright he sought God
with a pleading heart, but it did no good. For
he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with
tears.
Esau was not
rejected because he sold his birthright. Neither was he rejected
because he would not seek God. Esau was rejected by the sovereign
predestination of God’s choice. The actions lived out by Esau during
his life were simply the result of God’s decisions. For
the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil,
that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of
works, but of him that calleth; It was said unto her, The elder shall
serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have
I hated.
Your
situation today also reflects the predestination of God’s choice.
This choice of you is based upon his infinite wisdom, acting through
unfathomable love. What shall we say then? Is
there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I
will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion.
On the
island of Patmos, John saw a divine revelation. In the right hand of
the Christ were seven stars, which are the seven angels of God. The
seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. The angels
reside in the palm of his hand, because they accomplish the bidding of
Jesus Christ in the affairs of men. These
things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who
walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.
It is Jesus
Christ, at times working through angels, who originates the thoughts,
which bring forth the desires, which lead to the actions of every
person. The events of your life are instigated by the Spirit of God.
Your thoughts, desires, wisdom, choices, works, and will, reside in
his hand. These concepts are discussed below.
THOUGHTS.
Your thoughts are established by God. For thou
hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. God
instigates your ideas, whether you call them good or evil. Thus
saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time
shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought.
Your thoughts are the working of God, to steer you into your
destiny. Commit thy works unto the LORD, and
thy thoughts shall be established.
While on the
earth your spirit is as helpless as a newborn babe, growing slowly
toward maturity. During the time of this incapacitation your thoughts
are established by your loving Heavenly Father. These thoughts from
God incubate your desires, which then give birth to your actions. You
may be grateful that you think and feel the way you do, but you cannot
take credit for it. For you think not as you please, but as you are
led. A man's heart deviseth his way: but the
LORD directeth his steps.
DESIRES.
Your desires are established by God- both the glory and the depravity
of man originate from him. Every desire for good or evil first existed
in the mind of God, and was dispatched by the wisdom of God to every
man. With him is strength and wisdom: the
deceived and the deceiver are his.
Your desire
today to seek the Lord is entirely his doing. No
one is able to come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me attracts and
draws him and gives him the desire to come to Me; and then I will
raise him from the dead at the last day. John 6:44 (Amplified). And
even so, any desire to turn away from God unto desecrating evil is
also from him. Again, When a righteous man
doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a
stumblingblock before him, he shall die. It is God who
originates human desire, whether unto good or unto evil. They
hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would
slay them.
Your life is
not your own and your will is not free. He
shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Your desires are
the gift of God unto good or evil. For who
maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst
not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if
thou hadst not received it? He works all things after the
counsel of his own will, even you. For it is
God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
If you sow
to the spirit you will reap life; if you sow to the flesh you will
reap sorrow- but your desire for either extends from your Heavenly
Father. He has made vessels of honor and dishonor. Whom
He blesses inherit the earth, and those whom He curses decay. Psalm
37:22 (Fenton).
Do not think
to tempt God by doing evil to see if good will come. What
shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? If
he turns you to evil, you will bear all the reproach of his decision. For
it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come
against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly. Even
your folly is purposed by him, and this too is for your perfecting. Thou
wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath
resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against
God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou
made me thus?
Spend your
time thanking God for your right desires, don’t waste your time
trying to take credit for them. They are the gift of God to you.
WISDOM. Your
wisdom is established by God. When you began your earthly sojourn you
were enslaved to a carnal mind of self-destruction. The wisdom of this
mind is insanity. The wisdom of this world is
foolishness with God. If God had not intervened, you would
still today be slogging through your life in spiritual blindness and
tiresome ignorance. For after that in the
wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
Until a
person’s mind is renewed by the spirit of Christ, they know only the
delusions that God gives them. Only if and when he sees fit will he
ever share his true wisdom with any man. Howbeit
we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of
this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: but
we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which
God ordained before the world unto our glory.
CHOICES.
Your choices are established by God. God has given you only a very
limited portion of information. Your choices today are based upon this
partial data. Your choices are thus the product of your limitations.
They are nothing more than responses to the processing of God.
You never
really initiated any choice to go and serve the Lord. Ye
have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. You were conceived
in sin and given the mind of a beast. You were born as a lost sheep.
It is the shepherd that came and found you, and not vice-versa. God
hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation.
It is God
that chooses who will hear his truth, and he further decides in which
dispensation it will occur. What man of you,
having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the
ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost,
until he find it? Ultimately all men will choose good and turn
away from evil, but when and how this is accomplished is entirely God’s
doing. If God peradventure will give them
repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.
Those people
that are not destined for the firstfruits company of Sons can hear
only parables today. But without a parable
spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all
things to his disciples. But do not fret for those that seem to
remain spiritually hardened and blind. Their processing extends far
beyond this present earthly dispensation. For
the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old
like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner:
but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be
abolished.
God has turned all men to the destruction of carnal vanity, and he will resurrect and perfect them all in accordance with his schedule for every man. The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Every choice
of man expresses the pleasure of God. He arranges your day, and your
moment, and your life. By all means choose you this day whom you will
serve. But recognize that your choices are predestined, orchestrated,
and energized by God. You will make the choices that he has ordained.
Are you capable of making a choice that is contrary to the will of God? If so, then your God is not big enough. If not, then all your choices have been purposed by God’s wisdom, to accomplish his pleasure in you.
Besides the
choices in which you play a supporting role, there are also other
choices that God will make entirely for you, and you will probably not
like them at all. He will bring into your life, grievous situations in
which you have no choice. O LORD, I know that
the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to
direct his steps.
In reality,
the choices required to produce a Son of God are very difficult, and
far beyond your human ability. You are to be subjected to the cross.
When evil comes crashing into your life, you must recognize that this
also is the choice of God. Yea, for thy sake
are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the
slaughter.
It is for you to pursue God
with all your little heart and all your little mind. But still, you
possess neither the wisdom nor the courage to choose the events that
God intends for you. For whom the Lord loveth
he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
WORKS. Your
works are established by God. You can only do the works that he
empowers. You cannot add one inch to your stature. You cannot make one
hair black or white. If ye then be not able to
do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
God is the
worker in your life. He is the energizer of your daily doings, whether
unto evil or unto good. I will direct their
work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. He
has absolute authority and is responsible for every event. Heaven
is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me?
Hath not my hand made all these things?
The present
work of God is the begetting of spiritual offspring. The works of
moronic carnality have no part in this process. And
[Jesus] would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through
the temple. The churchy programs of man are a pollution unto
God. They have contributed far more to error than to truth, and even
this is the work of God. If thou wilt make me
an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou
lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
God is the
maker of your destiny. The actions of your spirit comply with his
instructions. These actions have been arranged by God to transform his
blueprint for you into a living reality. That
you may carry out his will; while He Himself works in you and
accomplishes that which is pleasing in His sight. Hebrews 13.21
(Amplified).
This
knowledge of God’s sovereign workmanship is the greatest comfort and
assurance that you can possess, during the darkness of your Adamic
sojourn. LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us:
for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.
Truly you
must complete your own spiritual gestation with diligence, but God
directs and empowers your work. He which hath
begun a good work in you will perform it. When you learn this,
you will enter that unfailing realm of “faith.” And there you will
finally find repose in the all-sovereign, loving hands of your
Heavenly Father. For he that is entered into
his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works.
WILL. Your
will is established by God. Your life is turned and spent according to
his plan. On a momentary basis, you may feel that you have some
latitude to affect your surroundings. And yet you can have no thought
or desire, that God has not already foreseen and allowed. Neither can
you ever find the ability to implement your will without God
continuously energizing your members.
The
extremely limited will of man can be illustrated by a person driving a
car on a cross country trip. As the driver rolls down the road, he has
the free will to drive on the left side of the road, on the right side
of the road, or he can swerve from one side to the other. At any point
on the highway the driver seems to be in total control. His choices
seem broad, open, and available. He believes he is the master of his
fate.
But from a
higher perspective, that includes a departure point of say, Los
Angeles, and a destination of New York, it appears that the driver’s
choice of where he can steer his car is nearly nonexistent. Though he
swerve to the left or to the right along that narrow thread of
highway, yet he will still eventually arrive at the same destination.
The only question is “when?”
So
also, man has a will that can choose between good or evil. He can
swerve from the left side of the road to the right whenever he
chooses, but his destiny is determined by the road he is on, and that
road is fixed by the predestination of God.
Ultimately,
all men will arrive at the destination that God has foreordained for
them. Generically, this destination is resurrected and immortal
splendor for the sons of Adam. For as in Adam
all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But
individually the destinies of men differ greatly with respect to
position, authority, capacity, and timing. You should apprentice
yourself to the pursuit of the highest spiritual calling that you are
able to perceive. For one star differeth from
another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead.
As respects
your destiny, you do not possess “free will.” Neither is God’s
will “permissive,” in the sense that it might be possible for you
to violate his will.
Your carnal
mind is like a bicycle that believes it can violate the will of its
rider. But in reality, your will is always steered by the pleasure of
God. It is he who pumps the pedals and turns the wheel. Your personal
interests are considered by God as he decides the route you shall
take, but your will cannot change the destination. The good & evil
of your will cannot alter the spiritual destiny that God has ordained
for you. So then it is not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
When Jesus
foretold Peter’s denial, Peter protested and vehemently declared
that it would never happen. But Peter’s failure was required for his
spiritual maturity and as a preparation for his ministry. God had
ordained Peter’s failure and it occurred precisely on schedule. So
also, your spiritual placement with God is predestinated, and your
will at any given moment simply concurs with his plan. In
whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will.
On one
occasion Jesus spoke specifically to the Free Moral Agents. And
he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that
they were righteous, and despised others. Jesus told the story
of a Pharisee. This Pharisee believed that his behavior had produced
his own spirituality. The Pharisee stood and
prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other
men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. The
Pharisee believed that his spiritual standing was the result of his
own choices and actions. I fast twice in the
week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
But the
truth of this man’s life was quite the opposite. This Pharisee’s
spiritual standing was a gift from God. It was God’s gift of
spiritual enlightenment that had produced his behavior, not vice
versa. For every one that exalteth himself
shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
God has a
program for every man. God’s program for you has produced your
choices and actions. Like every man, you are in his hands. You do not
choose your destiny, you fulfill it. Woe unto
him that striveth with his Maker! ... Shall the clay say to him that
fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
A free moral agent is one who believes that his thoughts, desires, and choices, originate from his own stupendous wisdom. Thus he is now in a position to decide God’s future. Will God’s work be a success or a failure? The choice is yours when you are wise in your own eyes. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.
Those who
possess “free will” make their own destiny and require that God
should occupy only a supporting position. Professing
themselves to be wise, they became fools. With God as their
helper, they then determine the fate of the universe. Such is the
reprobate mind of Organized Christianity.
Thank God he
has not left your destiny in your hands! That could only produce the
demented disaster currently envisioned by the organized church. It is
this idea of “free will” that has spawned the deranged doctrines
of Eternal Torment. Because that, when they
knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but
became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was
darkened.
Your body is
made up of 46 chromosomes. What choice did you make of them? Gird
up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer
thou me. Did you decide upon your eye color or body style? Did
you choose your parents, your lineage? Have you arranged for your
intellect or talents? Declare, if thou hast
understanding. Having made none of these choices, are you now
able to decide your own fate for eternity? Were you given the insight
and acumen required for this task? Do you have all the information you
need? Do you possess the spiritual understanding required, that you
might choose wisely? No doubt but ye are the
people, and wisdom shall die with you.
You have the
same free will as a babe in the womb, or a chick in the shell. You eat
what you are given, and make no decisions about where you are taken.
You have only the vaguest concept of what it is you are becoming.
Thankfully, your spiritual destiny is ordained by the will of God. Of
his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a
kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Just as your natural body was produced from 46 chromosomes, so also is your spiritual destiny. God has placed within you a spiritual DNA which encodes and produces the spiritual calling that he has planned for you. The God of peace ... working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight. Your processing and your destiny are in accord with the DNA that Father has placed in your spirit. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
God planned
Joseph’s life and foretold it in a dream. But his ten Israelite
brothers hated Joseph for his dreams, and steadfastly rejected the
word of God. And his brethren said to him,
Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion
over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his
words.
In process
of time, Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery.
The brothers believed that this evil deed was their idea. What
nonsense. Joseph’s betrayal was God’s idea from the beginning.
Joseph needed betrayal and prison for his spiritual maturity. The
brothers were a conduit for the evil which originated in God. The
brothers chose evil with malicious intent, yet their choice only
fulfilled the will of God. So now it was not
you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to
Pharaoh.
God did not
merely take a bad situation and turn it around. Rather, he intended
the evil situation. He is not an alchemist; he does not spin gold from
your straw. He is not running around fixing your problems. God does
not react to your evil. You react to his. God conceives, arranges, and
empowers every evil action, as part of the process that leads to your
immortality. Joseph and his brethren were powerless to change the
actions that God had ordained for them. They were not Free Moral
Agents.
Mary, the
mother of Jesus, did not have free will. God informed her of his plan
and she acknowledged his instructions. She did not have any choices to
make. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of
the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.
The dreadful work of God plunged Mary into shame and apparent failure. To all outside observers Mary’s pregnancy appeared as gross sin. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
But there was something more happening, far beyond the physical evidence of adultery. Mary’s unwed, pregnant belly was repulsive to the uninitiated, but eternal wisdom to a heart humbled before God. To Mary, the same circumstances which appeared as gross sin, were actually producing the Son of God inside her. The incredible message of Mary is that when all the physical evidence of sin exists, to a heart broken and surrendered to God, the Christ child is being formed. Mary was sovereignly controlled by her Heavenly Father. She suffered for his decisions, and yet she was only an observer of his work in her life. Mary was not a Free Moral Agent.
Nebuchadnezzar’s destiny was revealed in a dream. Both his failure
and ultimate reconciliation were foretold by God. And in spite of his
best efforts, Nebuchadnezzar was powerless to alter the destiny that
God had arranged. The same hour was the thing
fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men.
God sent
evil against Nebuchadnezzar and he was given the mind of a beast. But
this experience in evil was intended for a divinely benevolent
purpose. It was a means of revelation. By this experience,
Nebuchadnezzar came to know God personally. And
at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto
heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the
most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose
dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from
generation to generation.
By a dip
into depraved anguish, Nebuchadnezzar learned that God is the
originator of good and evil. He learned that God instigates every
action in the universe. The most High ruleth
in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. Nebuchadnezzar
knew his destiny beforehand, and still had no power to change it.
Nebuchadnezzar was not a Free Moral Agent.
Only two
beings in the universe today possess “free will.” They are Yahweh,
the God of the universe, and his thus far only begotten son, Jesus
Christ. The extent to which you possess their mind, is the measure of
your own free will.
When you
have become what Jesus Christ is, you too will have free will. But
until that time, God lovingly holds your life in the palm of his hand.
To the intent that you might one day be made like him, God establishes
your thoughts and controls your desires. He arranges your choices and
empowers your actions. God is the builder of your spiritual
habitation. Your situation and experiences are a display of the will
and wisdom of the mind of God.
What God has
spoken concerning you is an unalterable fact. His project will not
fail, it will not quiver. Though you should run from God as did Jonah,
yet his decree for your life will stand. Though the heavens should
collapse on your head and explode, yet the slightest particle of your
destiny would not so much as vibrate.
The Romans
and the Jews thought they had made the decision to kill Jesus Christ.
But in reality, their stupid “choice” to murder Jesus only
fulfilled the plan of God. And from this evil has come the greatest
blessing for man, ever conceived by your Heavenly Father. Father,
forgive them; for they know not what they do.
God is
working in every life to establish his good pleasure in his own way.
His sovereignty is not subject to the whim of your carnality. You are
learning to deal with good and evil, and you are gaining the
experience of both. For this reason, God sends both of these forces
against you.
When you
stop demanding credit for your successes, you will also no longer
retain blame for your failures. Then you will realize that it is God
who is bringing forth a mature spirit within you. He is the
orchestrator of your victories and your defeats. By
the grace of God, I am what I am.
God is the
Father of the universe, the creator and director of all evil and all
good. When you learn this, the carnal idiocy of Free Moral Agency will
vanish without a trace. Then you will have a whole new God. He will
become much bigger than you ever imagined. And you will be one step
closer to becoming like him.
The
knowledge of the total sovereignty of God is the foundation of your
peace, not an excuse for slovenliness. You cannot sit around and mope
just because God is bigger than you- you should have known this all
along.
Finding that
God is in control of all things does not give you license to throw up
your hands in passive resignation. Spiritual lethargy will make you
weak and vulnerable to spiritual disease. “It is the will of Allah,”
has no place amongst Christian people.
To the
contrary, the appropriation of Sonship is a continuous battle,
specially designed by God to develop the skills and wits of the
warriors that will one day rule the creation. You are to grow into the
same free will that you now see in Jesus Christ. This requires that
you begin today to exercise your will, though it be in a training
environment.
You do not
yet fully comprehend the final spiritual habitation that God has
planned for you. You have not yet attained the perfection that he
intends for you. Not as though I had already
attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I
may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. From
your limited earthly perspective, you can still miss out. I
keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any
means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Now you must
strive with every fiber of your being to reach for the highest destiny
that you can possibly imagine. Let us lay
aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let
us run with patience the race that is set before us. You must
commit your finest efforts and maximum zeal to the vision that God has
given you, trusting that he will lead you to attain it. Let
us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his
rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Pass your
time on earth in humility, never ceasing to do the right thing. Every
man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they
do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. You
must contend for your spiritual goal as though it all depends on you,
all the while knowing that it all depends on God. Brethren,
I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto
those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many
as be perfect, be thus minded.
Armed with
the understanding that all things work the love of God, go forth with
boldness and meet your spiritual enemy. Throw yourself into the fray
against fear and doubt, knowing all the while that your end is secure
and your victory certain. Fight the good fight
of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called.
No matter
how dark things may look, yet the wisdom of God has orchestrated all
that you see. This knowledge of God’s sovereign directing care is a
weapon of trusting confidence. Armed with this knowledge you can face
all the evil of creation, and there you will be called upon to slay
the greatest foes ever created by the mind of God. For
the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to
the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every
high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.
The battle
of the maturing Sons of God is not for the eradication of evil from
the earth. It is for the eradication of evil in you. Every thought in
your mind must be brought into subjection to God’s wisdom. Bringing
into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Evil
on the earth is here by God’s design and it is sustained by his
wisdom. Evil is here for a wonderful purpose. It exists so that you
may overcome it, and eventually gain the character of your Heavenly
Father.
The office
of evil in you is the carnal mind that you were given at birth. This
mind is one of the two curses of Eden. It is the command center of
rebellion that God placed into Adam and Eve when they ate of the tree
of good and evil. .
This mind is
a self-centered, evil miscreant that hates God. Because of this
carnality, the will of man is deranged. Men begin life on earth as the
opposite of what God is. They are captivated by a suicidal depravity,
as the slaves of folly.
For this
cause God governs all the affairs of men during their insanity, and
this arrangement will continue until each person kills his own
carnality. Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
can be.
As you war
against the evil within yourself, you will destroy your own carnal
mind. And the process of eradicating this loathsome enemy is the same
process that will accomplish the maturing of your spirit. Only an
increasingly mature spirit can overcome the steady corruption of
carnality. This is why you were given a carnal mind in the first
place. By conquering this adversary in conflict and battle, your
spirit will be made strong, healthy, and alive. For
if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit
do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Your carnal
mind is your constant enemy. It has two eyes, one that points toward
good and another that points toward evil. This mind is addicted to the
duality of good and evil. It cannot see God in charge of both. And
a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
The warring
process that destroys your carnal mind will terminate this duality
within you, and leave in its stead a mature spirit who will possess
the personal knowledge of God’s unlimited sovereignty.
Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing
of your mind.
This newly
mature spirit will have the Mind of Christ, which is singly eyed. Like
the mind of God, the Mind of Christ has deep within it the knowledge
and experience of evil. But this evil is kept divinely incarcerated.
It can escape only when wrapped within a greater purpose of goodness
and lovingkindness.
Your
spiritual maturity, authority, and power, will be gained by the
crucifixion of your carnality. Your human thinking and desires must be
destroyed. The “evil” in your life must be sent away, the “good”
must be sacrificed, and both of these experiences must come to be
understood as emanating from the superior wisdom of God. The fiery
light that streams from the pyre of good & evil in your life, will
illumine your spirit with the knowledge that God is all and in all.
The
crucifixion of your carnal mind is instigated by the problems that God
brings to your day. As painful riddles waiting to be solved, these
afflictions are sent to develop the Mind of Christ in you. As you
attack your fears, attributing them all to the love of God, you will
slay your carnal thinking and eradicate the duality within you.
When you are
immersed in an environment of bewildering evil, faith is given an
opportunity to operate. It is by this heartache that your desires are
turned away from the visible realm. As your inadequacy grows into a
taunting monster, confidence in your own abilities will dissolve as a
vague deception. Then your hope will become fixed on the invisible
purpose of God, and your spirit will irrevocably turn to desire his
perfection.
Your spirit
grows to maturity as your physical eyes tell you of failure, and yet
you stand in the power of God. This is an experience that will focus
your spiritual sight upon the absolute sovereignty of your Heavenly
Father’s actions. There you will face your worst fears, until you
find God in them.
This is the
death process. The death of your carnal mind provides the nutrients
required for the growth and resurrection of your spirit. That
I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship
of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any
means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. By
accomplishing this warfare your spirit will grow in forgiveness, and
eventually enter into the divinity of agape-love. Most
gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power
of Christ may rest upon me.
From the
time of your birth your fallen carnal mind has ruled your spirit with
unbelief, fear, doubt, lust, greed, and ingratitude. The battle for
spiritual maturity is the battle to destroy this purveyor of death.
Now you must attack and slay this adversary, annihilating its
erroneous and selfish thoughts. You must pick up the sword of truth
and thrust it through the heart of your own self-centered malignity.
You must stare into the face of bewildering travail, and call it the
love of God. For though we walk in the flesh,
we do not war after the flesh.
When
problems engulf your life, set aside every earthly goal and throw
yourself into the fight for spiritual maturity. Fear nothing, and let
nothing stand in your way, for the greatest treasure that can be
obtained from earth is a spirit matured into the perfect character of
Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but
dung, that I may win Christ.
This battle
for personal spiritual maturity is the path to your dreams. It is the
process of overcoming, and the algorithm that leads to Sonship. By
winning this fight of faith, your spirit will eventually obtain the
same wisdom, power, and immortality that Jesus Christ now has. This is
your only goal, to complete the process that leads to your own
spiritual perfection. I have fought a good
fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but
unto all them also that love his appearing.
Most
Christians today are virtually oblivious to this internal war for
personal spiritual maturity. Instead, they are utterly preoccupied
with the evil in those around them. The battle against personal
internal evil is the fight for “maturity.” The battle against
external evil is called “ministry.”
After
pressing the battle for your own maturity each day, only then exhort
your family and community to do likewise. By your example, urge them
to crucify their own carnality. Show them by your victory that God is
sovereign over all things. Take heed unto
thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this
thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
The soon
coming ministry of the mature Sons of God will easily eradicate all
the evil that now runs rampant upon the earth. Any present mortal
efforts to this end can be considered a good work, but will not bear
any lasting fruit. For the good & evil that are upon the earth
today are doing the work of God. If my kingdom
were of this world, then would my servants fight.
If you would
like to fix the evils of earth that are external to your own faithless
carnality, bring forth first your own spiritual maturity, and then you
will come to the ministry you seek. Having in
a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is
fulfilled.
This is the fight of faith. It is not a smug proclamation of your magnificent free will. Rather, it is the slaying of your carnality, the growth of your spirit, and the conquering of permanent spiritual treasure through warfare.
Your
spiritual processing on earth is a sojourn of calculated limitations.
During your time here, God carefully restricts the flow of
information, and meters the abilities that you are given.
Throughout
this process, God acts as your benefactor to instruct your spirit, and
as your adversary to destroy your carnality. The process requires both
the blessings of “good” and the curses of “evil.” Your job is
to successfully navigate the good and evil experiences of life,
looking all the while to your Heavenly Father as the author and
finisher of your spiritual destiny.
But why
would God give you abundance, and then energize your failure? Why does
he limit your information, turn you to folly, then punish you for
failing? God does indeed energize both your successes and your
failures, but why? The answer lies in seeing beyond the limited
perspective of temporal human values and goals.
God’s
objective for you on this earth is far greater than your simple,
physical, carnal blessing. He is relatively unconcerned with whether
or not you have a happy comfortable life. His overriding objective is
the begetting of spiritual offspring. Your blessings and your failures
are experiences that are required to reproduce his life in you. The
darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
When viewed
from God’s perspective, all actions in the created realm are but a
sequence of events that emanate from his throne to accomplish his
purpose. His plan includes day and night, good and evil, abundance and
poverty, success and failure. I know both how
to be abased, and I know how to abound.
God is
bringing forth a group of new spirit beings. He is completing the
gestation of Sons who will be born in his own image. The glories and
afflictions of earth are essential to this plan.
The immortal
perspective of God is much broader than your puny human point of view.
God sees the outcome of every work, even before he starts it. Nothing
takes him by surprise. He is before all
things, and by him all things consist. In contrast, your
perspective is excruciatingly limited by the filter of your carnal
mind, and by the woefully short duration of your Adamic life.
The spectrum
of light provides a good illustration of these two perspectives. God
created light in a range of wavelengths. Some of the shorter ones are
less than one-millionth of an inch long. The longest light waves are
more than ten thousand miles long. Within this range the human eye can
perceive only the light with wavelengths from fourteen millionths of
an inch, up to 30 millionths of an inch. This amounts to only three
percent of all the light that actually exists around you.
So also,
your view of God’s purpose encompasses only the three percent that
is visible to humans. Ninety-seven percent of God’s plan, his
goodness, and his purpose for man, is invisible to humans. If you wish
to know God personally and to understand his work upon the earth, you
must develop the eyes of your spirit, and then begin to peer into the
ninety-seven percent that you have been missing.
The discovery of God’s intentions and methods can only begin as you look beyond man’s wisdom. Your earliest discovery of God comes when you first encounter his lovingkindness and goodness. During this initial exchange, God hides from you, as one who speaks from behind a bright light. At first you do not perceive his absolute sovereignty. He appears first only as consequences for your actions.
As you walk with God over time, you will begin to discern a greater magnitude. You will begin to learn that there is more going on here than meets the eye. Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. As God grows in your understanding his limitless sovereignty will slowly emerge from chaos. And one day you will suddenly find that he is the instigator of all things, both your actions and their consequences. It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
As you begin to perceive that God is the author of both good and evil upon the earth, you will finally discover that he has no enemies. And if he has no enemies, then you have no enemies. Then God cannot hide from you any more. Every person and every situation will become a window to his purpose, and a revelation of his character. For to you, God will visibly indwell every fiber of every action in the created realm. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son.
The discovery of God is a process, leading from carnal error to spiritual perfection. As your concept of him begins to rise above the human sphere, then your own understanding will be thrust up along with him. Your understanding of the immutable sovereignty of God is the path that leads out of the created realm and into the heavens. That ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.
You must strive now to perceive the wisdom of God in every action that enters your world, whether you call it good or evil. Receive every earthly work from the hand of God, whether you personally like it or not. Consider all things that you encounter today as having emanated from the throne of God to accomplish your personal spiritual maturity. Giving thanks always for all things unto God. For the Sons of God are not born of the will of man. They are born from the will and wisdom and workmanship of God.
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