|
eeeee
Choose -- Who is Lord over You
12-19-07
(Acts 2:17 KJV) And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
(Acts 2:18 KJV) And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
I believe that the day spoken of here is upon us now. The next outpouring of the Holy Spirit will bring in the greatest move of the Lord on the earth that has ever happened.
(Acts 4:32 KJV) And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
The manifestation of this kind of a heart in a person will be the outward evidence of the anointing that is given to us by the Holy Spirit. It was the outward evidence then-- and it will be the outward evidence this time also – only more so. That evidence was what Jesus was looking for in the rich young ruler when He asked him to sell all he had accumulated and give it away. The rich young ruler had claimed to be keeping all the laws of Moses from his youth up and so --the Lord Jesus was asking him to do what the law said about the accumulation of wealth. The young ruler couldn’t give his stuff away because he wasn’t accumulating it to give to those in need – he was accumulating it for himself because the accumulation of wealth is the only way a person can live a life of self-rule and get blessed.
(Acts 4:33 KJV) And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
(Acts 4:34 KJV) Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
(Acts 4:35 KJV) And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
We don’t realize what God would do to those that had that kind of a care for each other. The Scriptures say: Give and it will be given to you – good measure – pressed down -- shaken together and running over-- will God pour out to those that live like that. That is how giving is supposed to work. Giving isn’t supposed to be this thing we see today in the Church.
Today we see people giving a small amount to God called the tithe. The tithe isn’t giving of my stuff to God. The tithe is giving God what is His. Offerings are us giving to God. Compared to what they keep for themselves-- the giving of today’s Christian is only the evidence of their commitment to Jesus as Lord. They think that is God’s standard for giving and it not. We are to be stewards of God’s stuff and not owners of our own stuff. Most people don’t even give God what is His. Their giving is only to get more. It is not the giving of all of our stuff to fill up the needs of others.
Within the Body of Christ there are Doctor bills that go unpaid -- evictions – bankruptcies and foreclosures and much more. Care for each other will move God to multiply our giving a hundred fold when we give as stewards over God’s stuff instead of owners over our own stuff.
I wonder if all the people that are looking forward to this next anointing will be able to do what that anointing demands of its followers: Live by the law of the Kingdom of God that says ----(2 Cor 8:15 KJV) As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.
This will be the litmus test for all who would be Jesus’ disciple and walk in the anointing that Jesus walked in. This will eliminate all those that have some other reason for wanting the anointing -- other than just to bring in the Kingdom of God.
What if the Lord would say – Stop selling for money the revelation I have given you freely and give it away for nothing over the Internet. Then if someone wants it in book form you can sell them the book – but not the information in it. What kind of a response do you think the Lord would get from those that are selling the information that God has given them freely?
To say yes to this coming anointing and begin to walk in the reality of it and then revert back to the old ways of the kingdoms of the world -- and the Christianity of today --will bring immediate indignation from the Lord.
(Acts 5:1 KJV) But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
(Acts 5:2 KJV) And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it, at the apostles' feet.
(Acts 5:3 KJV) But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Most people think that the Lie that Peter is talking about is that Ananias said they gave all the money --when in fact --they gave only part of it. That deception is the evidence of The Lie – but The Lie was that they had said they would walk in the power of the anointing to bless them by inheritance and they went back to try to get their blessings by using the systems of the world of buying and selling to bless themselves. They turned back to the beggarly ways of the world and it cost them their lives. Are we sure we are ready to receive an anointing that demands that kind of commitment?
Lucifer turned to the beggarly ways of self-rule and it cost him everything; Adam and Eve turned to the beggarly ways of self-rule and it cost them their Kingship and Kingdom. Every person that has ever fallen into The Lie of self-rule to be blessed has paid a price that was far above the value of self-rule and blessing by the accumulation of wealth. Jesus’ words of caution about storing up should not be taken lightly by people or Churches or businesses or any other endeavor --if you want the blessings of the Lord on you.
(Acts 5:4 KJV) Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
It wasn’t the lying to Peter that killed Ananias and his wife. It was the Lie to the Holy Spirit that they would live by inheritance and then turning back that killed them. Great grace brings great indignation from God when you turn from that anointing and embrace the ways of the world systems to be blessed.
(Acts 5:5 KJV) And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
That is why no one joined themselves to this Church hastily. They saw the commitment necessary and the cost of not keeping it. Is this the kind of Church you want to be part of? It’s the kind I would love to be a part of. If you want to be a part of a Church so you can run it with all your ideas and be seen in it as a leader then there are many Churches that you can join that already exist and are run that way. We-- for sure-- don’t need another one.
In all the years that I have been following the Lord I don’t believe that I have ever heard anyone teach or preach on these verses. The whole incident is quite astounding when you stop to think on it.
Here are a man and his wife – both believers and joined to that early Church that lived in the realm of the supernatural perhaps more than any group since then. They drop dead right in front of Peter and the men with him because of how they used the wealth that the Lord had given them. My question to the Lord is – What happened Lord to make the Holy Spirit kill them-- because of what they did or didn’t do concerning money? How they used money revealed what they were committed to in their hearts.
In thinking about this --I think that I have probably come close to death many times because of how I was handling the Lord’s money. The only thing that saved me is that I was almost totally ignorant of what was expected of me by the Lord as His steward. You see – back then I didn’t see myself as a steward as much as I saw myself as an owner. I believed that what I worked for by --selling my time to my employer --was mine. Then-- I gave God the part of it that I felt was fair. Don’t get me wrong – I was and always have been a tither – but I saw the money as mine. It was mammon that I had worked to get. That is different than manna that I am given by inheritance.
I am fully persuaded that this is why the Holy Spirit hasn’t released His anointing for this time onto His people. Because after the anointing comes – and it will come --even if we are not ready for it. If after it comes and we find ourselves doing what Ananias and his wife did -- there will be a lot of dead believers in the Church.
This is my understanding on this subject. That first Church of Acts was made up of people that had been taught by the Lord the reality of the Kingdom of God and understood what it meant to make Jesus Lord of their lives. They fully understood that when Jesus is Lord we are to live by inheritance only. Our life of buying and selling and then storing up is over. We are righteous by a gift and we are blessed by inheritance when Jesus is Lord.
To live in the world and not become a part of the kingdoms of the world system of buying and selling to be blessed – we have to believe we are blessed by inheritance and when we believe that and are anointed to live that way – all things come to us by inheritance.
By that --I don’t mean that I just sit around and do nothing. It means that I’m not doing what I want to do – but I’m doing what the Lord wants to do in me and through me. Ideally-- that is what I will want to do anyway – but that isn’t always the way it starts out.
1
When I realize that I have an infinite inheritance from the Lord – I have no need to use the buying and selling system of the world so I can store up for the future. Those men and women of that first Church understood that and so --they held all their stuff as common between them and if anyone needed anything they would give their stuff to anyone in need.
You can only do that if you see and believe that all your needs and wants are met by your inheritance from the Lord. If I need anything or want something – all I have to do is make it known and it will be given to me by inheritance. Now remember – all the people that form the foundation of that kind of group have to live that way also – not just the Pastor. Any Pastor that takes a Church that doesn’t agree with that Truth is making a big mistake.
Understanding that and committing myself to that kind of life – that being my choice – reveals that I believe that the Lord will supply all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Jesus said: Before this you haven’t asked for anything in my name – His name as Lord – so now-- ask that your joy may be full.
Jesus also said: Ask and you will receive that your joy may be full. So having come to that place of relationship with the Lord and being anointed to live in the power of that kind of a relationship -- we are citizens of the Kingdom of God on earth. We are not members of a group – we are citizens of a Kingdom. Jesus is both Lord and King and He is a King of Kings. The Church isn’t an organization – it’s a governing branch of a Kingdom.
Having come to that place – Ananias – being tempted by the need for the security of self-rule – he decides that because of all the persecution from the world that they faced in their day -- he will sell some land he owns and keep some of it stored up just in case he needs it. Today that would be called – good stewardship. In the Kingdom of God that thinking is certain death.
What he has done is turn back to the systems of the world to be blessed. When he did that – he established that he lied to the Holy Spirit about his commitment to the life of the Kingdom of God. His faith in the faithfulness of the Lord to give him his inheritance each day failed him. He brought reproach to the Word of God because the Lord has promised to never leave us or forsake us and that all our needs will be met according to His riches in glory.
Since Jesus Christ died to establish blessings by inheritance and righteousness by a gift – to turn back after having made a commitment to the Lord to live that way and having received the anointing and power to live that way – Ananias placed himself outside the provision that the Cross purchased for him: to be blessed by inheritance.
Ananias was no longer of any use on the earth to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and so --the Lord took him out of the world. Perhaps he will learn it later – during the millennium when Jesus Christ demonstrates His ability to care for the citizens of His Kingdom for a thousand years.
It’s also interesting to note that Eve led Adam to stray from under the Lordship of Christ and so --died spiritually. In this case --Ananias leads Sapphira astray and they die physically. What does this show? That man can’t be trusted to keep any order unless he is walking in the fullness of the Spirit of God in him.
I believe that in the first Kingdom of God -- I call it the Alpha Kingdom -- a spiritual and physical relationship with the Lord was established. Adam and Eve walked with the Lord in the Garden and knew Him intimately. When Eve decided to turn to self-rule to be blessed --it was a decision made by her spirit man. Then-- her physical man agreed with it and took of the fruit. So it was a whole man decision – spirit soul and body. Her spirit man died instantly. By that I mean her ability to fellowship with God in her spirit was cut off. Her body would have died that same day before six o’clock in the evening if Christ hadn’t come into the Garden with a sacrifice for Sin and placed the blood of the Lamb on them.
Adam and Eve died spiritually the day they believed The Lie that they could live by self-rule and be blessed. Being born again reestablishes a spiritual relationship between the believer and the Lord. Then --Pentecost reestablished a physical relationship between us and Christ as Lord. After a Pentecost happens in our lives-- we are supposed to live by inheritance from then on.
At the first Pentecost that relationship worked for a while in the Church. Then that spirit of self-rule arose in the lives of the people -- Ananias and his wife being an example.
This next anointing -- I call the second Pentecost will again reestablish a physical relationship between us and Jesus the Christ. Jesus will not just be Lord of our spirit man – but Lord of our physical man as well. It will be evidenced by these anointed ones living by inheritance and not by the buying and selling system of the world to accumulate wealth to finance self-rule for living.
Our spiritual man submits to the Lordship of Jesus pretty easily through the new birth – but then --he gets dragged around by our soulish and physical man most of our life.
Now for the Lord to establish His Kingdom on earth – our physical man must submit to the Lordship of Jesus over us and by doing so we must receive all things by inheritance. Jesus and Abraham are examples of that type of man. Our physical man is the part of us that wants to go out and make money any way he can to bless himself and his family. Since he is going in the strength of our physical man --he must rely on buying and selling to be blessed. When he makes that method work --by getting increase – he must store up for his future.
The physical man can’t believe that he can rest and wait for inheritance to bless him. It is not in his way and so --he must be submitted to the spirit man and wait for the Lord to give direction – then the physical man can do the outward work and see his blessings come to pass.
The physical man has been in control for so long he has a really hard time waiting – but the Scriptures say – after Abraham waited --he inherited the promises that God had made to him. Note how Abraham received his blessings -- by “inheritance.”
So what happened in the case of Ananias – he fulfilled the warning of Hebrews 6:
(Heb 5:5 KJV) So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.
Not even Christ the Lord took the position of high priest upon Himself. He was appointed to that position when He submitted Himself to Jesus the King. He did that when He died to Himself and indwelt Jesus in the womb of Mary. When Christ did that – He was no longer Lord over the Universe because He created it. He was now going to be Lord over it by inheritance when His Father and our Father begot Him from the dead at the resurrection. That is the day that the Father begot Him and so said: This day have I begotten thee.
(Heb 5:6 KJV) As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
(Heb 5:7 KJV) Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
(Heb 5:8 KJV) Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
It is really important that I understand that Christ the Lord is the Creator of the Universe and He was that long before Jesus was born. Jesus the King --is King over the Earth and the Universe. Christ the Lord has indwelt Jesus the King and so-- they have become two beings existing in One person.
2
Jesus is fully a man with His own Spirit – soul and body. Christ is a Spirit being and the only body He has is Jesus’: the man that He indwells. Christ submitted Himself to Jesus the man and Jesus the man has authority on the earth because He is the one that was born into a body. You have to have a dirt body to have authority on the earth. It’s important that I understand this because that is how the next verse can say – and being made perfect.
If I don’t understand that to be made perfect I must have died to self-rule and rose again -- I won’t be able to understand dying to my self-rule to become perfect. Only that which has passed through death is made perfect in resurrection life. No life can ever become perfect unless it has died to self-rule first.
That is even true for God Himself. God has decreed that to be perfect --you must have died to self-rule and He took that Truth upon Himself when Christ submitted to Jesus the King’s approval before releasing His power and Jesus submitted His power to get wealth to Christ the Lord’s agreement and they both became perfected.
(Heb 5:9 KJV) And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Without obedience to a higher authority no one can ever become perfect.
(Heb 5:10 KJV) Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
(Heb 5:11 KJV) Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
Most people will fall into that category of being dull of hearing. This Truth is hard to explain because it takes prayer and stillness before the Lord to have Him give understanding to these Truths. Many times I write these things down and I don’t even understand them myself until I have reread them several times. These are Truths that you just don’t figure out on your own. If the Holy Spirit isn’t revealing them to you – you will not understand it or the reason for the Lord revealing it.
(Heb 5:12 KJV) For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
(Heb 5:13 KJV) For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Unskillful in the word of righteousness....What does that mean? Most people don’t understand what the righteousness of God is. How do I obtain the righteousness of God would be the question? What makes me righteous in God’s eyes? Well-- it says of Abraham in Romans four: Abraham believed God and God counted it to him for righteousness. This is saying – Abraham believed the promises that God made to him in Gen.12 and 17 and because he believed what God said to him-- about blessing him and multiplying him by inheritance and then acted on those promises by leaving Ur – God counted him righteous and perfect.
What a blessed man this man Abraham is. Is he blessed more than me or you? Not if I will do as he did: believe God and obey Him by receiving all things by inheritance.
So -- the righteousness of God is living by gift righteousness and increase by inheritance. That is what makes you righteous in God’s eyes. That is why the Lord said to seek the Kingdom of God – that is become a citizen of the Kingdom by being born again. Then seek to be righteous by inheriting all things from God.
This whole thing is foolishness to the person that is seeking to be blessed by using the world’s system of buying and selling to be blessed and living by self-rule. They not only won’t get it – they don’t want to understand it -- because if they did -- it would mean doing what the Lord told the rich young ruler to do and that is impossible to a man that wants to become rich in this world’s goods so he can live by self-rule.
(Heb 5:14 KJV) But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
I am eighty one years old and I have been following Jesus for fifty years and I have never heard or read any of the things that the Lord is speaking to me now. I believe that the anointing of the double portion is really close – but the readiness of the Body of Christ to hear it is lacking. Ananias and his wife are examples of not being ready to hear and understand the seriousness of what is coming upon the Church. So the Lord exhorts us to -----
(Heb 6:1 KJV) Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
(Heb 6:2 KJV) Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment
(Heb 6:3 KJV) And this will we do, if God permit.
We will only be able to safely proceed when the Lord permits us to go forward. That means that we can’t even act on this Truth when we understand it until the Lord says -- Ok --you are ready -- Now go forth and do what I have shown you.
It is no great Sin not to be ready. It is only a great Sin to not want to get ready. It is only a great Sin to want to be our own lord more than we want Jesus to be Lord over us. Those that don’t want the Lordship of Jesus over them-- will definitely` not get it
At this point we are like the priests of Israel waiting at the brink of the Jordan river. Their toes were in the water – they had determined to leave the wilderness of self-rule.
If we push forward on our own --we will be swept away in the river of self-rule. That river of self-rule must open as the Jordan did for Israel in order to pass over safely. The Jordan river opened up and forced the waters to back all the way back to the city of Adam because that is where self-rule was born into the human race.
(Heb 6:4 KJV) For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
(Heb 6:5 KJV) And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
“World” here could be translated: “Messianic age to come.”
(Heb 6:6 KJV) If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
3
In this anointing that is coming we will taste of the heavenly gift of blessings by inheritance and be made partakers of the Holy Spirit’s goodness and live in the reality of the powers of the Omega Kingdom of God – if we turn back after that experience --there is nothing more that the Lord can do for us to establish us as representatives of His Kingdom on earth. If we turn back --there is no reason for us to remain here on the earth and just as Ananias and his wife experienced – the Lord will take us out of the world immediately.
(Heb 6:7 KJV) For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
(Heb 6:8 KJV) But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
This rain of the Spirit of God onto the earth causes all things to grow – both good and bad. We are the ones that decide which we will be – herbs to feed those that chose the blessings of God by inheritance and righteousness by a gift --- or thorns and briers of the world’s system of buying and selling to store up for self-rule – fit to be burned.
(Heb 6:9 KJV) But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
(Heb 6:10 KJV) For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
(Heb 6:11 KJV) And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
(Heb 6:12 KJV) That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Notice how we get the promises: we “Inherit” them and we will not get them any other way.
(Heb 6:13 KJV) For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
(Heb 6:14 KJV) Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
Blessing I will bless thee is righteousness by a gift through the Lordship of Jesus in our lives. Multiplying I will multiply thee is increase by inheritance.
(Heb 6:15 KJV) And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
We are in the time period of waiting patiently through the struggle of the powers of hell trying to get us to forsake The Truth and do things our own way to get out of these trials and temptations. The enemy keeps saying-- get blessed and increased any way you can. No! Wait for the Lord to direct us and don’t move until you are sure the Lord has spoken to you.
Grace For Living Kingdom Blessings
GFL
THERE IS AN EXPLANATION CHART FOR THIS LESSON CLICK HERE
|
