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Archive for the ‘Overcoming’ Category

The Four Basic Beast Natures of Man

Posted in Overcoming, tagged , , , , on September 7, 2017| Leave a Comment »

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Scripture reading: Ezekiel 1: 4-12

THE SOUL OF MAN HAS FOUR BASIC BEAST NATURES. The mind is symbolized by the eagle, always flying, restless. The emotions are symbolized by the lion, terrible. The will is symbolized by the ox, stubborn. The face of the man is a symbol of the desires, human. Man is a creature of desire. A change must come forth in man’s soul.

JESUS CAME AND DIED TO SAVE MAN’S SOUL. Jesus did not die to save your spirit. Your spirit goes back to God in any event. Your spirit did not need to be saved. You were born in sin and your soul was in iniquity. IT IS THE SOUL AREA THAT NEEDS TO BE SAVED. See Hebrews 10:39.

The nature of the mind is joined to the nature of the emotions. The nature of the emotions is joined to the nature of the will. The nature of the will is joined to the desires. Whatever part of this nature is affected by any circumstance or outside influence then it will affect the other natures. A man gets upset in his emotions and it changes his thinking. He thinks differently. His thinking becomes intoxicated by the madness of his emotions. His will is then changed. Instead of having a will to do probably the right thing, he sometimes finds himself willing to do the wrong thing.

The mind, or the eagle, had a face of the man on one side (desires), the face of the ox on the other side (will), and the face of the lion on the other side (emotions). The mind then has a will of its own, desires of its own, and emotions of its own. There could be an emotional charge coming from the mind. The way you think about things could affect your emotions. This emotional charge comes from the mind and strikes the emotions and the emotions, being stronger, pick it up and affect the will and the whole being of the man. Thus God gave us a spirit, without which we would be just like the brute beast. The spirit, therefore, affects the whole process, to bring some temperance and some moderation to it. If they (the mind, the will, the desires, the emotions) will accept the pleading of the Spirit of God or the moving of the Spirit then this area will be changed to do God’s will. God comes through the spirit of man. “The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly,” Proverbs 20:27.

The mind of man can be influenced by outside influences. Therefore, God plants the Holy Spirit into man’s spirit which has a stronger effect upon the soul nature of the man than any other outside spirit. After a man is saved and brought back from the dead (he was a dead soul and became a living soul), he wants life. A living creature must have living food so he cries out to God and God sends the Holy Spirit into his spirit. HIS SPIRIT MEETS OUR SPIRIT and testifies that we are the children of God. We BECOME THE SONS of God WHEN WE OBEY the Spirit of God (see Romans 8:14). The Holy Spirit, therefore, begins to charge the human spirit which becomes bright, and sends this radiation of power into the natures of the soul.

This soul area is a most complicated area because it has the bombardment of the world, the flesh, and the devil. There is a certain amount of bombardment of influence that comes through a man’s physical, carnal feelings. This is why Satan said in talking to God about Job, in Job 2:4 and 5, “Skin for skin…and he will curse thee to thy face.” In other words, Satan thought if God would let him work Job over (touch his skin, his flesh), then Job would curse God. GOD knew better. God had a relationship with the man. Job was not baptized with the Holy Ghost, but God knew Job had a character like a stone wall. Job was going to hold on. God said to Satan, “Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.” Job was hit by the devil. His children were killed, his cattle were stolen away, his sheep burnt up, his wife turned against him, and he was covered with sores. For three years the man lay on his side in sores and God watched him. Job was down and God withdrew from him that the man might stand alone. JOB STOOD AGAINST SATAN, BEAT HIM AT HIS GAME, and won a victory for all times for humanity IN THE NAME OF GOD, without much help or much strength.

The soul, therefore, is bombarded from the body – from the mind, from the will, from the emotions, and from the desires. God plants life in the soul to overcome death. John 1:5, “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” The translation of the verb “comprehended” is a little bit weak. It could say “the darkness could not overcome, or overthrow, or have the victory over light.” Light shines in the darkness and the darkness flees. The soul has these four areas from which it is bombarded, but the chief area is the mind. If the mind is won for Christ, then it will radiate power and actually stop the bombardment from the other areas.

(Excerpt from The Book of Revelation, Volume 1, pg. 77-78)

Thought for today: Are you (your soul) accepting the pleading of the spirit of God in order to be changed?

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God’s Order in the Church

Posted in Overcoming, tagged , , , , on August 18, 2017| Leave a Comment »

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Scripture reading: I Timothy 3:1-13

Let us look into God’s order for the church. His order is that the church should be ruled by elders appointed. It is a plural ministry that God appoints in the church. You might say to me that the word “bishop” is in the Bible. Let us read the King James Version in I Timothy 3:1, “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.” The whole verse is incorrectly translated. NOTHING IS WRONG WITH THE WORD OF GOD. What is wrong is what man says the Word of God says. Let us look at the Greek. The following is from the Textus Receptus by J. P. Green. I Timothy 3:1, “Faithful the word. If anyone overseership aspires to a good work.” This says that if a man has a desire to take care of God’s flock, God’s people, he desires “a good work.” Notice, there is no word in the Greek which suggests a HIERARCHY or an OFFICE called “bishop.” Also, nothing is said about being a bishop. The word is “overseership.” The word “bishop” is another Latin word that comes in to promote the idea of a hierarchy. The word “bishop” came into the denominations from the Roman Catholic church that ordained a hierarchical set-up, from the Pope on down to the Cardinals, Bishops, etc. This reveals how much the church has departed from God. Divine order, which God set in the church, has been destroyed by traditions.

Let us look at the Greek word “episkopas,” erroneously translated in I Timothy 3:1 as “bishop,” in another place in the Scriptures. In Acts 20, Paul is about to bid a final farewell to the brethren in Ephesus. He was not going to be coming back for he was going to Jerusalem to be offered up. He knew it was the end and he was giving the last message to the church. Acts 20:17, “And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.” The message he is giving them concludes with verse 28, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” In this case, the same word “episkopas” is translated “overseers,” where as in I Timothy 3:1 it was translated “bishop” bringing in that hierarchical concept.

I Timothy 3:12, “Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.” This word “deacons” was coined from the Greek word “deakonon” which means “servant,” and in this specific place was called “deacons.” There is no such thing as a “deacon.” It should be translated a “servant.” All servants of God should “be the husbands of one wife” and rule their own household.

From the above scriptures we can see that there has been much error brought into the church. Nevertheless, God’s Word prevails.

Revelation 2:7, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”

God always has His overcomers. He is revealing to us that even in this Ephesian church, where some people had fallen away and lost their first love, there were some who were going to be overcomers. We see two churches in the one church – one as overcomers and one as those who do not overcome. This is a picture of all of the churches throughout all of the ages even unto our time. Make your calling and election sure for you can either be an overcomer or a loser.

(Excerpt from The Book of Revelation, Volume 1, pg. 34-35)

Thought for today: May we strive to walk in God’s divine order so that we overcome and are blessed to eat of the tree of life.

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God Hates Nicolaitanism

Posted in Overcoming, tagged , , , on August 17, 2017| Leave a Comment »

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Scripture reading: Matthew 20:20-28

Revelation 2:6 says, “But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”

Consider this: God, the Almighty God, the Father of us all is saying that there is a thing called Nicolaitanism, which He hates. This has nothing to do with anyone named Nicolas. The word “nicolaitans” comes from “nico” meaning “rule, ruler, conqueror” and “laos” meaning “people.” Put the two words together and you get the “rulers over the people” or “conquerors of the people” (Strongs #3531-Destroyer of the people). God is against those that rule and have dominion over His people.

He has said in Matthew 20:20-28 that “it shall not be so among you.” Notice the word “minister” in this passage. The Latin word “minister” is inserted for “servant.” “Let him be your servant,” is the true rendering of this verse. When Jesus said “your servant,” He meant servant, He did not mean boss. Verse 27, “And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” (This word “servant” should be translated “slave.”) If Jesus Christ is saying, “it shall NOT be so among” us, then we shall NOT reign and rule over each other. We should understand that THIS IS THE WORD OF GOD.

Our Bible was translated many, many years ago. In order to understand the true meaning, we need to look at what the ORIGINAL thought was. God uses words to express thoughts to us. If the words have changed their meaning, then we need to go back to see what thought God had in His mind that we might have the mind of Christ. The thought God had in His mind was that we should be servants and not ministers as we know the word today. Minister of government is a big shot who goes to Washington, D.C. The minister of a church is the leader, the head of the church. When God said minister, He meant servant. Because the word minister has undergone a change, we think it means an important person, but it really means a servant. God hates a ruling pastor to be over a church. He hates a ruling bishop or a ruling elder to be over a church. God has another order, which I am going to share with you shortly.

(Excerpt from The Book of Revelation, Volume 1, pg. 33-34)

Thought for today: If you are finding yourself in a position of ruling over people or being ruled over, deliver yourself from that place and become a true servant (slave) to all.

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He That Overcometh

Posted in Overcoming, tagged , , , , on July 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »

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Scripture reading: Revelation 2:8-11

We find the church being split in two. Part of them will overcome and the other part will not overcome. There are overcomers and there are losers. Sometimes words do not convey the strength of meaning to us when we hear them. For instance, you hear the word overcomers and you wonder to yourself what is to be overcome. Overcomers first of all overcome their own natures. They overcome the mind of the world, the mind of the flesh, the mind they inherited from their families, and they overcome strong emotions. If you do not overcome your emotions and have them under control, then they will overcome you and destroy you. Overcomers overcome their own will and their own desires.

This is a battle royal when a person overcomes himself through the Blood of Jesus Christ and the power which God has given. For indeed, the Spirit of God has given us power to overcome familiar spirits, old family ties, things that pull us down and make us losers. We are not to go out and overcome other people. We need to overcome the flesh, the devil, and the world. This is what we mean by “he that overcometh.“

I John 2:15-17, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

What is the love of the world? One day I went to the supermarket and observed the people. They all looked alike. I knew somehow that some Christians had come in, but there was no difference between the way the Christians looked and the way the sinners looked. They all seemed to be part of the sexual revolution. They were showing as much of their bodies as they could, both men and women, young and old. The mind of the flesh had been ministered from Hollywood, Paris, London, and from other fashion places to the minds of these people. The people have become one with this mind of demonic spirits that control the world.

We must realize that the ways of the world, the thoughts of the world, the emotions of the world, and the desires of the world ARE NOT OF GOD. The people of God ARE EXPECTED to resist these things and to be different. It is difficult, but the Holy Spirit in us will help us to be different. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

We have many songs that say, “I love you, Lord Jesus” and the songs are so beautiful. When you hear the people of God singing, you hope and wish their love was true but there is very little truth in it, because those who love the world do not love God. The quicker we realize we do not love God, the quicker we will come to repentance and say, “Oh God, I have discovered that I love the world and I do not love you. Give me Your love.” God will pour out His Spirit upon you. “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.” This is the promise to the overcomer.

(Excerpt from The Book of Revelation, Volume 1, pg. 36-37)

Thought for today: Remember it is your own nature that you must overcome in order to be the overcomer.

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“Possess Ye Your Souls”

Posted in Overcoming, tagged , , , , , , on June 29, 2017| Leave a Comment »

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Scripture reading: Joshua 1:2-5

Let me share with you something very special today. God called Joshua and gave him a promise. He said to Joshua, as He said to Moses, as He said to Abraham, as He said to Isaac, as He said to Jacob, right down the line, “This is your land. I will give you this land.” You see, God came down and said, “Joshua, enter the land and take it. It is wide open to you. Take it. Every piece of territory, every piece of land upon which you walk will be yours” (Joshua 1:2-4).

Do you know what we are talking about? We are saying that every experience in God is your territory that you have captured. Your own soul is the land that God is talking about. For brethren, although we want to possess the whole world and we want to possess heaven, most of us have not yet possessed our soul. God said in Luke 21:19, “In your patience possess ye your souls.”

Since God spoke those words to Joshua, which maybe close to about 3,000 years ago, the Jews never took that land until now. Nevertheless, in our time, the natural Jew walked in and took the natural land away from the Philistines and from the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The seven “ites” that occupy the land are the seven areas of your soul that you never occupied, that you never possessed. Possessed by devils, possessed by earthly things, possessed by evil thoughts, possessed by spirits; it has never been completely conquered and possessed by us.

Now, Israel is a modern day sign to us. Since Israel, natural, carnal, physical Israel has taken away their natural land and had walked upon the promise of God in the natural, then it seems to me that we are about ready to walk upon the land in the spiritual, for the dimensional truths of God must come true in all three dimensions – natural, spiritual, and fullness. Israel has taken their natural land; that means that they have walked on the promises of God in the natural. This is a sign that we are about to take our land, our soul in the spiritual. Praise be to God.

(Excerpt from Foundational Teachings, F087 The Army of God, July 18, 1974)

Thought for today: Luke 21:19, “In your patience possess ye your souls.”

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