“… AND WE RESTRAIN THE OPPRESSOR”
We’re Either Going To Be Victors Or Victims
While we’ve gotten into this satanic warfare, it has become a generalized thing; we’ve not realized the subtleties of it. For instance, it somebody is very bitter and has a certain physical problem, watch it and see how many people will begin to come up with that problem. That’s where you’ll find the operation of witchcraft. Find the people who are healthy, wonderful, strong people physically, and when they start to move into God, suddenly their stomachs are bothering them, and they’re sick half the time and wondering what’s the matter with them. We have to face the fact that we’re either going to be victors or victims.
We’ve Got The Transition From The Physical Realm Into The Soulish Realm
The Kingdom of God is coming forth in the realm of spirit, like the Kingdom of God came forth in the Old Testament in the realm of the physical. Sometimes they had to fight a troop and leap a wall (II Samuel 22:30), but because that was the way to move, they did it. We have generalized those things, but we haven’t believed them. Christ came moving in the realm of spirit and preaching the Kingdom of heaven (Matthew 9:35), but what really happened was the transition from the physical realm into the soulish realm. The Church has existed for almost two millenniums now in a soulish realm.
The Soul-Flesh Is Not Going To Dominate Us
Since we have broken through to this realm of spirit, this should be the first time that we say, “Because of the cross, the soul-flesh is not going to dominate us now, but we’re going to worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23–24). To worship Him in spirit means that we’ll worship Him in the truth of every realm: the soul and the physical as well.
Untainted Judgment That Cannot Be Diverted
We finally have the key of combating satanic warfare. When we have a pure atmosphere of spirit, then we are a flow of untainted blessing. But have you ever stopped to realize that we are also a flow of untainted judgment that cannot be diverted? That pure flow will have to take the supremacy over all forms of assault, redeeming the earth from futility (Romans 8:19–21).
Things Happen By A Causation In The Spirit World
If the oneness of this pure atmosphere gives a way for the faith in the people to minister to me, then it also gives a way to minister judgment. I think we’re ready to exercise something great. I believe it. The things that happen to us do not happen by natural causes that we can understand, but by a causation in the spirit world. And if that’s the case, once we get the key of this thing it’s going to be so simple to reverse it and utterly destroy the assault that has come. We’ve had these principles for years, such as the boomerang principle: just duck the transference and it will go back.
You can’t deal with these things on a natural basis at all. You can begin to understand why Jesus would lay His hands on people and heal them, but sometimes He rebuked the infirmity. He cursed some diseases as though they were living entities—spirits of deafness and dumbness. They were spirits (Luke 4:38–41; 11:14). I’m wondering if we haven’t taken the wrong approach by being too bound to the theories of science and what they reject. They put down what demons can do. And even the Christian world says, “Oh, talk about Jesus; don’t talk about devils.”
There’s Nothing Hidden That Shall Not Be Revealed
Satan always tries to hide and camouflage himself. He and his ministers come as angels of light, as ministers of righteousness (II Corinthians 11:14–15), as the control behind the scene, the hidden powers of darkness (Ephesians 6:12). But the days are prophesied that there’s nothing hidden that shall not be revealed (Matthew 10:26). It’s going to be uncovered.
We’ve Got To Use The Wisdom That God’s Given Us
The powers of darkness that hide the revelation of Christ have to be dispelled (II Corinthians 4:3–4). You can’t just say, “Oh, let Jesus be glorified,” when the victim is wrapped in grave clothes; you have to loose him.
Once we’ve identified the spirit that is behind this thing, we don’t have to go shout it from the housetops. Instead, just prophesy incessantly. I know now why the intercession in the Scriptures was an insistent pressure—“praying without ceasing” is what Paul called it (I Thessalonians 5:17). They were delivering the goods. We knew that back in what we called the Bless-Ins. We knew how to send blessings to people, to transmit them. We have answers; we’ve just got to use the wisdom that God has given us and break this thing through.
We Have The Commission Of Kings And Priests Of God
I’m so aware we can do this. We have the anointing of the Holy Spirit. We have the commission as kings and priests of God (Revelation 1:6), prophets and seers. In the last two years, we have moved into the greatest truths that have been given in the last hundred years. And isn’t it strange that the ones who have practiced position, possession, and seduction have totally rejected this? You see, they cannot operate in that realm without being guilty of operating in Satan’s realm.
The Ones Who Are The Pure Servants Of The Lord
I can’t go possess another man when Christ tells me that I don’t even belong to myself; I belong to Him (I Corinthians 6:19–20). I can’t tell another man, “You belong to me.” I can’t be owned by anybody and I have no right to own anybody. I have to be an example to the flock, not a lord over God’s heritage (I Peter 5:3). What a misconstruction of authority has been taught in the name of church order. You can’t have that thing that seduces people to yourself, instead of presenting them to Jesus Christ. You can’t lift up Christ and still lift up yourself. All of these false, lying spirits of the ministry are going to come down. We’re going to be surprised how little the Kingdom is, but we’ll also be amazed at how powerful it is. When we get down to this, it’s going to work. If even two or three agree—it never takes many (Matthew 18:19–20).
That’s because it will have the pure atmosphere. It’s the ones who are the pure servants of the Lord that make the ones who aren’t pure stand out. Before, anyone could say they loved the Lord; but God has taken the demand upon us this last year to follow Him into a deeper walk, a deeper commitment and a deeper expression—and in doing that we exposed the other spirit. And that’s why you say there may be a few, but they’re going to be powerful. It’s the pure ministry of Christ on earth that’s going to make it powerful and make it work (II Corinthians 5:18–21).
After You Become A Spiritual Person, Then It’s The Time To Become A Totally Efficient Person In Every Aspect Of Your Being
People can complain about excommunication, but what they don’t realize is that the Church is composed of individuals and members who have been set into the Body as it pleases Him—not as one member controls another (Romans 12:1–5; I Corinthians 12:18). And you’re not setting somebody out of the Church when you cut away an artificial control that is not from the Head. You can’t control another person and manipulate him. Peter said to the elders, “Be an example to the flock, not a lord over God’s heritage” (I Peter 5:3).
You’re not putting anybody out of the Body when you say, “Break those bonds.” The insistence to control others through bonds is the antichrist spirit. Christ warned, “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.” Matthew 24:5. A person would be a fool to say, “I am Jesus Christ on earth”; but people do come and say, “I possess you and take position over you. I woo you to myself.” They are saying, in effect, “I am your Christ.” It has to be a lie. If that is the antichrist spirit, then the Lord is going to slay them with the brightness of His coming, with the Word of His mouth (II Thessalonians 2:8). Filled with the Holy Spirit, we must continually, persistently prophesy against these things until they come down.
This was the thing that I was so impressed with today. We said, “Now we’re in the realm of spirit, and we can function.” If the soul-flesh has been crucified and we’ve come alive in our spirit—and if the pure atmosphere comes by a right spirit—then all of the physical, mental, and soul faculties should be manifested by the Holy Spirit perfectly through our spirit. Now is the time to begin. After you become a spiritual person, then it’s the time to become a totally efficient person in every aspect of your being.
We have to come to the place where we are worshiping Him in spirit and in truth, and then this whole being of ours can become efficient (John 4:24).
Everything That Has Been Sent At Us Through A Soulish Realm Can Be Totally Reversed
The Lord uses us as the vessel, and by using His name in the authority of Christ we’re going to speak a Word that will not be reversed.
In other words, everything that has been sent at us through a soulish realm, or even through the use of demon spirits, the intensive psychic force, can be totally reversed.
But anything that’s sent in the Lord cannot be reversed; the authority of Christ makes the difference.
Balaam, the false prophet, said, “He has spoken, and I can’t reverse it” (Numbers 23:19–20). As a prophet, Balaam recognized that no matter what he wanted to do on a soulish realm, he couldn’t accomplish it, because God had given a Word to bless the Israelites. That’s when he said, “I can’t reverse it.” There was no way he could change it.
We Must Not Waver
Once a Word comes, a true Word from God, the only thing is—we must not waver!
The Lord has been training our spirits to do this. We’re understanding more what our spirits are doing; but now He is showing us the steadfast, operative function to see it manifest. It will manifest, but it’s going to be born out of us holding it and creating it until it manifests.
Rebellion Denies The Lordship Of Christ And Establishes Its Own Lordship
In I Samuel 15, Samuel said to Saul, “Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft” (verse 23); but how? Rebellion denies the Lordship of Christ over a person and establishes its own lordship. Then, to establish its own lordship, it has to gain position, possession, and it has to use seduction to seduce the people. In other words, you have to create yourself as lord. If you’re rebellious, you’re not going to go out and say, I am against the Lord Jesus Christ,” and rebel against Him. But if you’re rebellious, you will go out to build your own position, to possess and to seduce. (MARILYN STEVENS: Even in His name.) Yes. “Lord, Lord, look what we did.” Christ calls them workers of iniquity. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:22–23, ASV.
Speak A Word And End It
When you started this, you said that when the oppression comes in on the people, you were going to speak a Word and you were going to end it. And you saw how it could be ended, that to worship Him in spirit and truth was true of all realms. Your revelation is deeper than you’re expressing. You’re ready to do this. And I’m saying that your authority is going to take this through all realms.
A Usurping Of The Lordship Of Christ
The people don’t realize that they have been controlled, possessed, manipulated, deceived, and seduced. And when you look back, every one of those who did this had a big ego-trip to pull people to themselves; they felt that they owned the people. There was a usurping of the Lordship of Christ over the people. This is a controversial Word, but if it could just stir a few hearts, a few people would begin to wake up and say, “Hey, that’s true! The things that have happened to me would not have happened: I would not be having these symptoms or circumstances; I would not be so blind as to what’s going on; I would have been entirely different. I wasn’t this way.” How much of this could be just written down, “This is Babylon, the hold of every foul spirit that makes merchandise of the souls of men” (Revelation 18:2, 11–13).
Our Obedience Is Complete
In these days of the Kingdom, there must not be that subservience to your circumstances, as though they originated in yourself, as though you caused them to happen. That’s where condemnation comes. “Well, I did this, and it didn’t work. I’m a failure. I’m a failure.” Maybe you wouldn’t have been a failure. Maybe you were moving by a Word from God, and you got knocked out. Do you agree with that? Now that our obedience is complete, there’s a readiness to avenge all disobedience (II Corinthians 10:6).
And that’s what the Lord is telling us. Now we have made Him our Lord in our spirit.
A pure atmosphere is going to mean a pure, total victory. We’re going to move into it. Can you see how excited I am with this?
The Holy Spirit Channeling That Word Through A Pure Spirit
The thing that disturbed me from the time that I was a kid is that you could have ten thousand words in an unknown tongue and it would be ineffective, but you could have ten thousand words in prophecy and it wasn’t much more effective (I Corinthians 14:19). You see, it emanated from the Holy Spirit; but it came often through the soul-flesh, through the soul of a person. Therefore, it did not have the impact of the Holy Spirit channeling that Word through a pure spirit.
Hit The Thing That’s Stopping The Process, That’s Hitting The People
When somebody is given a commission, there should be on the part of a lot of people a commitment to that commission: they should pray for the person. So much has been barren or unfruitful, not because there wasn’t a Word from the Lord, but because there was satanic opposition that we did not understand. We did not know how to cope with it. We’re going to eliminate about ninety percent of our paper work, because we’ll be able to give a Word, and then there will be a follow-through on it, and it will be done. All you’ll hear will be shouts of victory. Hit the impasse that’s stopping the process, that’s hitting the people who are commissioned and have been given the authority. We have it; we’re in control. In the spirit we’re going to control it all.
The Roadblocks Are Those Who Have A Distorted Vision
The roadblocks were prophesied. And it said, “Gather up the stones out of the highway. Make a highway for our God” (Isaiah 62:10; 40:3). So we’ve got to get the roadblocks out. The roadblocks are those who have a distorted vision and understanding, because they’re still locked into position, possession, and seduction. They’re on the wrong track. They can never interpret a Word correctly, because they don’t see that the Lord is to be glorified in it; and they never do anything totally as unto the Lord. They do it to establish themselves. All of this had to be broken, and it has been.
The Pure Dedication In Spirit Is The Basic Thing To The Pure Atmosphere
This is going to take the pressure off of people. Self-condemnation has driven people because they still are locked into the reactions, “Well, I have to be somebody. I have to perform for somebody. I’m controlled by somebody.” They’re wooed away from their pure dedication in spirit to the Lord, which is the basic thing to the pure atmosphere in which God can work.
MOVING UP HIGHER
Putting the Principles Together—A Synergistic Action Of One Great Explosion
We are getting the atmosphere in which God can really move, and it is a fantastic thing because things just begin to clear up. There are certain principles that have been coming through the years, but by themselves they’re not as effective as when you put them all together. It’s a synergistic action that creates one great explosion. When you take all of these principles that have been coming for the last number of years and you put them together, then you begin to see what God can really do.
So Many People Are Getting Unwrapped
This “Unwrapping” is really getting things going. We spent a whole year spiraling higher into the various cycles of “the Unfolding.” And that’s really what “the Unfolding” is, isn’t it? You know, you can unfold something and love somebody and say, “Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:43–44), but then you have to unwrap him. Don’t wait until Christmas; unwrap him now, and get him moving in the things that the Lord really has. That’s what’s happening to so many people; they are getting unwrapped.
We Are Coming Into The Authority Of Sonship And We Are Learning To Be Sons
God has been giving us so many little keys; they’re like the strings on an old-fashioned loom. All of those strings are important because they’re putting together the whole picture of this marvelous day of control where we come into the authority of sonship and we actually learn how to be sons. We’re not going to just do things blindly, but we’re going to do them with understanding. We’re going to know the ways of the Lord, and He’s teaching us how His gifts and how His authority are to be manifested. It’s been a fantastic thing to see this unfold in my own heart. I think that these past four months have been the greatest period of revelation in the things of the Lord that I’ve ever had in my life.
Many Prophecies And Revelations Have Hovered Over Us But Now They Are Ready To Rain On Us
There is going to be a great deal of this message on control that’s going to come. First of all I have to tell you what didn’t happen in the past. We had a great many prophecies, revelations that came from the Lord, but they hovered over us like clouds that were just ready to rain on us; but we haven’t known how, as the old prophet Zechariah said, to Ask rain from the Lord at the time of the spring rain—the Lord who makes the storm clouds; and He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man. Zechariah 10:1. This is what God is doing.
All of these prophecies, all of these blessings, these clouds are ready to rain on us. Always I think God has been faithful to give us a token fulfillment. We’ve seen a little of this and a little of that happen, which is good, but we’re ready to see the “floods on the dry ground,” as the Lord put it in the Word (Isaiah 44:3, KJV).
Out Of The Soul-Flesh And Into The Realm Of Spirit
It’s very difficult to find anything that was not dominated by the soul and flesh of individuals from the time of the early Church right up until this breakthrough of the Kingdom. For thirty or forty years now, I’ve been teaching—and I’m not the only one; there have been a number who have written books on spirit, soul, and body-that we have to break out of that soul level, the psychic level, the level where most religious things operate, and get up into the level of spirit. I’ve been teaching you that. But it’s only been in the last two years that there has been such a broad tide of blessing coming to get people out of the soul-flesh into the realm of spirit.
The Lord Began To Speak To Us About The Work Of The Cross
While God was doing all of this to us and teaching us, we weren’t too hopped up about tongues; we knew people had to receive the Holy Spirit so we laid hands on them consistently from time to time, and they received the Holy Spirit and they would speak with tongues. We got into the gift of prophecy, but most of it was exhortation instead of the creative flow that really built people into God and just constructed them by prophetic utterance. We kept talking about prophetic utterance, about changing from the old begging, whining prayers to prayers of proclamation and so forth. We were slowly moving out of that soul realm and reaching for something in the spirit. Then the Lord began to speak to us about the work of the cross in this soul-flesh and we began to move into it.
God’s Gifts Are Watered Down By The Human Element That Has Not Faced The Cross
The Lord had to show us that there was something missing in what operated on the level of the soul-flesh. Now, was it God? Yes it was God; but it was watered down by that human element that had not faced the work of the cross. “The Unfolding” and “the Unwrapping” constantly is telling us, “Get out of that soul-flesh, and get into the thing that God has for you in the realm of your spirit.”
Break Into The Level Of The Spirit-The Flow Will Be Greater Than You’ve Ever Known
If you keep working on this thing of breaking into the level of spirit, you’re going to find one amazing thing happen. The gifts and the ministries and the flow of the Spirit through you is going to be greater, more effective than you’ve ever known in your life. Something has diluted the power, diluted the authority; so instead of saying, “My cup runneth over,” you say, “Well, I got shortchanged in my prayer.” Now you won’t say that. You’ll say, “He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that I ask or think, according to the power that worketh in me” (Ephesians 3:20). That is going to be our testimony. We are beginning to see a release to things that are really tremendous, and in this we begin to take authority.
Get Into This Realm Of Spirit, And It’s Going To Work For You
All of this is because we’re breaking into the spirit realm. Anybody can do it, even those people who have walked with a little state of semi-defeat in their lives, never really breaking through to that walk with God, always walking in a lot of condemnation. Some have felt, “Oh, I don’t know whether I can ever make it or not,” but that day is over. When you get into this realm of spirit, it’s going to work for you.
You Are Going To Get Someplace Because It’s Not Soul-Flesh; It’s Because You’re In Control
The Lord is saying, “Now that you have moved into the realm of spirit, you can take all the things that you used to do in the realm of soul and use them again.” You can get down on your knees and start interceding before God, and you’re going to get someplace because it’s not just soul-flesh; it’s not an emergency prayer that’s coming because you’re like a squealing pig caught in a fence. You will not intercede because you’re in a corner or because your circumstances have depressed you; it’s going to be because you know that you’re in control. God has given you faith and He’s given you His Word, and you’re going to walk in it. You’re into a level of faith, because faith is imparted to your spirit.
Just Speak On The High Level Of Faith, And It Will Be Done
Just speak on the high level of faith, and voice it. All you have to do is say it and it will be done.
All you have to do is voice it. We were just waiting on the Lord together, and the Lord said that He’s given His Word; we just have to speak it. Prophesy it on a high level of faith; all you have to do is just say it. We’re watching this happen. You’re not going to be anything but more than a conqueror. That’s the whole divine scheme.
We Are Not Promoters, But We Are Going To Produce By A Word From The Lord
Since the early Church was started, can you point to any period in which they weren’t struggling to survive? They weren’t really more than conquerors. You go into the period of the Dark Ages, and coming out of it you have difficulties—the restoration of the Church is very slow. Even today when we begin to talk about the Charismatic movement, we say, “What a great advance. Now people can get on television and talk about speaking in tongues.” But what’s new? It’s still very much a commercial scheme. It is the greatest financial promotion that has ever existed in the history of the Christian Church. It is still very much a commercial thing. Where are we in this whole picture? We have been tracking on something else. We are not promoters, but we’re going to produce by a Word from the Lord. It’s going to happen.
Expand Your Experiences From The Soul Level Up To The Spirit Level
Do you say, “Well, I never went for all those old-time experiences people talk about.” Go for them. Why? Because if you’re looking for the work of the cross to be done to your soul-flesh, you’ll find that your spirit, soul, and body will be totally sanctified and blessed, preserved blameless in the flow of the Spirit that comes through you (I Thessalonians 5:23). It will be a lot different when you speak in tongues now than when you did before. In fact, I would encourage all of you to begin to expand your experiences from the soul level up to the spirit level. That may sound a little strange. I don’t know how you became a Christian, or how you got saved, but go down and begin to look to the Lord and say, “Lord, I want You to redeem my whole spirit unto Yourself. I want You to be the Lord over me.” Make it a real thing in your heart. Go back to the experience. You say, “Well, I spoke in tongues a little bit, and it has never meant too much to me.” Go back and do it again. Ask the Lord to refill you with the Holy Spirit and to give you a gift of prophecy on this level of spirit.
We’re Being Put Together, Spirit, Soul, And Body
I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I Thessalonians 5:23b, KJV. Blameless. Another translation of that says, “sanctify you wholly,” meaning the whole spirit, soul, and body. This level of the Kingdom is really just the beginnings of the Parousia on the face of the earth. And as we get into it, we know what John was talking about—how anybody that had the hope of seeing Him was going to purify himself even as He is pure (I John 3:2–3).
This isn’t some religious thing you get into. It’s a spiritual thing; it’s a righteousness that comes by faith. Say, “I’m going to go through this work of the cross and I’m going to be what God wants me to be. I’m going to move in it. I’m not going to be discouraged. I’m not going to be embarrassed by my own inability to produce it, but I’m going to wholly trust God to do this thing in me, no matter what my problems have been in the past.” When you go after that thing, you’re going to come out of it more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37, KJV). You see, we’re being put together. We’re getting it together, spirit, soul, and body.
Move In Everything God Has Given You, And Follow This Work Of The Cross In Your Life
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good. I Thessalonians 5:16–21.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. I Thessalonians 5:23–24. No blame. No self-condemnation on you, nobody else laying any condemnation on you either, because you’re walking with the Lord. You can do it. Now, how is it done? “Well, I’m going to have to try harder.” No, you’re going to have to move in everything God has given you, and follow this work of the cross in your life. It’s going to work.
You say, “Well, I know I ought to be listening to tapes.” Okay, listen to tapes, but don’t just listen to them as a religious observance; meet God in them. Be walking in the Word by the time the tape is over with. Get into that realm of spirit and prophesy the thing that could take one service here and turn this church upside down.
Get Into Something That Explodes Right From The Throne Of God Through Your Spirit
Don’t get into a tedious flow. Don’t just make a rut out of this so that a half-dozen people can prophesy on Sunday morning. No sir. Just study this thing of being in the spirit level. We don’t want anything short of something that just explodes right from the throne of God through your spirit, and blesses and looses people.
You Shall Receive Power—God Wants To Give You Some Dynamite
And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God (or the mystery of God). That would not be said in our terms today, because mystery means another thing. Today we say, “We’re proclaiming to you the revelation from God.” For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. I Corinthians 2:1–3. Paul determined not to know anything among them. In other words, he was not moving in realms of doctrines and teachings. He wanted a knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord; he wanted to know Him and he wanted the people to know Him. He said, And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. I Corinthians 2:4–5.
In other words, the power of God was turned loose. We talk about authority, but let’s talk a little bit about power too, because authority looses the power. Look at the first chapter of Acts: “You shall receive power from on high, and you shall be witnesses unto Me” (Acts 1:8). It is a terrific thing that was said. The English language is just filled with derivatives of that Greek word for power—dynamo, dynamic, dynamite all come from “dunamis.” Do you believe God wants to give you some dynamite? He wants to turn you loose. How do you do it? Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Ephesians 3:20, KJV.
Revive Your Experiences. Expand Them In A Spiritual Level, And Start Flowing Like Never Before
Don’t you feel like you’d like to revive experiences and expand them a little bit, and get them up into a spiritual level? You could start flowing in them like you never have before. You say, “Well, I feel like it would be kind of silly to get down by the side of the bed in an old-fashioned way and start talking in tongues for an hour.” You would be surprised what it would do for you. You would start talking in the Spirit for a little bit, and the next thing you would realize, “Hey, this is too shallow.” You would start looking to the Lord and drawing from the Lord, saying, “I want to go deeper into this. I want this to be a holy utterance from You, Lord. I don’t want to despise these prophetic utterances, so I’m going to see to it that they’re on a higher level than ever before.” Do the thing; get something real. Make it work for you.
When you bless somebody, do more than say, “Oh, Lord bless you.” Remember the old things that you learned in the School of Prophets and in the Bless-Ins? You would bless each other and things would happen to one another. You learned to give; you learned to draw; you learned to give back to other people in return, and you learned to bless each other. Why, I don’t think that we really knew how to bless each other before, but we do now, and we’re not moving in all we know. We’re not even moving on the old level, but we can move up to a high new level. I’m not asking you to flow like you did before. I am saying, “Come on, let’s move up higher.”
There’s Been Nothing Wrong With The Teaching—You Just Have Not Been Able To Move In The Realm Of Spirit For It To Be Fulfilled
Do you realize that a lot of the teachings that you’ve heard for years have not been that effective in your life because you haven’t been able to move in the realm of spirit for them to be fulfilled? There’s been nothing wrong with the teaching; you just need the application of truth in the spirit level. God looks for those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23–24). He wants it to really be a valid thing in your life. There aren’t any of you who don’t know more than you’re walking in, who don’t have more than you’re exercising, who could not attain this level very easily, and change your whole life in twenty-four hours. You can do it!
I Am Going To Be A Follower And A Practicing Disciple On The Highest Level
It becomes a commitment of your heart to Him as the Lord over your life. It’s almost like a fresh thing of saying, “Yes, I have been a believer, but now I’m going to be a follower and a practicing disciple on the highest level of everything that I know, everything I’ve received. I’m not going to hold any truth without experiencing it to the fullest. I’m not going to hold any experience without expressing it to the fullest.”
A GENERATION OF TRANSITION TEACHING
The Story of a Generation In Transition To The Kingdom
This is going to be one of the lead messages to open up the Feast of Tabernacles everywhere. This will probably be the first time I have ever told you the story, step-by-step, of a generation of things unfolding in transition to the Kingdom, the effect that it had, the way the enemy battled it and what came out of it. Once you get the picture, you can see how satanic the opposition and the persecution was, and how it was so specially designed to try to stop every step that came.
A Religious World And A Spirit World Were Protesting Against The Change Of Order That Was Coming
We’re going back forty or fifty years, and talking about things that made the transition from a locked-in Church age to the flexibility of what had begun to come in a new level of the Kingdom.
Those who prophesied and moved in God were aware that they were prophesying of a new day. This was at a time when all the Fundamentalists and rapturists and Pentecostals were always talking, “Last days! Last days!” Suddenly God brought forth a Word about a new day and started teaching us how to walk in that new day and what that new day was going to mean to us. All the time we were going through it, it was so difficult because we couldn’t figure out, “Why are we being battled so much? Why are we in this kind of warfare?” We did not know that it was both a religious world and a spirit world that were protesting against the change of order that was coming.
Where You Used To Feel Everything Working Against You, The Balance Has Been Changed
All the spirit world is aware of the changes that are taking place. In the early days in which we first began to walk in it, you could feel the predominant hostility of the world of spirits. And that has changed. Where you used to feel everything working against you, the balance has been changed, the nephilim spirits have been changed, principalities have been brought down.
The Transition Is Taking Place
The transition is taking place. Many things are just beginning to come forth with the operational power, like dynamite with its tremendous impact, with the control, with the persistent authority, with the persistent faith, unwrapping everything that God has spoken for many years.
At A Time Of Transition, The One Tactic The Enemy Brings Is To Discredit The Agents That God Is Using
In the first place I have to say that at a time of transition, the one tactic the enemy brings is to discredit the agents that God is using. When you read the Bible from beginning to end, you’re impressed that whatever the age was, whoever the people were that God used, many of them were humble men like Amos, the gatherer of sycamore fruit (Amos 7:14). He was kind of a desert rat who went out and gathered stuff so that he could sell it and make a living. Elijah, the Tishbite, would probably be arrested on the streets today for the scanty clothes that he wore (II Kings 1:8).
All of these guys had something about them that God worked in their spirits; they were not conformists to an age that was, but they could create something that was to come forth.
The Schools Of Prophets Are Coming Back Again; We’re Finding The Breakthrough For Seers And Prophets
When Samuel came forth he changed the whole picture of what government was to mean, what authority and control was to mean, by bringing forth the Schools of the Prophets which were the predominant influence for several generations (I Samuel 10:5; 19:18–24). Even later on in the days of Elijah and Elisha, the Schools of the Prophets were very predominant (II Kings 2:3; 4:38). The Schools of Prophets are coming back again; the prophets and seers have been established for the last two years. We’re finding the breakthrough for seers and prophets.
The Changing Of The Scene
One of the biggest things that’s happened in the last five years is the changing of the scene, even among us who have been walking with God, until we’re getting away from the sense of possession and the sense of position. We’re getting back to pure discipleship, giving ourselves wholly to the Lord, walking with Him.
The Oracles That God Uses Come Forth As A Challenge To A System That He Has To Deal With
At a time of transition, the instruments, or the humans, the oracles that God uses to speak, are not often classified as orthodox or even acceptable by the religious world. But they come forth suddenly as a challenge to a system that God has to deal drastically with. For instance, I think that there are straws in the wind—coming events seem to cast their shadows often in a natural world before they do in a spiritual world. Or maybe the spiritual world is functioning in such a way that it creates certain things.
For example, the beatnik and hippie movements flaunted all customs, morals, religion, or anything else. They were the first ones that said, “We’re going to challenge everything. There is a way of peace.” Okay, it was in the wrong realm; it was the wrong approach, and it inevitably died. But there is going to be a people that will come forth who are not going to be slaves of convention or of traditions that are established by men and not by God.
The Kingdom Has Been Coming Forth For Centuries But It Moves From One Level To Another
There’s always a John the Baptist out there in the desert who eats locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4). Though he may be the son of the priestly orders, Zecharias and Elizabeth (Luke 1:5), yet you don’t find him in the temple and you don’t find him in the robes (Matthew 11:7–9). You find him in the rustic camel’s hair garb; and you find that he’s totally impervious to the opinions of the religious world. When the Sadducees and Pharisees come to him he calls them a generation of vipers: “Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” And he has but one Word: “The Kingdom is at hand” (Matthew 3:1–2, 7).
The Kingdom has been coming forth for centuries. But you see, slowly but surely it moves from one level to another. And that level of the Kingdom did come. The old level was totally destroyed. And though the One who came was prophesied that He would sit upon the throne of David, yet none of the natural seed of Abraham recognized what He was doing (Isaiah 9:6–7; John 1:11). He had moved to a level that they couldn’t perceive or understand.
It’s the same today. How many of the churches can really understand what we’re teaching and doing? How many could understand your experience? How many of you have found that you can’t talk to anybody about it because “who hath known the mind of the Lord?” (I Corinthians 2:16.)
Those Who Listened To Christ And Walked With Him Got Out Of The Commercial System Of Religion
We are in a transition period into a whole new level of the Kingdom of God. You say, “Is this something new?” No, it isn’t. It happened back with Paul. Why do you think he was persecuted so much?
We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. I exhort you therefore, be imitators of me. I Corinthians 4:10–16.
At the beginning and the end of Jesus’ ministry He took a whip and He went in and He overturned the moneychangers (John 2:13–16; Matthew 21:12–13). If some man had messed up, he could go to the temple and slip the priest a few coins and he’d take a little lamb off to the side and kill it. He had fulfilled the letter of religion without being exposed as a sinner that had to come and bring his sacrifice to the Lord. Jesus said, “You’ve made My Father’s house a house of merchandise and it is supposed to be a house of prayer for all people.” So He upset it. Now those who listened to Christ and those who believed Him and walked with Him said, “We’re fools; we’re called the scum of the earth. We work with our hands. We don’t have any great financial system to support ourselves. We live by faith that just releases day by day our daily need.” You see, they got out of that commercial system of religion.
The Only Thing That Can Make A Change
There comes a time when somebody that has gone into conflict with swords and spears suddenly finds that there’s a man with an automatic weapon that stops it all. See, the weapons change, the times change, everything is changed. And I tell you before God, none of the religious systems are going to be able to cope with the world today because they can’t make a change. The only thing that can make a change is that we have the prophets and the seers, the kings and the priests of God who will come forth and begin to exercise authority and power for the first time since Christ Jesus won our redemption.
We’ve Been On The Track Of A New Level Of Power And Effectiveness
We’ve been on the track of a new level of power and effectiveness. We’ve been on it for forty years, but it’s only in the last two years that we’ve seen the breakthrough come until God is giving control. He’s giving authority to the prophets and the seers of the Lord. We’ve never seen a breakthrough in discernment, revelation, or perception like we witnessed this year.
Make The Living Word A Personal Experience, And Then Let It Expand Until It Becomes A Flood Tide Of Expression In All The Earth
The Lord spoke to me this morning and He said, “Give them a Living Word but tell them to make it their personal experience, and then let their experience expand until it becomes a flood tide of expression in all the earth.” Don’t just listen to a tape; devour it. I’m teaching you something. Get it in your heart. Let it be a personal experience to you.
This Is The Day Of The Year That The Word Begins To Go Forth
We are on the threshold of everything working at such dimensions that it’s almost impossible to realize this. We can drop a Word into the oceans and the ripples will be felt on every shore of every nation. God prophesied that this is the year. And I believe that this is the day of the year that that Word begins to go forth. And how is it going to go forth? The enemy has fought the Word harder this year than ever before. We’re living in a time when we’re going to have to have the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ to get this thing broken.
It’s time to get the Word out. Everything’s fighting it. It’s time to get the Word out. How are we going to do it? Look for the authority to turn this Word loose. You’re going to take it in your heart; you’re going to make an experience out of it; it’s going to expand; it’s going to explode; it’s going to begin to flow and have its expression in you. It’s going to be a fantastic thing that happens. But, you see, it won’t be passing out tracts.
You’re To Be A Special Edition Of The Word Of God For The Kingdom
We have somewhere between sixteen or eighteen thousand messages recorded. It would be a hundred years’ work to get before the people all of the keys for this time of transition into the Kingdom; but I’m going to tell you, if you had prime time to play tapes over the television and radio, and illustrate them, it still wouldn’t do it. This thing has to be a Kingdom edition of the Bible. It will not be done by the letter of the Word because the letter killeth but the Spirit maketh alive (II Corinthians 3:2–6, 17–18). It’s going to be what God writes of that Word in you! You’re going to be a special edition—the Word of God for the Kingdom. Say, “By the time I listen to this, it’s going to be indelibly written upon my heart and I will have experienced it and it will be a reality to me. I’ll be walking in it by the time I’ve heard it.”
The Kingdom Of God Comes Forth By Creativity
You remember when Jesus said to those who were standing next to Him, “Now you’re clean through the Word which I’ve spoken to you” (John 15:3). We have had processes and procedures of growth. However, we’re going to have to get away from the limitation of formulas and the time process and speak it into being for our own heart and for the hearts of those round about us. In the long days and the years sometimes there was a weariness and they fainted by the wayside. But it’s still there. A little heart-to-heart resuscitation, and they’ll be ready to go again.
“The Unwrapping”—We Peeled Off The Things That Hindered “The Unfolding” From Working
You heard about “the Unfolding” and you were in it; truth by truth unfolded. But “the Unwrapping” is where we peeled off the things that hindered “the Unfolding” from working and it became wonderful.
The Lord Set Before Me An Open Door That Nobody Could Shut
I’ll tell you a story about something that happened. It has a few chapters in it, but the introduction is when a little kid in Iowa was really met by God, and he had a vision of what God was going to do in the days to come. It lasted two or three hours, a fantastic thing. Afterwards, I had the promise that the Lord would set before me an open door that nobody could shut (Revelation 3:8).
A Whole Veil Was Lifted Off When We Came Out Of Religious Bondage
I broke into such a joy this morning when the Lord brought back to mind what had happened over these years. One of the first things the Lord showed me was to break from the denominational world. And this was a tremendous step. You cannot imagine how difficult it was back in those years if you weren’t a part of organized religion. But a big change has taken place here in twenty or thirty years.
We went from there, step-by-step into the gifts and prophesying and ultimately into the Bless-Ins. We learned how to send blessings. It just seemed like a whole veil was lifted off of us when we came out of that religious bondage.
The Next Step—We Entered Into The End-Time Warfare And Became Aware Of The Spirit World
Then we were criticized for being mystics, but we had entered into the end-time warfare and became aware of how much a thing of the spirit world it was (Ephesians 6:12). I wish that we could go back and help people catch up on some of this, because I think that there are people who think that they’ve been hamstrung in their walk with God, not knowing that it’s not their fault—they just have not been able to discern the enemy and what he was doing.
A Time Of Appropriation And Impartation
Then in the middle of that, it seemed like one thing gave way to another. We hadn’t had too much prayer at that time, because in the old days, if you were in an old camp meeting you’d be expected to go down to a pine board altar propped up on cement blocks and pray half the night until you broke through. People would try to receive the Holy Spirit, and they would work for it.
We hadn’t had that old kind of prayer of beating on an altar, but we had more a time of appropriation. Really, it was more impartation. We laid hands on people and they received the Holy Spirit; we laid hands on people and they received healing.
Then We Came Into Intercession And We Hit A New Level Of Warfare
So we got away from the strain and the struggle, but then we came into intercession and we hit a new level of warfare. That spiritual warfare of the end time required us to understand that we were going to break into the manifestation of the sons of God that was described in Romans the eighth chapter. We began to get into the travail of it. This intercession was not beating an altar; it was the travail in the Spirit to bring forth a whole new level. And that again created the greatest persecution that we’ve ever seen in the last forty years.
The intercession of the people created the greatest persecution we ever had. People were just furious about it. And the Lord gave the Word: Just as tongues was a sign when the Pentecostal restoration occurred, so intercession would be the sign when the Kingdom was going to be restored. And it still is the one thing that’s more persecuted than anything else.
Your Intensity For God
Everyone goes through a time in which Satan seems to accuse you, “Well, don’t get into that thing of crying out and being violent.” It’s like a whole blanket that Satan has put upon people, saying, “Be ashamed of your intensity for God. If you love Him with all of your heart and your soul and your mind and strength, be ashamed of it.” And people have become ashamed to open up and become intense in their love for God. You’re not fanatical yet. You’re a long way from it. I’ll tell you when you get fanatical.
The Next Step Was The Realization That There Would Be A Restoration Of The Scribes At The Time Of The Kingdom
The next step that we saw was the realization that there would be a restoration of the ministry of the scribes at the time of the Kingdom. And these scribes are those that we call Word-workers; we call them editors, transcribers, gleaners—those who are working in the Word that God is bringing forth. Actually, right now we have at least a hundred years’ backlog of work to do, if we would do it right, with the Word.
So we have the growing dedication of the scribes in the Word-work and in that intercession, in that working in the Word; I think that we’re just getting to the real breakthroughs that make it go, now.
We Saw The Beginning Of Kingdom Relationships, And The Problem Of The Soul-Flesh And Unequal Yoking
The enemy has fought you on one of these other phases; he just did everything he could to stop you in your tracks, because every phase of this has been fought by satanic powers. And that’s saying that Satan has used the religious world to come against us very much.
But here came something that I think you’re going to be interested in. We saw the beginning of Kingdom relationships, and the problem involved with it was the soulflesh and unequal yoking. The devil has really used that. You get into that walk with God and the next thing you know your marriage is in trouble, but only if both are not agreed together on the level of dedication. God has no pleasure in one that draws back, but He does have pleasure in the one that is pressing in. The gulf between them grows day by day, and there’s no way you can stop it.
You’re Going To Walk Together-If You Don’t, The Law Of Marriage Is Superseded By The Law Of Unequal Yokes
We saw that the beginning of Kingdom relationships is this: don’t leave any stragglers; everybody move forward together. If you’re going to stay together, you’re going to walk together—that’s the thing that’s going to make it work. And if you don’t work it that way, the next thing that you find out is that the law of marriage is superseded by the law of unequal yokes. Paul said, “Don’t be unequally yoked together with an unbeliever” (II Corinthians 6:14). If the unbeliever departs, the believer is not bound in such a case (I Corinthians 7:15); and he gives a way out of it, although the laws of marriage are based on a Kingdom reality which goes back to the principle: “Until death do us part” (Romans 7:2).
I don’t know how else to say it, but a lot of the marriages are going through it; I can point to a lot of them. And I’m wondering if they would declare a thirty-day moratorium on all arguments, and get down and seek the face of the Lord and come into the same dedication to the Lord, if it wouldn’t just solve the whole problem right there. Because, you see, it’s an unequal yoke that causes the problem.
God Was Fighting Those Who Wanted To Build Their Own Kingdoms
We saw the struggle also of the Kingdom of God over the personal kingdoms of people. Many people, especially leaders, wanted to relate in such a way that they had their own kingdom. Wherever there was a spiritual leader—it didn’t have to be the pastor or anything like that; it could be just kind of a head of a little clique or a department in the Living Word building or something—if they wanted to have their own little kingdom, you couldn’t imagine how deadly it was. All the time God is fighting these who want to build their own kingdoms, because His is the only Kingdom that’s to prevail.
God Didn’t Stop Until Every Lord Was Knocked Down Except Himself
The Kingdom of God has to see this elimination of other kingdoms. We had this Word at the beginning that it is the Lordship of Jesus Christ over us that is the key truth. And no matter how many times we would say that, it would still come back to the Scripture: “Many lords have had dominion over us, but Thou, O Lord, alone in that day shall be exalted” (Isaiah 26:13). And it was true: God didn’t stop until every lord was knocked down except Himself.
A New Kingdom Level Of Shepherding Coming Forth
These are transition things. We learned the difference between unity, or compatibility, and oneness. We learned that we had to get into a realm of spirit and find oneness. We learned that God was going to bring forth prophets and priests, and we began to learn how they were going to function. We learned how to relate in one another’s heart; it was such a beautiful thing. We learned the unwrapping. We learned the shepherding. There were many great things that came, one after another. These were not things that we had known in the churches. The pastors didn’t know how to shepherd. The elders didn’t know how to shepherd. They have learned more about shepherding in the last couple years than they knew all the years before. Yet they ministered and preached the Word and so forth; but see, it’s a new Kingdom level of shepherding that is coming forth.
Satan Is Fighting The Finances And The Schools And The Third Generation
Now we see the, present assaults against these Words that have come, especially against the finances—this is where Satan is fighting. Another thing he’s fighting against are these Kingdom schools and the third generation that has also come forth in the last two Years or so. That Word about the third generation is being fought, because already the creative flow is coming. They are producing some of the most outstanding songs and music that have been written. You can’t believe some of the things that they have done; and you can’t believe the shepherding, how many people that they’ve unwrapped, how many people that they’ve helped. And yet the enemy fights them more than any other group. And he fights these Kingdom schools because these Kingdom schools have the greatest potential that you’ve ever seen. It’s in those schools that we can impart to the kids the creative gifts of God and they’ll break through. I don’t think you realize how many of these kids are blessed and anointed and they come up with some of the highest IQ’s I’ve ever seen. And they didn’t get it by heredity because their parents aren’t that bright!
One More Step—The Emergence Of The True Apostolic Company
Then we saw one more step that I want to mention here—the emergence of the true apostolic company. It’s like Revelation gives in the messages to the churches, “You have tried those who say they are apostles and are not, and found them liars” (Revelation 2:2). The humility of the true apostles is coming forth. A whole apostolic company, a true apostolic company is coming. And it’s surprising how much deception, how much position-orientation had to be destroyed; they had to come into that humility.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Where do we go from here? How does all this affect you? What should you be doing? I want to hit you with some simple statements:
A. Get a real revelation of the treasure of this Living Word that has come for all these years, and the vision from God to see it.
We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’ve got the road map. We’ve got the dynamite to blast out the rocks, we’ve got the Word to create, we’ve got it all. Let’s get a hold of it. Now you say, “How can we listen to sixteen thousand tapes?” I don’t intend for you to do that, but the key messages are going to be gleaned, because we felt that you could do better with a gleaning than you can if everybody is trying to listen to a tape. Sit down and read a gleaning and talk about it—trying to listen to the tape stretches your concentration a little bit too much. But if you can sit down and work with two or three pages of a gleaning, it begins to really work. One kid was telling me last night that he sat down and read for the first time twenty-eight pages of the gleanings in This Week. You see, it just kept getting to him and he couldn’t stop.
B. What is the true goal? To experience the Living Word and let it work in us and through us.
Experience it. It’s not what you listen to, it’s not what you talk about, it’s what you experience that counts. Don’t read about the Holy Spirit; receive Him in His fullness. Experience it. Don’t just read the Bible; let it leap off its pages and write itself in your heart. Do it. Experience it. That’s the one thing that we’re shooting for here with all of our heart.
C. Learn to cope with the persecutions with joy, because if you don’t they’ll nibble at you, and they’ll erode away your immunity protection and you’ll get hit.
The joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10). The persecutions probably will not diminish; they probably will increase. Therefore, we’ve got to learn to cope with them with joy. Can you do it? Don’t let them bother you. You say, “Well, they don’t bother me.” Sometimes on a subliminal level they bother you. Be sure they don’t.
D. We need the Living Word for the world.
In this case, we’ll see some very important tapes that give the keys of the Kingdom in a way that can be revealed to the world. And we need to have the tapes edited so that we have a whole new library of the Living Word for the world. That’s going to really take dedication; it’s going to take people working at it. However, I can’t think of anything that would be more effective, because that is going to be the Kingdom witness outreach to the whole world. Do you realize that sometimes people have heard one tape and it has moved whole churches, whole communities to the Lord?
E. Never settle at a lower spiritual level.
Never settle at a lower spiritual level. I think that’s when you run into trouble, when you stop pressing in and battling and you settle for a lower level. Be determined, be prepared to spend the rest of your lives in the Living Word. That’s dedication.
F. We have to loose to God ourselves, and money, and time.
Especially that redeeming the time (Ephesians 5:16). We cannot accept any limitation in ourselves, or on the finances to do it. We get by on a shoestring. And a few people do too much work; they’re so locked in that they hardly have time to go through the process of living.
G. The last thing: The right perspectives.
I think that this probably is the most important of all. This message is what God laid on my heart this morning early, and I think it’s a key. Study this; you need to outline it, talk about. Get yourself into it, because it’s demanding your dedication. And this last one demands the right outlook on things, on the oracles of the Lord. How do you think about me? If you idolize me, you’re in trouble. If you put me down as just another man, you’re in trouble. But look to what God has made me—somebody to speak His Word to you. And that’s true of a lot of other people. Keep the perspective. You’re going to do it.
Look Upon One Another With A Perspective That Is Given By The Holy Spirit
You’ve got to face the fact that people are growing, changing, and advancing in the Lord. So look upon one another constantly, not with a view from the past, but with a perspective that’s given by the Holy Spirit. Have the right perspective on the elders, the apostolic company—and above all the Living Word.
The Lord Is Showing Us How To Do It
We’re in a series called “Putting It All Together.” The Lord is showing us how to do it; God will create it in us.
The message “Moving Up Higher” and this one, if they were heard together, will probably do more for you than anything. They just put it all together. We’re going to walk in it and we’re going to be the Church that the Lord wants. I think this is going to eliminate the lack of flowing together. We’re overcoming it surely, but we’re getting to the place where we’re just all going to flow together.
The Word That Has Come Is Where We’re Going To Find The Answers
Part of the vision that I had while I was before the Lord this morning was that this Word is going to go out. We always come back to Kingdom evangelism here in Honolulu. Year after year after year, Words come on Kingdom evangelism. And I think that what we should do is make a study of the Word that has come already on Kingdom evangelism, for a period of about five or six years at least. Always there are just a few real keys that are given each year. Nobody has done anything with it; but if we’re going to put it all together, this is the time to do it. And I think right there we’re going to find the answers on how to reach another person.
Even many of the people who have been in this walk with the Lord are isolated. They’re just cut off, circled in someplace. They need help. How do we reach them? I think the first answer is what’s been coming for weeks now. Take dominion over the spirit that’s behind a problem. Once you’ve bound and judged that, then you can reach them. But you can’t reach a person as long as he’s locked into some spirit. Get him out. First bind the strong man, and then plunder his house (Matthew 12:29). People will sometimes criticize, “You’re too much into spiritual warfare, and dealing with the spirit world,” but they don’t know how much the spirit world really controls. Deal with that; learn how to cope with that and you’ve learned how to reach people effectively and permanently.
THE SIN OF NOT LOVING HIM MORE
Are We Really Walking in the Word We Have?
The shift from this morning’s message (“A Generation of Transition Teaching”) to this one is drastic. We get the whole picture of what God wants. God has been moving on people for all these years, yet we blame circumstances, we blame all of these things; but the truth of the matter is that we ought to take a good look at ourselves and see, “Are we really walking in the experiences, in the Word we have?”
You know, I’ve come to the conclusion that these churches of the Living Word are going to fold up if they don’t get with the Word they’ve heard. God isn’t going to produce another denominational thing where you have a nice set of doctrines and a catechism that you don’t walk in. You had better walk in it!
“Love The Lord Thy God With All Thy Heart”
You’ve heard for thirty-five years, “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, with all thy strength” (Mark 12:30); yet we’re still living down on some lesser level. Now somewhere along the line we’re going to have to decide: if this is a Living Word, then let’s get with it.
The Living Word Is The Greatest Dynamic Force That Was Ever Turned Loose To Make The Transition From A Church Age Into A Spirit Level
We know how to worship; let’s worship. We know how to intercede; let’s intercede. Let’s not be guilty of making doctrines and wonderful little truths out of the Living Word when it’s supposed to be the greatest dynamic force that was ever turned loose to make the transition from a church age that had reached the highest level of restoration it could, on up into a spirit level. Come on, let’s move it!
You’re Either Going To break Through To The Kingdom, Or You’re Going To Settle On A Lesser Level
How many people have heard the Living Word through the years? But what happened? I’ll tell you what happened: they got busy doing everything else, and self-interest, Soul-flesh got in the way. You can decide, “Oh, it will be so much easier for me if I don’t follow this battle of the Living Word.” And you’re right—it will be easier, because you’ll either break through to the Kingdom or you’re going to settle on a lesser level. The ones who back off may be virgins, but their lamps are going out (Matthew 25:1–13).
“If Any Man Draws Back, My Soul Shall Have No Pleasure In Him”
I am not just threatening; I am prophesying what’s going to happen! The minute that you draw back from this Living Word, things ease off for you. If you get on the front line you could get shot or killed. It’s dangerous and noisy up there—whistles and bombs and everything else going off. But if you move back where all of the other people are, it’s not so dangerous anymore. You will say, “I feel freer than I’ve ever felt before.” But it isn’t going to work.
If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. Hebrews 10:38b, KJV. You see, this is the thing: You say, “Oh, it would be much easier; I don’t want to be in the eighth grade, I like the fifth grade. If I can get into the fifth grade, then I don’t have to study; I don’t have to work; and I can bat the ball farther than anybody else in the class.” Sure you can! But if you draw back, God says, “My soul shall have no pleasure in you.”
There Has To Be The Time Of Fruitfulness
This should not be taken as discouraging, because you’re here with an idea, “Something could happen to me. I am in the flow of this thing and I love the Lord—now what am I going to do? Am I relegated to be in a dying-out race?” Is that what’s going to happen in the walk—everyone is going to die out? No! God says that there has to be the time of fruitfulness. And the prophecy in the Old Testament said, “I’ll take a handful of corn and scatter it upon the mountains, and the harvest thereof shall shake like Lebanon” (Psalm 72:16, KJV).
“I’ll Take A Handful Of Corn And I’ll Scatter It On The Mountains; The Harvest Shall Be Like The Forests Of Lebanon”
This meant something in those days. The cedars of Lebanon were in probably one of the greatest forests of all time. They were used for Solomon’s temple; they were used for many things. They were tremendous. Now there is just a little stand of them, but originally those cedars of Lebanon were great; they housed some of the greatest accumulations of forest animals there ever were because of the watershed. They even were known to have hippopotamuses and elephants and lions. Don’t forget that David fought lions and bears, and great animals (I Samuel 17:33–37). They don’t have that now; it’s just big piles of rocks all through that area, and they have to irrigate it. But way back in those days you could see what God meant when He said through the old prophet, “I’ll just take a handful, and I’ll scatter it on the mountains—and that harvest is going to shake like the great forests of Lebanon when the winds blow over them.”
The Winners Are Those Who Get A Revelation Of The Lord Jesus-Christ In This Living Word
Now God is going to do it. We don’t even know what the forests of Lebanon are now, but we’re going to know what these sons of God are going to do and it’s not going to take many of them. We don’t need many, but we need them dedicated to the will of God. We may have a handful, but let’s see them dedicated to the will of God; let’s see what they can do.
You see, the race is not to the swift, and the battle isn’t to the strong (Ecclesiastes 9:11). But I’ll tell you where the winners are: the winners are the ones who get a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ in this Living Word. They see what He’s doing and they begin to move in with all of their heart, their soul, their mind, and strength.
A Whole New Frontier
I’m going to tell you something and I want you to listen carefully. I came into the Lord as a kid with the Lord healing me of infections in both ears. My life was saved; it was a wonderful thing. The first thing I ever knew was the old-fashioned tabernacles and the sawdust floor and all the red-hot potbellied stoves; we went through a winter of services every night. It was marvelous. Those were days when God met me and I found my heart reaching into Him. I can remember visiting a little tent meeting outside of town, and they were really holy rollers. I came up because there was something of God in the thing and it was persecuted, and it was not refined. They weren’t ready yet to become a denominational structure.
I was in that thing, carefully seeking the Lord, because I saw God in it: a little kid seeking God in that, because I loved Him and I wanted to serve Him. And I watched those other people do it; they’d all go home with sawdust in their hair. I can remember those days in which God began to open up a whole frontier. It was called “storefront religion,” because churches would not receive it, but they would rent a store building and they would preach the Word of the Lord. Now you say, “You talk like you’re against Pentecost.” God forbid! I danced with the best of them. I prophesied, I spoke in tongues, I was in all of that. Why? Because that was where the frontier was. But when God started to open up something more, I was ready to push into it with all my heart. I went into these things of restoration; and because God had moved on, the Pentecostal movement was less, and it could never satisfy again.
No Longer Will We Be Able To Dodge The Persecution—We’re Ready For It
Then we moved on into the next thing; then came the gifts, then the apostolic ministry, and then came the restoration of the pattern of what God wanted for the Church and what He wanted for people. Each step was persecuted. And right now the message of the Kingdom has come to the place where no longer will we be able to dodge the most severe persecutions that have ever come on any movement that God has restored in the history of the earth. We’re ready for it.
We’re Ready To Pass Over These Thresholds Into New Areas Of The Kingdom
I think you have to decide, “Okay, count me in. I don’t have to be respectable; I don’t have to be passive; I don’t have to be negligent about these things and draw back. I’m not going to dodge it. I’m going to go all out for this thing no matter what comes because I want to be on the front line. I don’t want to find a place of ease in Zion (Amos 6:1). I want to move forward in the thing because that’s what I feel!” We’re getting ready to pass over these thresholds into new areas of the Kingdom.
This Is A Matter Of Loving God
This is all a matter of loving God. I don’t care what you believe; I want to know how you love Him. You can say, “Well, we’ve listened to all of these wonderful truths; the Living Word has been wonderful”—but you will walk away from it if you don’t love Him enough. You could get so involved with revelation that you forget that dedication is greater.
There Should Be No Revelation Of The Lord Or Of His Word That Does Not Have A Corresponding Dedication In Your Heart
There should be no revelation of the Lord or of His Word that does not have a corresponding dedication in your heart that you believe and come to love Him with all your heart! That’s when you say, “Whatever comes against me, devils, or men, or the establishment, or if God Himself comes to refine my soul, I’ll wrestle with Him until He cripples me, but I’ll have the will of God” (Genesis 32:24–30).
A Remnant That Says, “Lord, I Love You With All My Heart”
This is the thing you came in for. Some of you were raised in this and you’re still too passive about it. You don’t realize how fortunate, how blessed you are, how wonderful it is, and what you can do. There ought to be a stirring here. The churches are going through it, being sifted. They’re going to be sifted right out of the picture unless there’s the remnant that begins to come up and say, “Lord, I love You with all my heart” (Revelation 2:4–5).
What’s coming next? I don’t know. But when it comes I’m going to be there on the front line. Or if I’m killed in this war, my body will be a stepping-stone where you can scale the next wall. I’m not backing off. I think it is so ridiculous that we’ve heard so much and we walked in so much for so many years, and yet now have we come to a place where we stop and evaluate it all again? My God, you either decided you were going to be a disciple or you didn’t! You either decided you were going to walk with Him in this or you didn’t. And if you said, “Oh yes, I believe it all,” but now you don’t give yourself wholly to it, you’re just as bad a hypocrite as anybody that came up in Babylon.
“Son, Daughter, Lovest Thou Me More Than These?” Hear His Question And Say, “Yes, Lord, I Love You”; Hear Him Say, “Feed My Sheep”
It sounds like I’m being harsh on you; I’m not. I’m just bringing a Word from the Lord. “Son, daughter, lovest thou Me more than these?” (John 21:15–17.) For the last few days I’ve been living in John 17; and I’ve been living in the Words of the Lord: “Of all that Thou hast given Me I have lost none, except the son of perdition” (John 17:12). How I’ve searched my heart.
We don’t need to teach shepherding, we just need to hear His question and say, “Yes, Lord, I love You.” And hear Him say, “Feed My sheep.”
Doers Of The Word
There’s a heaviness on my spirit that people will hear sermons and hear teaching, and it will not become a living thing that relates them to the Lord. You say, “Oh, it does in a measure.” That’s not what I’m talking about. There’s so much here that God has given us.
We’re Not Confronting The Devil; We’re Confronting The Sifting Of God
Satan is trying to destroy all the work that has come for thirty years, but that isn’t the problem. I’ll tell you what the problem is—it’s our limiting our dedication to the Lord; it’s our settling on a lesser level than what the Word brought to us. We’re not confronting the devil; we’re confronting the sifting of God. All afternoon I was realizing that we have passed out of an area where we’d feel the hits and the battle and the struggle. We’re into a whole new era. And that era is where God searches out the hearts of His people and God brings an army of thirty-two thousand down to three hundred (Judges 7:2–8).
I Want To lead You Into His Presence
I feel the repentance of this because, as the sun goes down, this is the eve of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement—the day that for many generations, about three thousand years, God’s people have confessed their sins, repented, and sought the face of God. But I think we’ve been in the preparation for it for days. God has just been searching our hearts and dealing with us, and it’s tracking right on with God’s calendar. I’ve been in so much of this searching in my heart—not in self-condemnation, because we’re all weak and who has not failed? Who has not sinned before His face? (Romans 3:23.) But I’ve been repenting because, oh, how I want to not teach you, I want to lead you into His presence.
We Had No Other Word From The Beginning—He Was To Be The Lord
We’re in the hands of God to see what people will do with the Living Word. Think back—how many Words blessed you? The Words have been so real; you could not find Words like them anyplace on the face of the earth. They lead you through a transition right into the Kingdom of His love (Colossians 1:13). The issue is in His hands, isn’t it? He’s going through His camp. But in a real sense the issue is still with you too.
So many things are in the balance. There is the sifting and the assault, the drawing back because of personal interest and ambition to seek one’s own thing. And all the time He was to be the Lord. We had no other Word from the beginning—He was to be the Lord. I don’t speak these things to condemn you; please believe that.
You’re Going To Have To Deepen Your Experience With God
We’re just at the threshold of so much, or nothing. God could loose the dedication to work, and to serve Him, but above all God could loose His worshipers that worship Him and love Him. The thing that He’s after is for you to love Him with all your heart. You’re going to have to deepen your experience with God. Go back and seek His face and be filled with His Spirit again; be anointed. Don’t stand in a place of questions and wondering and confusion, without the confidence, with condemnation resting on you. Get out of that! I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice. Romans 12:1a, KJV.
Repentance Precedes The Outpouring Of The Spirit—It Precedes Tabernacles
VERE THOMAS: The Word has a cleansing, refining element to it today. Like you said, it doesn’t matter what you have seen the Lord do, you see so much yet that needs to be done; you just repent, and it’s a real repentance, but the repentance must precede this outpouring of the Spirit that’s ready to come. It must precede Tabernacles.
“The Living Word Has Come, But Who Has Become It?”
GARY HARGRAVE: We’re into a twenty-four hour period between now and tomorrow night with this Day of Atonement. It’s a time of repentance, and there’s nothing wrong with the Word. There’s nothing wrong with the oracle of that Word. We’ve pointed out where the problem is—the problem isn’t in our brother, it’s not in our circumstance, it’s not in whether we’ve been burned, it’s not in anything wrong that’s happened to us. The issue is between us and the Lord that we’ve heard the Living Word.
We had a tape—it was called, “The Lord Has Given A Living Word, But Who Has Heard It?” But this could almost be called, “The Living Word Has Come, But Who Has Become It?” because everything you said this weekend is pointing to the fact that it’s our experience with the Lord. When you speak a Word, the door is open for us to have that Word, not as a doctrine but as an experience. And I just want to do some homework tonight.
I Don’t Want An Illusion; I Want My Faith To Be Real And Positive In My Heart
JOHN STEVENS: We’re going to really act on it. I want to. I really do. I know you said there’s nothing wrong with the Word; there’s nothing wrong with the oracle. Well, I want to know that. I want to submit everything before Him. I’ve been tracking on this thing for such a long time. I don’t want condemnation, but I don’t want an illusion. I want my faith to be real and positive and my love totally given to Him with all my heart.
The Lord Wants Us To Be His Wonderful Treasure In The Earth
I think I’ve learned not to judge people. I don’t know how to express this, but thousands of times you tune into the Lord, you just stand in His presence, and you’re concerned about somebody; but you find that the Lord isn’t rejoicing over him. The Holy Spirit brings the grieving because that one is grieving the Spirit of the Lord by not walking in the Word; he’s not giving the Lord his whole heart. God wants us all. He wants to possess us. The Lord wants us to be His unique, wonderful treasure in the earth (Deuteronomy 26:18–19). Is that a hard thing? How the flesh fights it!
A Sense Of Grieving Where You’re Falling Short Of Loving The Lord
Can you feel as though the Holy Spirit is bringing a sense of grieving where you’re falling short of loving the Lord? I don’t think it’s condemnation because of what you do or don’t do. I think it’s a grieving because of your relationship to the Lord. This is what was uncovered; this is what was unwrapped here tonight. I’m not going to condemn you. You might point your finger at me and find a dozen things worse in my life, I don’t know. Maybe no one can answer for another, but you can just feel that the thing that God is judging is this: How do you relate to the Lord? How much do you love Him? How much do you hunger after Him? That’s what this is really all about, isn’t it? It’s not how much do you accept the Living Word, or how much are you violating, or what little things you are letting remain in your life, or what are the problems of relationships. The thing that really counts is if you really love Him. Then all things work together for good for those who love God (Romans 8:28). Just love Him.
IDENTITY
Everybody Has Confusion Until They Identify Themselves With Christ
There’s a certain element of confusion that everybody has until they identify themselves, and God wants to help us with that. Even to Christ He said, “Thou art My beloved Son” (Hebrews 1:5) and “This is My beloved Son” (Matthew 3:17; 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35). There was an identification that was made. Even Paul starts to identify himself. If he has a scar or mark, he doesn’t call it a wound; he says, From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Galatians 6:17, KJV. “I’m branded. I’ve gone through the sufferings; I’ve gone through the fire, and I’m identified with Him.” In a sense, we’re in that now. We’re suffering with Him; and we should not interpret the sufferings just as struggles, but we should take them as identifying marks for our sonship, and enter into the authority that reigns with Him (II Timothy 2:12). The authority belongs to us, because we have gone through the identifying process. This thing of identity is very important. It’s not easy to come to, though.
Blessed Are The Ones Who Don’t Have To Shift Caps
It’s like the old story of the storekeeper who has a dozen caps on the wall. He puts one cap on and he can go out and pump gas. Then he takes that cap off, puts another cap on and cuts up the salami; he’s the butcher. Then he puts another cap on and does something else. The caps were the identifying marks that showed how he had a lot of different jobs, but blessed are the ones who come to the place where they don’t have to shift caps. We’re only identified as His bondservants.
That’s the thing that’s been so difficult. All the time we were teaching about bondservants, people would come before the Lord and say, “Lord, I’m Your bondservant”; and then they would go to another person and say, “I’m your master.” They would switch caps. They would assume a position that was not related to the identity of the bondservant.
Insist Upon My Identity
Marilyn, you have found the answer when you have been saying what God has shown you: you’re insisting that I have to know my identity as a servant of the Lord. You’re saying that because you see it; you’re identifying me. You’re not relating to me in two or three different aspects. You’re not saying, “Well, here I’m a wife, and here I am a mother, and here I am this or that.”
Know Your Identity
You come into a oneness that you don’t lose by conflicting identification. That’s what I think is happening right now with all of the people. God is saying, “You’re going to know your identity.”
The Relationships Minister
If you’re born into a family you don’t have a battle about whether you’re a member of the family or not; but we’ve had to come into it—all of us—by faith.
Since we came over here, in the last four months, so many people have said, “You’re our father.” Now, does that mean that I’m going to do more for them than I’ve done in the past? I think more will be accomplished in them, but what they have done is this: They have come to identify me as their father. It was not that I became any different, but they identified me as what I really am. And even if I never see them again, that identity will minister to them. We have had that in the Word: The Relationship Itself Ministers.
An Inner Conflict Is A Conflict With Christ
I feel that we’re shutting another door to something, and it happened last night. I went so far as to declare that anything that is a crosscurrent in me is the same as an antichrist spirit, because it’s a crosscurrent to what the Lord is doing. If we are not moving as one person, then we’ve got the conflict, and that is what we’re trying to get rid of. And I’m declaring that it’s over, and there’s going to be such a definite change. I feel that even the flow of judgment has been held up with that. Anything left in us that’s an inner conflict is a conflict with Christ.
We Have To See One Another In Christ
Not only judgment, but think of it in this aspect. The greatest impasse we are facing is the impasse in our flowing to each other. And I don’t think that’s only because we have to judge a lot of things or get a lot of hindrances out of the way. Those are true aspects, but one of the biggest things is the parable of identification: “Inasmuch as you do it to the least of these My brethren, you’ve done it unto Me” (Matthew 25:40). We say it, but we still don’t really see it; we don’t really experience it. We don’t see Christ in one another as we should. Paul said it, and it was one of the first great messages in “the Unfolding”: Henceforth know we no man after the flesh. II Corinthians 5:16a, KJV. The Corinthians were to know one another in Christ; they were to open their hearts and live in one another’s hearts (II Corinthians 7:2–3). And then tied right into that Scripture, the Lord said, “You’ll be My sons and daughters. I’m going to live in you and move in you” (II Corinthians 6:16–18). It’s a precious thing that’s going to happen. These can be spiritual facts, but they have to become our reality. We must get into this thing of identification. We have to see one another in Christ.
It’s not just “Know no man after the flesh,” which is the negative, and which has been interpreted to mean, “Well, we just don’t socialize”; that isn’t taking you into the positive thing where you will not know a person except to see, “That is the Lord.” And that’s a delight. That’s a positive type of relating.
Identifying Yourself Is Probably The Biggest Step Of All
It was worded in Hebrews 2:12: “I will proclaim Thy name to My brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Thy praise,” meaning that the Lord Jesus Christ, in the midst of His brethren, was going to be singing praises. It is a strange mystical picture of the fact that we could be so identified with Christ that when we, the brethren, all begin to lift our voices together, it’s really Christ praising the Father. It’s that much of Christ moving in us. That was the big problem in the early Church. Remember in Corinthians Paul wrote to them and said, “Since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me …” (II Corinthians 13:3). He came to the place where he was so identified with Christ that he knew Christ was doing the teaching. Christ was speaking. Christ was ministering His own Word right through that oracle. It is really important that we come to the place where we have an end to confusion because we’re identified. Identifying yourself is probably the biggest step of all.
The old Scotsman said, “Oh that God would give us the gift to see ourselves as others see us.” But I tell you, the biggest thing I’ve seen through all these years was the gift that God gave me to see people as He sees them. That’s the biggest one.
Identify Ourselves Totally With That Nature Of Christ
We can look at what we are and say, “Oh, I’m one of Eve’s children; I’m one of Adam’s children,” and we see what we are in the flesh. You can concentrate on that, and that’s what you will be. But if you see that divine nature coming forth, and you really identify yourself with it, you’ll walk in victory over the other. It’s the expansion of the Christ nature as it takes over, and we identify ourselves totally with that nature. That is the key.
There is nothing left over, nothing even able to be hit. There’s nothing there, because you’re so totally given to the other. And that’s what I feel Atonement is.
Identify Yourself With The Prophets
I think that one of the most difficult Scriptures to follow, to really obey, is in the Beatitudes: Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Matthew 5:11–12, KJV. The key is not in rising up until you can be happy about persecution; the key is identifying yourself with the prophets. You identify yourself: “I’m with the prophets.” Are you being persecuted? All the godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (II Timothy 3:12). Then you come up to that realization: “I’m a godly one; I’m a prophet.” But if you don’t accept that, then you accept persecution and all the evil as a put-down and you feel rejected. We’re not rejected; we have been branded and identified forever.
It Takes Identification To Change A Doctrine Into An Absolute Reality In Your Life
I can remember when I first began to preach on identification back in 1940 or 1941. It’s strange how truths have a way of becoming real to you. At first you don’t really appropriate them to their full strength; you don’t know what to do with them. Something has to change a doctrine into an absolute reality in your life. That’s what identification should do. It isn’t weak, so that you say, “Well, I’m identifying myself here with the Church of the Living Word, but they don’t have any membership that I can join.” You’re not joining something. You’re not just coming into some kind of an agreement with it. You’re becoming one with it. You say, “I am the Church of the Living Word.” That’s what identification should be. I guess that’s what the Scripture really means when it says, “As the Body is not one member but many, yet one Body, so also is Christ” (I Corinthians 12:12, 14). In other words, there are many different members, but they identify themselves as the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ means Christ’s body; it’s the members of it.
The Danger Of Denominationalism Is That They Lose Their Identity In Christ
That’s what we were criticized for by the persecutors. These people who persecute do not know the Scriptures, but worse, they don’t even know the Lord. However, they’ve identified themselves as a certain group. That’s the danger of denominationalism and all these church organizations and so forth; they identify themselves with their own little project, and they lose their identity in Christ.
Do you remember the vision and Word that came to me several years ago? I said, “The Body of Christ is like a sleeping giant, but it’s going to wake up and discover itself. And then it will fulfill the will of God in the earth.”
The Things Of Spirit Must Be Identified As One Spirit
John said of the false prophets in his day, “They went out from us, that it might be manifested that they were not of us” (I John 2:19). It’s surprising how many different levels of thought and feelings can congregate together, but then the Lord will do something that shakes everyone. That’s when you find how much people want to organize themselves into a group, and how much they are interested in becoming one living organism, a living thing, identified with God. He shakes it. I think it’s a good thing that He does. If you want something real, you’re going to find that it can stand only if the iron and clay aren’t mixed (Daniel 2:42–43). That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:6. Sooner or later, the things of spirit must come to the place where they are identified as one spirit.
You’re Just One Person In God. Then You Can Become One With The Lord And With All The Others Who Are One With Him
We can say, “We are His people, His treasure; we are His priesthood”—but that’s weak. It gives strength only when you can look at your brother and sister and say, “I am His treasure. I am His priest.” There is no oneness that doesn’t start with one. You start it. You say, “I’m it. I am this.” Then you can go and identify yourself in your own oneness; you put yourself together. You don’t have several different halves; you don’t have several different aspects of your life. You don’t have to take a vacation from God and run out here in the world and enjoy certain things because they’re still a real part of your nature. You come to the place where you’re just one person in God. Then you can become one, not only with the Lord, but with all of the others who would be one with Him. That’s the key of it.
The most difficult thing in a marriage relationship is the fact that the rivals in a marriage are generally walking around under one hat. There are too many conflicting relationships right within yourself. Get rid of that, and then you can be one with somebody. But you can’t as long as you have two or three different things going. That’s why somebody who is a morbid soul and yet is also a person of faith will live alternately in depression or exhilaration; he’s two different people. You have to put that one thing to death and say, “I am one happy person.”
Appropriating A Present Reality And Identity From The Provisions Of God
You’ll be just as happy and joyful as you decide to be. But we could rephrase that and say, “You are just as happy and joyful a person as you decide that you are.” The most impotent expression of faith is for somebody to read the promises of God and say, “This I will be”—to relegate it to the future. The potent faith is the faith that says, “This I am.” It is appropriating a present reality and identity from the provisions of God.
THE GOAT OF REMOVAL—ATONEMENT
Rid of Self-Condemnation Forever—That is What The Day Of Atonement is All About
For several days we have been in a dealing of the Lord that has been bringing us through the real spiritual reality of what the Day of Atonement is to mean. Do you recall the brokenness and the tears that we felt yesterday? That was Yom Kippur, the day of repentance, the day of seeking the face of the Lord. It was a spiritual reality like I’ve not seen in several years. It became so real to us that we’ve been in tears again today before the Lord, seeking His face. But in it came an answer of something we’re going to do.
Would you like to be rid of self-condemnation forever? Would you like to confess all of the sins which Satan has convinced you you were guilty of, and put them on his head and send him out to the pit? That is what the Day of Atonement is all about.
Go Through The Work Of The Cross And The Cleansing Before We Stand In His Presence, Lest We Die
Now the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the Lord and died. Leviticus 16:1. That’s the prelude. God wants us to come and stand in His presence in the Parousia, but He wants to see us go through the work of the cross and the cleansing and the purging first, lest we die. We’re going to come and stand in the presence of the Lord, but with fear and trembling. The two sons of Aaron in the priestly order perished because of the way they approached the Lord.
Hebrews 10 Is An Explanation Of Leviticus 16—One Is An Explanation Of The Other
We’re going to get into Hebrews 10, and I’m going to show you how God works this so that we can come and stand in His presence boldly and confidently. Hebrews 10 is talking exactly in an explanation of Leviticus 16. You cannot read the book of Hebrews without understanding the book of Leviticus or the things of the Law. You can’t read the old things of the Law and let them have any meaning to you at all unless you read the book of Hebrews and understand how those things were to be interpreted.
The Lord Has Prepared A Way Into His Presence—Come Not With Fear, But Reverently And Carefully
Now these two sons of Aaron died. And the Lord said to Moses, “Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.” Leviticus 16:2.
The tabernacle had a holy place, and a most holy place, the holy of holies. This God is ordaining: nobody gets into His presence without the preparation of his heart. Two in the line of the priesthood under Aaron, two of his sons, had perished in their presumption to boldly walk into the presence of God. But when we come to the book Hebrews it tells us that the Lord has made sacrifice for our sin, and that we may come boldly to the throne of grace and find grace to help in the time of need (Hebrews 4:16). It’s a big difference. Aaron’s sons presumptuously moved in without preparation, but the Lord has prepared a way for us to move into His presence. Isn’t that wonderful? So this is not to he a thing with fear, but we must know that our access should be received very reverently and carefully.
The Word For Scapegoat, Azazel, Is Also A Word For Satan
Verse 6: “Then Aaron shall offer the bull for the sin offering which is for himself …” Jews all over the world are taking a bull and two goats for this fast of Yom Kippur. And this is the way it started. They killed a bull, but the bull was for the sanctification of the high priest. They also had two goats, and it’s important that you understand what those goats were all about. Now Aaron, who already lost two sons, takes this bull for himself “… that he may make atonement for himself and for his household. And he shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting (or the tabernacle). And Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat.” Leviticus 16:6–8.
The Word for scapegoat is “Azazel.” Now it’s important that You know this. “Scapegoat” is not a good translation, because there’s no meaning to the Day of Atonement unless you understand that Azazel is also a word for Satan. “Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and make it a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell …” Now, the scapegoat is sometimes simply translated, “removal,” or “the goat of removal,” or “Satan.” “… shall be presented alive before the Lord (it is not to be killed), to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.” Leviticus 16:9–10.
The Blood Of The sacrifice Was To Give Perfect Cleansing For Your Sin
Now to verse 15: “Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil, and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull (that was for himself and his household), and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. And he shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel, and because of their transgressions, in regard to all their sins; and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities.” Leviticus 16:15–16.
In other words, they took the blood of this first goat and it was a total atonement, not only for the people, but for the houses of worship, for their ways of worship, whatever they had missed or fallen short on. In theology, the doctrine of sin is called hamartiology. Hamartia means missing the mark. Whether you missed the mark, whether you did something wrong, whether you failed to do something right, whatever it is, the blood of that sacrifice was to give You perfect cleansing for your sin.
We’re Rejoicing In The Perfect Provision For Our Perfection
“When he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household and for all of the assembly of Israel. Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it (even to the altar), and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. And with his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times, and cleanse it …” Leviticus 16:17–19.
These priests had to go in with a pure heart from year to year, never making a perfect sacrifice, Hebrews 10 tells us. It was in annual event and it still is to this day to the Jewish people. But we celebrate it not that, “Today we’re going to repent of our sins and be forgiven,” but Hebrews 10 tells us that He once for all perfected them that are sanctified by one sacrifice (Hebrews 10:12–14). What we’re keeping today is humbling our hearts before the Lord, but rejoicing in the fact that the perfect, once for all provision for our perfection has been made by the Lord. You don’t need to get saved over again every year. You don’t need to have self-condemnation until you question your status before God. You know that He loves you and you’ve accepted what He did for you, and it’s for all time and eternity.
Azazel—“The Goat Of Removal”
“When he finishes atoning for the holy place, and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins …” Now, they already had one goat killed for their atonement. What did they have this second goat for? “… and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness. And the goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land (or to a pit); and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting, and take off the linen garments.… And he shall bathe his body with water …” Leviticus 16:20–24.
Now, the thing that is interesting is that in the margins of the American Standard Version (which is probably the most literal translation that we have today), the word for scapegoat is “Azazel.” The goat that they killed was for an atonement. The live goat is Azazel, which means removal. It means “the goat of removal,” by interpretation—that’s the goat that removes—but it also is symbolically a name given to Satan.
Confess The Sins Over The Head Of Satan, And Send Him To The Pit
We’re coming to a fulfillment of the Day of Atonement that is more real than we’ve known. For several weeks I’ve noticed that God has been bringing a judgment on the spirit world. We have begun to judge the demonic powers, the principalities, the satanic orders that have harassed us. And we are beginning to discover how much of the things that we’ve condemned ourselves for were not really of us at all; they were imposed upon us. Can you condemn yourself because you have an infirmity when a spirit of infirmity has hit you? Can you condemn yourself because thoughts were planted in your mind that were lies of Satan, the fiery darts of the wicked one? (Ephesians 6:16.) Yet you have condemned yourself for what you thought, and for your symptoms.
Listen carefully to this: God is saying, “When I atone for you, I want you to first see the house of God sanctified and your sins forgiven, thoroughly atoned for; but second, I want you to confess these sins over the head of Satan and send him to the pit.” Azazel was not to be killed. Satan is not to die for your sins; Jesus did. But Satan has been sent to the pit for what he has imposed upon you and caused you to do. Satan is a seducer. He’s a lie and the father of it (John 8:44). And so God is saying, “Confess the things before the Lord and let Him forgive you. But then confess them also on the head of Satan that you will not take the responsibility any longer of self-condemnation for what Satan imposed upon you.”
You should say, “God forgive me that I ever listened to the lies of the devil, but let me confess those sins over Satan, and let him be sent to the pit.” The prince of this world has been judged, and the Holy Spirit moves upon us for that (John 16:8–11). If you’ve read John 16 carefully you see there’s sin and righteousness and judgment, and judgment because the prince of this world has been judged. We are now in a phase of judgment that we have to recognize.
Do you remember that Paul even spoke of that? He said, “Don’t you know that we shall judge angels?” (I Corinthians 6:3.) We come into the place of judgment where the angels of the heavens who have failed to minister or may have ministered wrong will be judged by us. Again it’s the Day of Atonement. As He redeems all things unto Himself it’s the whole of creation that must be loosed from futility by the sons of God, as in Romans 8. We must all be brought out of it.
Faith To Reject The Fiery Darts Of The Wicked One
We are to totally reject what Satan would impose upon us. We are to have faith to reject the fiery darts of the wicked one (Ephesians 6:16). We’re not to accept the lies of Satan. The seducing spirits, the things that come—we’re to reject them. And to the extent that we have accepted them, we have a responsibility that we repent before the Lord, but we also should not take the sole responsibility. We should throw it back on the accuser of the brethren and say he has to be cast down (Revelation 12:10).
The Day Of Atonement Looked Forward To Christ Who Was To Come
For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never by the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect those who draw near. Hebrews 10:1. In other words, the Day of Atonement had to be repeated every year, an annual event of repentance and cleansing, looking forward, of course, to Christ who was to come. And it says in verse 14, For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
You Cannot Endure For One More Day The Self-Condemnation That Satan Throws At You
The Day of Atonement is kept because we believe that Christ perfectly atoned for us. But it doesn’t mean that we don’t get right at this thing of laying the judgment upon the spirit world that has so harassed us, so seduced us, and so deceived us.
It’s one thing to know what’s wrong with you, but it’s another thing to know what Satan tells you is wrong with you. That religious self-condemnation that comes is more satanic than it is by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit never leads you to a rejection of yourself. The Holy Spirit shows you your need and leads you to an acceptance of Christ’s perfect sacrifice. There’s a difference.
We Have Been Sanctified Through The Offering Of The Body Of Jesus Christ Once And For All
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says (this is Jesus), “Sacrifice and offering Thou hast not desired, but a body Thou hast prepared for Me; in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (in the roll of the book it is written of Me) to do Thy will, O God.’ ” After saying above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast not desired, nor hast Thou taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Thy will.” He takes away the first (in other words, He’s taking away the Old Testament things) in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Then he goes on to describe it.… He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, and upon their mind I will write them,” He then says, “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:4–10, 12–17, 19–22. What in the world does that mean? Back in Leviticus 16 God said that Aaron was to take his finger and dip it in the blood and he was to sprinkle it (verses 14–19). That was to be the cleansing. He was to go to the laver and wash (verses 23–24). That was the washing. Hebrews says, “We’re doing this. We’re entering into the holy work that God said; we’re experiencing it ourselves.”
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together. Hebrews 10:23–25a.
Perfection Will Never Come To Those Who Do Not Claim It As A Perfect Provision
We have such a confidence; we have such a confession. By one sacrifice he has forever perfected us; we’re sanctified. We can enter into the work of the cross and still see a vacuum in our life; we must enter into the full provision of what Christ made. There has to be a time in which you declare your identity, and you say, “I’m the Lord’s; I’m His Body.” Come to the place where you identify yourself with what you really are, what He has done for you. You’re either always looking for something from year to year, or you come to the place where you see that by one sacrifice He did it. That’s my confession; that’s what I claim. Perfection will never come to those who do not claim it as a perfect provision from the Lord. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. Hebrews 10:14.
Reality Begins With Your Proclamation Of It Even Before You See It
Don’t ever say, “I hope to serve Him”; say, “I am His bondservant. By the will of God this is what I am.” Declare it now! “I am what He’s made me. I am what He created me to be. I am all that His blood of His sacrifice meant for my perfection.” You say, “Oh, I can’t believe that. That means I have to say I’m perfect, right?” That’s right. You’re perfect and you’re going to be perfect. You say, “You just put it in the future again.” No, this is “the Unwrapping.” You say that you’re perfect because you believe that you’re perfect, and all the imperfections just fall off like scales.
Your Faith Determines The Facts Of Your Life
Isn’t that presumptious? If you don’t believe it, it’s a presumption; but if you do believe it, that’s your fact. Your faith determines the facts of your life, and that’s the way it is. Now, tell me, what is different about this teaching than the simple teaching about salvation? Somebody tells you Jesus died for your sins and you say, “I believe it.” What about your sins? They’re all washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. If you can believe that, then why can’t you believe this? If that’s the way it started, how’s He going to perfect it? He’s the author and the finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2). If He started it, He can finish it. It does not shift from faith to human struggle. It starts by faith, and it’s completed by faith.
We Have Access
Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus … Hebrews 10:19. Get rid of that self-condemnation. When you come before God, don’t come apologetically. Say, “I am what You made me to be, and I can come and stand right in Your presence. I have boldness to enter into the throne of God.” What a fantastic Word—access, because He opened the door for it. Come on, stop apologizing and calling it prayer. Come before God and say, “Here I am! Here’s Your son. Here’s the one whom You died to perfect. I am what You say I am, Lord. I don’t care what anybody else says I am, but I know what You say I am. That’s what I am.”
Lay The Judgment Of God On Those Spirits And Those Influences That Came Against Me
You’re going to have to believe in the Day of Atonement. You can’t have one goat without the other. You’re going to need the other goat. You’re going to say, “Oh, Jesus died for all my sins”; but you get that other goat, Azazel, the goat of removal, and say, “The things that this spirit has made me believe and induced me to do and accept, I confess it there too and I’m going to bring judgment on it.” Take it out to the pit and drop it down. Into the pit with the accuser of the brethren!
We’re fighting against Satan, and God is telling us how much He loves us, how much He has done for us through His Son; but one of the things that He provided is the way that the judgment is committed to the saints of the Most High (Daniel 7:22). We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12). Confess. That word “confession” is strong. “You did this to me, Satan. I take my responsibility in it, but you were the lying spirit that convinced me, and you’re going to bear the judgment of that and I’m going to be free from it. I’m not going to walk in self-condemnation. I’m not going to walk in fear.”
This is one of the greatest words of unwrapping we’ve heard. It begins to show us that we can unwrap ourselves and see what’s there, but as we unwrap ourselves we also see how much of that was effects that were caused by outside sources. And we begin to repent of that. We say, “I repent that I was ever deceived by that, but I lay back the judgment of God on those spirits and those influences that came against me.”
Satan plants a thought in your mind and then he condemns you because you thought it. You don’t know how much God has cleansed and purified you. Get rid of the self-condemnation! Now is the time for Azazel to carry it; we confess it over the head of that goat and send it into the pit.
I AM, TOO!!
(ATONEMENT—AZAZEL)
You Cannot Be Free From A Remoteness From The Lord Until You Understand What The Day Of Atonement Meant
You cannot be completely free of a remoteness from the Lord until you understand what the Day of Atonement really meant. In Leviticus chapter 16, and in the tenth chapter of Hebrews, we have a great deal about this particular ministry of the Spirit. There were two goats. One goat represented the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us. The second goat represented not the Lord Jesus Christ; but the people confessed their sins again over that goat, and that goat was taken out in the wilderness and thrown off of a precipice (Leviticus 16:7–10). It was a type of putting back on all of the principalities and powers their responsibility for what part they had in the sins that you were brought into.
God Does Not Give The Responsibility Of Redemption Without The Responsibility For Judgment
I think this is important, because at this particular time God is reviving something for us. God is teaching us as never before that He’s judging the spirit world that has come against us. This began at the beginning in the Garden of Eden. God started in on Adam and then He went after Eve and then He went after the serpent (Genesis 3:9–19); and God does not intend to put upon man and woman in His Kingdom the responsibility of redemption without Him also bringing the responsibility for judgment, because the prince of this world has been judged (John 16:11). We’ve got to see that.
Self-Condemnation Has Been One Of The Greatest Problems To Wipe Out People’s Faith
We’ve accepted the lies and the accusations of the enemy. He’s come against us in various ways as the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10), and self-condemnation has been one of the greatest problems to wipe out people’s faith. Self-condemnation causes people to not take simply by faith what God has given; for then they would walk in it, But they will accept something that has been ministered to them by some demonic spirit, some invasion of their mind or thought, and then condemn themselves for it. We say, “Okay, we repent for what we’re guilty of.” But we have to also realize that God wants to judge the spirits that have come against you; He wants you to be free from everything that has come against you. Accept your end of it, but do not accept the condemnation that Satan would bring to you as the accuser of the brethren.
From The Very Beginning, It Was God’s Intention That The Victory Won In Redemption Should Be Manifested In A Judgment Over Satan
From the very beginning, it was God’s intention that the victory which would be won in redemption should be manifested in a judgment over Satan. God intended that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). God did not say, “I’m going to judge each of you individually for your sins.” He made a way of redemption for Adam and Eve, and it came down through Jesus Christ. The seed of the woman, which was the Lord Jesus Christ who came, was to bring the judgment upon the head of the serpent who had been the instrument to come and lead them into sin. Don’t think for a single minute that there’s one devil that’s going to escape hell. Don’t think that Satan is going to miss it.
Condemnation Is One Of The Most Deadly Works That Satan Performs On Us
It’s one thing for me to say, “I’m sorry for what I’ve done wrong.” But it’s another thing for me, with some mis-begotten idea, to say, “I’m sorry for the lies of Satan. I’m sorry for what he’s brought against me.” It is said of the Lord Jesus Christ in the epistle of John, “For this the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8). Jesus called Satan a lie and the father of it; he was a murderer from the very beginning (John 8:44). And I think that probably nine-tenths of the problems of some of our people have not been their own problems, but the lies of the enemy that brought condemnation to them. The longer I live and walk in this, the more I’m persuaded that the condemnation people minister to each other and the self-condemnation that they assume to themselves is one of the greatest and most deadly works that Satan performs on us. If you could just know who you are! If you could just come to the place one time that you say, “Lord, show me how You see me. I’m tired of seeing how Satan sees me, or how Satan wants to see me. I want to see myself as You look upon me.”
We Do Not Come Carelessly Into The Presence Of The Lord
Let us not lose a sense of the awesome presence of the Lord, because the Day of Atonement, the most solemn fast that exists in the Old Testament, began with this: Now the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the Lord and died. Leviticus 16:1. The most important thing for us to realize is that we do not come carelessly into the presence of the Lord.
The Awesome Privilege To Come Boldly To The Presence Of The Lord Is Based Upon The Blood Of Jesus Christ
There is no other intermediary between God and man except the Lord Jesus Christ (I Timothy 2:5). We accept that. The awesome privilege to come boldly to the presence of God is based upon the blood of Jesus Christ which was shed for us. Now we can come boldly to the throne of grace, seeing we have such a great High Priest (Hebrews 4:15–16). Never underestimate that; never put it down as a little thing. There were many illustrations in the Scriptures of people who sinned against the Lord in coming carelessly into His presence, unprepared.
And the Lord said to Moses, “Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. Leviticus 16:2. The access there was important. That veil was the veil that was rent in the temple from top to bottom at the moment of Christ’s crucifixion (Matthew 27:51). That means the access was opened up to God. Now, when we start talking about this Day of Atonement, we’re talking about the way by which we are released from everything of guilt, every hindrance, everything that would defile our entering into His presence. So this becomes important: we want to have a lot of rejoicing in the Feast of Tabernacles, but we don’t want it to be just noise. We want to be standing in His presence. And that access that we have is not just by the faith of our approach, but it’s also by the cleansing that He brings to our spirit.
God Has Been Teaching Us How To Have A Pure Atmosphere In Which He Can Really Move
Leviticus 16:3–8: “Aaron, shall enter the holy place with this: with a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen.… Then he shall bathe his body in water and put them on. And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. Then Aaron shall offer the bull for the sin offering which is for himself, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household. And he shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. And Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat” (or Azazel; it’s translated “scapegoat,” but it’s a poor translation).
Now let’s see what this means. The high priest prepared himself according to the traditions for seven days before the fast of atonement. And in that time, lest he be defiled, they often would prepare another little room for him and he would leave his family. It is an amazing picture of how bonds can defile, even the closest of family bonds. But he was preparing himself to go in through this time of making a sacrifice for himself. Then he made atonement for himself and for his household by slaughtering the bull of the sin offering.
Verses 15–16: “Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil, and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. And he shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel, and because of their transgressions, in regard to all their sins; and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting (or tabernacle) which abides with them in the midst of their impurities.”
The pure atmosphere is what they had to create. He had to break bonds; he had to separate himself. He had to create a pure, holy atmosphere in which he was moving. Then he began to move to see that the people were going to be met and that they were going to be ministered to. This is a perfect picture of what God has been doing for us in the last two or three years. He’s been working the ministries over; He’s been teaching us how to have a pure atmosphere in which He can really move and deliver us. He’s given us promises that the people are going to be healed without any scars. And now he brings us to all of this.
Azazel—The Goat Of Removal
I think you could participate in this so easily. You can reach in by the blood of Jesus Christ; that goat was slaughtered and his blood was sprinkled upon the mercy seat right in the tabernacle. It’s important that you do that. But it’s important that you understand what that second goat was to be.
“When he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel. Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. And with his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times, and cleanse it, and from the impurities of the sons of Israel consecrate it. When he finishes atoning for the holy place, and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness. And the goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting, and take off the linen garments.… And he shall bathe his body with water in a holy place. Leviticus 16:17–24a.
The Scripture talks about this second goat, “Azazel.” Now, “Azazel” is a difficult word to understand. It’s a common thing to say that one goat is slaughtered for sin, and the other goat also represents the Lord Jesus: and we take it out in the wilderness with the sins, because He shall take away the sins of His people (John 1:29). But “Azazel” is not a word to be applied to deity. It is commonly translated, “the goat of removal.”
Azazel Meant Satan
Azazel meant many things to many people. Sometimes it meant “the goat of departure.” Some of the Syrians in their traditions call Azazel “an evil spirit.” There were other writings that came out of the Septuagint translation which called it “a false deity.” It was sometimes applied to the pit in the wilderness at the brink of the precipice near Mount Sinai where the goat was cast down—with its hind end first. It also meant the name of a principal devil. In the old demonology of the Hebrews, it was said that there were four principal devils; Azazel was named as one of them. But in several cultures—in the Syrian, Egyptian, and the Gnostic—this Azazel meant Satan.
In The Symbolism Of The Scriptures, There Has To Be A Bruising Of Satan’s Head
In the symbolism of the Scriptures, there has to be the bruising of Satan’s head (Genesis 3:15). There has to be the responsibility that he had in the fall of man in the first place. Jesus came forth and said, “I’m going to send you the Holy Spirit and He’ll come for judgment, because the prince of this world has been judged” (John 16:11). You have to understand that the judgment of Satan and the demonic hosts are the things that we are facing right now at this new level of the Kingdom of God. It is more of a mystical understanding of the spirit world than we’ve known in all of these past years and decades.
We Have Authority Through Christ
We have authority through the wonderful ministry of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit within us. He said, “When you go into all the world and preach the gospel, these signs shall follow them that believe: In My name shall ye cast out devils” (Mark 16:15–17). One translation of Azazel meant “the devil of the elements.” We’ve had so much teaching about the elementary spirits of the universe and how God has to judge these things that have been against us. All of a sudden you realize that we’ve been tracking on this for several years.
Get At The Satanic Spirit That Is Fighting Against The Living Word
We are ready to see that the answer is not that we have a thousand fronts of Babylon to fight, but the answer is that we get to the spirit that is behind it. And once you hit the spirit that’s behind it, the enemy flees seven ways (Deuteronomy 28:7). What about the persecutors? Don’t worry about them. Get at the satanic spirit that is fighting against the Living Word. Don’t fool yourself on it; our warfare is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12). God will take care of the flesh-and-blood channels. Many judgments are going to Come upon those who have willingly submitted or have been deceived to become channels of Satan. But once that spirit behind it is dealt with, you’ll find everything else begins to crumble. Don’t battle the front, obvious ranks because the enemy will keep you distracted by fighting a thousand little brushfires. The Kingdom will come when you deal with the principalities and powers, bringing down the strongholds; then the Lord is in readiness to avenge all of His saints and to bring forth His will in the earth (II Corinthians 10:4–6).
It’s Not Enough That Your Guilt Be Washed Away, But The Accuser Of The Brethren Must Also Go
You can say, “Oh, Father, by the blood of Jesus Christ cleanse me. I confess all my sins known and unknown to You; forgive me,” and the Lord will do it for you. But the accuser of the brethren will still be at your right hand, as he was with Joshua, to accuse you. There has to be this Word that comes: “Satan, the Lord rebuke you” (Zechariah 3:1–2). You will have that accusing, hindering thing until you recognize that it’s not enough that your guilt he washed away; the accuser of the brethren must also go.
Your Accusers Will Call For You To Repent, But There Is No Repentance In Their Own Hearts
Your accusers are always calling for you to repent; but there is no repentance in their own hearts. You say, “But I repented of that sin,” but the accuser will still try to bring it up, a thing that God Himself has forgotten, buried in the sea of His forgetfulness. He has removed your transgressions from you as far as the east is from the west, to remember them no more forever (Psalm 103:12; Jeremiah 31:34). If that’s what the blood of Jesus Christ does for me, then I must find a way to bring under judgment that accuser of the brethren.
God Did Not Intend To Give Temporary Release; He Wanted To End That Spirit
This is not news to the spirit world; they know that it’s coming. Even when Jesus was casting out devils, some of them cried out to Him, “Have You come to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29.) You don’t have to answer that or give them any leeway. This is the time! Now is the time for them to be sent to the abyss. We should never cast out a devil or break a demonic oppression over anyone without sending that spirit to the abyss. You probably have heard that formula a thousand times, but it was based upon a revelation that God didn’t intend to give temporary release; He wanted to end that spirit and bring a judgment upon it.
How Can You Be An Overcomer, If You Do Not Have Anything To Overcome
Hebrews 6:1–2: Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings, and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. Eternal judgments were to be part of what was to be r