THIS GREAT MYSTERY

Ephesians 3:9, 10 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

During this time, we are beholding the culmination of all things. As the manifestation of evil grows more bold, so does the requirement for those whom God has called and chosen for this hour to let their light so shine as to dispel this gross darkness. We are witnessing with our own eyes the epic struggle of good versus evil… and we must choose this day whom we will serve; whose voice we will follow. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me,” John 10:27. Just as a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit… so those who are not the Lord’s will not follow after Him, nor keep His teachings. This is how we know who is who; by the fruit that they bear. John 5:30 “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” Our ‘will’ is a non-issue…period. If we are following Christ, then one of the first requirements of being His disciple is that of laying down our own will and our absolute acceptance of HIS will for us. 1 John 4:17 “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.” As we do this, a transforming work is done within our inner man. It is not accomplished in the twinkling of an eye, as we would like. It usually is a lifelong process of being changed and brought into conformity to the mind of Christ. We are all at different stages in this work of spiritual maturing. We are all individual’s…. and the Lord deals with each one of us as He deems needful.

When God deals with us on a personal level about something specific, it has great impact. We don’t need anyone else to tell us…. We know that we are facing an issue where we must choose… to obey or disobey. Here is where our enemy ‘reason’ rears its ugly head. We can ‘reason away’ what the Spirit is quickening to us very easily…. but we do so at our own peril. As long as we are comfortably involved in the religious systems of men, we have the added support of popular opinion and interpretation. It is not an easy thing to break with tradition. It is not comfortable to choose a different path. Breaking away from the familiar is one of the most difficult things for us to do, yet it is exactly what the Lord requires of His followers. When we follow the doctrines and tenets of man… we are not following Christ. When we ‘fit-in’ with the ‘Christian status-quo’ of our denomination… we are not following Christ. We can have all manner of ‘forms of godliness’ and still fail to be followers of Jesus Christ. Does that possibility make you uncomfortable? Do you cringe at the prospect of having to severe relationships… of giving up creature comforts… of being ostracized and openly rejected by friends and family? Well be forewarned, if you choose to obey the things that the Spirit quickens to your inner man and walk in obedience to what the Lord reveals to you as being a requirement for your life, all the aforementioned things will take place.

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” 2 Corinthians 6:14. For many, it is a struggle to separate themselves from other professed believers. There is a very strongly embedded attitude throughout the Church world, of giving the benefit of the doubt… of making excuses and avoiding at all costs calling things as they really are. As we near the end of this age, there is an unprecedented pressure to compromise for the sake of peace, and a false concept that tolerance of evil and error is somehow pleasing to the God we serve. This attitude may be fine for the wishy-washy people-pleasers… but has no place abiding within a child of the King. I challenge you to read through the Gospels taking special note of just how Jesus addressed people, you might be very surprised. There was nothing wimpy about the Christ of God. He walked this earth in the authority of the Godhead. He saw through the false fronts and into the hearts of those who came to Him. At times He spoke very harshly, by any standards, exposing those who were His enemies for what they were….. John 8:43-44 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Jesus did not judge by their outward appearance, their social status, their material possessions, all the things that we go by when we encounter individuals. He judged all things by His Spirit. We, as His followers, are to follow His example in all things. We too, must grow up in Christ and learn to hear and heed what the Spirit is telling us. That is what walking in the Spirit is all about. Not making our own judgments, nor following our own agenda’s, but being Spirit led in all things. What is true fellowship? How much of what we engage in is fellowshipping from the realm of the Spirit… and how much is simply socializing from the realm of the flesh. Building one another up with an “I’m o.k. your o.k.” atta-boy pat on the back is not fellowship; it is flesh. No one is ever going to grow up in their personal relationship with God if all they ever get is affirmation that ‘God loves you just as you are, you don’t have to do anything but say a sinner’s prayer.” Many would be utterly appalled to be told that the wrath of a Holy God is the only thing they are going to receive for such conduct. We have become so conditioned to hearing the false presentations of the Gospel of Christ that we have become desensitized to the truths contained in the sacred scriptures, accepting false and erroneous teachings without questioning their validity. Truly we are deserving of being compared to dumb sheep. The great deceiver has had thousands of years to pollute, distort and twist the scriptures to his own ends… that of keeping people from ever grasping the truth and causing them rather to believe lies. Jesus said in Mark 7:7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. “O,” you say, “that is those other churches out there, those other religions, those other denominations, that doesn’t apply to us.” Really?

Ephesians 3:9, 10 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

We are the heirs of this great mystery, that is older than time itself. How can we begin to comprehend that all things were created by Jesus Christ? Right down to the things which we must suffer in this life? How does our human understanding begin to compute that God’s ways are foreign to this world, when this world is all we have ever known? Yet as we allow the Holy Spirit to do the unseen work within our inner man, we are changed into His likeness. It is foolishness to the natural man. This concept of dying to our flesh and all of its lusts, and living according to the power of the Spirit of God is utterly incomprehensible to all that do not know God. Yet we can possess the mind of Christ. We can live in these fleshly bodies, on this darkened and corrupted planet, and at the same time be alive by the Spirit and experience the wisdom of God being made manifest in our lives. In fact, there is no ‘other way.’ There has never been a more critical time for the people of God than today. What we as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are called to do is to become “followers of HIM.” Not just in word, but in practice. And God alone knows how to bring each one of us into the place He has prepared for us to hold. We are the desire of His heart. That we might know HIM, and walk in close communion with Him, by the power of the Spirit He has placed within us. Striving in the power of our flesh and intellect only serve to keep us from entering into that relationship.

Isaiah 30:20, 21 “And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself any more, but your eyes will constantly behold your Teacher. And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way; walk in it, when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left.” Amplified.

We need to know people… that we do not judge by the seeing of our eyes and the hearing of our ears…. We do not judge according to our own desires and perceived wants and needs…. We judge by the Word of God and by the life quickening Spirit of God. We need to press in to KNOW HIM, as never before. Judgment belongs to the Lord, and His wrath against all ungodliness is what is coming, first to the Church, and then to the world at large, and nothing is going to stop it. If we are to have any hope of reaching the lost, we must be walking in the power of the Spirit. Fire is coming, and all that is not of God is going to be utterly consumed by this fire. Now is the time to prepare. We are no different than the saints and patriarchs that have gone before us. The nature of man has not changed, and the nature of God is ever the same. What He has purposed will come to pass. We have the choice to be among those who rejoice at His appearing, or among those who wail in terror and try to hide among the rocks. As you read the Word, put yourself in the shoes of those you are reading about. They felt the same exact kinds of emotions, fears, weaknesses and confusion that we feel. Discover what set them apart and made them different from the people around them.

Look at Noah:
Genesis 6:9 This is the history of the generations of Noah. Noah was a just and righteous man, blameless in his [evil] generation; Noah walked [in habitual fellowship] with God. The world that Noah lived in was just as corrupt as the world we live in today…yet Noah did not compromise with the world, but chose to walk in habitual fellowship with God! We can do the very same thing, in fact that is exactly what we are called to do.

Here is a quote from Ron Schwartz’ “Poets Of The Spirit” that ties in:

James 1:22 KJV “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

The word “doers” comes from the Greek word poietes, which means a maker, author, performer, and from which our English word poet is derived. The etymology of the word means “one who does” and can refer to any sort of doer. However, during the time of Christ and His apostles, it came to have a special reference to literary poets. This word is not the same word used for work, nor is it a reference to a laborer. It carries with it the idea of performance or creation of something, and therefore suggests an artistic proficiency by doing something so often that it becomes a natural part of life.

Because this word is translated as both “doer” and “poet” in the scripture, we understand that it is describing something more than mere mechanical obedience. James had something more in mind when he wrote this passage. If he wanted to say that, he would have used a form of a word like obedient. Instead of describing blind, mechanical obedience to the law, he was describing the artistic performance of God’s love in a way that draws all those around us. Because when the Spirit works through us, it is poetic, not perfunctory as a slave obeying a taskmaster. (God had mindless obedience through the Old Testament, but He has something different in mind with the New Testament.)

When poets performed on their outdoor stages, the public was drawn to watch and listen. People would cease doing that with which they were involved and go to see the artists. They would become drawn into their poetry and hang on every word. That is what being a doer of the word is all about. We are to show the majesty of serving God. We are to attract people with our service. We are to be living examples of God’s grace, to demonstrate His love to those around us. We are to lift Jesus high, and in doing so all men will be drawn unto Him. [end quote].

We know all too well how to conform to what men ask and require of us, but we know very little of what God asks and requires of us. Modern Christianity has created their own god. Why? Because they have chosen to refuse to take up their own cross and follow Christ, regardless of how loudly they proclaim that they are doing the work of the Lord. We cannot do what is right in our own eyes, and be led by the Spirit of God at the same time. We can never do by ‘works’ anything of lasting value that will stand when the judgment of God is in the world. All of our ‘works’ will be consumed and destroyed. The concept of the destruction of all the religious systems that mankind has created down through the ages is unfathomable to the natural man. We worship the works of our hands, whether we want to acknowledge it or not. We love the beautiful edifices we build. We love the pleasing music we sing. We love to sit under the latest, greatest most acclaimed ministers. We love to get a ‘word’ from the ‘man of the hour’ telling us how much God loves us and how great we are doing.

We may know that Jesus said in John 15:20 “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.” But we fail to take to heart that He meant it. If we would walk in the Spirit, we will most definitely suffer persecution. Why? The answer is very simply put in John 3:19 “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” We are living in an evil generation just as Noah did; just as Lot did, and just as God judged the world of Noah with the flood, and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire, we can be assured that the rampant sin and apostasy of today’s world will not be allowed to continue much longer.

We can debate our opinions as to who or what Babylon represents in the scriptures, but we cannot disregard the warnings:
Revelation 18:4 “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Some say this is speaking of the Church, some say America, some have other ideas. Regardless of specifically what Babylon is a type for: it clearly is not a good place to be. What we need to recognize is the fact that God never said He would give us all understanding prior to, He said that He would give us “all things that we have need of.” [Luke 12:30]. What we can conclude, is that there is most definitely a place we need to come out of. It cannot be a nation, or simply a physical place, because the judgment of God is going to encompass the entire world. There is no safe place…no island of neutrality…where one could flee to. The modern day Ark of Noah, is to be found in our relationship with God.

Jesus said in Matthew 10:25 “It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?” And again in Luke 6:40 “The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.” If we are of the household of God, then we are not going to be the most popular kid on the block. If they hated Jesus, then they will hate us as well. This is a part of our cross-bearing. Romans 8:13, 14 “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” That is a pretty strong statement, and rather exclusive is it not? What about those who use the name of God, but operate in their own strength and understanding, are they not the sons of God? Is being led by the Spirit of God that important? Consider this passage in Hebrews 12:3-8 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. I fear we have many bastards running the show today. Do you think that sounds too harsh? Then Jesus was pretty harsh when He said in Matthew 23:2-10 The scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses' seat [of authority]. So observe and practice all they tell you; but do not do what they do, for they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy loads, hard to bear, and place them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not lift a finger to help bear them. They do all their works to be seen of men; for they make wide their phylacteries (small cases enclosing certain Scripture passages, worn during prayer on the left arm and forehead) and make long their fringes [worn by all male Israelites, according to the command]. And they take pleasure in and [thus] love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, And to be greeted with honor in the marketplaces and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi (teacher), for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone [in the church] on earth father, for you have one Father, Who is in heaven. And you must not be called masters (leaders), for you have one Master (Leader), the Christ.

If we are to accept and believe Jesus’ words here, then we have all erred along the way. As the darkness increases in the world, so do the errors people hold. We have prosperity ‘masters’ laying heavy loads on the masses, telling them to give them their money as a means of gaining wealth themselves. It is like the Church version of a pyramid scheme, only they twist scripture and use peoples greed to their own ends. The only ones getting rich are the leaders, who are blind to how grossly offensive this kind of manipulation is to God, because they have already crossed the line into full-blown deception. Now they are obsessed with spreading their message, accumulating more wealth, it becomes a never-ending cycle. How did we ever allow things to get to this state? Why does no one take a stand for truth and justice today? Why do we have no qualms about paying honor and respect to men, while we resist against bestowing the same and even greater honor on God? Why do we balk at keeping His commandments, at being obedient? Is it not because obedience burns our flesh? Do we not realize that our flesh, our carnal nature, the ‘old man’ will not go quietly, but kicking and screaming all the way?

There is no escaping the fact that we are required to put our flesh under, and live by the Spirit of God. And ironically, we can’t even do this of ourselves. In fact, God has so orchestrated this way He has called us to walk, so as to make us totally dependent on Himself for all things. As the Apostle Paul so aptly put it in the 7th Chapter of Romans… vs. 19 “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.”

Notice in the above passage what Jesus told the disciples, (which is what we are if we are following Christ, so He is speaking to us here), He said to “observe and practice all they tell you.” Remember that at that time they did not have printing presses… the people did not have their own copies of the Old Testament books to refer to in their own homes whenever they wanted. The only way to hear and learn was by going to the synagogues and listening to the scriptures being read aloud. Notice also the next statement: “but do not do what they do, for they preach, but do not practice.” This is the defining point. Practicing what you preach. In our flesh, our practice may look good to other men, but how quickly we forget that God sees the very thoughts and intents of our hearts. We can deceive others, we can even deceive ourselves, but we will never deceive God. That realization alone should sober us, and give us pause to consider what we are holding to, who we are willing to follow, and ultimately where we will be spending eternity, should it not? Stop believing the lies.

We can behold Him.

We can die to our flesh.

We can live by the power of the Spirit of God in these mortal bodies.

We can be more than overcomers.

We can set the captives free.

We can break down the strongholds of the enemy.

But only by the power of the Spirit within….

Never by the power of our flesh, or our own ways and means.

I feel to close here with the words of the Apostle Paul, who was well acquainted with suffering as well as comprehending the knowledge of God:

Eph 3:16-21 May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality]. May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God's devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it]; [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]! Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]-- To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever.

Amen (so be it).

C. Morris
7/10/07