From Death to Everlasting Life—From Earthly Bodies to Heavenly Bodies

(from Kenneth Wayne Hancock, Journal entry, 9-20-21)

Mankind’s trouble is traced from his realization that the earthly body that he walks around in will one day die. It is dissolving even now in a slow march to the grave. Ashes are its destiny. Unless he is a child or a fool, man knows that his body will melt back into the earth.

Our “days are consumed, like smoke” (Psalm 102:3). When the dawn of death’s reality shrouds are minds, we groan under its weight. For we know that in a few short years our earthly body will succumb to our Creator’s will. For He has subjected all humans to the “bondage of corruption (decay unto death)” in hope that we will see the futility of living only for ourselves in this earthly life (Rom. 8:20-23).

The aging visage we see in our mirror is a witness to these things. But then we see Him! High and lifted up, waiting for the few, the remnant, the first fruits to realize the Answer to all their trepidations.

In Adam, all will wither and fade to dust and ash, but “You, Yahweh, shall endure forever” (Psalm 102:12). And because of your great mercy, You see our plight of impending doom, and you reach down and help us live.

“Yahweh looked down from His sanctuary on high; from heaven he viewed the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.” And why does He save us? “So the name of Yahweh will be declared in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem, when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship Yahweh” (102:19-22).  

But now the whole of creation groans with us, waiting for “the manifestation of the sons of God.” (Rom. 8:19). We all wait for the unveiling of the sons and daughters of God. This body of humans will have received their new, spiritual bodies, like the body that the Son of God resides in now. That kind of spiritual body is an everlasting body.

These 100-fold fruit bearing followers of the Lamb will come on the scene at the appointed time of the end. God’s Spirit through them will govern the earth. God will “restore all things” that He prophesied through His prophets. He will establish his kingdom and all peoples and nations will praise his name. But now, He humbles us as we learn that only He will endure. The heavens and the earth “shall perish, but You shall endure” (Psm. 102: 26-27). As we await the appointed time when our earthly body will be “swallowed up” with our new celestial body, we have joy knowing that He will deliver. This vision is the “law [the instruction] and the testimony,” which is “the spirit of prophecy” (Isa. 8:20; Rev. 19:10).   Kenneth Wayne Hancock 

“The Sure Mercies of David”

(from journal entry, 9-11-16 and 9-13-16)

Yahweh through His prophet Nathan spoke to David. “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.” What promises! What enduring love and steadfastness Yahweh showed to David, and by extension, 1000 years later, to Christ.

It is by God’s mercy that He saves us from sin and sinning. In so doing, He saves us from sin’s major consequence—death. We enter oneness with Christ, encouraged by His promise of immortality through Him.

In Acts 13:34 we see the “sure mercies of David” equated with the granting to us of eternal life—the opposite of death. He speaks of the resurrection of Christ and how Christ’s body did not see corruption [decay]. Believing in Christ’s resurrection will bring to us that same incorruptibility of the body when we receive our new spiritual body at the end of this age. Christ’s body not falling into decay insures for us that same future in Christ, to wit: We will receive from Him the “sure mercies of David,” mercies that He has promised us, also.

It is God’s mercy to extend to us and provide the way from utter destruction caused by sin in our lives to the eradication of sin on into the immortality of our spiritual body.

This promise of immortality in our new spiritual bodies that we receive at the end of this age is called the “sure mercies of David.” We are assured the same spiritual grace and mercy that was given to David. Hence—the “sure mercies of David.” God is inviting us to hear His words and to come to Him, to draw near to Him, trusting Him. We hear these same words from the Savior. “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt. 11:28). The rest comes to us when we believe in the “sure mercies of David,” when we believe we shall be blessed with a new spiritual body.  

He continues in Isaiah 55:3 by stressing the importance of listening to His words. “Hear and your soul shall live.” Take in the truth that I am saying, and your soul will live and not die. “And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.”

Only those with immortality can partake in an everlasting agreement. God is saying, I am making this agreement with you that if you hear my words and believe Me, that you will live forever. It is an everlasting covenant, for you will be around forever to enjoy the life I give you.

This is the “sure mercies of David,” when Christ, David’s son, makes all this possible. It is for this reason: Yahshua is “the root and the offspring of David” (Rev. 22:16). The “root of David” is Yahweh; the “offspring of David” is the Son of God incarnate, with the Father residing within Him. The Son of God is “the image of the invisible God [the Father] …for by Him was all things created…all things were created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” And now, through Him and his mercies toward us His body, we have everlasting life in Him (Col. 1:15-17).

The Key of David

The promise of immortality granted to believers is at the root of God’s mercies. I believe that these mercies correlate with the “key of David” in Revelation 3:7. It also goes with the “open door” given to overcomers—”doors of the shadow of death” (Job 38:17). Yahshua the Anointed frees the prisoners who are locked up behind the doors of death. I believe that it is the key [the sure mercies] of David that unlocks them.

The door was shut at the marriage feast. Those not ready were locked out. They obviously did not have the key to unlock the door; they did not have the key of David, a “man after God’s own heart.” Yahshua is the door. Enter through Him and you shall be saved (John 10:7,9; Acts 16:26-27).

After Receiving the Mercies and the Key of David

When you receive from Him the Key of David, you receive David’s power as an anointed king—the power to open doors and to shut doors.

Power. But the power that God will give to His “kings and priests” will be awarded to the sons and daughters on their merit according to their study and prayer and seeking His perfect will for their era.

At the beginning of the 1,000-year reign of Christ, the earth will lay desolate. Even a casual reading of Revelation of the events of the Tribulation Period confirms this. He will send out His spiritual offspring, resplendent in their new spiritual bodies. They will go out to the furthest reaches of the globe to help the survivors, to heal them, to feed them, to get them on their feet. They will comfort them, for most will have lost everything dear.

This is a new age, for these sons and daughters sent forth by the “King of kings” will have received their spiritual bodies. They will stride forth as immortals amongst the needy. They will walk in the full authority of the King Yahshua; they will serve their King as His viceroys and heralds, ministering in His stead.

They will attain this position, not through hubris, but through humility and brokenness and mercy and love for the unfortunate and needy. They will bring peace to the ravaged land and joy to the saddened faces. They will grant strength to the feeble and righteousness and justice to all those who long for them. They will be touched by the feelings of their infirmities.

They will, consequently, share with them the “sure mercies of David.”

Know Where Your Spiritual Growth Is–30-fold, 60-fold, or 100-Fold

All about the Fruit

The Spirit admonishes us: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (II Cor. 13: 5). We test ourselves by answering this question: Do we know and believe that it is the Spirit of Christ that dwells within us by the love that is shed abroad to all? I.e., we are examining how much of Christ’s Spirit is flowing through us.

Someone will ask, “How do we know how much of the Spirit of Christ is in us?” The short answer: If we are in the “knowing” stage of most things, then it is 30-fold growth. To distinguish 30-fold from 60-fold growth, one must look at 30-fold fruit from a childlike perspective. Just like natural children accumulate knowledge of their surroundings and nature and other people, children of God are doing the same in the spiritual realm.

A 30-fold fruit bearing child of God is attaining truth and how it relates to them personally. They are “knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him” (Rom. 6: 6). And they will “know the truth and the truth shall make you free…Whosoever commits sin is a slave to sin…” (John 8: 32-36). That’s the knowledge that the child of God is gaining. A natural child is mostly alive for what he can receive from his father. So, it is with the spiritual. A child of God is interested in receiving from his Father—receiving peace, contentment, joy, and love. And this only comes when our old self is crucified with the Lamb of God.

A Christian, bearing 60-fold fruit, has matured to the point where he or she desires to not just receive the fruit of the Spirit, but rather channel to others of those fruits. It is the developing of interpersonal relationships. One bearing 60-fold fruit is mostly alive for what they can do for the Father.

The 100-fold Christian is like Paul and Peter and John. They have Christ’s Spirit of agape love being manifested to others. They are agape love, insomuch as Christ is manifested through their vessels. They have the mind of Christ, and the will of their Father, foremost in their thinking. And the Father’s thoughts are rarified. Only a few will attain this position with Him. And they are those who are doing the will of the Father. They will be spiritually seated at His round table. They will know His purpose and His plan to accomplish it. They are His cadre who He will use to implement His government. Their thoughts are His thoughts, for their vision is His vision—a vision that subsumes and transcends national, international, worldwide, galactic and universal concerns. Christ is the exiled King, and “of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end” (Isa. 9: 6-7).

Those who grow spiritually into 100-fold fruit bearers will be in His inner circle. And don’t tell me that Christ does not have an inner circle. Think about the twelve disciples. And now there are positions to be filled. They will be leaders and administrators and ambassadors of the King as He establishes righteousness and judgment throughout the earth after the tribulation subsides. You will know that you are on the right track to become one of these princes or princesses of God if you are thinking His thoughts—His kingdom thoughts.    Kenneth Wayne Hancock

[Order my new book The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. It discusses these things and will be a help to you and your spiritual growth. It is free with free shipping. Just send to my email with name, mailing address and the title of the book, and I will get it right out to you.   wayneman5@hotmail.com

Adding Godliness to Patience

To bear the spiritual fruit that we are to bear in these last days, to be found worthy to sit with Christ on His throne, we must add to our faith certain spiritual attributes (II Pet. 1).

We are to add patience to temperance. And patience is endurance, as seen in the Greek text. We must “endure unto the end,” enduring persecution and tribulations, enduring “hardness as a good soldier” of Christ (Matthew 24:13; II Thes. 1:4; II Tim. 2:3). We must “endure all things for the elect’s sake,” especially “sound doctrine,” which are those Christ-borne teachings that attack man’s traditions that we have all been taught since childhood (II Tim. 2:10; 4:3).

And perhaps the most difficult thing to endure is the chastening of God. We must endure His correction when He begins to purge out the false teachings about Him and the immature ways we carry ourselves.

God will scourge us and prove us. He forewarns us: “My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked by Him.” For He chastens those He loves. “If we endure [this is the adding of patience/endurance] chastening [correction, disciplining], then God deals with us as sons and not bastards. When we have passed the tests, He receives us as his heirs, “that we might be partakers of His Holiness” (Heb. 12:5-10).

God endures our immaturity and our weakness and we, in turn, endure the maturing process. Understanding, accepting, and finally, welcoming these things that we must overcome—this brings spiritual maturity.

The Beginning of Godliness

Adding patience/endurance to our faith is the maturing process. Going through this maturing process brings about a reverence for God. We begin to revere Him for what He is doing and how He is including us in his plan of reproducing himself. Revering Him is adding godliness to patience/endurance.

Many say that “godliness” means “God-like-ness. It sounds good, but the word “godliness” is translated from the Greek word eusebeia (G2150), meaning reverence or respect. This Greek word is derived from eusebes (G2152), which comes from sebo (G4576), a verb meaning “to revere, to worship” (Strong’s).

We now are living by the faith of the Son of God (Gal. 2:20). There’s only one faith—Christ’s (Eph. 4:5). We are now building on His faith as we endeavor to add to it. Belief first, yes. But faith/belief alone is not enough. For “even the devils believe in one God and tremble.” Virtue and then knowledge must be added, then tempered, and then endurance is added as we overcome hardships.

As we begin to comprehend the magnitude of this heaven-directed spiritual life cycle that God has called us to, then love, devotion, awe, and reverence begin to grow in our hearts toward our Father. This is the beginning of us adding godliness/reverence to our faith. We do love Him because He first loved us. And the love of God is “shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”

This reverence for God comes when we first know about his plan. And then, as we walk in it, we endure the tribulations and chastening on the road to sonship and daughtership. Then we begin to see that we [are] receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved.” He is favoring us with this knowledge that “we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” [reverential awe] (Heb. 12:28).

Who Will Add Godliness/Reverence to the Faith?

So, all of this creates questions: Who is going to step up? Who are these people who will do the seven additions that the apostle Peter wrote to us about? They are out there. These articles are a tiny light flashing faintly in the ocean of mankind. I believe that “this little light of mine” is shining. Its rays will reach whomsoever He directs them to. Who are they? How will we know them? We will know them by their fruits. More next time.   Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Small House Churches—Not Big Church Houses

We need two or three or four disciples meeting in homes, learning how to follow Christ all the way to manifested sonship. That will do the job. God always works that way–in small gatherings in homes, not in huge state of the art auditoriums.

It is a mistake to expect thousands, hundreds, or even scores of people to respond to these truths. Why? Because as Christ said, “Few there be to find this way of truth” And, because “many are called, but few are chosen.” In other words, few will be elected for the 100 fold walk. And “where two or three are gathered together, there I am in the midst.” It will be small groups in hundreds of places throughout the earth who will eventually communicate with each other, as they get on the same page with Christ.

Are you saying that there won’t be other Christians in the big churches. There will be others, but they will have not aspired to be like the apostles and prophets of old. It is because their leaders have told them that they cannot be like the Savior. Consequently, their spiritual growth will be stunted.

Why a Small Group?  

Why? We are admonished by what happened to the tribes of Jacob/Israel. It was always a small group that really knew God and His will for their time. Look at the patriarchs, Moses, Elijah and all the prophets. They were not pastors of large congregations. They even sometimes walked alone with God. We must not think it strange to be in that condition.

After fleeing Egypt at forty, Moses tended flocks with Jethro, his father-in-law. He waited forty years on Yahweh’s visitation and direction. He like other prophets chosen by God walked on practically alone.

Elijah was so alone that he thought he was the only prophet in all of Israel. But God told him, “I have 7,000 tiny groups scattered around this world who will do My will in surrendering to Me that I may reproduce Myself in them.

Look at Gideon’s 300. 10,000 showed up to fight, but God chose out 300. He did not want them to get the big head thinking that it was their great big army that had won the day. And the 300 did it God’s way, not the way of the world, not like the megachurches. They have their audience and followers. But so do I, saith Yahweh.

The way of the prophets of Yahweh is a lonely path. It’s going to be small groups to start out. That is His way as seen throughout the scriptures. But they will go out and find others to love and help and hopefully bring into the deeper calling.

We are talking about the fulfilling of God’s purpose of reproducing Himself. Very few, if any, of the denominations believe that human beings can be used to do this. They do not believe that Christ can be formed in us.

But this message of being His son or daughter is a fire. And who can stand close to the fire? For it will burn out all the impurities and assumptions about God and will light the path for the completion of God’s plan.

The first fruit elect company of which we speak will be small in each field of grain.  Those ordained by Him to bear 100 fold fruit will have their little flocks to love and care for and nurture for God’s sake. They will be meeting in house churches after turning their backs on big church houses. They will be teaching little flocks. Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Free Copy of New Book “The Eleventh Commandment”

I am offering a free copy with free shipping of my latest book. Just send your name, mailing address, and the name of the book to my Email: wayneman5@hotmail.com

It usually takes a week or so to get it to you.

Those living outside the U.S. will receive a pdf. Let me know what you think of the book.

All the best. kwh

Riots, Looting, and Terror on the Streets–A Christian Perspective

Millions are asking, “What is happening to our cities? Why all the destruction?

Thousands of rioters bashed in thousands of targeted windows and looted upscale neighborhoods with impunity. They terrorized the owners with violent assaults. They killed several law abiding citizens. They struck fear into hearts as they destroyed shops across the nation, and the police were nowhere to be found. They subdued the weak by destroying their livelihood. Thousands of businesses were looted and torched by anarchists.

Did you think I was talking about what happened to the cities of America last week? I was not.  These are notes taken from encyclopedias concerning Crystal Night 1938 in Germany. It was “crystal” because of the shards of broken glass from over 7500 destroyed establishments. The SA brownshirts, a large paramilitary group, destroyed those businesses in Germany.

Sound familiar? America has its own paramilitary group that did so much damage to America. They call themselves Antifa, which stands for anti-fascism, they say. That is a misnomer, for their deeds are just like the fascists. They are very sneaky; they infiltrated the thousands of peaceful protestors in order to further their goals.

They want a revolution. They want to destroy the American way of life through wanton destruction of our values and culture. They are nihilists.  They proved that last week. [“Nihilism” from two dictionaries: “An approach to philosophy that holds that human life is meaningless and that all religions, laws, moral codes, and political systems are thoroughly empty and false”… “total rejection of established laws and institutions; anarchy, terrorism, or other revolutionary activity; total and absolute destructiveness, especially toward the world at large and including oneself”…  https://www.dictionary.com/browse/nihilism]

We need to understand that every revolution has a vanguard, a paramilitary branch of ruffians who bludgeon the peace loving citizenry into submission. They terrorize the populace by killing, looting, maiming and destroying the existing system.

That is what happened on Crystal Night in 1938 and last week here in America. The same thing happened with Mussolini’s blackshirt thugs in Italy in the 1920’s and the Bolsheviks in Russia in 1918. It all turns out the same, be it national socialism in Germany and fascist Italy, or communist socialism of the USSR, Cuba, and N. Korea.

The Question

The question is this: Will we allow history to repeat itself? Will we fail our children and grandchildren by losing their rights through a collective lukewarmness? Will we surrender our dreams through our inability to summon the courage to make them come true through hard work and faith? Or will we be like our ancestors, who came against those “dark designing knaves” that President Washington spoke about? It is time to look inward, you mighty men and women of valor.

For it is like what happened to Gideon in the Old Testament. The angel appeared to him and said, “The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.”

And Gideon said, in essence: “I am the poorest of the poor. I got only one little flatbread left; that is it. If the LORD is with us, then why are we a conquered nation? And where are all the miracles like when Moses brought us up out of Egypt?

And God replied, in essence: So you want to see that kind of power? Fine. I have chosen you. “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent you?” (Judges 6: 12-14).

He has given us the power to overcome all of the petty little tyrants who stand in the way of righteousness, peace, and joy. All we got to do is ask Him for the power. And then we must believe that He is answering, and we will receive that power. And “if you are down and out, feeling small,” it is okay to ask God for signs along the way. Gideon, that “mighty man of valor” did. And God gave him a flat out miracle of a sign that He is super real. But I won’t tell you about that now. You can read about it (Judges 6: 15-23).

The giants are not too big.  All the great men and women of God believed that. They are great because of their walk of faith. We still remember their names, even sometimes naming our children after them. We recount their deeds from two, three, and four thousand years ago. God wants us to be like them. That is what it is going to take to stand against the evil.      Wayneman

 

Answering the Biggie: “What’s the Purpose in Life”

As God’s sons and daughters, we search, and we receive from Him insights as to what He has done, is doing, and shall do.

Man’s most often asked question is “What’s the purpose in life?” To understand what the Father is doing, we must begin with His purpose. What is He up to? He has written the answer in the pulsing vibrancy of nature. We can look at the natural created world and see what is going on in the spiritual invisible world. “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Rom. 1: 20 NIV).

Nature is not God; it is not to be worshipped. But we can gain understanding about what nature’s Creator is doing by observing nature. The living things in both animal and vegetable kingdoms are reproducing themselves. It is in their drive, their DNA, their instincts to reproduce; it is their purpose. Look outside and you’ll see squirrels in trees with insects crawling and flying by. And their actions are derived from one purpose: to reproduce themselves.

God’s purpose? He is reproducing Himself. And that is where you and I come in. He is using you and me. That is what distinguishes humans from nature. God created us as a medium to be used to reproduce Love, for “God is love.” Agape love. That is our purpose.

It Starts with a Seed

In the natural world, it all starts with a seed. You bury a seed in the earth; it dies, and then it springs to life. It is the same with God and how He is reproducing Himself. The man Christ was the Seed. He was chosen by the invisible Father to be the Seed that through the Son, we humans could be used by God to reproduce Himself. The Seed, the Son of God, had to be sacrificed and buried in the earth, and be resurrected after three days and three nights.

He gave up His life so that those who followed His example might be resurrected with Him. To be used by God to reproduce Himself in us, we, like Christ, must choose to give up our old selfish life by letting it die on the cross in revelation with Christ. Then we are “buried with Him in baptism, and “by faith in the operation of God” who raised Him from the dead, we, too, have been “quickened together with Him” (Col. 2: 12; Rom. 6: 1-12).

We rise with Him and become new creatures that can mature like that little blade of corn in springtime’s field. He gives us of His Spirit, and He leads us into paths of growth all the way to His throneroom.

But God is sovereign and will use both “good things” and “bad things” to achieve our spiritual growth. It is like a gentle rain upon an early crop of corn. A good thing. And then a storm smashes down those tender blades with strong winds and hail. And yet the next morning the sun comes out, and its rays caress the stalks and blades of corn, and the crop raises up and dances with the joy of summer’s warmth. So it is spiritually with us.

Those whom He has called and chosen to reproduce Himself will embrace this message. They will be guided by the Spirit of truth, as He leads us into all truth—the truth as to why we are here and where we are to go and what we are to be.

The Son of God is the Great Teacher and has outlined in John 14-17 how the Father will hasten our growth. Christ has given us a series of New Commandments, that when followed, will pave the way to the door of His difficult to see Kingdom. Obeying them produces agape love growing inside our hearts. This is the Abiding. And His Spirit within will enable us to bear “much fruit.”

We are on the ultimate treasure hunt. “Its price is far above rubies.” Gold and silver cannot touch this treasure. For this treasure is what all of the civilizations that have ever populated this planet have wanted. This treasure is nothing less than Everlasting Life, nothing less than being complete Love Incarnate, with joy radiating out from the pure heart of God within us. It is nothing less than fulfilling what all of us humans have longed for—to be loved and appreciated. And those who answer this “high calling” will be in God’s family, and He will move over and let us sit with Him on His throne.

Sound farfetched? As a competent teacher, I am merely relating now what is in the text concerning sitting on God’s throne. I am not extrapolating. I am getting this knowledge from Christ’s own lips, written down by the apostle John on the isle of Patmos. “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne…” (Rev. 3: 19-21 NIV).

Several articles on the New Commandments, the Abiding, and the Spirit of truth have been published here over the past several months. It is my wish that this overview will increase understanding as to God’s purpose and how He will use us to fulfill it.

{Links to Articles: https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/?s=new+commandment+commandments

https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/?s=abiding }

[Ordering My Free Books in Paperback

I am now able to send you a copy of my books absolutely free with free shipping.  Please specify which one.

Yah Is Savior: The Road to Immortality explores the deeper meaning of our Savior’s Hebrew name Yahshua, which means Yahweh is the Savior.

The Unveiling of the Sons of God explains how the whole creation is waiting and longing for the manifestation (the unveiling) of the sons of God for these latter days. Christ will be totally formed in His elect as they will have grown and matured spiritually into His likeness and power.

The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. It explores God’s vision for us, to be kings with Christ and how He will use us to reproduce His nature of Love.

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Send your request, specifying which one of my books you desire, to my email address:  wayneman5@hotmail.com Include your name and mailing address. For those outside the United States, or who may prefer a pdf copy of the last two books mentioned, please specify.  Also, you may read the first two books online at my website Immortality Road found here:   https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com

God bless you and your family, and thank you for taking a stroll with me on Immortality Road.]

Receiving Authority to Cast Out Satan and To Heal

We saw in the October 23rd post that when we “resist the devil, he will flee from you.” We resist by thinking God’s thoughts seen in the metaphor of God’s armor (Eph. 6:13-18). The Spirit says to “arm yourselves” with the mind of Christ. Think His thoughts; they are found in the armor of God. God is the armor.

But we Christians have a problem. We are not fully dressed with His armor–His thoughts. And we wade out into the spiritual battlefield to combat our enemy, Satan. And many of us do not believe that we will have the victory over him. Many of us are plagued with the thoughts that the giants are too big. Many of us do not approach the fight like David did facing Goliath. David had no doubts about who would win. His trust was with Yahweh working through him. He defeated Goliath and the Philistines melted in fear and ran.

How did David walk in such authority? God says that we have that same power in the spiritual realm today.  He said that we now have the power to heal, to grow in His Spirit, and basically to become like the early apostles.

Questions come to mind. Why aren’t we Christians using this power more effectively? How does the power to cast out of Satan happen exactly? How does God do it through us? Knowing the truth about this will make us free of spiritual impotency when we come face to face with the enemy. Which piece of knowledge ushers us into this kind of authority over Satan?

Sovereignty

The answers lie in an understanding of God’s sovereignty. We should realize that our thoughts are not God’s thoughts initially. When we study His word, ideally we discipline our minds to think how He thinks. It is a kind of self-sacrifice, an abdicating of our innate human-centered stance in favor of our Creator’s thoughts about us and our position in the universe. And our position as His son or daughter is one with authority.

First, based on His words about Himself, God is sovereign; we are not. Mankind is so humanistic that we actually think that we make the choices that govern our existence. When all the while it was God behind the scenes working His will out on the earth’s stage. He chose us, and with His choices, He has guided our direction back to Him. “You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit…” (John 15: 16).

For we in our first state have not the power to say to ourselves, “Live on forever.” Sooner or later we are faced with that disappointing reality called death. God rules in the kingdom of men. It is not our ball game; it is His. And with purposeful precision He has laid out the ground rules for us humans.

He Created Good and Evil

God in His sovereignty, created both good and evil. “I form the light and create darkness: I make peace and create evil: I the LORD [Yahweh] do all these things” (Isa. 45:7). But why the evil? God uses evil to develop and mature the good in those whom He has chosen, which are His elect. He foreknew that mankind would have a precocious predilection for self; He made man that way. He foreknew that the humans He had created would rebel and fall; He was the producer of that tragedy—for a purpose: that mankind would cry out to Him, seeking solace from their Creator. Our tragic fall into the evil of sin would be the very environment that would produce a grateful heart upon our deliverance.

God is sovereign; He does it His own brilliant way. We would not have written the script with evil causing us to suffer. We would write it where we would not have an antagonist to struggle against. God’s thoughts are not ours, but we can make them ours.

He Created Angels To Be Our Servants

He created the angels to be “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Heb. 1:14). “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (NIV).

Lucifer is one of the angels, an angelic spirit created by YHWH to minister to the sons and daughters of God. Lucifer received orders from Yahweh to become the minister of evil here on earth. Lucifer became Satan and is the god of this world. He dispenses the evil under God’s supervision. He and his cohorts are sent to serve and minister sufferings to us. We become stronger in God when we overcome Satan and the sufferings. Therefore, Satan is my servant and minister. Yours, too. The irony is rich; what Satan means for harm, God uses for good. You cannot out-god God. All angels, then, are spirits created by God to help us reach the goals that He has set for us. They exist to help us grow up to be joint-heirs with Christ of the Father’s kingdom.

We Are Satan’s Master

Fifth, even though Satan is the minister of evil, he is an angel, and by definition, he is still serving and ministering to us. Satan is our servant. Therefore, with the Holy Spirit inside, we are Satan’s master. We have power over him. We have power from God to cast him out, “to loose the bands of wickedness and undo the heavy burdens,” and to heal those oppressed of the devil. When we resist Satan, he flees. We are to resist him in others, not just ourselves. We have power over our own servant.

When we really believe this truth, we will walk with authority, knowing the truth about our position and our enemy’s place in God’s plan and purpose. And because we understand now that we are Satan’s master, we will command him to leave and be gone from the people we love, and we will give them “beauty for ashes and the oil of joy for mourning” (Isa. 61:3).

For it is this authority, presented to us through the knowledge of the holy, that generates the power to first cast out the devil and then to heal others. Kenneth Wayne Hancock

 

“Believe Me that the Father is in Me”—Important New Commandment Leading to the Abiding

We have seen that the Father’s purpose is to multiply Himself (Love) in human beings. He is “bringing many sons unto glory.” He has a plan to accomplish this. His plan centers on His Son known as Jesus Christ to most English speakers (Hebrew name Yahshua).

Christ is the Seed/Son that through His sacrifice of the greatest love, many will receive immortality. In fact, the way to the Father is through the Son. If one rejects the Son of God, he rejects the Father because the Father is in the Son. It is how Christ did the great and mighty works; it was the Father inside of Him doing it (John 14: 9-10).

We have also seen that Christ has given His disciples, including us, New Commandments for us to keep. And it is here in John 14 that He instructs us, “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me” (v. 11). This is a commandment! A new commandment! A New Commandment with precious and powerful promises.

He says to believe Him that the Father is in Him. You won’t find this commandment in the Ten Commandments expressed like this. This commandment is new and is given to help us know the Father, the mysterious Yahweh.

The Promises after Obeying This New Commandment  

When we obey and keep this commandment to believe that the Father dwells in the Son, three great powers are promised. First, He has promised that we will do the same works and miracles that He did, and even greater works. Second, if we ask any thing in His name, He will do it.  And third, He has promised to give us the Spirit of truth who will “abide with you forever.” Christ even gives a prophecy concerning those who keep His New Commandments: The Spirit of truth “shall be in you” (John 14: 11-17).

After reading John 14, we realize that the Father Yahweh is none other than the Holy Spirit that dwelt in the Son. And Christ is simply teaching His disciples the next steps in receiving the Father’s Spirit into us. When Christ promises that He and the Father will “make our abode in” the believer, He is showing us how we are able to grow spiritually. When He abides and remains in us, much spiritual fruit will be produced in us. And that means that the Spirit of truth, the Father, will come into us literally and will remain and stay and grow in us.

All we have to do is believe and obey Christ’s New Commandments. He is the great Teacher; everybody says that He is. So now He is teaching us in John 14, 15, and 16, how to grow up to be like the Son of God. This is a key understanding of how God reproduces Himself. The key is us doing what Christ tells us to do: Believe that the Father was in the Son (among many other New Commandments).

Many of us have read these chapters in John so many times that we are coaxed into a complacency, built upon immature concepts. I am asking each of us to look into these passages with urgent and fresh eyes.

If we do this right, Christ has promised us a marvelous thing, a position with Him that every serious Christian has pondered: “He that believes on Me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14: 12). Some may think, Oh, that sounds easy enough. Just believe that the Father is in Christ, and boom, the power comes. The key point is this: Your belief in Christ is measured by your belief of His words about Himself.  And He said that the Father was in the Son.

But most have been taught that the Father and Son are two distinct personages. This is old leaven teaching. How does one get rid of it? Understanding the “Vine and Branches” metaphor shows us the way.

Christ likens our spiritual growth to the growth of a grape vine—what it goes through in order to bear much fruit. Christ likens Himself to the “true vine,” and the Father is the husbandman. We are the branches of the Vine. If we are not bearing any spiritual fruit, He will cut us off of the vine to wither without the life-giving sap, which is the Spirit. If we are bearing a little fruit, He will prune and purge us that we may bear more fruit (John 15: 1-2). This pruning and purging is when He delivers suffering into our lives. These are in the form of betrayals, heartbreaks, and hard times that prompt us to seek God in a more fervent way.

This pruning is a cleaning process. In John 15: 3, He says, “Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” Cleaned from the stain of sin first, yes. But then we must be cleansed from all old concepts about the invisible Father and the Son, who is the express image of the Father. It is Christ’s words that cleanses us “with the washing of the water by the word” (Eph. 5: 26).

His promises, when believed, are overwhelming. He commands us: “Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty [hidden] things which you know not” (Jer. 33: 3).

Believe. He commands us several times to believe. First, believe in His resurrection. Then believe that our old self is dead and that we are walking in a new life now with Him and Him in us. Next, we believe that the Father is in the Son and not sitting beside the Son. When we get this and do this, then we can be trusted to do the greater works that He promised we would do (Jn. 14: 12).

We show our love of the Savior by keeping His New Commandments. For He said, “He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves Me…If a man love Me, he will keep my words [His New Commandments], and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him” (Jn. 14: 23). This is the Abiding; this is when He grants that His Spirit remains in us!

This is so profound that it strains our credulity. This is a conditional promise made by Him who created us and loved us and saved us. He will abide in us if we believe Him—belief shown by us keeping His New Commandments. This is the abiding; this is the key to spectacular spiritual growth. Christ calls this “much fruit.” And this spiritual growth is the development of His divine nature of Agape Love within us. This fulfills His purpose of reproducing Himself in us.     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

Ordering My Free Books in Paperback

I am now able to send you a copy of my books absolutely free with free shipping.  Please specify which one.

Yah Is Savior: The Road to Immortality explores the deeper meaning of our Savior’s Hebrew name Yahshua, which means Yahweh is the Savior.

The Unveiling of the Sons of God explains how the whole creation is waiting and longing for the manifestation (the unveiling) of the sons of God for these latter days. Christ will be totally formed in His elect as they will have grown and matured spiritually into His likeness and power.

The Royal Destiny of God’s Elect. It explores God’s vision for us, to be kings with Christ and how He will use us to reproduce His nature of Love.

My latest book is The Apostles’ Doctrine. Their doctrine was Christ’s teachings. And the early church walked in those teachings. This book reveals just what they are and how to walk in them.

Send your request, specifying which one of my books you desire, to my email address:  wayneman5@hotmail.com  Include your name and mailing address. For those outside the United States, or who may prefer a pdf copy of the last two books mentioned, please specify.  Also, you may read the first two books online at my website Immortality Road found here:   https://immortalityroad.wordpress.com

God bless you and your family, and thank you for taking a stroll with me on Immortality Road.

Steps of Knowledge to Get to Christ’s New Commandments

How can I pen mere words that will serve as a key that unlocks the vault where knowledge of the Creator’s holy things are stored? What audacity! To think that we can access the treasures of the Almighty.

And yet, our Creator has already moved on holy men of old with words—words that plainly map out directions to the vault, and instructions for the treasures of wisdom found there. They expound on God’s purpose and plan. It is already written in plain English (or your mother tongue) in the Holy Bible.

But the Bible is in riddles and much mystery. You can look right at the words, yet its true meaning eludes the reader. You can stand right over the vault and not be aware of His treasures hidden inside. For most, it remains a sealed book that collects dust on a lonely shelf. Isaiah put it beautifully: “The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed” (29: 11; Rev. 5: 1). The hubris of mankind brings spiritual blindness and confusion. Consequently, the book of truth remains sadly closed to most. But now is the time for those seals to come off the book.

So, help me, Father, to explain clearly how and why your Spirit of love grows within us to full fruit production.

First: God’s purpose in creating us is to reproduce Himself. It is not about us, per se. Life is about Him using us to reproduce Himself. That is why the earth and everything in and on it exists.

Second: “God is love” (I John 4: 8). Agape love. His purpose is to grow this divine Spirit of love to its fullest extent in human beings.

Third: He is sovereign. He is in complete control of the operation of the production of His nature of love in us. He chooses whomsoever He desires to use, to fulfill His purpose. It is all Him and for Him.

Fourth: Humans are the garden that He plants His seed of love in. It is planted in us through faith when we believe the testimony of the Father’s Seed/Son. Belief in His resurrection springs to life a new seed of love inside us. As we are touched by the love that Christ showed, we receive a new life of love that begins to grow within our hearts. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (I John 4: 10).

Fifth: This little light of love wants to grow. But it is fed nutrients that stunt its growth. Christ, His apostles, and His prophets warn us of false teachings fed by false teachers (Mt. 24: 11; Jude 1; II Peter 2: 1-22). We will know them by the fruit in their followers’ lives. If the flock is still floundering in sin, then that is bad fruit, stunted fruit.

Six: Young Christians begin bearing the fruit of love, and then the Father begins to purge or prune them so that they can bear “more fruit” (John 15: 1-2). These purging can be severe. Many are taken aback with the sufferings they go through, the worst of which are the betrayals endured. Many cannot understand why God would let “bad things” happen to them. This knowledge is crucial: God is the Giver of “good things’ in our lives; He is also the Instigator of the “bad things” that happen to us [Just think of Job]. Without this knowledge, many walk away and stop trying. Most do not know that all sufferings are a part of God’s plan for our perfection/maturity. Our perfection fulfills His purpose of reproducing full blown agape love within us.

Seven: Our perfection is the maturity of God’s divine nature with us. I.e., it is full grown agape love in us and manifested out to others. “Christ in you, the hope of glory” is His goal for those chosen for this honor: To fully house LOVE. To be just like the Son of God Himself. Nothing less. He calls this bearing “much fruit.”

Eight: To accomplish this high growth in human beings, God showed Peter that we need to add seven aspects of God’s divine nature to our faith. Hence, the title of this new book is The Additions to the Faith (II Peter 1). The first six additions lay a foundation for the seventh, which is agape love.

Nine: When we bear “much fruit,” agape love will be fully reproduced in us.

Ten: Abiding in Him, and Him in us, produces “much fruit” (John 15: 5).

Eleven: Obeying Christ’s New Commandments leads to the Abiding. Christ said, “If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love…This is my commandment, That you love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15: 10, 12).

Summary: God’s purpose is to fully manifest Himself (agape love) in us. He has a plan to accomplish this goal. To get there we must add seven aspects of His divine nature to the faith. The seventh is agape love, God’s divine nature. To add agape love, we must obey Christ’s New Commandments; this leads to the abiding. And the abiding produces much fruit. [Note: Nine through Eleven above sound so simple, yet they are so profound. It takes a quiet mind through much study to grasp their meaning.]

What are these New Commandments? Here’s two of them: “Love one another as I have loved you” and “Continue in my love” (John 15: 9, 12).     Kenneth Wayne Hancock

To be continued…