Brothers and Sisters,

During a recent study I found this:

In due time… the spiritual Gentiles, who are the uncalled and the many called but yet unchosen, that currently do not know God (1Th 4:5) will also be partakers of Christ. All will partake; not one crumb in Adam will be forsaken, eternally banished or expelled from partaking of every jot and tittle of the good news of Jesus Christ.

1Th 4:5 Not^G3361 in^G1722 the lust^G3806 of concupiscence,^G1939 even^G2532 as ^G2509 the^G3588 Gentiles^G1484 which know^G1492 not^G3361 God:^G2316

I did not understand this… probably still don’t, but when I took a closer look at that verse and the original Greek words behind it, I found the following:

G3806 παθος pathos path’- os From the alternate of G3958; properly suffering (“pathos”), that is, (subjectively) a passion (especially concupiscence): – (inordinate) affection, lust. G1939 επιθυμια epithumia ep- ee- thoo- mee’- ah From G1937; a longing (especially for what is forbidden): – concupiscence, desire, lust (after).

The word translated ‘lust’ when properly translated is ‘suffering’. Concupiscence is a longing (especially for what is forbidden):

From this I conclude that longing for forbidden things is equal to suffering. Now, when I examine myself, I know that at this point in my walk I am far from being free of this “longing for forbidden things”, and I also suffer from this longing. It’s there, I fall, and I hate it. “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death” is a verse which regularly crosses my mind.

What I can’t grasp are the words “which know not God”. I suffer these lusts even as the Gentiles, and know not God, or I suffer these lusts in a way other than the Gentiles, but I do suffer these lusts.

I’m wondering if I am the only one who suffers these lusts or as one matures in the knowledge of God, do these sufferings, these forbidden lusts, go away?

This makes my head spin.

Your brother in Christ,

R____

Hi R____,

Thank you for your question, and thank you for this very informative bit of information you have given us about the root meaning of the word ‘lust’. This is a very instructive opportunity you have given us with your honest and open question concerning your own struggles against “the lust of the flesh”.

You ask:

… as one matures in the knowledge of God, do these sufferings, these forbidden lusts, go away?

Being of advanced years and having been a slave to my own lusts for the better part of these years, I am happy to be able to inform you that I have been exactly where you are, and that I, too, came to my “wits’ end” (Psa 119:21-31) before being granted domination over those ‘suffering’ lusts.

You ask, “Do they go away?” The short answer is that as long as you and I are in bodies of “corruptible flesh [which] cannot inherit the kingdom of God” those lusts will be ever present. However, I can honestly and joyfully report to you that the spirit of Christ is growing within you, and that spirit will continue to grow until the very thought of succumbing to those lusts and committing those “trespasses and sins” will literally nauseate you to the point of rejecting that evil spirit before it can bring forth evil fruit.

I must be as honest with you as you have been with me, and I tell you that ‘falling seven times’ and coming to see our own helplessness against our inward beast is a life-long process that is all necessary and essential to bring us to cry out to our Lord:

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

It is obvious that Paul had the same passions and lusts with which you and I suffer. For this very reason our Lord tells us this:

Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

This is a life-long struggle, but is not unique to you or me. It is “common to [all] men.”

Act 14:15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We [Paul and Barnabas] also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:

Jas 5:17 Elias [Elijah] was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

While we are crying out “O wretched man that I am!”, Christ is still faithful and is still there within those in whom He has placed a desire to please Him over all other desires. We will fail “seven times” until we realize that we have nothing to do with our deliverance. Nevertheless, we have this incredible promise to those who are granted to understand that they are but “common” men called out of this world by a very uncommon and loving heavenly Father:

1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

“That ye may be able to bear it” does not say ‘that you may be able to avoid it’. As you have heard me say so many times, that “way of escape” is not through a ‘rapture’ away from God’s wrath upon that suffering “old man… [that] first man Adam”, but it is rather through his destruction, through the Red Sea, through the fiery furnace, through the lion’s den, through the death of the cross and through being “crucified with Christ” that we escape “the body of this death” (Rom 7:24).

As hard as it is for us to believe, Christ identifies with us ‘while we are yet in our sins’ to the point that He comes into us in these bodies of sinful flesh, and ‘while we were yet in sins’ He died for us, so that we, with Him in our flesh, can fill up what is behind of His afflictions as the trespass offering which He, as our “without sin… sin offering” could not fulfill until He came into our sinful flesh. That is why we are told that we are now “of His flesh, and of His bones”. Now He is dying in us and “filling up what was behind of His afflictions”.

Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

A savior ‘suffers for’ and ‘dies for’ those He loves. You and I are to be ‘saviors’ so we, too, must ‘suffer in our flesh for His body’s sake, which is the church.

Oba 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

We cannot deny that He is living within us even as we are “dying daily” to our passions and lusts. It is through Him living within us that we are able to “die daily” (1Co 15:31). “We are of His flesh and of His bones” (Eph 5:30):

1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

The orthodox Christian world denies that Christ came in a body of sinful flesh “the same… as the children” of Abraham.

Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of [sinful] flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

Christ came in a body of sinful flesh, yet He never sinned. He never committed a single trespass. Now, as “His body… the church”, He has come in the flesh of that body, and it is through these bodies of sinful flesh that we fill up His afflictions as the trespass offering of “Jesus of Nazareth” which we are.

Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Act 22:8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

“We are… His flesh”. Yes, of course Christ came in a body of flesh which was “the same [as] the children” but He has also come “a second time without [a body of] sin, unto salvation” into these bodies of sinful flesh, which are you and me, as “Jesus of Nazareth”, now able to be a ‘trespass offering” as well as a ‘sin offering’ “which knew no sin.”

Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

If Christ’s second appearing is “without sin” and “to them that look for Him”, then how did He come the first time but in a body which was “the same [as] the children, corruptible flesh”, which did not see corruption only because it was raised from the dead before it could decay?

The work Christ is performing is a two-stage work involving His literal death on the cross as well as our ‘dying daily’ death in these bodies of sinful flesh and blood. This two-stage work is twice revealed to us in the offering of the scapegoat and in the offering of the two birds for the cleansing of the leper.

Lev 14:50 And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel [Christ in an earthly, Adamic body of flesh] over running water:
Lev 14:51 And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, [you and me, if we are “in Christ”] and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times:
Lev 14:52 And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet:

Lev 16:8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats;  one lot for the LORD [Christ], and the other lot for the scapegoat “His Christ].
Lev 16:9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
Lev 16:10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. [We, too, as the trespass offering, must die. But as Christ’s scapegoat, we must “die daily, [and] fill up in our bodies what is behind of the afflictions of the Christ, for His body’s sake which is the church” (Col 1:24).

The cleansing and the atonement are not made with only one bird or one goat, but both “the living bird” and the scapegoat “make an atonement with” our Lord, as “His Christ”.

Romans 4 makes this clear when we know that the word translated as ‘for’ in this verse is the Greek word ‘dia‘ meaning ‘through’. Christ and His Father work by and through His body which is the church.

Rom 4:25 Who was delivered for [Greek: dia, ‘through’] our offences [our trespasses], and was raised again for [Greek: dia, ‘through’] our justification.

Act 4:26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

I will close with Paul’s own answer to the question he posed earlier. Here is how you will overcome lust and all the sins in your life. You, yourself will first be brought to know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you cannot “make war with the beast”. After that lesson is learned by experience, then you, too, can say with the apostle Paul:

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

It is “through Jesus Christ our Lord” that you will one day be make physically sick at the very thought of giving in to the lusts and passions that once gave your flesh such momentary and deadly pleasures, and “through” Him “sin shall no longer have dominion over you”, but you will have dominion over that sin.

Be patient, that day is coming. When it gets here, you will know peace of mind like you have never known before:

Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

Those two verses work together for our good.

Your brother in your struggles,

Mike

Hi Mike,

I just wanted to ask for your prayers and advice as I feel I have just been squandering my life away spiritually for a while now. I see the road ahead of me and how great the trials will be and at the same time how incredibly strong the pulls of the flesh are in my everyday life right now. I see the prayer requests of others and it makes me so sad to read about the trials that others are having to endure. All that wrapped up just makes me very depressed. It seems the beast only grows uglier, and I am avoiding facing the beast. I feel like I have so many flaws that I don’t know which to face first. I can’t think of a single redeemable characteristic of my own that I would say is good, even by the world’s standards. I am selfish, unloving, ungrateful, insecure, unwise, secretive, addictions to so many things and everything else. I am terrified of having to face all of it.
Have you ever come to a point in your walk where you felt like you had been thrown out for the time being? Like you were no longer blessed with the fruits of the knowledge of Christ? I don’t even feel like I seek what the body of Christ seeks and therefore have no place in the body….

N____

Hi N___,
It is always good to hear from you, even when you are feeling so low in spirit.

The answer to your question is, yes, I have “felt like I had been thrown out for the time being. Like I was no longer blessed with the fruits of the knowledge of Christ. I knew I wasn’t seeking what the body of Christ seeks and therefore have no place in the body….” It is only at that point that Christ will ever really take up His abode within us. This experience is the “great falling away” Paul refers to in 2Th 2. Not coming to this knowledge is the very thing which “withholds… letteth”, the coming of Christ to take up His abode within us.

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth [ Greek, katecho] that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [ Greek, katecho] will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

“The spirit of His mouth, and… the brightness of His coming” are one and the same event. It is the Word of God becoming something before which we fear and tremble, to the point that it is far more powerful in our lives than the pulls of our flesh.
That state of mind cannot come until you have come to the state you describe in this e- mail and you come to that realization a symbolic “seven times”.

Pro 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

The fact that you have written me about this trial means you are a just man who will rise again. So rejoice that you have been counted worthy to suffer for Christ and have been granted to see that the beast is within you personally and that he is in the process of being destroyed by the word of Christ and the brightness of His coming into your life.

You are always in my prayers.
Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Hi, Mike,

This is simply a straight forward question. Have you had a conversion just like the apostles did on the day of Pentecost, and I don’t mean cloven tongues of fire or a sound like a rushing mighty wind or speaking in other tongues, etc? Thanks.

Yours in Christ,
T____

Hi T____,

Thank you for your question. You ask if I have had the same experience that the apostles experienced on the day of Pentecost?
Yes, I certainly have. One day I was nothing more than a beast ruled by his passions and lusts, and the next day I realized that I would never again, Lord willing, go back to all that vomit. I was just as changed as the apostles who one day fled from and denied their Lord, and fifty days later were endowed with the power to be willing to go to prison and even die for their Lord.
The New Testament is just as full of types and shadows as the Old Testament. Christ taught in types and shadows which He called parables. The days of unleavened bread came fifty days prior to the day of Pentecost, as a shadow of the spiritual fact that our conversion takes seven times seven plus one. Pentecost is interpreted ‘count fifty’. Our conversion takes place only after we have “fallen seven times” and we come face to face with the undeniable fact that we can do nothing of ourselves but to deny and curse the name of our Lord. Jacob bowed himself before Esau seven times as a type and a shadow of how we all must acknowledge our own helplessness before our flesh. But just like Peter who already knew Christ, this acknowledgment of the power of his flesh over his life, was not given to Jacob until after he had wrestled all night long with Christ and had become a physical cripple. It was as a physical cripple that Jacob became a symbol of a spiritually strong man who had “prevailed with God”.
Eventually we come to see that not even our sins and submitting ourselves to Esau is of ourselves.

Gen 33:3  And he himself [ Jacob] passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.[ Esau]

No man yet has ever been truly converted until he, like Jacob, like King David, like Peter and like the apostle Paul, comes to realize that he is a complete slave to his own flesh and blood. Only after that acknowledgment can the miracle of conversion that took place on the day of Pentecost be worked within any of us.

Mat 26:69  Now Peter was sitting without in the court: and a maid came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus the Galilaean.
Mat 26:70  But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
Mat 26:71  And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and saith unto them that were there, This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth.
Mat 26:72  And again he denied with an oath, I know not the man.
Mat 26:73  And after a little while they that stood by came and said to Peter, Of a truth thou also art one of them; for thy speech maketh thee known.
Mat 26:74  Then began he to curse and to swear, I know not the man. And straightway the cock crew.
Mat 26:75  And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
Pro 24:16  For a righteous man falleth seven times, and riseth up again; But the wicked are overthrown by calamity.

As all the examples above prove, we are all “the wicked… overthrown by calamity.” We all “fall seven times”, meaning we come to see that we are of ourselves, a complete failure. We all “bow seven times” to our own flesh, and then in God’s sovereign mercy, we “rise again” as “a righteous man”.

Pro 16:1  The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but [ how] to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

It was both a literal and a figurative sevens of days after denying and cursing that he did not know Christ, that Peter was given the mind and spirit of Christ, and he was then, for the first time, able to see and to say the things he saw and said on the day of Pentecost.
Have I had this experience? “Simply and straightforwardly” I can honestly say, emphatically yes, I certainly have. I first had a false Pentecostal experience with a false tongue, and many years later I was given a tongue, which speaks of the “hidden wisdom… in demonstration of the spirit and power” and a tongue which never “thinks above what is written”, just as Peter was given on the day of Pentecost.

1Co 2:4  And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1Co 2:5  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
1Co 2:6  Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdo m, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
1Co 2:8  Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [ it], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
1Co 4:6  And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think [ of men] above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.

Christ said that “His words were spirit and life.”

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth [ Greek, gives life]; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life

So verse 10 of 1Co 2 explains the meaning of “the demonstration of the spirit” in verse 4. Peter was quoting the written words of God in Act 2 on the day of Pentecost, and those who were given eyes to see and ears to hear received those words and began the process of conversion that had already been working in Peter and the other apostles.

Luk 22:31  And the Lord said, Simon, Simon [ Peter], behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Those for whom Christ prays “before His Father” will not fail. It is all His work, but we are still to admonish one another and “provoke one another unto love and to good works”.

Mat 10:32  Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 10:33  But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

I thank God that He is doing that very thing to me through brothers like you. Christ’s words are the tongues of fire that are resting on our lives, and they are also the rushing of His mighty spirit in our lives.
I hope this has answered your question about my ‘day of Pentecost’ experience. If not, then please let me know.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Mike,

Subject: is there an article on iswasandwillbe about the true meaning of removing your eye if it offends you?

Thanks,
E____

Hi E___,
Thank you for your question. You ask:

Is there an article on iswasandwillbe about the true meaning of removing your eye if it offends you?

I could not find an e- mail which answered this question, so I will answer it now. Here are the verses to which you refer.

Mar 9:43  And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Mar 9:44  Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Mar 9:45  And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Mar 9:46  Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Mar 9:47  And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

The Old Testament scriptures are clearly against any puncturing, or tattooing of the human body.

Lev 19:28  You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD. (NASB)

From a spiritual perspective, any mutilation to our God- given physical body, including tattoos or cutting off any of our physical members, is an attempt on our part to glorify the flesh or in some way to improve upon what God has done.
But as the scriptures themselves demonstrate so many times, Christ’s parables do not mean what they say, because they simply are “not [ written] in words that man’s wisdom teaches, but which the holy spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”

1Co 2:13  Which things also [“the deep things of God,” vs 10]  we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The fact that these verses in Mark are not to be understood literally is clear from the fact that Christ says “It is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one hand… one foot… and one eye than having two hands, feet and eyes to be cast into hell.”
No man has ever been born whose hands have not worked evil.

Isa 2:8  Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:

No man who has ever been born has ‘walked’ without offence. We have all “walked in darkness”, and we have all stumbled and fallen.

Psa 12:8  The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.
Psa 78:10  They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;
Pro 2:13  Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
Isa 8:14  And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Isa 8:15  And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

The eyes of every person who has ever been born have been offensive.

Pro 28:22  He that hasteth to be rich [ hath] an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.
Mar 7:21  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Mar 7:22  Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
Mar 7:23  All these evil things come from within, and defile the man

If these words are to be taken literally, then we must conclude that every person in the kingdom of God has no hands feet or eyes. But that, of course is not the case because the point of this statement by our Lord is a spiritual point made with spiritual words which are “not words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the holy spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”
The “spiritual thing” in an “evil eye… feet that stumble… and the work of our own hands” is that these things all have one thing in common. That one “spiritual thing” is to please the flesh and in so doing to worship “our father the Devil.” This is all done in rebellion against the words and precepts of our true Father, our Creator.

Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44  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.
Rom 6:16  Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who [ is] like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

Admonitions and reproofs of instruction are God’s way of doing His work within us.

Pro 6:23  For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

Admonitions and reproofs of instruction in no way mean that of ourselves we are doing those works that we are admonished and instructed to do. The fact of the matter is that we will not heed or be admonished or instructed until we have “fallen seven times” and have offended our heavenly father “seventy times seven”. Only then, after we have been forced to acknowledge the helplessness of our own fleshly strength to save ourselves, will we with Job acknowledge that while we are indeed admonished to work, it is really God who is working any good or even any desire or will to do good that we may have or do.

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

It is God who is working in us, admonishing us with these words.

Rom 6:19  I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield y our members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

 If we yield our “members”, our hands, feet and eyes, in obedience to God and His precepts we will spiritually be “cutting off… the work of our own hands, cutting off a stumbling walk and cutting off an evil eye.”  In other words what Christ is saying is that we are to take whatever steps are needed to ‘cut off’ those things in our lives which give an occasion to our flesh to satisfy itself without even asking what the scriptures reveal to be the will of God in my life? We are to seek to please God first in all we do.

Pro 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

If we do not “acknowledge Him in all of our ways”, He will not direct our paths in the ways of righteousness. He will instead “cause us to err.”

Isa 63:17  O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

That is right; it is all predestined and “made” to happen by God Himself.

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

Being predestinated does not change the fact that no true son of God does anything he does, simply because he wants to do so. Instead he always asks, How will the things I do glorify my heavenly Father?

1Co 10:31  Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

I hope these verses of scripture help you to see what our Lord is saying in Mar 9:43-47. He is not teaching self mutilation. What He is telling those who can receive “words that are not according to man’s wisdom” is that if we yield members to serve and obey sin, we will die in our sins to be raised up in the second resurrection, to be judged in the lake of fire “prepared for the Devil and his angels”. But if we “seek first the kingdom of God”, we will be in that blessed and holy first resurrection to live and reign with Him for a thousand years.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

M____ wrote:
Hi Mike, I pray this letter finds you blessed and at rest In Him.  I was thinking last night about the Parable of the Lost son (Prodigal) and the process of salvation as it relates to me (& all others).  For years I related to the elder son more so than the Prodigal.   I always felt like it was an appropriate and effective parable to encourage people who have lived the type of life described by the younger son that they can & should repent and be accepted by their Heavenly Father despite their outwardly overt sinful ways, but I was always surprised I did not hear more sermons/ teachings on the self righteous, jealous attidute of the elder brother (in his mind “had no need of repentence” and was really like the 99) who looked good on the outside and appeared to be doing and living right but on the inside was full of sin and the same lusts and prideful attitude of his younger brother – he just did not yet act on it in the same way his younger brother did (Also, his attitude was just like the attitude of Jonah who also was self- righteous and did not want Ninevah (the rest of humanity) saved – and did not like the ways of his Father – same with Job in terms of his self- righteous attitude).    So when I had an opportunity a few years ago I taught to my local church about what I was “seeing” in the elder brother and his attitude (I taught from what little light I had on the subject as I was still tangled and in full belief of the many Unscriptural Doctrines of the church).  At the time, I could not say to my church that the Prodigal represented my lifestyle.  BUT I was actually worse than the prodigal as I confessed that at times past I exemplied the attitude of the elder brother and we should be careful to watch our own attitude (not just our outward sins) and that to me it was easy to pick on the prodigal (overt outward sin) than it is to see the hidden inward sin of the elder (me) and see who we really are even though we are good at covering it up to others and even to ourselves.  It was received well.  NOW, I see that I am the prodigal in that I had asked my “Father to give me the portion of goods that falls to me” (Esau attitude) with my ‘bless me now – give me my physical riches now (so I could be a good witness I rationalized) and all my physical blessings now’ attitude while I “sop up” all the false doctrines and un pure milk of the word with the other “swine” that could not receive His Pearls (Meat) nor did we want to until I by His Spirit “came to myself” and “saw” (the eyes of my understanding beginning to be enlightened) that I was NOT spiritually well off and I was NOT worthy as I (although unintentionally) had squandered the Word (His True Riches) that was given to me.  Even though I was ignorant to my own blindness, ignorant to my own deception and thought I had the right intentions, I still felt the shame of it and was very humbled by it all. Why do I share this summary?  I think it is a relevent revelation to the process of salvation (your paper on the 7 steps on the site).  Even though step 6 in the history of Israel they (we) are carried off to Babylon captivity where we are to come out of her my people (step 7 of the maturing/ salvation process) Israel (we) may have been held captive in babylon during step 6 but Israel (we) were in babylon the whole time in the wilderness (tares and wheat grow toggether until the harvest) after their initial cleansing (step 2 – passing through the red sea) (and even during the time spent in Egypt (pre “coming to the Lord”) is just an earlier part of Babylon) – they just did not realize that the whole time (our whole lives) they (we) were held captive in babylon (in bondage but did not know it) – even after our conversion (passing through Jordan and entering the promise land – step 4 & 5) and overcome the passions and pulls of the flesh (giants in the land) being seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus in spiritual Canaan.  Many of the people in the called church because sin (overt outward sin like the prodigal) may no longer have dominion over us (actual change in lifestyle and behavior) we still don’t see the depth of the inward sin (beast) and all the lies and un pure word of Babylon partly Because we think we have entered into the promise land and it is that doctrine that got us here  YET, the real repentance has not even begun as we have not come out of spiritual babylon (we don’t even know we are in it – we think it is somebody else) let alone are held captive and in bondage to it.  So, while there is an order step 1-7, we go may go through this process many times (7 times we must fail) before we realize that while the giants in the land may no longer have dominion over of us, we have not overcome the REAL Spiritual GIANTS in the land (principalities and powers in high places) – which are spiritual fornication and being unequally yoked to false doctrines – and until we do, it may appear we are converted but by no means are we mature and fully converted (not sure if fully converted is a scriptural term, but the only way I can explain it – perhaps mature is a strong enough word as it differs from a minor). Hope what I am saying is making sense and is accurate and edifying. The Parable of the Lost Son   
11 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons.
12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood.
13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.
14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.
15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,
19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”‘
20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring[ b] out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.
23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;
24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.
27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’
28 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.
29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.
30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’
31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.
32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.'” Blessings, M____

Hi M____,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You are exactly right. It is very hard to relay to most, but when we say that Christ is, was, and will be, what we are saying is that the ‘is’ is, was and will be, the ‘was’ is, was and will be, and the ‘will be’ is, was and will be.
Yes, every step in the progression to salvation is taken over and over. That is why it is called “the doctrine of baptism s. As we decrease, He increases. But the “dying daily” is something that must continue till there are no more days in which to die.
As we mature in Christ we see that we are both the prodigal and the elder son, both the 99 and the one lost sheep, both the publican and the Pharisee, the woman caught in adultery and the self- righteous men who drag her before Christ. We come to see that we must live by every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God. We come to see that “all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” are all in us all. We finally see that all that Adam is, is within us all.
I am greatly encouraged to see your growth in the things of the spirit. I pray that God will grant that you will just remain faithful through the tribulations that lie ahead.
I have every confidence that He who has begun a good work in you will finish it.
Mike

Hello Mike,

I was reading some of your email responses, and you were telling somebody, “Only then does He give us strength we did not have before though we sought it for many years and continued to blaspheme His name among the heathen, while we claim His name.”

This really hit home. I am that person right now in my life. This past summer, Christ began to draw me to Him in a far different path than I had ever experienced. For the first time in my life, I was living by the doctrine of Christ and no other doctrine. I had dominion over sin that I had struggled with for so long. Every day I had the power of Christ working in me and I didn’t live a single moment – rather, I was dying moment by moment. And the ironic thing is – these were very stressful months of my life, yet Christ gave me the ability to comfort others rather than whine about my own problems. It was a completely different life – a night and day change happened overnight and I thanked God every moment with singing.

Then something shifted – I sank into the deepest valley of my life – which I am still in. Rather than having dominion over sin, I feel I am worshiping sin. I have lost my love for the Truth. I have lost all happiness or contentedness. Death is a constant thought – I feel like I am going insane – deep depression that completely takes away all rationalism. My loneliness is kept hidden from my family, and I have no friends. I have become so ashamed of who I am that I can’t function in social settings. In my mind, I feel as if I am fully convinced that I am completely sin. In my mind, I have witnessed the beast within me, and yet I feel powerless to this beast. Because I am so convinced that I can do nothing, I do nothing. And here is my problem – my concern.

I have cried out to God in anger many times that he would keep me from spiritual rest for nearly six months now. I have cried out for understanding as to what God is doing. I desire change, and there is never change. I have gotten to the point where I see myself capable of far worse things. I have these thoughts and fears that I am turning into the kind of person we call our worst sinners in society. Do you understand? If this is God’s process of showing me how completely sinful I am, then that purpose is being achieved. So much so that I know I will never see myself the same again and that the only road left is Christ, I hope.

I don’t suppose I have any question. It was just important for me to share this. You talk many times on your website about the process of realizing our complete sinful nature. I just wanted to “submit” this as a testament to that process. I had no idea the depths of sin. Come to think of it, I can’t tell you how much it means to be able to write all of this to somebody. I come to your site and read your words, and they provide a wellspring in my heart – a moment of refreshment and Truth. The few times I have corresponded with you, I felt like I was speaking with a brother – one of the few people in this world that I could identify with. I feel like I am hearing your voice from afar, though.

N____

Good Morning N____,

I want you to know that I am and I will continue to be praying for you.

I think that you and I both know that what you are enduring at this time is not just a struggle with your flesh; it is rather nothing less than spiritual warfare. Here is what is right now taking place within you:

Rev 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
Rev 12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven [in the mind and heart of you and me]; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Rev 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
Rev 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and [to] his throne.

The fact that “his tail drew a third part of the stars of heaven” tells us that this is a process you are enduring. The number three in God’s word signifies a process. We are not completed in a moment. Even after we are finally brought out of the wilderness and given strength to fight the giants in our land, we still must “endure to the end.” Even in the ‘land of promise’ we find that it is yet in down payment and not in the fullness of the inheritance. The struggles against “powers and principalities” actually intensify after we come out of the wilderness. The Lord is still showing us where we are. He knows where we are, but we must yet come to see ourselves as He sees us. “Dying daily” continues right up to the day we die. This is a process, and it takes time just to come to the point that sin does not have dominion over us. I know what you are going through. I too, thought that I had dominion over sin, long before that was so.

Rest assured, that day does come, and only then have we entered into His rest. Only then have we come to see deeply that nothing we do is of ourselves:

Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Rom 6:13 Neither yield ye your members [as] instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members [as] instruments of righteousness unto God.
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Rom 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Rom 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Rom 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Rom 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
Rom 6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Rom 6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things [is] death.
Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

“Free from sin” is the power and dominion over sin. It is the power to say ‘no’ to Potiphar’s wife and to the captain of the prison, who only yesterday were your masters. But this, too, is a process.

Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

Notice the comparison of this great red dragon with the beast which is in us all:

Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

Both have seven heads and ten horns. What this tells us is that we are completely (7) given to the desires of the flesh (10 – see the series of studies on Numbers in Scripture). Every one of our seven heads is given power to resist the law of Christ by our ten horns. But look at who, at this time, empowers our flesh:

Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat [Greek: thronos, throne], and great authority.

So the truth of this verse is confirmed in us.

Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].

This struggle is within us all. This “spiritual wickedness” is in the heavens of you and me. It was all ordained from “before the foundation of the world.”

Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

“The Christ” of Christ are all “in Him.” As such they partake of all of His sufferings:

1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, [ as] silver and gold, from your vain conversation [ received] by tradition from your fathers;
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
1Pe 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

Col 1:24 Now, am I rejoicing in the sufferings on your behalf, and am filling up the things that lack of the tribulations of the Christ, in my flesh, in behalf of his body, which is the assembly,

Both Peter and Paul had, in their own way, denied Christ and had placed stripes upon Him. Both had an appreciation of what He had done for them. We, too, have denied our Lord, and we, too, must come to appreciate what He has done and is doing for us.

It was for us that “the things in the heavens themselves” had to be cleansed with better things then the blood of calves and goats:

Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves [the hearts and minds of His elect] with better sacrifices than these.

“In Him… For you!” Here is what He can and will do “in Him, and for you:”

Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

I want you to remind yourself of the Truth of that verse all day every day. You really are a conqueror of your flesh and spirit “through Christ.” Any evil spirit which tries to convince you otherwise is a liar. I will close with Paul’s advice to us all after reminding us that we wrestle not with flesh and blood but with spiritual wickedness in our heavens:

Eph 6:13; Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

I am praying with and for you. “You can do all things through Christ.”

Mike

Hello Mike.

I am a Christian who loves your site.

But I have a problem. In spite of all the revelations and all, I have a problem and I need your prayers and advice.

I somehow got hooked to pornography, smoking and masturbation after many years in the Lord. I need help. Can you pray with me and give me some advice.

I really need help. I am ashamed of  this behavior. Hope to hear from you soon.

Hi,
I certainly will pray with you that God will give you the strength to take dominion over sin in your life.
Don’t let anyone tell you that you cannot, through Christ in you, overcome sin in your life. Christ did not die to sin so you could live in it. He died to sin so you could die to sin also. This is what God’s Word teaches concerning sin in your life:

Rom 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also [ in the likeness] of [ his] resurrection:
Rom 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with [ him], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7  For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Rom 6:8  Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

Having said all of that, you need to be aware that this is not accomplished in us overnight. In Truth we are told:

Pro 24:16  For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

“Falleth seven times” does not mean seven times at all. It will much more likely be seventy times seven. What ‘seven times’ does mean is that we all must come to see that “we can of our own selves do nothing.” What we must come to see is that we of ourselves are a complete disaster, hopelessly sold under sin. We must come to see that of ourselves we are “enmity against God… not subject to the law of God neither indeed [ capable] of being subject to God’s law.” Only after we come to understand this fact of our very makeup at the hands of the great Potter Himself, does the Potter crush us to powder and then make us a new man in Christ.

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make [ it].

Only then does He give us strength we did not have before though we sought it for many years and continued to blaspheme His name among the heathen, while we claim His name.
The apostle Paul did this and forced others to do so:

Act 26:11  And I punished them [ Christians] oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.

Realize that you must and you will overcome sin in your life when you indeed have Christ as your captain. But also realize that salvation is a process. Read the letter entitled Seven Steps to Salvation and learn to be patient. God will in His time bring you to despise and abhor the weaknesses which are now your masters. He will one day, just out of the blue, bring you to realize that you are never going there again.
I speak from experience. But learn to be both vigilant and patient. Here is a very important scripture of which you need to be aware:

Luk 21:19  In your patience possess ye your souls.

Beg God daily to give to your the spiritual strength to overcome the Adversary who will never miss an opportunity to tempt you.  Eventually Christ in you will make you able to do this:

Jas 4:7  Submit [ yourself] therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

I hope these brief words give you some direction and some hope that one day soon you will be able to say:

Phi 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

I am praying for you as so many have prayed for me!
Mike

Dear Mike,

The information on the website is unmistakenly revealing and inspired by God. He led you into a wonderful work and may all who are meant to receive from it be led to your site. Question: I quit smoking and started again. I don’t like to smoke. But I do it still. Is God causing me to do it? How do I quit? Will He cause me to quit? I still don’t quite understand some things in regard to God’s causing everything. Will God cause me to overcome? I want to have victory of the things in the flesh. If God wills that we do certain things and not do other things, does He cause us to be able to do or not do what He wants?

One other question: Do you have some insight as to the coming of the Lord? Is it imminent? The bible says only the Father knows. Does prophecy reveal anything? I used to believe what is being taught by our so- called prophecy experts of Christendom but no longer after God revealed some things to me in your site. Hope you can help. May God keep you and all of yours under the shadow of His wings as you continue to stand your ground in His will and purpose!

J____

Hi J____,

Thank you for your words of encouragement and thank your for your questions.

You ask:

Will God cause me to overcome? I want to have victory of the things in the flesh. If God wills that we do certain things and not do other things does He cause us to be able to do or not do what He wants?

Yes, you will overcome. It will not be because of your will; it will be because of His grace.

It is of the utmost importance to God that you realize that your overcoming is not of you, not of the flesh. That is why God has given us flesh that is so weak that it desires to do things that it knows are not good for the flesh.

I suspect that you are already aware that ‘grace’ is a verb as well as a noun. I hope that you understand that grace “chastens us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live godly lives in this present world. If you are not aware of this facet of grace, go to the ‘Strong Delusion’ article and read the section on ‘The Purpose And Function Of Grace.’ You will soon see that “where sin abounds, grace doth much more abound,” simply means that ‘where sin abounds, God’s chastening grace does much more abound.’

So, to answer your question directly; yes, “If God wills that we do certain things and not do other things … He cause[ s] us to be able to do or not do what He wants?”

Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

This verse of scripture is total foolishness to the ‘called’ but not ‘chosen’ churches of Christendom. It stands in direct contradiction to the cornerstone of their theology, the unscriptural doctrine of free moral agency. God tells us that “it is God who works in you BOTH to WILL AND TO DO of His good pleasure.” This is the plain teaching of scripture from Genesis to Revelation. It is “The Potter” Himself who creates a marred clay vessel that wants to smoke cigarettes and cigars and eat so much sugar that he becomes diabetic, and looks at pornography and a million other counter- productive, self- destructive weaknesses.

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter:

It is nowhere to be found in scripture that the vessel that was made of clay was marred either of its own free will or by the will of the Adversary. Here is the plain Truth of God’s Word. And it is a consistent message from Genesis to Revelation:

Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Yet Billy Graham, D. James Kennedy, R. C. Sproll, John Hagee, Paul Crouch and the entire orthodox Christian world will tell you that ‘Yes, God is sovereign, but He will never cause you to do anything against your own will.’ Such double talk is a contradiction of both their own proclamation of God’s sovereignty and of scripture.

Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

So yes, God caused you to want to smoke cigarettes or whatever it is that you smoke. But he made you that way in Adam. And the reason for making a ‘marred vessel’ first is revealed in that same verse of Jeremiah:

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Jer 18:5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

God did not “make man in His image” and leave it at that. God and His Word have a character that is totally unknown in today’s orthodox churches. God Word is “the Alpha and the Omega, Him that is, was and will be.” Christ is the cause of both the first and the last Adam. You smoke because God made you of weak, corruptible, naked dust. You will be brought to despise smoking as you are reborn into the true image of the son of God.

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

This being “conformed to the image of His Son’ is the “chastens us to forsake ungodliness” of Titus two, and it is the “so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it” of Jer 18.

There is a reason for all of this struggling that the elect must endure. Here is the reason for ‘the trial of your faith,’:

Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Just as Christ had to experience the weaknesses of the flesh to become the “captain of our salvation,” even so must we endure the same temptations “that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.”

The elect of God are “as He is”:

1Jn 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.

I hope that this gives you the hope and patience to endure the “seven times [ that] a just man must fall” before he rises again.

Pro 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

The “seven times,” is to tell us that we of ourselves must understand that we are complete in our failures to overcome based on the strength of the flesh. The “riseth up again” is the overcoming of that weakness through “Christ in you.”

The day is coming, when you will despise the desire to smoke, but it will be Christ in you and not you.

I will leave you with the words of our Lord:

Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

God is working His work on His schedule. You will overcome. Help is on its way in God’s time.

Yes, I do believe that the return of Christ is imminent. It would take several pages to explain why. While I am confident that Christ’s return is imminent, I am equally confident that our main concern is to be “keeping our garments.”

Rev 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. Rev 3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

If we “keep our garments,” “that day will not overtake you as a thief.”

1Th 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1Th 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

It would take a spiritual blind man to fail to see the times we live in. If you can make it to any of our conferences, you will meet the most crushed, dedicated and sincere people on earth, and you will get many answers to any questions you may have.

I have spoken on “The universal consumption that God has decreed upon the earth.”

Isa 28:22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
Isa 10:22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, [ yet] a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
Isa 10:23 For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.

The times we live in are “the beginning of sorrows” and will never let up until Christ’s return in power to establish an outward kingdom which as yet has never been. It will be ruled by those in whom it has been inwardly in existence ever since Christ’s first coming.

I hope I’ve answered your questions to your satisfaction.

Mike