Wisdom Is the Principal Thing–Key to God’s Treasure House

     Those of us who are on this quest for immortality must have the key that unlocks the vault to God’s treasures.  He has left it in plain sight, for He wants us to find it.  That key is wisdom.

     “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom” (Proverbs 4:7).  We’ve got to get wisdom.  It is the main thing.  Why?  Because we cannot find God without it.  He didn’t say that we first need to come down to the front of a church building, go to meetings or tithe or jump through  manmade hoops.  We need wisdom, the key that unlocks God’s spiritual treasure house.

     Many people have tried to enter into the vaults of the  Supreme  Being where His treasures are stored.  Many  have  wanted  to  explore   the   unsearchable riches of Christ–without wisdom.  Many people have tried to clone the Messiah or make temples and buildings to please Him, without wisdom. Mankind sometimes uses interesting but futile chants, hums, repetitions, songs, shouts, “slayings-in-the-spirit” and the like, but the Almighty is not impressed by them. He seeks people to worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

     Many have twisted the word “riches” to mean only money: filthy lucre, mammon, riches of this world that finance luxurious cathedrals midst the poverty,  wealth that  the  world  and  Satan  can  give  ( “I’ll  give you all the kingdoms of this world if…”).

     And yet, Wisdom personified cries to us, “Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness” (Prov. 18: 8).  The durable riches, those that will last, are with wisdom.  And the righteousness that will last and endure is with wisdom, as well.  In the end man will be destroyed “that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches…” Psalms 52:7-8. 

 

The True Riches

     So what are the true riches of God that comes with wisdom?  Paul said that “all the treasures of wisdom” are hid in Christ (Colossians 2:3).  After we get rid of our old selves on the cross, we then are “dead and our life is hid with Christ in God.”  We receive His Spirit in us.  We then have the opportunity to grow up spiritually into Him-walking-around-in-our-body! Which has now become His body!  Think about it: Us doing the same things that He did 2,000 years ago!  Christ did say that those “who believe on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works shall he do also” (John 14: 12).  

 

     That right there should put us in awe of our Creator–which, incidentally, is the very definition of “wisdom.”  More on this next time.  {This is from chapter one of my book, Yah Is Savior: The Road to Immortality found here:  http://www.yahwehisthesavior.com/yahch1.htm )  Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Borrower Is Servant to the Lender–The Wall Street Bailout

     The U.S. government is borrowing 700 billion more dollars to bail out the greedy, incompetent  Wall Street banking houses with all their “bad mortgage-backed securities.” 

     Congress “would boost that debt limit to $11.3 trillion…The government is already spending more than $400 billion a year just to pay interest on the national debt,” according to the Associated Press last Sunday. 

     How is the federal government paying this interest?   We the people pay it!  They strongarm us, using the thugs at the IRS, collecting income taxes to pay the interest on the money they borrowed without our okay.  This is proof positive that we are not living in a democracy; we live in a republic.

     Let’s try to look at all this from a biblical vantage point.  The scriptures say that “the borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7).  Our government is the borrower.  Therefore, it is a servant of the international bankers who lend them the money.  It does not serve the people of the United States as the Founding Fathers envisioned.  Our government serves the bankers at the Fed.

     It is supposed to be a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”  But it is not for us; it is for the bankers because it serves them.  The people get the crumbs, for you cannot serve the people and serve the bankers at the same time.  We, the people have been betrayed by dark nefarious forces (see more on this at https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2008/07/02/the-old-serpent-deceiveth-the-whole-world/ ).

     Instead of a country that was in reverential awe of God, we all now vicariously serve a few rich banking families because our government has borrowed from them.

     The noose on our way of life is tightening.  This past week was called by many, “Staring into the abyss.”  I call it stumbling blindly into the abyss.  Life as we know it is slip-sliding away as we get ever closer to a total economic collapse. 

     There are many passages in the Bible warning God’s people about hard times if they “grow fat and forget God.”  I believe that this is what all this is about.  He allows this to happen so that we will cry to Him for deliverance.  He is the Savior and Deliverer, after all.  He’s just waiting for us to realize that we need to be delivered. 

 

   The best advice I can give as far as the earthly angle is concerned:

• Don’t depend on governmental agencies
• Get out of debt
• Put back two month’s salary as an emergency fund
• Put away some precious metals
• Cut unnecessary spending
• Pay off car or truck and drive it ten years
• Love each other
• Forgive each other
• Pray and study                   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Ron Paul Says Federal Reserve Is Unconstitutional

     Rep. Ron Paul in an interview on Glenn Beck last night said that the Fed was never in the plan of the Founding Fathers who drafted the Constitution. 

     He said that in 1913 the Congress shirked their constitutional responsibilities concerning the nation’s money and handed it over to a private corporation in the form of a central banking system.  The Federal Reserve System is not a part of our federal government, and there is no reserve of real money (gold and silver), and it is not constitutional.

     These bankers have been given authority by the people’s representatives in Congress to print paper money, and now electronic money, out of nothing.  There is nothing backing the money up.  Check out Ron Paul speaking on these things here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji_G0MqAqq8&feature=related .

     They have built an economic house of cards that is not real.  And the Fed now cannot let it fall.  The world would be thrown into a depression so severe that the middle class would cease to exist overnight, services would grind to a halt, and an ice cold panic would ensue.  The rich men don’t want that, for their greatest fear are the marauding mobs.  This is the reason that the Fed will do anything to keep the house of cards standing, even though it is only an illusion. 

     In 1913, the American people trusted their elected representatives in Congress to truly look out for their best interests.  But they were deceived by the mostly rich men who were in Congress that year.  For Congress in the dark of night, during a recess, passed the Federal Reserve Act.  And President Woodrow Wilson did not have the peoples’ back, for he did not veto it.  Wilson was in the hip pocket of the rich men, relying on the advice of Colonel House, who had the rich men’s best interests at heart.

     The Bible speaking to these rich men says, “Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days” (James 5: 3).  During the last days your cartel has amassed untold wealth on the backs of the workers.  But you and your riches shall come down at the end when Christ returns to set up His government built on love and truth (James 5: 1-7). 

     To get a picture of when the house of cards falls, read Revelation 18.  They weep and lament when their corrupt system falls in one hour.

     We, God’s sons and daughters, must be patient unto the Lord’s coming back.  He will not build a “house of cards” for his people; He will build His kingdom on the Rock–Himself.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

“Baptized into His Death” Frees Us from Sin–The Doctrine of Baptisms

The early apostles’ taught their third doctrine–the “doctrine of baptisms” with an “s.”  For there are several baptisms in the Christian walk–not just the one with water.

The first baptism mentioned was John the Baptist’s “baptism unto repentance.”  He encouraged the people to repent of their sins, be baptized in water, thus pointing them to the Lamb of God, who would soon become the Sacrifice for all men’s sins.  “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I…he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (Mt. 3:11).  Here we have three baptisms in one verse.

The baptism in water is symbolic of the death of our old sinful heart (see post on this at https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/baptismempty-ritual-or-symbol-of-death-of-self/ ).  Paul taught that it was symbolic of being immersed into Christ’s death.  “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?” (Romans 6: 3).

Just How Are We Immersed into Christ’s Death?

     Just before Christ died, this perfectly sinless man took upon Himself the sins of the whole world, past, present, and future.  Sin was transferred onto this sin offering, and He died with all our sins upon Him.  Consequently, when He died, my old self died.  When He died that day, our old selfish egos died.

When He was literally buried in the tomb, our old lives were buried.  Gone.  Over with.  And when He rose from the dead, we rose from the deadness of our sinful existence, into a brand new wonderful life, energized with God’s Spirit now within (for more on this, see “Introduction” of my book The Unveiling of the Sons of God  found at the top of this page).  All this has already been done for us by God.  We have to only believe it when we read it in Romans 6: 3-7 :

     “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.  For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.  Because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”

     We are now free from sin–if we really believe it.  Free!  We are no longer slaves to the pulls, urges, and demands of that old spiritual nature that held us in bondage to do sinful acts!  I’m talking about revolutionary freedom here!  We were dead to sin, but now we live unto God by faith in the Spirit that He has given us.

     Water baptism is just the symbol of this immersion into Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.  Believing and walking in this truth is the reality.  But God has promised his sons and daughters more and greater baptisms–the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of fire, which takes us into the very presence of God’s transformative power.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

“Faith Toward God”–The Second Apostles’ Doctrine

    We are told to repent from our old life in the first apostles’ doctrine, but how do we do it?  How do we really change our old selfish ways, and let the old self die?  The second apostles’ doctrine teaches us how to do it. 

     How do we get rid of the old sinful life and get into the new life in Christ?  We reckon it done by faith/belief.  How do we start walking in a brand new life?  We reckon it done by faith.  Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ (Yahshua Messiah). Rom. 6:11. 

     We’ve got to reckon it done!  The word “reckon” is #3049 in Strong’s.  It means “to account it, to count it as such.”

     God wants us to reckon it so, but He does it first! When we turn to Him, then He counts us righteous in His eyes even in our imperfect state.  It is His nature to “call those things that do not exist as though they did.” Rom. 4:17, NKJV. If He is this positive, then He would want His children to be the same.

     He wants us to follow in His footsteps!  God “accounted” righteousness to Abraham because of his belief—before Abraham was righteous!  “Accounted” here is the same word as the one translated “reckon.”  We are commanded to RECKON some things done.  Now we have to reckon our sinful self gone—by belief—as though it were already done—for that is how God looks at it!  By belief!  Reckon it done through Him and His faith.  He said it.  Let it be done.  For what saith the scripture?  Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.  Rom. 4:3.  Yahweh imputed, reckoned to Abraham the ability to live in a upright manner, keeping Yahweh’s laws and not sinning, by just believing that Yahweh had done it!  We make it so hard through our hard heart of unbelief.  He is looking for childlike faith, the belief of a small child.  All we have to do is just believe that Yahweh has provided a way for us to actually put the old life to death and start living a new life in Him (read more from my book on this subject at   http://www.yahwehisthesavior.com/yahch30.htm ). 

     When Christ died, our old sins died with Him that day.  When He was buried, we were buried.  And when He arose, we arose with Him.  It is already done in God’s eyes.  We just have to receive this new life by faith and belief.  It hinges on our belief in Christ’s resurrection.  By us believing that He was raised from the dead, we are raised with Him to walk in a newness of life. 

      The old ministers of centuries past knew this and  preached and wrote about this–Luther, Wesley, Murray, et al.  But in the last days, there will be a departing from the faith–the faith that reckons it so, believing in the life-changing power of the cross experience.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Repentance from Dead Works–The First Apostles’ Doctrine

True repentance is the first apostles’ doctrine or teaching.  It is the first stone to be laid in the foundation of the LORD’S (Yahweh’s) house, us.  The first thing we are told to do by Christ and His apostles is, “Repent.”  Because without repentance, the other teachings cannot be done.

It is the foundation upon which the rest of the Christian walk is built.  That foundation is comprised of (1) repentance from dead works, (2) faith toward God, (3) doctrine of baptisms, (4) laying on of hands, (5) resurrection of the dead, (6) eternal judgement, and (7) perfection (Hebrews 6: 1-2).

Repentance from Dead Works

“Repentance” is from the Greek word metanoia, meaning “a change of mind.”  Thoughts originate from the heart, then on through the mind, and then out through the mouth and actions of the body.  So when Christ and His apostles tell us, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” they are saying we must have a change of heart and mind.  The selfish heart of mankind must go, and then we can talk, Christ is saying.

Every thought and action of natural, unregenerated man and woman is in God’s eyes a “dead work.”  It is an action void of spiritual life.  A disciple said to Christ, “Let me bury my father.”  But the Master told him, “Let the dead bury their dead.”  Christ equated those doing the burying with those being buried.  In God’s eyes, both were lifeless, without the Spirit.  Without God, our little plans and dreams are lifeless, vain, unprofitable.

So God cannot live in the midst of all that selfishness—a lawlessness that is called sin, for the breaking of the ten commandments is sin.  And God hates sin because it is so against His nature.  He wants to live in man and woman, but He can’t because when man is full of himself, then there is no room for God.  Selfish action is a selfish spirit and  is  the  opposite  of  God’s  Spirit,  which  is the action called Love.

So there again is man’s problem; he wants to live forever, but wants to live his own selfish life forever, and this thinking breeds mortality, the way of death.  In order to gain immortality, man must have God’s Spirit living within him.  But the Spirit of God will not dwell in temples (bodies) that are unclean (have actions done in them that are sinful in breaking the l0 commandments).  Mankind that comes as far as this knowledge on the road of life comes to a fork in the road.  He must chose to either remain as he is and how he has been living, or he must seek a way to repent, to change the error of his ways.

God has provided a way for us to repent; it is the cross.  Not that Christ died on the cross.  Everyone has heard that story.  But that we must surrender our old self and let it die on the Cross with Christ.  This is how to repent from dead works.  It is the “baptism into His death” (Romans 6: 1-6).             Kenneth Wayne Hancock

{For more on this subject, go to the right hand column, and under “Categories,” click “Repentance.”}

The Apostles’ Doctrine–Curriculum of God’s True Teachers

Teachers of God will expound His way, while false prophets and false teachers lie to the flock of God.  The true teachers are gifts to mankind from God (Ephesians 4: 11).  They are precious and very few in number.  If we seek, we will find one, and we will hold them dear.

But how can we tell the true from the false?  The true teachers will have a grasp of the apostles’ doctrine (Acts 2:42).  They will know how to explain in detail how one repents, how faith works in us receiving a new heart.  In short, they will have true knowledge of the “principles of the doctrine of Christ” (Hebrews 6: 1-2).

Yet they will also know that one must leave those first principles in order to “go on unto perfection.” The Spirit that is within them will “lead us into all truth.”  They will know that it is Christ in them who actually is the real Teacher.

Many in “church circles” talk about wanting the same life as the early church in the book of The Acts of the Apostles.  They see the miracles and wonders performed and long for that same divine power to hold sway on the earth today.  They want, however, to circumvent the procedure used in those enlightened days right after Christ’s resurrection.  They want to accept Christ, be baptized, and then they want to set the world on fire with God’s power.

Before the miracles come from God, pre-requisites must be done. “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.  And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles” (Acts 2:42-43).  Here you see the progression of things: the doctrine, fellowship, breaking bread, prayers, fear of God, and then came the wonders and signs.

“We Don’t Want Doctrine–Just Jesus”

It was the apostles’ doctrine that the early converts stayed in.   They did those teachings.  For “doctrine” is translated from the Greek word didaskalia, which means “teaching; that which is taught.”  Beware of those who will say, “We don’t want doctrine, we just want Jesus!”  If they could only realize that the Savior Himself was referred to as a “Didaskalos,” meaning “Teacher, Master.”  The same root word!  People who say, “We don’t want doctrine” are really saying they do not want the real Christ and what He taught.

The true teachers of God will teach true repentance from sin in one’s life and how faith works to give us a new heart and new spirit that pleases God in not sinning against Him.  And this is just the first principles “of the doctrine of Christ” (Hebrews 6: 1-2).

This is not a new thing that I write about.  Read it for yourself in Martin Luther’s writings, “The Sermon on three-fold Righteousness [http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/web/3formsrt.html ; in the sermons of John Wesley (  http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/sermons/040.htm ), founder of the Methodist Church; from Andrew Murray, 19th Century Scottish Missionary and author  http://www.victoryoversin.com/murray/like/lc24.htm ); or in my book The Apostles’ Doctrine [free copies available].

So, turn away from anyone who doesn’t teach the apostles’ doctrine, that says that you cannot be a righteous son or daughter of God.  Don’t believe them.  They will try to drag you down into the same spiritual slop that they are stuck in.  Find yourself a true teacher and study out the apostles’ doctrine, for those are the teachings of Christ.      Kenneth Wayne Hancock

* “Sermon on Three-fold Righteousness” at  http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/web/3formsrt.html