|
People of The Living God |
|
February 2021
WATCHMEN ON THE WALLS
FROM EDUCATION TO INDOCTRINATION
Alfred King
For several decades, the direction education in America has been heading is tremendously and increasingly disturbing. One very obvious concern is that it has been moving away from anything Christian and becoming more and more humanistic and immoral. When I was a child in elementary school, we stood and pledged allegiance to the Flag and then closed our eyes and quoted the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew chapter six. This was not in a private Christian school, but in a public school in southern Alabama. We were taught to honor the flag, country, and God.
If America’s schools today remained silent on the issue of God and religion, but retained morality, honesty, and honor, perhaps things would not be quite as bad as they have become. (However, without God, man is destined to travel the road of sin and destruction.) If these foundational principles were taught and embedded in the minds and hearts of America’s youth, those characteristics which those principles produce would have freed America from the turmoil plaguing her today. Rather than building a strong foundation for young people, our educational institutions have repudiated both our nation’s heritage, the Judeo-Christian principles and morals, and Christianity completely. It seems their agenda is to turn young people against God and country. And, unfortunately, they have succeeded in turning a large portion of young people against the very things that have provided them the blessings and freedoms they enjoy. Humanistic teachers and corrupt professors have brought forth a generation of young people who are heading down the path of self-destruction, not only destroying their own personal freedoms and their country, but destroying their souls at the same time.
The gradual transition from education to indoctrination over the past fifty years has brought us to a point where the authorities that control the curriculum in many states are now, brazenly and unabashedly, requiring teachers to attend training on what children are to be taught in America’s public schools. (And it won’t be long before they impose some of the same garbage on private Christian schools.) Let’s consider a few things teachers are being instructed to teach so we can get a glimpse of what our children will be learning in the future.
If anyone has kept up with the news at all, Seattle is a city where rationale has long departed from the ruling class. A junior high student with basic common sense can see the foolishness of some of the recent decisions made by the mayor and city leaders in regard to the “peaceful protests”; protests which destroyed many areas of the city while law and order were cast aside for the sake of, what is called, “systemic racism”. (But I digress.) The class required for Seattle’s teachers immediately opens with the idea that America was founded by awful people; people who brought forth a government which was and is systemically racist. Teachers in America are guilty of “spirit murder” against black people. Therefore, white people must “bankrupt their privilege in acknowledgment of their thieved inheritance”. (DailyWire.com – “Seattle Tells Teachers: ‘Bankrupt’ Your ‘White Privilege,’ Schools Commit ‘Spirit Murder’ Of Black Children ‘Every Day’ by Hank Berrien) It is even being taught that white people should bow before blacks and apologize for their whiteness. God created all men, and He created us in His own image. God loves all people of every race and Jesus died for every man, woman, and child that has ever been born. The idea that one race is superior to another is a lie from the devil, cooked up in the kitchen of hell, and those who promote such garbage are Satan’s emissaries. Jesus commanded His followers to love one another even as we love ourselves. He did not imply or indicate in any form or fashion that He excluded any race or nationality. In fact, He died for the sins of the whole world, not just for whites nor even the Jews.
“Systemic racism” is the idea that America was founded by white people who were themselves “racists” and established the United States on a racist ideology; an ideology that considers white people to be superior to other races, specifically those who are black, brown, or not white. (For a more in-depth explanation of “Systemic Racism,” refer to an article entitled, “Systemic Racism” by Warren Berry in the July 2020 Testimony of Truth magazine.)
Consider just a couple of things which teachers are being instructed to teach and promote in our public schools. Christopher Rufo, writing in “The Daily Wire” mentions a few indoctrinations (not education) that are to be taught in Seattle’s public schools. They include things like, whites are to “bankrupt their white privilege.” Classes are to discuss “spirit murder” and the fact that they “murder the souls of Black children every day through systemic, institutionalized, anti-Black, state-sanctioned violence.” Teachers are being required to teach that white men stole the land from the American Indians and that the “United States was built off the stolen labor of kidnapped African and enslaved Black people’s work, which created the profits that created our nation.”
Their trainers instruct them to “commit to the journey” even if their “lizard-brains” (their words) makes them “afraid that [they] will have to talk about sensitive issues such as race, racism, classism, sexism, or any kind of ‘ism.’” If they are white teachers, they must explain to their students that they are “racists” because their skin is white.
If one is to be honest, he recognizes “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” and these who promote such absolutely ridiculous nonsense are the real racists, and they intend to keep racism alive and well in America because it is their bread and water. These “racist” organizations rake in millions in donations and government aid, and they must keep their money flowing in, therefore they intentionally and deliberately keep racism alive. They are absolute hypocrites, tools of the devil to create hate, division, turmoil, and destroy peace. They are motivated and sometimes controlled by the demons of hell, and their ideology is diabolical, fiendish, and tremendously destructive. Yet they are blind leaders of the blind, and they are without any perception of the end results of this ideology or the consequences of where their perversion will take them. They are self-destructive and, while destroying themselves, they are taking America and America’s youth down with them. This is a move that must be fought against, not just in the political arena but through the Spirit, for this is a spiritual battle. It is a battle for our youth.
Jesus taught His disciples to love one another as He loves us. This includes every race of people, white, black, brown, yellow, red, and any other color people might be. (There have been a couple of times I have seen people turn green.) We are to love them, too. “God so loved the world …” all people, and died for each one. He commands us to love just like He loves. All this nonsense of racism is of the devil and has no place in the hearts of God’s people. It’s time the church stands up against racism. The only things God commands His followers to hate is sin and the devil. Even those who promote all this garbage are loved by God, and Jesus died for them, also. But they are on the way to destruction unless they hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, believe it is for them, and then repent. Jesus came to save sinners because He loves sinners. All of us are sinners, and the only way anyone is saved and forgiven is by believing the Gospel and repenting. Repenting means, not only feeling sorry for one’s sins, but also turning from those sins. It is not possible for anyone to turn from their sins without the help of the Holy Spirit. But God who loves us provided for that insufficiency. He has sent the Holy Spirit to come into our hearts and give us the ability and power to overcome the strongholds of sin that reside in every human heart. Jesus died in our place, as our substitute, taking upon Himself man’s transgression and paying the penalty of them on the cross. He then sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts to give us everything necessary to walk with Him in obedience to His commands. While the path is not easy, it is through these difficulties that believers gain strength and are changed with each trial to become more like Jesus Christ. May God awaken all men to the glorious provisions that are contained in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and may there be an awakening in the church and in America before it’s too late. The powers of hell are working, and it’s time for the power of God to work through His church. “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him” (Isa. 59:19). The enemy is coming in as a flood, and it’s time for God’s standard to be lifted up!
FOLLOW CHRIST
Harry Miller
“Follow thou me” is one of the commands of our Lord Jesus Christ. The fact that most professing Christians do not take this command very seriously does not minimize it. Their indifference merely proves that such professors are not real followers of Jesus.
One of the characteristics of Christ’s “sheep” is that they follow Him: “I know them and they follow me” (John 10:27). “These are they which follow the lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men” (Rev. 14:4).
The genuine “followers” of Christ are not many in number, in any generation. Many are “called,” but only a few qualify to be among those who are “chosen.” It is quality, not quantity that our Lord has sought among men. The requirements for a genuinely sanctified life are just too much for the common run of the herd: “He thatloveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man shall serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be” (John 12:25,26). Notice that this passage speaks of two classes of individuals: the “lovers,” and the “haters.”
It is perfectly normal for every man to love his own life; that is, to cater to the satisfactions of self. At best, man naturally prefers himself. This is not a strange condition – a condition of perverted human nature; neither is it a state of degeneracy. By nature we are made that way!
The almighty God of all creation would not disgrace Himself by making any creature that would be a mere puppet of His Sovereign Will; a mechanical “critter” that would unfailingly bow to its master whenever the strings were pulled. God, a free moral agent, never would have been satisfied with the farce of abject servitude unfolding before Him through the actions of a world of pre-energized mummers. In justice to Himself, as well as to His creatures, God was obligated to create those of “His own image,” and “in His own likeness,” to be free moral agents.
Free moral agency is that state of freedom of will that exists in entities who are created in the “image of God.” By nature, the creature loves to exercise his freedom of will in independent action. It is often said, concerning certain people, that they “like to throw their weight around,” meaning: they enjoy displaying the authority and power of their own wills. And the more carnal these persons are, the more arrogant and intolerant they become to the will of others. Self-willed and headstrong people have untrained wills and are subject to the vagaries of blind emotions. Such people often do the most outlandish things, and are thoroughly unreasonable souls.
In a world of many “free” people, there must of necessity be law; and where law exists it necessarily follows that there will be restraint. Man cannot, even though free of will, do exactly as he pleases. The LAW states what he can do and what he cannot do. A city, a world, or a universe without LAW, would soon be a most horrible place. LAW implies ORDER; and order is a blessing, not a curse: “The law is holy…and just, and good” (Rom. 7:12).
The Sovereign of our universe has blessed us with divinely inspired law, and those who respect and honour His commandments never have reason to regret it: “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul” (Psalm 19:7).
Now, why must the soul be “converted”?
By nature, a free moral agent delights in exercising his own freedom of will. It is not the “natural” thing for the creature to delight in doing the will of his Creator. All men of sound reason know that it is the most reasonable thing in the world to do the will of God. But to the self-life it is not the most desirable thing to do. In order for the soul of man to want to do the will of God, something most extraordinary must take place within the chambers of man’s will: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them” (Ezek. 36:26,27).
Every individual who has had a sudden “conversion” (i.e., an experience of a change of heart) knows that in that moment of conversion he committed everything to God and to His keeping. At such a time man is most prodigal: he casts it ALL at the feet of the Saviour. But after the experience, as time goes on, and man settles back into many of his old ways, he soon forgets that he has turned over “lock, stock, and barrel” to the Lord. And before long, the “carnal man” once more begins to dictate to the will; and the will of the Father in heaven is forgotten. Human nature thus frustrates the first work of the Holy Spirit; and the battle for the soul goes on in the realm of the Spirit. As long as the individual continues to face God and has a desire to see his self-nature subdued, the Holy Spirit will continue to work patiently with him. “He shall never leave thee nor forsake thee”: such is His commission, and He will be there to minister in every time of desperate struggle.
This struggle of man to bring his will into subjection to the will of the heavenly Father is the great battle of Christian warfare. Jesus Christ, Himself, is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities,” for He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). Although Jesus was divine, He “learned obedience by the things which he suffered.” He, too, had to “die” in His struggle against the desires of His flesh. He learned by experience the death of His own will. In Gethsemane, the battle raged on to such proportions that He actually “sweat, as it were, drops of blood,” yet the conflict ended with His statement to the Father: “Not my will but thine be done.”
The great Sovereign of the universe, in His plan to bring in everlasting peace and tranquility among free moral beings, has been obliged to subject His creation to the processes necessary for the perfecting of the nature of the created being. Obedience to law, without coercion, must first be secured. The use of force would be positive, but among free moral beings it would be objectionable. The only alternative to compulsive obedience is the power of divine love; not some sentimental emotion, but a true and loving devotion of the creature. Such love constrains the creature to obey, for he respects the will of the object of his love. Such obedience is honorable and acceptable to God.
The processes by which such devotion is secured are not of instantaneous nature. Through “a strait gate and a narrow way” men are led into the paths of life everlasting. “Fiery trials” and “much tribulation” are some of the means employed in subduing the wild, untamed, stubborn spirit of the creature. The lessons of life are all learned “the hard way;” and it seems as though some individuals must be trounced with many stripes before they will calm down and allow “the whole armour of God” to be placed as a cover over their wretched natures.
The Holy Spirit and the Word of God are the agents through which the Father of Glory works. The acceptance of their work, through Jesus Christ, is what is known as “the way of the cross.” Many people weep sentimentally when speaking of the cross and contemplating the act of Calvary: the rugged cross of Christ. But this is NOT the cross which He commands us to take up: “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross (the man’s cross, not Christ’s cross), and follow me” (Matt. 16:24).
Every individual has his own peculiar nature, and it takes a special and particular “cross” upon which to impale it. It is death for some people to speak out publicly; and these are the kind who are chosen for that sort of work! (Beware of the individual who loves to expound. There are many who have the “preacher’s itch”: a desire to “exhaust”). The Holy Spirit knows exactly what is needed in each case to burn and purge each soul of the dross. He always leads and directs in such a way that the activity will accomplish purification in the vessel. This kind of life is death to the self-nature. No carnal man will choose such a way. He seeks something easier, so he accepts a “sop” from those who play religion; and he settles for one of the “isms” that require no appreciable change in his way of life. Such people are enemies: “Enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things” (Phil. 3:18,19).
In the early days of the apostles, the church did not have a “hired-man” whose oratory of abstract philosophical jargon entertained a licentious clientele. These men preached the cross, the rugged way, and the only road to life everlasting: “Not with the wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.”
Notice that the cross which we are commanded to “take up” involves the individual’s entire time. Taking up this cross is a full-time occupation: “If any man will come after me (follow), let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily” (Luke 9:23). Until the day of the death of the carnal man, the cross is a constant companion. Each day brings forth a new conflict, another contest with that inner enemy, the self-man who prefers his own will. Many times a soul grows weary and is discouraged with his apparent lack of advancement; but the Spirit of truth, the faithful “Comforter,” woos each one on to renewed effort. We are ever reminded that the reward is to “him that overcometh.”
Perfection is the goal. Never let any man tell you that it is not possible to live above sin in this life; it is even now being done by many saints. We are commanded: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). That is a high standard. Yes, but not an impossible one. If it had been impossible, why would Jesus have commanded us to be perfect? Would He lower Himself by belittling us, humbling us, mocking us? Never! Jesus led the way, and He has pointed out the way for us – to “follow” Him.
Every man is obligated to take up the cross. There is no escaping this walk of death. God has no favorites. Those who seem to escape the cross, by living in pleasure, are in reality enemies of the cross and deceivers of themselves. Most present-day professing Christians have been blinded by “the god of this world,” and are walking in their own self-will while claiming to love the will of God. No matter what a person’s profession may be, if he dodges the cross he cannot be a disciple of the Lord Jesus: “And whosoever doth not bear his cross (e.g., the personal cross of the believer in Christ), and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27).
All the church memberships in the world will save no one. Ecclesiastical institutions and their programs are poor substitutes for the will of the Father in heaven. As institutions of divine light, most of the present-day churches have no resemblance to those of apostolic days. In the majority of the so-called Christian assemblies, there is very little likeness in doctrine, or in practice, to the church which was set in order by the Holy Ghost. Spiritual dearth and darkness are almost complete in many of these ecclesiastical tombs. Highly respected of men, and in favor with the “Western World,” much of the popular so-called “Christian religion” has utterly departed from the faith that was “once delivered unto the saints.”
The personal cross is not only despised by the world – it is also despised by most of the church. It is considered fanatical to really follow Christ in these days. Most people think it extreme, and by many it is counted as cultish. “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (i.e., the cross that He instituted, the way of life that He requires us to follow), by whom the world is crucified unto me; and I unto the world” (Gal. 6:14).
Walk the way of the cross and the world will have nothing to do with you. To the people of the world you are fanatical, you are dead, you are crucified “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). When we reach that state where the world hates us because we walk with Christ, and we are dead to the world, we suddenly realize that a marked change has come about in us: THE WORLD IS DEAD TO US! We clearly see through the sham, the glamour, the false front of the world! Our eyes are clearly open to the hypocrisy, the duplicity, the make-believe, the farce and the many lies of the system that rules the souls of unfaithful men.
“NOT BY MIGHT, NOR BY POWER, BUT BY MY SPIRIT”
Lorraine Scullin
One of the most astounding aspects about Christ’s first coming was the fact that people were totally unprepared for this most vital and tremendous event of the ages in its far-reaching significance to humanity. But such was the case, in spite of the fact that His coming had been prophesied in minute detail for many centuries, through many different men of God, and in many different places. However, when He did arrive, according to the divine calendar of events (for God has a time clock that never fails), people did not recognize that He was the One who would bruise the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15), even the mighty Deliverer of the human race.
Millions of Israelites had heard of the coming Messiah. Countless women had prayed that they might have the honor of becoming the mother of this babe who would come to transform men and revolutionize their way of life. Many prophets, priests, and scribes had taught their people of the Righteous Branch, THE KING, who should reign and execute judgment and justice in the earth (Jer. 23:5; Isa. 11:1-12). The shocking thing was that “He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:11). How could Israel have failed to recognize this wonderful One who came to deliver them? How could they have been so blind and, therefore, so unprepared, that they did not know who He was when He did come?
Furthermore, during the thirty-three and a half years that He walked among men, how could it be that only a handful of people perceived that He was indeed the Christ?
The fact is, that since God’s ways are completely contradictory to the ways of men (Isa 55:8), they can only be understood by a person who walks in the Spirit. When Philip said to Nathanael, “We have found him, of whom Moses…did write, Jesus of Nazareth…Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:45,46) “But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?…Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet” (John 7:41,52). In the minds of the disciples, Nazareth, in Galilee, was too despised and insignificant a place in which to look for any Deliverer or Messiah.
There were others who said, “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren…and his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him” (Matt. 13:55-57). Not only did His acquaintances reject Him, but members of His own family also, “for neither did his brethren believe in him” (John 7:3-5).
Many of those disciples who followed Him were offended by His teachings. They stumbled at His words. It had been prophesied that He would be “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient” (I Peter 2:8; Isa. 8:14), just as millions have stumbled, since that time, over His words. Many have wanted to separate Jesus from the things He spoke. They have desired the man Christ Jesus as Savior, but not His message. These cannot be divided. Jesus was God’s message to men, for He, Himself, practiced faithfully every word that the Father gave Him to speak. He, Himself, was THE WAY (John 14:6), and He demonstrated THE WAY in actual practice for every man.
Even the words of Jesus Christ thoroughly shook His followers. “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the son of man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53-58). “Many therefore of his disciples…said, This is an hard saying: who can hear it?” (John 6:60) “When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said…Doth this offend you?” (John 6:61). “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:66-68).
Men’s ideas and traditions and the religious teachings that were purely human colored people’s thinking to such a degree that they could not recognize Him when He appeared. He did not fit into their preconceived notions. Their teachers had not instructed them that they could discern spiritual matters only through the witness of the Spirit of truth (I Cor. 2:10-12). “When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). “He shall testify of ME” (John 15:26). Two witnesses testify of Jesus Christ: the Word of God and the Spirit of Truth. These are the only reliable sources of information for the servant of God. “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). This leading of the Spirit will be confirmed by the Word of God, for His Word is the criterion. It is THE STANDARD.
Since Christ’s coming was not according to the pattern of human reasoning, the Scriptural record shows that only a small number of people discerned His advent. Only those few who loved God devotedly and were open to the leading of His Spirit were prepared to recognize Him and receive Him.
Out on the Judaean hillsides were a group of simple country men who had perceived the testimony of the Almighty God in the vaulted skies above them as they watched their flocks during the hours of the night. For the heavens toward which they gazed night after night had “declared the glory of God” to them, and had proclaimed the word of His hands, for “there is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard” (Psalm 19:1-4). To these humble shepherds, whose hearts had often been lifted in worship of the Great Creator, God, in the night seasons, there appeared the heavenly host declaring the good tidings of great joy that unto them was born a Savior, Christ the Lord, in the city of David. Their response to this good news was immediate, for they came with haste to see this which the Lord had made known to them. And they found the babe, lying in a manger (Luke 2:8-20).
Far to the east was another group of men, students of the heavens, scientists devoted to the searching out of truth both hidden and revealed in the starry dome above them. Stretching out into the infinity of space, the heavens had given to them its grand testimony of the Mighty Majesty on High who had created these marvels. As they pondered God’s witness, it was revealed to them that the time was at hand when the KING of the Jews should be born. Furthermore, the Great Star that would herald His coming appeared, confirming God’s revelation to them. Obeying this supernatural leading, they journeyed to Jerusalem to find the King. There, they were directed to Bethlehem, and on the way, the star appeared to them again.
Rejoicing with great joy at the divine hand that was leading them, they were guided by the star to the very place where the young child was. They were not disturbed by the fact that THE KING was not born in the palace royal, for by the witness of the Spirit of God they had recognized Him. Falling down, they worshipped Him and presented their gifts (Matt. 2:1-12).
In Jerusalem, there was a man named Simeon, “just and devout,” to whom it had been divinely communicated by the Holy Ghost that he should not die until he had seen the Lord Jesus. At the very same time that Mary and Joseph came into the temple with the babe, to present Him to the Lord, Simeon was led by the Spirit of God to come also into the temple area. Recognizing Him immediately, as the ONE for whom he had waited, Simeon took the babe in his arms, blessed God for his being given this great honor of seeing the Lord’s Christ and said, “Mine eyes have seen thy salvation…a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke 2:25-35). “And Simeon…said unto Mary His mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also)” (Verses 34,35). Through the eye of the prophet, Simeon saw the multitudes who would reject this King and His Words, and who would “not have this man to reign over” them (Luke 19:14). They would want Him as Savior, but they would not have Him as Ruler and Master of their lives.
There was one, Anna, a prophetess, and a widow, living in one of the Temple apartments who served God night and day with fastings and prayers (Luke 2:36-38). She came in where Mary, Joseph, and the child were, and immediately she began praising God. Not by human understanding, but through the Spirit of God, she recognized the Son of God, and she witnessed of Him to all “that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”
Zacharias and Elisabeth also had received divine knowledge that “the hope of Israel” would soon be born. The Holy Ghost had come upon Elisabeth, filling her and revealing to her the wonderful news of the soon coming of the Savior and King, when her cousin Mary entered their home on a visit (Luke 1:39-44).
All of these individuals recognized Him through the witness of the Spirit of God. “Ye have an unction (anointing) from the Holy One…the anointing…teacheth you of all things, and is truth” (I John 2:20,27).
Just as multitudes of people failed to recognize the Lord of Glory when He appeared the first time, because of their misconceptions concerning His coming, so will many in this day be unable to discern the times and the conditions that portend His coming the second time, because of the human ideas that darken their understanding. The teaching of a millennium, or a thousand-year reign of the Lord Jesus upon the earth, is a myth, deceiving thousands; for Jesus plainly said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for behold, the Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). The doctrine of a secret rapture of the elect is a false hope, for Jesus said explicitly, that “every eye shall see him” (Rev. 1:7), which precludes there being anything secret about His coming. Furthermore, it is to be so overpowering and resplendent an event, that, “as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matt. 24:26,27).
Many judge both Jesus and the Scriptures written of Him by human understanding. Few realize that all of God’s movements are clothed with secrecy so that only those who walk in the Spirit and obey the Words of Jesus Christ can comprehend the meaning of the events that precede, and declare, His coming. “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). They do not know that human interpretations of the Word of God only blind and prevent men from making the necessary preparation for His appearance. Men are not made ready by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit (Zech. 4:6) and by adherence to the Words of Jesus.
Obedience to the commands of Jesus Christ will prepare men for His coming in a day which is full of deceptions and snares that will cause countless numbers of religious people to lose their way (Matt. 24:4,5,11,24; Luke 21:34,35).
Some of the commands of Jesus that will both prepare and help to deliver His servants in that hour are:
“And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27).
“If any man come to me, and hate not (love less) his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).
“So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).
Let us be wise servants, redeeming the time, by honoring His commands in a day of disobedience and lack of reverence for that which He has magnified above His name – even His Word (Psalm 138:2).
“A SHADOW OF THINGS TO COME”
Marjorie Hidley
“With whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?…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” (Heb. 3:17,18; 4:1).
Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me…and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matt. 11:28,29).
Within all men lies this great yearning for peace and rest. But man’s spirit finds no lasting ease in the acquiring of things, or in the gaining of worldly fame. For without the presence of God, the void remains unsatisfied.
God, alone, supplies the perfect resting place which brings complete satisfaction to His creatures. This is the rest in him. “He that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his” (Heb. 4:10; Gen. 2:3). This rest in God is the end product, the complete entering into the kingdom of God, the finished work of the Great Creator. It is begun with the glorious experience of salvation, when man is cleansed and given a new heart, and continues by the individual’s walk of surrender and obedience to the will of the Father.
Christ told His disciples that His meat was to do the Father’s will (John 4:34; 6:38,39). Now, for man to “cease from his own works” he must turn from doing as he pleases and obey the words of Jesus found written in THE BOOK, and heed the voice of God’s Spirit within. Such obedience will result in a great transformation. During this process the Holy Spirit is given an opportunity to perform His creative work in our natures. Christ must be formed within us. We are to put on His image, lose our identity in Him, and let Him live His life through us. Is not this the very object of God’s whole creation? And it is to this state, when we have ceased from our labours, as God did from His, that we are called. “And his rest shall be glorious” (Isa. 11:10).
This perfect rest in God has been prefigured to us by a certain day. God called it the Sabbath. The writer of the book of Colossians speaks of the Sabbath as a “shadow of things to come” (Col. 2:16,17). It points us to something. In Genesis 2:2,3 we are told that God ended His creation and rested the seventh day, blessed and sanctified it, “Because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” When a certain thing is blessed and sanctified, it is set apart unto God. This day was actually made holy by the presence of God, Himself, and never has God withdrawn His presence from it. Not only did God make this Sabbath day an ordinance which points to a glorious end in Him, but also the Almighty has given us a very explicit commandment concerning our relationship in keeping His day holy. From the creation, on to eternity, God has placed before us this weekly reminder, a hallowed Sabbath day, which is given to every creature. It stands as an eternal witness of God’s great power in creating the world, and of His glorious rest to which He has called His people.
This day of rest which God called “the Sabbath” was not made for the Jew, as many would have us believe; for Jesus, Himself, told us, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27,28). Certainly, God would never limit His blessings just for a few. This holy day, which points to His glorious rest, is for ALL.
The Israelites of old (Ex. 16:30), before the Ten Commandments were ever given to them, were reminded of the Sabbath day. The manna which God provided for their physical sustenance rained from heaven, and on the sixth day a double portion was given them. No work was to be done on the seventh-day Sabbath. God had performed a weekly miracle for them, and the food left over for the Sabbath bred no worms (Ex. 16:18-26).
The giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai (Ex. 20:1-17) also brought to them the Sabbath commandment. It was the fourth in the list of ten. This Sabbath, which had been created, blessed, and hallowed by God – they were to remember, to keep it holy, and to do no work therein. God had written these commandments on two tables of stone. Here, in the Decalogue, was the Sabbath commandment, which was a perpetual covenant, a sign forever between God and His people (Ex. 31:12-18). Never, in any record of the Scriptures, do we read where it has been removed.
In the life of our Lord Jesus, we see Him, as His custom was, going into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and teaching the people (Luke 4:16,31; Mark 1:21). Not only did Jesus observe the Sabbath day, but as He sat upon the Mount of Olives teaching His disciples, He warned them of coming destruction, and told them to pray that their flight be not on the Sabbath day (Matt. 24:20). This prophecy was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when Titus’ army came down and besieged the city of Jerusalem. Not only did our Lord observe this Sabbath day, but also did the disciples in the early church (Acts 13:14,42,44; 16:13; 17:1,2; 18:4). In the book of Isaiah (Isa. 66:23), we see that in the new heaven and new earth, also, is the Holy Sabbath observed.
God honors “His word” above “His name” (Psalm 138:2). In His word He has honored the Sabbath and calls it “my holy day” (Isa. 58:13). Should not His creatures also honor (by obedience to His commands) what their Lord has created, blessed, sanctified, and hallowed with His presence?
“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me” (John 14:21). Again, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” – “Ye are my friends, IF ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:14).
Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, told the importance of keeping the commandments of God. And John, on the Isle of Patmos, as he was given the book of Revelation, teaches the necessity of obeying God’s commandments (Rev. 12:17; 14:12). Those who “do his commandments…have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city” (Rev. 22:14).
We are not saying that the keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath saves one’s soul. But the failure to obey the commands of the Lord puts one in the class of the disobedient, as sin is the transgression of God’s law. How, then, can one refuse to obey the words of our Lord?
“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” – “Some must enter therein” (Heb. 4:9,6). Through the prophet, Isaiah, the Lord asks the question, “Where is the place of my rest?” Then in the next verse He tells us, “to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word” (Isa. 66:1,2). Will we be humble enough to obey God’s word? He told the prophet, Moses, “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest” (Ex. 33:14). Moses was meek enough to obey the words of God.
“If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it” (Isa. 58:13,14).
What greater blessings could one ask for than these promises of God? Is the Sabbath a bondage? NEVER! It is a great privilege to honor something that God has honored. Surely the gift of the Sabbath to man is another manifestation of God’s grace. Not only does it benefit one’s physical body, but also, man’s spirit is lifted up as the presence of God strengthens him. As he prayerfully honors God’s day, the Sabbath message burns in his heart. What does the Sabbath point to? The great rest in God, when man lays down his own ways in exchange for a life of complete obedience to the will of God. Would not this be a state of perfection?
May God’s people awaken and realize the call of God that is upon us. We are living in the end time. Now is the hour that the people of the Lord should be preparing to be a part of the “manifestation of the sons of God” (Rom. 8:19). Jesus lost His identity in the will of the Father. This is what we are called to do. “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his” (Heb. 4:10). Surely this is the true keeping of the Sabbath.
“Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest” (Heb. 4:11).
A LIMITED GOSPEL
Alfred King
Just over a century ago, shortly after the Civil War, A.B. Simpson, founder of the “Christian and Missionary Alliance”, began using the term “Fourfold” proclaiming that there is more to Christianity than salvation alone, infinitely more than what was being taught in most Protestant denominations. The four points he taught were that Jesus is our Savior, our Sanctifier, our Healer, and our Coming King. About fifty years after Simpson’s “Fourfold” declaration, in the mid-thirties, Pentecostals determined the Gospel contained even more than A.B. Simpson taught, and therefore adopted the phrase, “Full Gospel” to represent the Pentecostal Movement. Later yet in the mid-fifties Charismatics joined the Pentecostal ranks, adopting the same term, “Full Gospel.” The phrase, “Full Gospel,” is said to have come from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans; chapter 15 verses 18 and 19, which reads, “For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”
The expression, “Full Gospel,” has been the battle cry of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements for years. Their desire is to awaken the Christian church to the fact that the Gospel that Christ preached involves more than salvation alone, and to encourage the church to embrace all that Jesus died to procure for His church. They believe the “Full Gospel” embraces and encompasses all that the early church taught and experienced. This includes the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as is recorded in the book of Acts, as well as all the gifts of the Spirit, many of which are listed in I Cor. 12. The “Full Gospel” then comprises not only supernatural healing, but miracles, divine wisdom, prophecy, discerning of spirits, revelations, tongues and interpretations, and even the power to raise from the dead. All the power and glory that Jesus and the Apostles exhibited are provided through Christ for the true church of Jesus Christ today.
As Pentecostals began to embrace those divine and supernatural gifts and manifestations of the Holy Spirit, they became more and more convinced that Protestant churches had failed to present all that Jesus taught and what He had designed to be part of His New Testament Church.
Jesus Builds His Church
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said He was going to build His church upon a Rock and He proclaimed that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. In this discourse to His disciples, Jesus chose to use the word “church” in reference to His future disciples. “Full Gospel” emphasizes this decree that the church which Jesus founded is to be a church in which the power of God is present to overcome all enemies, those spiritual and those in the natural world around us. The Greek word from which “church” comes is εκκλησια (ekklasia). Thayer defines ekklasia as “an assembly” or “gathering of people.” James Strong enlarges upon this definition by showing ekklasia to be a compound word; call-out meaning “a calling out”. Christians are called out of the world, called out of the kingdom of darkness and invited into the kingdom of Jesus Christ (Col. 1:13). The kingdom Jesus proclaimed was at hand (Matt. 4:17) is a present kingdom. It is not a kingdom that believers are to enter when Jesus returns. It is not a future kingdom to be set up on this globe for one thousand years. It is a kingdom for all believers today, in the 21st century. Jesus is building a church which will possess this glorious kingdom (Dan. 7:18). He desires His people to enter fully into His kingdom and function as kingdom citizens. This involves walking in the Spirit and experiencing the power and glories of that kingdom.
The commencement of Jesus’ New Covenant church obviously was at Pentecost. Luke, writing in the book of Acts, stated, “The Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47). This was the beginning of the church that Jesus set about to build. However, it wasn’t long after Pentecost that the power and glory of that church began to fade. As Catholicism became the prominent religion in Europe, the true church which Jesus was building was forced underground, and those who remained faithful to God were hunted down, persecuted, and many were martyred. One might gather from this that Christ’s church was pretty weak. However, such was not the case. It is important to realize that Jesus clearly stated that the path He was calling His church to walk was a way few would take. It is a very narrow path and most will not pay the price to tread that course. While God desires that all men be saved (II Pet. 3:9), He knows most will not believe the Gospel, and He informs us that few will enter in (Matt. 7:14; 20:16; 22:14).
There are several reasons why the glory of the early church began to fade. The cost of walking with God in a supernatural way was very difficult and costly. The only Apostle of Jesus who was not martyred was the Apostle John. And it was not only the Apostles who were sought, imprisoned, persecuted, and killed, but many Christians lived in constant danger for their faith. Added to this sacrificial life was the fact that the Gospel began to be watered down and neutralized in the assemblies, as those who would not pay the price began adopting a carnal Christianity and made the path broad and wide. Wolves in sheep’s clothing began to occupy the pulpits and what followed was disgraceful “Christianity,” if one can even call it “Christian”. It certainly was not the Gospel Jesus came preaching.
God Will Restore His Church
When considering the Full Gospel of Christ, we must be willing to go beyond all that we have previously heard or been taught. The invitation Christ gave is a call to perfection, and the power and glory are for those who will “go on to perfection” (Heb. 6:1). Let’s examine just a few portions of scripture which support this astounding appeal. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me” (Matt. 19:21). “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me” (John 17:22-23). “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Col. 1:28)
The word ‘perfect’ in scripture is not defined exactly the way we define it today, for the Greek bears out that this perfection to which we are called has to do with maturity. However, we are called to be perfect (mature) as the Father in heaven is perfect (mature), or to be mature as Jesus and the Father are mature. That is an extremely high calling, a calling that seems impossible. Paul refers to it as the “high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14). To reach this “high” position in God requires more than what is commonly taught in most protestant churches; and to be honest, it is not taught much in most “Full Gospel” churches. But when one contemplates what this perfection is, he is very aware that to reach this level of maturity will take the Full Gospel. Anything less than what was poured out at Pentecost will not accomplish this great task. This is why the great adversary has toned down the Gospel to a three point gospel. 1) Go to an altar. 2) Repeat the sinner’s prayer. 3) Attend the church of your choice. There you have it: The gospel in a nutshell.
This nutshell gospel will never produce the perfection to which every born again believer is called. Rather it will leave him spiritually weak, malnourished, unstable, confused, and he will become the bait of every temptation that the devil, the world, and the flesh can send his way. And worse of all is that it leaves him believing a lie; the lie that this is all there is to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not die to build a weak and malnourished church. Jesus died to build a glorious church, to create a church that is without spot or blemish. His design and purpose was to build a church which would be a light in the darkness, a beacon of hope in the midst of despair, strength and fortitude in battle, and a place where the power and glory of God resides continually. God has provided the means by which man can attain this wonderful place in God. He sent His Son to deal with the devil and every device and weapon which Satan would send against the believer. He has given us His word so we can build a strong foundation upon that Rock which cannot be shaken when storms come against us. He has sent the Holy Spirit to abide forever within the believer’s heart with the promise that He will never leave nor forsake but will lead, guide, teach, encourage, comfort, and reveal the things of God to us. And His promise is that He will finish the work which He has begun. The Full Gospel involves all this and so much more. The blessings of Christ are all available in the same manner in which the early church received them. In that church the Holy Spirit’s power was manifest in many, many ways and God added to the church daily such as should be saved (Acts 2:47).
Twenty-first Century America
The confusion, division, strife, and uncertainty that exists in America today, coupled with the disarray in Congress and among her political leaders, has brought us to a place where the future is uncertain. We are at an impasse that has destined Americans to a time of great turmoil, a crisis which appears presently to be unavoidable and unsolvable. Man has refused God’s way and has built his house upon the sand of human reasoning, carnal impulses, and worldly ambitions while rejecting the only real and lasting solution to America’s problems. And the more they reject and turn away from God and His ways, the further they venture into the abyss of humanism and are taken captive by that one who is set for their destruction.
What we see taking place today among our politicians and leaders is the result of evil spirit influence. When a nation or people turn from God’s ways and forsake His law, they open themselves to influence of evil spirits. The absolute absurdity of many of the ideals and philosophies that are being adopted and accepted as “normal” are a very obvious sign to those who have any spiritual insight that there is something beyond “normal,” which has distorted and corrupted their minds. It is not “normal” to think or promote the idea that there is not male and female, or that one can decide that he (or she) can be something they are not. How ludicrous! It is beyond “normal” to suggest that a marriage can take place between two people of the same sex.* It is not normal for a mother to have her child murdered in her womb. Normal is not condoning riots, with the destruction of businesses, police stations, courthouses, and historical statues, and claiming they are peaceful protests. What absurdity is this? While all this, and much more, is daily news, “political correctness” has taken our country down a path to certain destruction and, unless it is somehow “corrected”, America will find herself in the same historical dumpsite as those nations who adopted such foolishness before her.
The only hope for America is the church. While chaos surrounds us, God is able to bring healing and harmony out of the midst of turmoil. The glory and power that fell upon the early church changed the hearts of those that received it. That majestic move of God changed history and the lives of millions, and the world is a better place because of their faithfulness. That power and glory still resides in God today and He is building a church that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, for it will prevail over the powers of the world, the flesh, the devil, and hell.
While the world is in turmoil all around us, let us fix our eyes upon Jesus Christ and seek God until He pours out His Spirit as He did at Pentecost. If He did it for them, He will do it again for His church, for those who believe the Full Gospel. This is the way to victory and to possessing the Kingdom Jesus proclaimed and offers today.
* While it is claimed that when Christians speak against homosexuality it is because they hate homosexuals, this is not the case and far from the truth. Many homosexuals have been delivered, healed, and transformed and publically testify of what God did for them (and he can do it for all others who will bow their knee to God and allow Him to come into their hearts and change them.). Actually, Christians speak out against homosexuality because they are concerned about their souls. Consider these words from the Apostle Paul in I Cor. 6:9: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind.” And Jesus Himself warned about these gross sins in Revelation 21:8, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, (scripture teaches homosexuality is an abomination to the Lord) and murderers, and whoremongers, (which includes homosexuals) and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (emphasis mine). It is, therefore, not those who warn and preach against homosexuality that are haters but those who care not that these will face an eternal hell fire.
Brother Jimmy Windham
I want to apologize for not informing our readers about Brother Jimmy Windham’s release from prison this past July. I was going to put a notice in the August issue of, “The Testimony of Truth” publication but Brother Jimmy wanted to write something himself and thank everyone for their prayers and support over the past few years. However, Brother Jimmy had only been released for a few days when he came down with Covid and was in the hospital for about two weeks. This left him very weak and still, he has some problems with breathing.
After he was out of the hospital, he found himself very busy trying to get settled into his new lifestyle, legal requirements and demands for re-entering society, plus he was spending all the time he could with his family. All this combined placed his article on the back burner.
Brother Jimmy had a good report in prison and so his parole officer has given him considerable freedom. On January 14th, he was allowed to visit People of the Living God in Tennessee. We were blessed to have him give his testimony at our assembly and also to have time to visit with him and his daughter, Shelly. Brother Jimmy preached three times while he was here and all were encouraged to see how greatly God had worked in his life and was with him through all the years he was imprisoned. God is so faithful.
I again want to apologize for not informing our readers but after that first decision to let Brother Jimmy write something, I forgot until I received a letter from a reader this past week, asking about him. I’m thankful that this error was brought to my attention so I could address it. Thank you all for praying and supporting this brother through the years.
The Editor