Properly Discerning the Body of Messiah – The Book

NEW BOOK RELEASE – NOW AVAILABLE!

The past forty-four years of ministry have been a wondrous adventure of exploring the fathomless depth of His plan and purpose for my life. There have been times along the way that I thought that my journey was coming to an end, and then there have those moments when seeing a new horizon challenged my heart to continue to pursue the undiscovered aspects of His purpose for my life. I think it would be safe to say that my life in Him would be best characterized by a glorious quest for the REALITY of the TRUTH and a better understanding of HIS ORIGINAL INTENT. That quest has led me down paths that were long since grown over due to a lack of travel. It has also led me to the reality of the truth concerning our history, heritage and legacy as the people of Yahweh.

“Our history and heritage as a people is not limited to our personal religious experiences or our basic human understanding.”

It has led me to the reality of the truth concerning His original intent for all of creation. It has led me to a better understanding of the answers to the basic questions of life.

Question # 1: Who am I?

Answer: I AM a SON…

Question # 2: What is my reason for living?

Answer: To fulfill the practical will and purpose of Yahweh for my life…

Question # 3: Where am I going?

Answer: My present understanding of the Eternal Now has granted me entrance into the Eternal Kingdom, where I am living and abiding forever, life without end…

• How do the answers to these questions fit into His plan and purpose for my life?

The answers to these questions will lead us to our manifest destiny as sons of the Kingdom of Yahweh.

Now Available!

Click here to acquire a copy of this book today! 

The Apostolic Commission – Pt 1

The following passage of Scripture was received by my wife (Julia) on June 16, 2009 at 12:00 a.m. in the morning. I thought that it was a true word for that time, and it continues to speak to where we are in this season.   

Isaiah 6:8–13   And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “‘Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.  And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump. ESV

 In the past five-plus years this passage of scripture has come to mean a lot more to us than it did when it was first quickened to my wife, and while we continue to look for the land of our fathers and the people of our tribe, we know in our heart that His seed still remains like the stump of a tree that has been cut down. The seed lives…BELIEVE!

Note: The past decade for many of us has been about stripping, gutting and crushing everything about our lives and ministries.

 It was like being demoted, downsized and exiled to the back side of the desert. It was like being publically humiliated and paraded through the streets naked for all to see and mock. It was like being laid open, vulnerable and exposed to the elements. (Stripped)

 Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ESV

Philippians 3:7-8 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. ESV

 Philippians 4:12– I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ESV

It was like having your entrails ripped out by a meat hook and drawn and quartered by a team of wild horses. It was like not having the strength or courage to continue. It was like your head is on the chopping block and all you have known of life has come to an end. (Gutting)

 It was like carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, while trying to breathe with an elephant sitting on your chest. It was like everything in your world was imploding and collapsing in on itself. (Crushing)

 Note: I have come to understand that everything that we have become apart from Him is dying or being systematically killed off.

 Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ESV

Colossians 2:9-15 For  in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,  and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,  by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.

This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

In Him we live, move and have our being is becoming our new reality, and for me to live is Messiah and to die is gain, is our reasonable service.

Question: What has this season been all about?

1). This season has been about dying to ourselves and learning to live in, by and through Him.

Acts 17:26-28 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said,“‘For we are indeed his offspring.

Ephesians 2:4-7 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,  even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—  and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

He made us alive together.

He raised us up together.

We are now seated with Him in Heavenly places. (This truth speaks to the past, present and future) – (Purpose–That He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in the ages to come)

 

The Apostolic Commission – Pt 2

2). This season has been about going down, descending and fading away. It has taken us through the dark night of the soul, the valley of the shadow of death, and levels of unmitigated HELL. And like Yahshua, we have learned the importance of being obedient by the things we have suffered.

Ephesian 4:9-10 – (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)

Hebrews 5:8-9  Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.  And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

1 Peter 3:18-19 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,  in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison,

Note: If we are to know Him in the power of His resurrection, we are going to have to be willing to start at the bottom of the list and learn the way of humility and suffering.

 Philippians 3:10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. NKJV

Note: Knowing Him in the power of His resurrection requires being conformed to His death and sharing in the fellowship of His sufferings. The only way up is down. The only way out is in.  We will go down and become nobody in the eyes of all of creation. We will become of no reputation before we will know the power of His resurrection. Dying don’t come easy; but it is mandatory. There is no other way to live in, by and through Him.

 3). This season has been about learning to hear the voice of the Spirit, and obeying His directives for our lives. It has been about being led by Holy Spirit into the ascended life and the consummation of all things.

John 5:24  “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

Romans 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

4). This season has been about discovering our inheritance as sons and making us responsible citizens of His Kingdom.

5). This season has been about learning to live by faith, being empowered by Holy Spirit and trusting Yahweh with our life and future. It has been about NOT being moved by what we see, hear feel or think.

2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

6). This season has been about preparing us for the great spiritual awakening of His sons in this generation. He has torn, healed and raised us up together. He has wounded, bruised and chastened us so that we can be touched and moved by the feeling of humanities weaknesses.

Note: Religion and government are the same. They are all about power and control. He who has the power has the control…

 Note: His sons are waking up to who they are NOT in Him, and it is nothing nice. They have come to understand that they have been denied access and lied to by the forefathers and religious leaders of our time. They are angry, disappointed and determined to break out of the prisons that have kept them bondage for so long. There is a great escape and migration taking place as I speak and they are all singing the same song. ‘We’re not gonna take it – anymore’

7). This season has been about us finding one another in life and becoming properly related to one another in the ongoing apostolic work. It has been about finding points of agreement around which we can align, and about forming alliances with those with whom you can work more closely.

It has been about coming together for His greater Kingdom purpose.

Note: The problem as I see it is, after ten years, many of us are still wandering around in the wilderness, going around the mountain and twiddling our thumbs, as it pertains to the Kingdom Equation and  a better conclusion.  

The Kingdom Equation;

 Agreement + Alignment + Alliance = Advancement

Note: Holy Spirit spoke to me the other day and said; “The last ten years has only been a prelude to what is coming, if my people don’t sincerely repent, change and amend our ways”

The question still remains; “whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”

The Apostolic Ministry

1 Corinthians 4:1-21 Don’t imagine us leaders to be something we aren’t. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God’s most sublime secrets, not security guards posted to protect them. The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don’t even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I’m not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn’t mean much. The Master makes that judgment. So don’t get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of—inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the “Well done!” of God. All I’m doing right now, friends, is showing how these things pertain to Apollos and me so that you will learn restraint and not rush into making judgments without knowing all the facts. It’s important to look at things from God’s point of view. I would rather not see you inflating or deflating reputations based on mere hearsay. For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even if they did, is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what’s the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need. You already have more access to God than you can handle. Without bringing either Apollos or me into it, you’re sitting on top of the world—at least God’s world—and we’re right there, sitting alongside you! It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message on stage in a theater in which no one wants to buy a ticket. We’re something everyone stands around and stares at, like an accident in the street. We’re the Messiah’s misfits. You might be sure of yourselves, but we live in the midst of frailties and uncertainties.

You might be well-thought-of by others, but we’re mostly kicked around. Much of the time we don’t have enough to eat, we wear patched and threadbare clothes, we get doors slammed in our faces, and we pick up odd jobs anywhere we can to eke out a living. When they call us names, we say, “God bless you.” When they spread rumors about us, we put in a good word for them. We’re treated like garbage, potato peelings from the culture’s kitchen. And it’s not getting any better. I’m not writing all this as a neighborhood scold just to make you feel rotten. I’m writing as a father to you, my children. I love you and want you to grow up well, not spoiled. There are a lot of people around who can’t wait to tell you what you’ve done wrong, but there aren’t many fathers willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up. It was as Jesus helped me proclaim God’s Message to you that I became your father. I’m not, you know, asking you to do anything I’m not already doing myself. This is why I sent Timothy to you earlier. He is also my dear son, and true to the Master. He will refresh your memory on the instructions I regularly give all the churches on the way of Christ. I know there are some among you who are so full of themselves they never listen to anyone, let alone me. They don’t think I’ll ever show up in person. But I’ll be there sooner than you think, God willing, and then we’ll see if they’re full of anything but hot air. God’s Way is not a matter of mere talk; it’s an empowered life. So how should I prepare to come to you? As a severe disciplinarian who makes you toe the mark? Or as a good friend and counselor who wants to share heart-to-heart with you? You decide. TMSG

The Measure of the Man

Note: The answers to the following questions are a good measure of the man.

“Sonship is our destiny and our inheritance is wrapped up in discovery” blh

1). What is Holy Spirit saying to you today?

2). If you were free and at liberty to live your life any way you wanted, how would you choose to live the life you’ve been given?

3). Will the witness of your life be worth the blood that was shed on that day?

4). At the end of the day, when you draw your last breath, who will be standing by to take up the torch in your stead?

Note: If we are not able to clearly answer the first two questions, the answers to the last two questions will be unclear. And that should serve to help us determine where we are in the process of spiritual growth and development or the making of the man.

Note: The answers to these questions will also help us to better determine the level of care and degree of oversight that is needed to help others lay hold of their destiny and come into their inheritance as sons.  

“It is the responsibility of every son, in every generation, to catch and embrace the heart and Spirit of the Father in their lifetime”

The Making of A Man

“It is the responsibility of every son, in every generation, to catch and embrace the heart and Spirit of the Father in their lifetime”

•  There are six stages of growth and development

 1. Brephos – an unborn or new born 

2. Nephos- an infant, little child 

3. Paidon- a young half grown child 

4. Teknon- a adolescent, young person

5. Huios- a young adult, mature son

6.  Pater- a father

Galatians 3:28-29 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

SON – hyios (huios) – properly, a son (by birth or adoption); (figuratively) anyone sharing the same nature as their Father. For the believer, becoming a son of GOD begins with being reborn (adopted) by the Heavenly Father – through Christ (the work of the eternal Son). In the N.T. hyios (“son”) equally refers to female believers.

 Romans 8:14 – For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

 “The cycle of discipleship is not complete until the discipled becomes the discipler”

 Note: The pat-ayr’ [pater] is no more or less a son than a brephos, but an unborn baby is still being formed in his mother’s womb. If the matrix in which he is being formed is the family and local work, then it needs to be safe and secure place for him to grow and develop. Even a brephos can distinguish the sound of the voice of his mom and dad when they enter the room. It has been proven that he responds to the sound of his parent’s voice even in the earliest stages of life. That being said, even though he responds to the sound of their voices, he does not fully comprehend what they are saying. It is only when he is kicking to get out of the matrix of the womb, that he will take his first independent breath of life. He will need both his mother, father and family to help him learn, grow and become all that he can be. Learning to hear and obey the voice of the Father should be a big part of his training and upbringing. Praying and studying the bible does not teach us to hear. Learning and responding to the heart of the Father in His SONS is how we grow in the grace and knowledge of the truth.

 “Sonship is our destiny and our inheritance is wrapped up in discovery”