You are Your Heart

 "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." Where did I read that?
I'll bet Jesus said it. Having said that one, let me mention the one that
everyone loves to hold so dear, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves. The truth is not in us." Now, briefly, on this, this author
is reflecting on a point in our metamorphosis as it were, before, during
and after, concerning the chronology of our relationship, regarding the
timeline of our stages from before we believed, until fullness of
stature.

 Frequently however, whoever reads this passage automatically puts it
singularly into present tense, disregarding what is said before and
after, or disregarding what is implied in the context of the total
discourse. In other words, they take it out of context. Thereby, they justify
themselves according to an isolated scripture, popped right out of the
page all by itself, for convenience. What a mature thing to do if you've
been around the faith for a while.

  While it is true, we were formed in sin and it is our nature, it is
not God's nature. Our nature nevertheless, is crucified with Him, but
not automatically, in practice, as we live it out. Moreover, we are to
experience His nature. He paid a great, great g-r-e-a-t price to enable
us to do that. We insult and offend Him if we don't, as did Israel in
the wilderness where they tempted God and wandered for ever. 

 And what do you think in your heart, of yourself, of others, of the
Lord? Examine yourself? It is profoundly important. It makes you or
breaks you in your Christian walk in your relationship to Him. Jesus spoke
in one of the passages that "Whoso looks on a woman, to lust after her,
hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." In other words,
he commited adultery, though there was no contact, no conversation. The
man committed adultery by thinking in his heart towards her, by
imagining. What is it but that he transgressed the Lord in a mere instant, in
a moment of thought? Where? In his heart. He was made guilty by mere
thought unaccompanied by any follow through action!  How is it
transgression without action? Well, the Lord didn't think it; you did.* If you
did and you didn't have to, then you have transgressed. (Aye, whatsoever
doth make manifest is light, ?tis how you know.)
  "Oh but I have to," you say. For it says right here that "If we say
that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves." Therefore I must necessarily
automatically be in transgression. Right? (And don't confuse temptation
with sin.) Then how is it that there is no condemnation if you walk
after the spirit? Is it not because you don't sin if you do walk
accordingly? Or are you saying that you can simply sin without measure and the no condemnation rule still applies because He did something to rectify
it, and is letting you ride? It isn't how it feels, is it? Read your scripture.

  By our unwillingness and unbelief only, we are given to it. It is our
state and our practice, but not what He imparts, if we would receive
it. It is our rightful condemnation if we do not walk after the spirit.
Therefore the future is all we have to look forward to, because Jesus
died so that we could be saved, then suffer defeat until the end.
Clearly! But what saith it? "There is no condemnation to those who walk not
after the flesh, but after the spirit." Clearly this indicates that there
is condemnation, if you walk after the flesh, and he was not talking to
unbelievers here. Just as he was saying that there is no condemnation
if you walk after the spirit.  For the lusts of the flesh (the natural
man) are what lead to the transgression.

  I should just have to stop here rather than dwell, but that isn't the
reality of the situation. "Walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill
the lusts of the flesh." What are they? Covetousness, which is what the
guy did when he commited adultery, and the rest. You look them up. More
and moreover, if you coveted, you stole. If you stole, you betrayed. In
one way or another you broke all the commandments, if you broke one.
  Jesus however, fulfilled them and does fulfill them and is the
fulfillment of them. This is where it gets dramatic. Jesus is the fulfillment
of the commandments, who by the fulfillment thereof and His death on
the cross, justifies us to God the Father. Here is how and why this is
important. In a book my Mel Tari, who is from Indonesia and who authored
"Like a Mighty Wind," it was his observation that our relationship to
Jesus is like an American vending machine. Someone had asked him about
the miracles in his life, how and why it all works for them, and this
was his description of what he understood about it. He said that in a
vending machine, you put in a coin, then you push a button and what you
want comes out. If this seems like an oversimplification it is not. God's
principles are, though complex in appearance, simple in function. God
is simplicity. In this case it simply is like you are the vending machine and Jesus is the token. Jesus already paid the price. When you receive Him you are putting the coin into the vending machine (into the heart) and if it doesn't get stuck somewhere on the way down, you push the button (ask), and what you asked, comes out, said he. You will recall that in Indonesia they were turning water into wine, while we are at the level of receiving a soda pop.

  Yes, because He paid the price for reconciliation, you can be
reconciled like Adam before the fall. So, if Jesus is in your heart, as He
should be, and you believe who He is, what He says, what He has done and
what He does, you are vending. You are a window to Heaven. Look around
you at the people in need. Feel His heart. Realize your ministry. You
are a ministry. In fact,  "Ye are Gods," said He.
  If Jesus is your heart, the heart of your being, then you are
justified by FAITH, if you believe, (but believe what). Abraham BELIEVED, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. (But this doesn't come
without surrender/submission.) All that is promised is yours, including
deliverance from the penalty and power of sin, which is in being condemned
to perform it, i.e. be under its power, as saith scripture. All that is
promised is yours, including Who He Is and What He does, including His
plan for your life! It is the power of a resurrected life, a gift in
fact, which He embodies. It is spiritual healing. It is like throwing
down your crutches. RECEIVE IT CHURCH!  I am absolutely stunned that the
church, born of the Spirit, is so lethargic.

  As a man thinketh in his heart?. Who or what should a man thinketh in
his heart? Jesus. Jesus needs to replace your heart, "For the heart of
man is wicked, and full of ravening"; and he does replace it if you
ask, for He fulfilled the commandments and He is the salvation of God who
replaces us on the cross, justifying us to the Father. The fulfiller of
the commandments, who died for us, replaces us, by virtue of the two.
As replaced, you are justified, by Him, delivered, refreshed and guided
because His righteousness and life is yours. He is yours. You have
fellowship with Him according as it was written.

  What price? There is a price. Reckon with it. Ask for His help to do
so. Find it out and pay it. Else you slap Him in the face all day,
every waking day. Who among His servants would do that and rejoice? If
there is something you have to turn loose of, give it up. Remember, He said
"Whosoever loves father or mother more than me, or whosoever loveth son
or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. He that taketh not his
cross and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." Here is what it is
all about, "He that taketh not his cross." What meaneth it, to take the
cross? Well, it is the crucifying of the natural man (which is enmity
against God) . "I die daily," said  Paul. Take the Cross and live, i.e.
die to live.

  You see. Draw three pictures of the outline of a man. Pick the middle
one and add these labels: Where the head is write mind; where the heart
is, draw a heart. In between the two, write will. Then draw a line from
the heart to the will and from the mind to the will. Now draw a heart
on the first outline. Draw a line above and below, top to top, bottom to
bottom, from the heart of the middle outline to the heart of the first
outline. (There is just one heart; it is the intersection when it comes
together.) Done? Now, the middle outline represents the soul. The soul
is comprised of the mind, the heart and the will. The will chooses
between the heart and the mind, upon which it will determine it's posture,
or solidified decision. Sometimes it chooses the mind, and sometimes it
goes with the heart, i.e. the emotions, which are the outer part of the
heart (which is multilayered like the temple; inner, outer). The first
outline is the spirit of man. It experiences the washing of
regeneration. The heart is the intersection of the soul and the spirit where the two are joined. Jesus is the key between the two. He fills the spirit,
which is washed according to regeneration. By the lock, which is the
intersection between the soul and spirit, which is the heart, Jesus, who
is the key, unlocks the door, with our permission, comes in and fills us
and sups with us. Jesus fills the Spirit, and the Spirit fills our
soul, lifesized. Jesus, who fills our spirit, has access to our soul
(heart, mind, will) by our heart and fills it like an innertube in a tire. So
God is in Jesus, who is in the Spirit, who is in our spirit, which is
in our soul, which is joined at the heart, and the spirit and soul fill
the third outline, which is the body. Huh!  So you can draw Jesus in
the first outline, because He fills it. If you don't believe it, don't
draw it. (See! I told you I could draw you a picture.)

  Now the heart is troublesome. It is not necessarily pliable. There
can be roots of the soul living through unbelief, unacceptance of the
truth, or unhealthy desires growing down into the heart. It can be a
tangled mess. It is like the curtain, the vail. This pollutes our spirit. It
interferes with the pure intersection of soul and spirit. There is
bitterness, strife and sin and all manner of evil. The trouble? It is the
natural man. It is the man of bitterness and sin, of the crucified, yet
alive by any vestige of unbelief, natural man, who by the way can
horribly backslide by way of free will, keeping us from reaching that goal
of ?attainment' spoken of in Philippians. This natural entity,
effectively hinders Jesus "who is our life," with it's binding and blinding of
the heart. It is a muddy water thing. Therefore an operation is needed
to remove out of the way, the natural, unbelieving, subject to deception
man, who is like a cataract over the heart, so that the spirit of life
and liberty in Christ Jesus can be experienced. Selah! That operation
is the operation of faith, which works like the clear eyes commercial
and opens the heart between the soul and the spirit. Then the believer is
like a window to heaven because Jesus is that Bridge. My God and my
Lord! Amen.

The Burning Bush

  Let me tell you that what I know, I went directly to the throne to
get. I did not get it from hearing someone else's sermon or from reading
someone else's literature, or from another denomination. It was only
after the revelation that I discovered the literature of others, that it
is out there. Then I also understood what they were saying and drew
instruction from it. I perhaps eventually recognized that I had heard it
from guest speakers, from the pulpit, somewhere, as I visited around to
hear different speakers. Yet, I thought I already understood what they
were saying, or passed over it. And I thought I had never heard of any
such reality from anyone else prior to the discovery of the depth of
the Christian experience, except from Paul whose sole purpose was to
expound on it; but I didn't recognize the kernel of the message,
automatically, from being born again. I say this for a reason.
  I am asking you to embrace it (yet not it, but Him). It is a journey.
It can be as short as an instant, or it can be as long as a lifetime.
It might not even materialize. It hasn't for many. I view it, as I
experienced it, as though approaching a castle high upon a hill, surrounded
by overgrowth and rugged terrain, reaching all the way to the lowlands
and back. Yet it is up there. He is up there as He was in the burning
bush. So one must see for sure. One is compelled to seek. The one
seeking has to hack away at the undergrowth of the besetting snares of life,
hew a trail and negotiate the terrain, getting rid of restrictive,
burdensome overgrowth, all the while keeping purposeful aim. For you must
stay focused on the One, the Prize, so as to attain something priceless
and irreplaceable in terms of the personal relationship, the Pearl of
the matter; though you don't know exactly what you are after. It is in
Him, of Him. You are simply seeking His face. And should you not?
  Always, at any moment it is to be recognized, the One is who is
all-important. You cannot go wrong from seeking Him. Indeed, anything
whatsoever that distracts you from the One is to be recognized and put into
perspective as such.  HE is a living, ever present God and Lord.

  Distraction from the One is dangerous. For, "Satin is going about as
a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour," in whatever (and there are
many angel of light ways) that he can. Moreover in this journey, one of
satin's most effective tricks is to red flag (you) as a matador, as to
a bull charging the hill. From the bub's perspective, it is all about
circumventing that one who is focused on the prize, to distract however
he can; and if put into the context of the castle on the hill, the red
cape ruse effectively causes the one to traverse, at least laterally,
if not downhill, causing one to lose the momentum towards the castle,
while nevertheless leaving them feeling that they are ever striving for
the goal. But they miss the witness. Effectively, he is preventing the
manifestation of Jesus in His own creation by putting distractions
around, keeping the believer occupied, preventing that connection to the
one. Mind you, this is a necessary tactic, or filter, for the sake of the
purity of the church, because the one sought after must see the desire
and intent of the one seeking to discover the truth, that he will drop
his toys to go and look - before He will reveal. Many a saint and even
denomination is complacent in this, being satisfied with the trappings
peculiar to their belief and personal experience, not wanting to
recognize that there is more. Jesus is relegated to a distance in terms of
relationship, (though we have the comforter) while yet being embraced in
perpetual ordinances and ceremony.

  It is ever about living, manifest Jesus. It is never about anything
else, not even about something about Him; not His symbols, not His
directives, of things implied, nor of healing, or gifts, not even of His
robe or how it all works, this blessing, just Him, the will of Him, as he
is. Go to the head. He will take care for the whole of it as long as
you do not mistakenly substitute ?something about,' in place of ?   ?, so
you are not in danger as long as you pursue Him. It is about Him
personally in His relationship to you: "Come unto me all ye that are heavy
laden and I will give you rest."  It infallibly always will be.

  Yes, even whole denominations are built around something about him,
which diverts their attention from Him personally, (his manifest
embrace) lowering their sights to that which is common, worldly. He feels
ignored. If you ask Him to show you, you will find a plethora of sacraments
and practices that are just simply, bullfighter's capes, red flags of a
mad matador's distraction (Though some things are appropriate symbols
of attraction to unbelievers. See sidebar). However, people are
satisfied with these because they allow them to have the form of godliness,
while allowing them to exercise their own prerogatives in guarded
(unsurrendered) areas, as ones afraid of the light.  It is stagnation in His
sight, even worse, unfaithfulness ("How I would have gathered you under
my wing, but you would not."). For one is to acknowledge Him in all
their ways, in order to see His salvation as He planned. (Salvation here
means something robust and all-inclusive with regard to the life and the
plan, something abundant.)

  Hear! For it is a commandment. It is written: "Love the Lord your God
with all your heart, soul, mind and strength." If you love Him with all
of your heart, soul and mind, you have loved Him with all of your
strength. If you love Him with all of your heart and soul, you have loved
Him with your mind, for it is a component of the soul. However, figure
this. Nothing you can do, adds anything to Him or to His finished work -
just as plainly as nothing you did saved you (except to believe with
your heart and confess with your mouth). Here is the paradox: How do you
love Him with all of your heart and soul, mind and strength if nothing
you can do adds anything to Him? Dwell on it. Dead works add nothing.
When you can solve this, you can claim the inheritance promised to you.
It is the entering into the Promised Land that is herein contained.

  Here is another: "He who would save his life will lose it. Whosoever
will lose his life for my sake will find it." If you would lose your
life for His sake, does it mean that you inherit the hereafter? True, it
could, it does - but - He said that whosoever will lose his life for
His sake will find it. What is it to "find" it? Again, does it mean in
the hereafter? It does, but what is it to find your life if it is not
now, here in the present? Else why would He say you would ?find your
life'? He didn't mention finding glorification, which is the life hereafter,
though you thought that was what was implied. Keep in mind that Israel
was supposed to be led to the Promised Land, which was in this life,
which journey didn't require crossing the threshold of death in order to
attain. The prospect of the Promised Land was ever before them, and
"they were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea," before
reaching the promised destination, the key being that they were baptized, and the Land of Promise was still ahead if they would receive it. Moreover
again, they didn't have to cross the bridge to death to attain it. It
was for then and what would have been now, then. It was ever present in
this life, for them then. It existed. Yet they didn't make it. Yet
however, there remains a promise, said Paul. If you look at the epistles
you will find that the writers there were/are alluding to the same, in a
new and living way. It was a separate realization, a concrete fact, a
reward for something. But Jesus in person is the way there, the
transport. He is the there. There is no other way. No amount of ceremony will transport one there. Change of one is needed! Realization! Revelation!

  Obedience is required, and it is summed up in repenting of sin and
unbelief. It is in turning from jealousy, hate, bitterness, covetousness,
or whatever corrupts you. It is in ceasing to have dominion in your own
affairs or others, where He is supposed to have dominion. Let go and
let God. And it is in believing He is the heart of the believer, and in
guarding the throne, laying down your life to protect the precious
indwelling from the thoughts of darkness that displace Him or relegate Him
to secondary, distant, or separate status. Oh, grieve, not the Holy
Spirit! There is revival in this. Hark! It is even more than revival I tell
you breathlessly in exasperation, with hushed expression.
  Well, on the way home from church today I saw this posted outside
another church: "Believers are not the light source, they are the
reflectors." Well, believers are not the light source, but they are not
reflectors. They are the prisms, the crystals in the chandelier, or the
decorative leaded glass through which the light shines. They are the
elaborate lampshades. That is what they are! They are the light not hid under a bushel. They are the beacons, the lighthouse to others. They are not the source, and yet in a way they are. They are like the holes in the
curtain that is the night sky that lets the light through. They are the
stars that light a dark planet. Yes He meant for them to be a source,
though they are not the source. Foresee! Our righteousness is as a filthy
rag! In other words, dirt doesn't reflect light. The one must be clean
from the inside out, transparent, in order for the light to shine
through, if the light is in them, and the light must be in them for them to
know the true salvation of the Lord.
 

  End mention: So why does trial and tribulation come into our life?
For one thing, difficulties wean you from the world. They wean you from
depending on material things and that which you know and are familiar
with, that which you believe and hold dear. At least they should because
they are the fire that purifies the silver. But that is before
transformation. Afterwards, they affect your character and even your praise for Him, because afterward you delight in seeing His salvation in every
circumstance. You know that it is there, instead of supposing. This makes
you confident in expressing Him to others. It allows His love to flow
through you. (1 John 2:15) You experience His heart, His compassion and
His creative will for others, because it is Him, not you. For what good
are you if you cannot add a cubit to your stature? Yes, it is He who
works to will and to do of His good pleasure! (Phil 2:13) It is through
Him, through you. It is Him through you that you are to experience. Who
will deny? Do stand forth!

To say Jesus is the center of your life is an outside perspective. To
say that Jesus is the center of your person reveals precious
understanding that delights His heart. You cannot say it if you do not believe it.

  Once I was having a conversation with Jim Carr, a former member of
this congregation. Something I said provoked him to ask me, "So, you
think you have a hot line to heaven?" I was careful to answer. I didn't
know what to say at that time. Now I would have to say without
consideration - Better!

Next Page!
Why I like the K J V
by Michael Harrison

  The trouble with proper modern English is that you cannot properly
express the truth of God with it. I was listening to a guest speaker
once, over at The Lamb's Chapel. He just happened to be British. As such,
he most appropriately read from the King's English, that is the King
James Version. In reading out of the Gospel of 1 John, where John was
speaking about trying the spirits to know whether they were of God, Derik
quoted "Any spirit that confesses not that Jesus is come in the flesh,
is not of God," and he emphasized is come. Notice that he didn't say
that Jesus has come. In fact, "not," said he emphatically, "has come."

  Now, if you think about it, any spirit, anyone, will admit that Jesus
has come. It is a historical fact. Even the whole world recognizes it.
But, King's English, which expresses the truth in antiquated dialect,
is not palatable to many now-a-days. Newer English has newer rules.
Therefore it is not appropriate, it seems, for one to say that Jesus is
come, in the flesh. Do you see the difference, is come vs. has come. You
see, recently, those who translate the bible are compelled to put the
wording into modern English, which it seems, is obviously more correctly
stated to be ?has come' as far as we are progressively concerned.
Unfortunately, it seems to be acceptable to treat this minor difference
lightly, as though it were an improvement. However, what we are to hear, if
we hear correctly is in the fact that Jesus ?is come', which is present
tense, being now, and which delivers the impact of the truth. For Jesus
is come in the flesh. It's a fact. He is in the body of believers, and
in the believer, and it is just like that.

  He is here now. He is always now, for He said, "I am."  Point: What
spirit which is not of God is gonna confess that He is, and that He is
here in the flesh? It certainly will not be those who have the form of
godliness, denying the power thereof, or most certainly not the
unbeliever. So I guess that a lot of people have through the years, accepted
improper results when they applied this test, and discerned amiss. It
seemed meaningless as a passage. Their confusion is unfortunate. Actually
it is worse than that. They have suffered spiritually because the word
was diluted to a fault, at that point. How can they hope to come to a
revelation of the truth if the passages are diluted?

Footprints!

 There should only be one set of footprints in the sand. That's right!
If you pay attention, as you should, to the words of Jesus and the
Apostles, you will discover this to be absolutely true. You'll have to dig
down into the word to see this. You will also have to soul search -
deeply. You'll have to be ready to be shaken, broken, because your own
self is in the way of realizing this.

 If there are two sets of footprints, one of you is abiding in the
flesh. That same one of you is wasting effort, making wood, hay and
stubble, which will be burned off, leaving only the basic you that He saved
after that all is said and done. Jesus didn't intend that to be the
result (fruit) of your relationship. He said "Lay not up treasure on earth,
where moth and dust doth corrupt," and "Where the treasure is, there
will the heart be also." 

 He certainly intends for you to have treasure in the heavens when that
reunion day comes. Unfortunately, ninety-eight percent of what we do
after we are born again is dead works, even though it comes out of good
intentions, for it comes out of misunderstanding of the relationship we
are to have with Him.

 You see, we can do nothing for Him of ourselves. If He doesn't do it,
it isn't done. Whenever He does do something, there is no mistake about
it. We know it is Him. We rejoice in it. Everybody is in awe about what
He does. However, how this comes about is a mystery, because generally,
we stand around standing in the way. That which happens, often happens
in spite of us. Sometimes however, we have a leading and something
results. Else we would perish from drought.

 We say "Use me Lord, use me!" Inevitably it happens but it is not
flowing as He promised. We are to be like a well-spring. But we are not. We
are more like ones who go to a well for a bucket full at a time. Again,
it comes from a misunderstanding of our relationship. But understanding
comes with a price. We paid it when we believed, but we didn't fully
realize it until?. Well, until our eyes are opened. (It may be improper
English due to the shift, but it properly describes the truth.)

 It is in the laying down of the life. You see, Paul said "I am
crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in
me." I live, but it is not I. It is Christ that liveth in me. Lord have
mercy, to me that is scary, for Him to be so close. But the bad part is
that we do not realize it. Why? We don't realize that we don't live. We
think we do and. Thinking that we do is actually unbelief. It is sin.
 It is in the heart where we believe unto Him, that the trouble is.  It
boils down to what to believe from the heart. I should say ?who' but
that is confusing. We know who. What we don't know is what about who. 
That ?what about who' can be described many many ways, but we need His
help to see it. Therefore we must be willing to acknowledge that we
don't.

 Here is one important fact though: Jesus died so that we wouldn't have
to. When we believed on Him and surrendered, i.e. submitted to Him to
have His will done in our lives, because of His mercy, his act of
crucifixion on the cross, we became a participant in it without even having
to participate. Does it make any sense? He did the hard part, but we
still participate from a distance. We still go to the cross even though He
did the physical act.

 We go to the cross by realizing that we are replaced. He died to
replace us. But by not realizing in our heart that we are replaced, we are
alive. Therefore we are subject to the lusts and desires that alienate
us from realizing His life blood. This grieves Him. For He loves us so
and has so much to show us.

 When we look in our heart, we should see Jesus, though we may see a
cross. If we do, the cross is ours. It represents our having been
crucified with Him. It means that we no longer live, so if we don't, guess who
is replacing us. It is as though He clothed Himself with us. It takes
no small amount of sacrifice to realize it and to accept it. It takes
giving everything to Him down to the dust under the penny that is under
the carpet. Why would you give any less to Him?  

This is where I stand in Him, for there is no other place to stand. All
else is sinking sand.

Truth, is a sword that divides on the one side or the other!

 You cannot live for Jesus. You say, what did I say? Well you can live
for Him. Most do so, and in so doing, they will be judged on the basis
of what they did when the final hour comes. So they must be prepared to
discover if what they did for Him is worthy of Him. Did they build
wood, hay and stubble? Are they built on the rock or on sinking sand? Did
they yield an increase? 
 Are you prepared for that? Can you say that you have lived your life
worthy of Him? Have you taken stock?  Have you analyzed your life, what
you have done for Him? Are you sure that it will stand on that day,
because He makes some fearsome remarks about what He expects. Am I making
you feel bad? Don't! He is stretching forth His hand in love, patient
and waiting.
 To live as He would have us to, our life must be centered with Jesus.
For our life to be centered on Him, we cannot live for Him. We must
live by Him. What is the difference? It is profound. Living for Him is
done in one's own strength according to works, and every man's works will
be tried by fire as to what sort it is. Living by Him is? THE way of
life. HE says He is the way, the truth, the life.
  Let me tell you this. He wants to your God, your Lord, your friend;
not an external God separated by an invisible distance and a
non-comprehendible and mysterious future of possibility based on your best
efforts. He says in present tense, "I am." God is always now. He may be in the
future, and He may be in the past, but He is always now, not then. HE
is now even when you are reading this. Even when you quit, He is now.
You do not even have to wait for Sunday for Him to be now.

  On the basis of the expected future reward, you will hear it preached
?to live for Jesus.' You go for it enthusiastically. How can that be
wrong? Well, let us look at how it works. Doing what is done in living
for Jesus, is much the same as what one serving in the military, or
working for another, does in their service to that one. It is life lived in
the hope of a reward for a job well done. It is lived in receiving
instruction and performing a service, hearing and doing. It is done in
believing that one has understood the requirements, and necessarily follows
it up with follow through, meeting every point as best they are able.
It is interpreted. Else, for example, there would not be so many
denominations. The doer thereof, in every case, nevertheless imagines great
reward for effort made, because they tried as best they could. Who would
fault them?

 Yet, stunningly, as a word of caution, and self examination to be sure
(examine yourself to see if you are in the faith, said the writer of
the epistle), what does our Lord say, shockingly, that will be to the
dismay of some, if not many, and we don't want it to be you, "Many will
come to me that day and say, ?Did I not do this and did I not do that in
your name?'" Yet he will say, "Depart from me you workers of iniquity,
I never knew you." The key here is ?I never knew you'. You did it own
your own. He also says that there are those which part will be taken
away and given to him who hath, because, after all, where is the increase
in the life that He sought after? Did he not commit to you a certain
amount, says the word, and does He not expect a return on His investment?
The scripture reads "Lord I know that you are an austere man who reaps
where he did not sew, so I set it aside so that you would have it when
you returned."
 Well doesn't that sound downright rude? Where is this God of Love who
wants to redeem me, you ask? Why am I even trying, you say? It sure
sounds frightening to me. Well, He is here for you. Don't get discouraged.
Seek and ye shall find. HE wants it for you more than you. He will give
till you cannot stand for spinning in joy.

  Oh, but for your best interest, I will say it again, for I want you to get it.  You cannot live for Jesus. When you live for Him, you live by your imagination of what He expects of you, or you live to the expectation placed upon you by a pontiff, whoever he or she is. So, you do it as pleasing men, and you do well. But, without direct personal relationship, what else can we say other than that you are doing the best that you can do, concerning what you believe, and believe Him to be asking. Therefore, you think that you are saving up by so doing. You are hoping, but what He gives us better than hope. It is life, abundantly. Now.

 Well, you ask, how do you become centered with Him that you may live
by Him, because I need that, you say? By sanctification. How do you
become sanctified unto Him? By belief. How do you believe? You choose to.
 Yep, you choose to. Just like you choose to believe in Him. The bible
says that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. So you can choose
to fear Him, or not. It is a choice. It is available to every man. And
do you know what one man said to the Lord when He was in need but
feared for his lack of faith? "I believe Lord, help thou my unbelief," (so
that he wouldn't be passed over).  So, you see, here is a perfect
example. You can ask for whatever you need. He says, "He that cometh to me I
will in no wise cast out." He loves you. Here is a chance for you to
use your imagination properly.

 Belief is the faith that is given to us to exercise. It is all that is
needed; for apart from that, we don't have faith of ourselves. Here is
an example to prove it: "For by Grace are ye saved, through faith,
which is not of yourself, it is the gift of God, lest any man should
boast."

  It is not of yourself, it is the gift of God. So there, you don't
have faith, but you do have belief, if you choose to believe! You also
have choice. It is an act of the will. You choose to believe or not to
believe. It is fundamental. You have no excuse. If you do believe, he will
provide the faith; and by grace, which is Him doing for you what you
cannot do for your self, which is by faith, which He will give you if you
believe, you will be saved, filled, sanctified. Isn't it wonderful? It
is too rich for words.

 Then what about the Christ centered life? Shall I get busy and start a
denomination, or go feed the poor? Well, you can feed the poor but if
you have not love, you are as a tinkling cymbal. Love is a person, and
the believer's life must be centered on that person for that love person
to be manifest, to grow and to show, like a light of a city set on a
hill. To be centered on that person, you must live by Him, for living for
Him will net you little by comparison. You hold yourself out.
 
 Therefore, belief is like the mustard seed which a man took and
planted, and a huge tree grew thereof. "If you have faith the size of a grain
of mustard seed?" Then the kingdom can take root and grow, and grow and grow. Do you have that faith? Belief is seed faith, which is the
germination that starts a kingdom tree in the sanctified believer.  The
kingdom is the tree. Moreover, the kingdom is, "At hand," saith our Lord.
Even better than that, "The Kingdom is within you," said He. Even better
than that, He is the Kingdom of God, Jesus is, you'll discover, if
you'll believe. So if you believe, the tree, which is the Kingdom, which is
Jesus our Lord, grows into a great big tree that the birds of the air
can nest in. It becomes a big wonderful tree. It is that part that
cannot be taken away, which is treasure laid up in heaven, according to our
blessed Lord. Amen. The fruit of that tree will be enduring and others
will benefit.

 Your heart, my dear friend, is the throne of God. When you surrendered
to Him you gave Him the throne of your heart by surrendering to Him as
Lord of your life. In good faith He took over your life. However,
sanctification remains after you have been saved and born again. Without it
you are dead in trespass and sin. Unbelief! (Sanctification is another
example. Sanctification is, similarly as believing, the germination of
the kingdom seed. Sanctification is by belief.)
 Did you notice this part? You are dead in trespass and sin. Why didn't
he just say you are dead in sin and sin? Or why not, ?you are dead in
sin'. It is because sin is what you do when you transgress Him, and
trespass, though operationally the same, is just you doing your own thing,
apart from Him, even if it is done for Him. He does not do it. That is
trespass. You are dead in it. It is like in Numbers 15:32 where the guy
was caught picking up sticks. He was stoned. So are you (stoned) if you
abide in trespass.

 Notice these steps: Saved, Filled/Washed/Regenerated, Sanctified. Does
anybody disagree that they need to be sanctified unto Him? You must
find out what that means, to the fullest, to realize the Kingdom of Heaven
within you, the life that IS Christ. You cannot be sanctified until you
are saved and washed by regeneration. For without regeneration, you are
not empowered to become sanctified. (I know. You have heard the other
preaching that states ?saved, sanctified, filled with the Holy Ghost. It
sounds neater to say it that way, but reality demands a reality check.)
  Regrettably, most do not make that push to be on the narrow road,
after having started the journey. They do not seek out the Holy Grail by
sanctifying themselves to the Lord. They do not seek out and humble
themselves to enter into the life more abundant (which is the tree) for it
is an ?Eye of the needle' thing. They are unwilling to unload. Therefore, they slip into self-effort immediately after regeneration, and carry on with worldly concerns. Limiting themselves by their own understanding, they continue by works instead of by grace. They end up juggling personal interests, and goals, with service, missing the primary meat of the table that is placed before them. They wonder what is wrong! Their life is boring. They labor, basically, by the sweat of their brow. They embrace their meager possessions. They toil.

  It is a truth that is found in the parable of the seed sewer. Some
fall by the way. Some fall on stony ground. Some fall among thorns and
others fall into good ground. Those who fall into the thorny ground "are
they which fell among thorns, which when they have heard, go forth, and
are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring
forth no fruit to perfection." Why? Clearly, they are called by His
name, but they are fruitless in service. There may be fruit, but if it is
dead, or withered, where is fruit? (So get the fertilizer described
herein. God has plenty of it. Ask!)

  An answer can be found in the epistles,  "Love not the world, or the
things of the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father
is not in Him." (This requires what is called repenting.) Basically
this implies that ?if any man love the world, the love of the Father
cannot flow through him,' which implies that the one is not bringing forth
fruit unto perfection! A tree should bear fruit. If the love of the
father cannot flow through him, he has choked the word and the truth in his
life, therefore he has choked the blessings of the Lord by self love
and calculating. He has hindered the Lord by unbelief. He has hindered
the Lord by loving himself. His channel is clogged by worldly concerns
and preoccupations other than the Lord, though he may already love the
Lord a great deal.

 How so?  "You cannot love God and mammon. Either you will love the one
and hate the other, or cling to one and despise the other." Either you
will love God and hate riches, or you will cling to riches and despise
God.

 What it means by ?riches,' is the life, the world, all the hopes and
aspirations we have, our plans, our dreams, the gathering of goods, the
worry and care of possessing, owning and doing, so to speak.  HE said,
"A mans life consists not of the abundance of the things that he
possesses." Clearly He is talking about the house, the cars, the garage full
and even the quiver full.  The pleasures of worldly living, these are
the riches of the world. They are not wrong in and of themselves, but if
they are not fruit of relationship, they are distractions. They are
things coveted and things lusted for. Simply!

   In the gospel we read, "Come to me all ye that labor, and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of
me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your
souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

  How much rest do you have in your soul? Do you find the yoke easy and
the burden light? He intends it to be, and for you to know it. Do you
believe that the bible is the word of God? Then you believe that He
gives rest to the weary because He clearly says so right here. To find it
you must be centered with Him. The apostle says "Labor to enter that
rest." You must work at realizing it. You must live by Him. You must be
sanctified unto Him to live by Him. You are sanctified by entering that
rest. I tell you emphatically, you must exercise the seed faith that
manifests the Kingdom in you so that you can lay up treasure in heaven
where moth and dust doth not corrupt. You must decrease and He must
increase, for whosoever will be the greatest must become the least. He must live; you must yield unto Him starting by seed faith, sanctification,
rest. Seek to live by Him first. Then you will know that you are truly
living for Him.

Michael Harrison