THE KINGDOM OF GOD, Part 48: AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT; THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD; THE SYMPHONY OF LIFE; THE GREATER WORKS

KINGDOM BIBLE STUDIES

"Teaching the things concerning the kingdom of God..."

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Part 48

THE INCREASE OF THE KINGDOM

(continued)

The grandest event of all times is now at the doors! For almost two millenniums the Lord has been gathering out of all nations and peoples an elect body, refining its members in the furnace of affliction, transforming them in mind and heart by the deep dealings of His Spirit, preparing them by experience and in wisdom and knowledge to possess the reins of the government of the world. And while we rejoice and praise God for all the mighty visitations of the past, and those glorious movings of the Spirit we have experienced in our life-time, yet we know by the word of the Lord that the next great move of God will be greater than all -- the manifestation of the sons of God. Nothing is more certain than that! You see, it's not enough to say that thousands of people have made a decision for Christ or were healed and blessed in this way or that. That's not what the manifestation of the sons of God is about! Creation is not groaning for more Christians, Church members, or people that have been blessed or received a miracle. Creation is groaning for the manifestation of the sons of God because creation itself is to be DELIVERED FROM THE BONDAGE OF CORRUPTION (Rom. 8:19-23). That means deliverance from all sin, limitation, and death in spirit, soul, and body. It means total transformation. It bespeaks of a complete metamorphosis. The Spirit witnesses all across the land and around the world that the long-awaited unveiling of God's son-company is at hand. The unveiling of the in-Christed is upon us! The cry of the groaning creation and the prayer of the travailing saint are joined with the unutterable longings of the Holy Spirit, all crying in unison and harmony for the arising of God's deliverers. The desire of all nations is at hand. The next stage of the Kingdom of God is ready to unfold!

Things will be very different than I have thought, and I'm sure they will be a lot different than you have thought. The Lord has spoken deeply within my spirit, "You're going to have to see things my way. I am going to do a new thing and it will be different than anything you have seen or heard. Nothing will be carried over from the old, it will be an entirely new thing that I do in this Day." I do know this. It will take far more to bring the Kingdom to its conclusion than it took to get it started! If it required apostles and prophets, and divers gifts of the Holy Ghost, and healings and tongues and signs and wonders to launch the Kingdom of God in the world, it will take a ministry greater than apostles and prophets, greater than gifts of the Spirit, greater than the level of miracles performed in the early Church, to bring this Kingdom to the glory of its consummation. It will require a pure, full, mature, powerful, glorious SONSHIP MINISTRY to finish the work!

The glory of the latter house shall be greater than the glory of the former, saith the Lord. The apostles of the former house literally turned the world up-side down! On the day of Pentecost the whole city of Jerusalem was stirred and shaken by the power of God and three thousand souls were saved in one day without a meeting, a building, an advertisement, a radio or television program, a choir or a crusade. But when the sons of God are manifested, one son will do more in one day than all the apostles and prophets did in a decade. God will do things through His sons that are unprecedented, different than anything He has done before. That is how it has been in every new move of God! What God did in Noah's day was altogether different than what He had done in Abraham's day. The thing God did in Moses' day was entirely different than His work in Noah's day. The events in the life of David in no way resembled those in the experience of Moses. The day of Pentecost was unlike anything God had done in any of His previous visitations. In like manner, the manifestation of the sons of God will eclipse all former moves of God and will bring a glory in the earth greater than you and I can ever dream of in our wildest imaginations! The fame of this will go throughout all the world and eventually every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

No saint has ever trod where we are treading. Millions trod in their appointed paths, did their work, triumphed gloriously, and entered heaven. But, although the same faith of the Son of God, His presence, love and power animates and sustains us, as it did them, our pathway into sonship is a very different one to their walk in the church order. They never had the work to do that we have. They never experienced the dealings of God in the way we do. They never saw the goal of the fullness of Christ as we see it before us in this hour. They never saw the vision we see, nor cherished the hope we have in the Father. They fulfilled their appointed roles in the on-going purposes of God, and received their reward. But the time of the unveiling of God's sons had not arrived, and the glory of such a high calling was seen but dimly and afar off.

My father in the flesh was a Pentecostal minister, and by God's design, he was stuck in Pentecost. The Lord moved us on into another move of His Spirit, into a further word than we had in the Pentecostal realm, and I remember I used to talk with my dad, and of course, I wanted him to see. I longed for him to have an ear to hear what the Spirit was saying, but he never could hear. So usually our discussions would end up in an argument. One day the Spirit of the Lord spoke to me, saying, "Leave him alone! He is in the realm that I have appointed him to, and he will not be in another." And you know, that brought a great peace, because now I was able to fellowship with him on the level that he could fellowship with me, with no condemnation, realizing that he was in the place that God had ordained for him during his sojourn on earth, as I was in the place God ordained for me.

Thirty-five years ago my father died and he passed away in the Pentecostal realm, just as the Lord had said. But shortly after he passed away, the Lord gave me a dream. In this dream I was standing in the doorway in the living room of our home, and all of my family, my father and mother, my brothers, my wife and my children, everybody was there. They were sitting along the walls, on chairs and the sofa. My dad was sitting at the end of the line, on the sofa. He appeared exactly the way he looked just before he died. No one was saying anything, we were just there. Suddenly my dad looked up, gazed across the room straight into my eyes, and said, "P-r-e-a-c-h t-h-e MANCHILD!" Immediately I awoke out of that dream and I knew two things by the Spirit. I knew that now my dad knew something that he didn't know before, but I also knew that he represented a cry that comes from the very realm of death itself, the cry of the groaning creation, groaning for the manifestation of HIS LIFE that sets creation free from the bondage of corruption.

Well did Paul Mueller write, "Many years ago the Lord got my attention through visions and other experiences with Him. One vision, in particular, was an urgent call to ascend the high places in God. In that vision, I saw a large mountain. It was the mount of the Lord's presence. Many people were climbing that mountain, higher and upward toward the pinnacle of His presence. But few were reaching the heights. In that vision, the mount of His presence was like the literal mountains. The higher one goes, the fewer trees there are. And the higher we go in God, the fewer believers there are at that level. As I watched the people climb that mountain, they appeared on the spiritual level where they were when they died. Some of the people climbing that mountain of the Lord's presence were loved ones and friends. One among them was a man whom I considered a man of God, a man I had known quite well. By the Spirit, I was taken up that mountain but close to the people who were on various levels ascending that mountain. As I passed by some friends and loved ones, they all cried out to me, 'Go higher! Don't stop now, but keep going higher and higher.' That vision made a profound impact on my life. I shall never forget it! By His grace and His Spirit, I intend to keep climbing higher and higher in God!

"Those who have lived and died in Christ are now in a realm where they can see and understand more clearly. The true reality is in the realm of Spirit, and they know it well now. They know what it means to walk with God toward perfection, and they appreciate it more now than when they were in this earthly realm. If the Lord would give us ears to hear the cries of those who have gone on before us, we would hear them crying unceasingly for us to ascend the very heights of the mount of the Lord. I heard them briefly. And the tone of their voices persuaded me to believe that our spiritual growth will also mean something significant and wonderful for them. Their call to keep going higher was almost a cry of desperation, but was one of hope as well. Without us they cannot be made perfect (Heb. 11:40). Therefore, the remnant of this hour must ascend in the Spirit to the heights of the mount of the Lord, where we shall be changed. And we shall also release many who died in Christ from their limited, static positions where they rest on the mount of the Lord.

"As we ascend the heights of the mount of the Lord, we will find that it is a lonely walk. To take a step higher in God may mean forsaking old friends and loved ones. When Moses made his seventh and last ascent up mount Sinai, the Lord said to him, 'And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me IN THE TOP OF THE MOUNT. And no man shall come up with thee...' (Ex. 34:2-3). Like Moses, some are invited of the Lord to ascend the mount of His presence and meet Him there. Half way up the mount will not do! Those who shall partake of His life and the fullness of His kingdom must go all the way up. God said to Moses, 'present thyself there to me IN THE TOP OF THE MOUNT.' The top of the mount was Moses' goal, and it is ours as well. And it is impossible for us to take anyone else with us. We must go alone! Spiritual progress is not based on fellowship with people, but on fellowship with God! A few others will also go alone to meet the Lord in the top of the mount, so that a remnant -- all the remnant -- shall ascend the mount to present themselves to Him in the top of the mount. Not one member of that remnant company shall be missing, for the Lord will lead them all there by His Spirit" -- end quote.

AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT

A miraculous event is soon to occur, the most startling and revolutionary in the history of the world. This is nothing more nor less than the manifestation of the sons of God. There will be a terrible and mighty manifestation of power and brilliant glory, as the sons of God arise and step upon the stage of world history. It will come upon both the church and the world as a thief in the night. Christians have been trained and taught that the world is getting worse and worse, and that finally the church will be evacuated off the planet, and the devil and the antichrist will take it over. What a shock it will be when the sons of God suddenly appear on the scene bringing salvation and transformation to all the ends of the earth!

Recently, as I was meditating upon these things, I thought about the element of surprise that God has manifested in His activities throughout history. Consider Adam in the garden without a companion, suddenly put to sleep, and then awakening to find this exquisite creature awaiting him. How could Adam ever anticipate a thing like that? Who could have anticipated the flood in Noah's day, or the separating of the Red Sea, or the manna from heaven, or the water out of flinty rock? Who could have anticipated the fall of the walls of Jericho, the overnight overthrow of ancient Babylon, or if you like, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, His ascension to heaven, and the manifest power of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost? As I look back at the history of God's activity, I'm just excited and on tip-toe to see what He is going to do in this hour!

The thing God is doing, and shall do, is so stupendous, so altogether glorious and unprecedented, that I am reminded of the little story I read one time. There was a little boy who came home from Sunday School. His mom said, "What did you learn in Sunday School today?" The little boy answered, "Oh, we learned about Moses." "Oh? And what did you learn about Moses?" He answered, "Mom, if I told you, you wouldn't believe me." "Well, try me," she responded. So the little boy began. "Well, Moses was in a terrible situation. He had all of these soldiers coming at him on chariots and he was pinned at the Red Sea. So he prayed to God, and suddenly, all these tractors came rolling along and workmen and steel crews appeared, and within half an hour, they built a bridge that spanned the Red Sea. Then Moses and the Israelites walked across it safely, to the other side." His mother looked suspiciously at him and said, "Son, I don't believe you learned that in Sunday School today." To which the little boy muttered, "Mom, if I told you the TRUTH, you really wouldn't believe it!"

There is something very powerful and awesome going on in the world today! God is at work doing something hidden and quiet -- and it is so supernatural, it's beyond human comprehension. Yet what He is doing right now is going to affect the whole world in these days. God is preparing a small but powerful company of kings and priests in the glory of His sonship. And the Lord shall come forth within them to do exploits and to shake all nations. He is going to bring in a new age with a small band of heavenly revolutionaries! A whole new realm of ministry is about to come forth! Oh yes, there is an act of God that transcends anything that has ever been known. For many millenniums all creation has groaned and sighed under the thralldom of sin, sorrow and death, but our heavenly Father had a purpose wonderful and glorious beyond words to express when IN HOPE He subjected the creation to the desolation of the curse. "For the creation was subjected to frailty -- to futility, condemned to frustration -- not because of some intentional fault on its part, but by the will of HIM who so subjected it. Yet WITH THE HOPE that creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and corruption and gain an entrance into the glorious freedom of God's children" (Rom. 8:20-21, Amplified). Ever since that day and because of that hope which springs perennial within the bosom of every man and all things, "the whole creation waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God's sons to be made known -- waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship" (Rom. 8:19, Amplified). The blood, the sword, the fire, the cross, and the deep dealings of God have not been working in us through these many years in order to make us ready for a harp in heaven. Oh no! God is preparing us to set creation free!

Carl Schwing has asked the question, "How much longer must the sons be silent? How much longer must they remain hidden? How much longer until they are clothed upon with the garments of immortality?" We don't know the precise answer to that, but he continues, "It will be in the twinkling of an eye...as the sons are taken beyond the barriers of time and distance, and the lightning of His great glory penetrates the stronghold of their flesh, and the fire of God consumes the remaining marks of Adam's curse...that the sons of God shall stand in the awesome majesty of their Father's presence as He proclaims to a waiting creation: 'These are my beloved sons, hear ye them.' We shall stand with our Elder Brother upon the highest regions of Zion, and all mankind shall hasten to the mountain that glows with the Light of God's fullness."

THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD

The manchild company, the sons of God, will be born, literally and dramatically birthed upon the stage of this world, in a blaze of earth-shaking supernatural power and glory. They will be the total, corporate incarnation of God upon earth. That will be the greatest of all "spectaculars" the world has ever witnessed. The inhabitants of the world will at first be terrified, yes, even paralyzed! Instantly they will know this is no natural phenomenon, no traditional religious activity, while deep within the voice shall witness: TRULY, THIS IS THE SON OF GOD! The effulgence of His Person shall appear upon His chosen ones, the intensity of His brilliance, equating to that of seven suns, shining through the undulating "garment" composed of tens of thousands of glorified saints, a star-studded super-spectacular, seven times the power of Pentecost, the likes of which has never been witnessed by any man since the dawn of creation.

John on lonely Patmos beheld this greater glory and recorded, "And immediately I was in the spirit: and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat upon the throne...in the midst of the throne...stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD" (Rev. 4:3; 5:6). "And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD" (Rev. 4:5). John saw One sitting upon a throne, and He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne in sight like unto an emerald. A rainbow is one but it has seven colors, and the seven colors of that glorious rainbow represent the sevenfold intensified fullness of the Spirit of God, even as the seven lamps of fire, the seven horns, and the seven eyes are the Seven Spirits of God. Some imagine that the One sitting upon the throne is God the Father or our Lord Jesus Christ, and it is both, yet more, for just previous to this celestial scene Jesus spoke to the overcoming members of His body, saying, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne" (Rev. 3:21). There is only one throne and only One upon the throne -- GOD IN HIS MANY-MEMBERED SON!

In the day when the fullness of these seven Spirits of God is realized in the body of Christ it shall also come to pass that "the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun (the glory of Christ) SHALL BE SEVENFOLD, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of His people, and healeth the stroke of their wound (removes the curse)" (Isa. 30:26). Malachi prophesied of this day too, saying, "But unto you that fear my name shall the SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ARISE with healing in His wings...and ye shall tread down (overcome) the wicked...in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts" (Mal. 4:2-3).

God's promise is the sending forth of the Sun of Righteousness, not in the single light of the man Christ Jesus, nor yet in the double portion of the Spirit, the former and latter rain in the first month, but AS THE LIGHT OF SEVEN DAYS CONCENTRATED IN ONE. Many are the figures of this coming sevenfold glory of Christ upon His people. When the Lord Jesus was on the mount of transfiguration His face shone as the sun. Saul of Tarsus, on the road to Damascus, experienced something of that brightness, was blinded and fell from his horse, and was completely transformed. In the book of Revelation we read of a symbolic angel (a company of saints with a message) which comes down from heaven and his countenance is as the sun shining in its brightness. In chapter twelve of that book we read of a woman clothed with the sun, having the moon under her feet. In chapter one John saw one like unto the Son of man, Christ glorified in that body of sons conformed to His image, and of Him he witnessed, "His eyes were as a flame of fire...and His countenance was AS THE SUN SHINING IN HIS STRENGTH" (Rev. 1:14-16). Isaiah looked forward to this Day with intense anticipation and described the glory of its dawning in this way, "Then shall THY LIGHT BREAK FORTH AS THE MORNING, and thy health (full salvation) shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward" (Isa. 58:8). Solomon wrote prophetically of this army of the Lord: "Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, CLEAR AS THE SUN, and terrible as an army with banners" (S. of S. 6:10).

The body of Christ is now maturing and moving out of the darkness of tradition, bondage, carnality, and limitation into the bright light of the fullness of the glory of God. The history of the church is a history of darkness and sorrow and bitterness. But, thank God, rays of promise are even now breaking forth from the heavens, and there is a company of apprehended ones that is rising up into the realms of the Spirit to drink in the intoxicating freshness of the morn! To these God is witnessing that in this Day He shall bring forth a light that is sevenfold in its intensification, so that there will be nothing hidden from it, and all things will be illuminated and quickened by it. This is the DAY OF THE LORD! Nothing short of this will lift this sin-cursed world out of the dominion of darkness into the Kingdom of God's dear Son.

The early church with all its glory and power did not bring to consummation the Kingdom of God. Its glory was eclipsed, sinking into that which even secular history records as the Dark Ages. The Reformation in the sixteenth century was unable to bring the Kingdom to its consummation. All the mighty revivals of church history have failed to bring the nations under the sovereign rule of God and to deliver the groaning creation. The Pentecostal and Charismatic movements have been unable to subdue all things unto God. All the methods and programs of religion, all the missionary and evangelistic crusades, all the deliverance ministries and healing campaigns, have in turn failed to deliver this old world from the tyranny of sin, sorrow and death. The Bible Societies, the door-to-door witnessing campaigns, the train loads of gospel tracts, the prayer meetings, and all the other feverish activities and promotions by the world's churches have not gotten the job done.

All of us are thankful to God for what we have known of His power, we rejoice with joy unspeakable for every evidence of His manifest glory today, and we honor everyone who is demonstrating any measure of the life of God and accomplishing anything to His glory; but to break the dominion of sin and satan and ignorance and death over the nations in this hour of overshrouding gloom and darkness will require a SEVENFOLD REVELATION OF THE LOVE AND POWER OF GOD! Nothing God is doing in the lesser realms today can get the job done. God intends to send forth this sevenfold brightness of His life, light, love, grace, glory, righteousness, peace, joy and power. When this happens, and that glorious company of God's sons is manifested, then shall come to pass the word spoken by our Lord, "The works that I do shall ye do also, and GREATER WORKS THAN THESE SHALL YE DO" (Jn. 14:12). For this, my beloved, God is shaping the nations and preparing His elect in this great hour!

The prophet Daniel witnessed of this Day: "But the people that do know their God SHALL BE STRONG, and DO EXPLOITS" (Dan. 11:32). God is raising up a people that will be "fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners." Yes, a people who, in the darkness of this hour at the end of the age, shall "arise and shine" until the nations come to their light and kings to the brightness of their rising. The DAY is at hand, my beloved, the greatest hour for the greatest body to march forth in the greatest glory to secure the greatest victory for the Kingdom of God in the history of God's great purposes! Be encouraged and strengthened in this wonderful hour!

When the sons of God are manifested more people will come to Christ and salvation than have from Pentecost until now. As the new age dawns every village in every nation will have been visited by the manifestation of the glory of God through His sons. Every living person will encounter the power of God! The knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, and many whole cities and some entire nations will be converted to Him. As strange and impossible as it may seem today, the state of Israel and the country of Russia will be among the first to be transformed by the power of God's Christ! That is the clear word God has spoken in my spirit. The magnitude of this sonship ministry cannot be measured by anything that has been before. Even nature itself will be infused with life and transformation as creation begins to be released from the bondage of corruption. These results will be obtained without church meetings, revival crusades, healing campaigns, deliverance services, television programs, outreaches, missionary projects, literature distribution, or any of the methods, teachings, and programs of the church systems. This ministry will not stand in the wisdom of men's words, but in supernatural power and unparalleled demonstrations of the Holy Spirit.

The sons will move in the fullness of the "in part" anointings, gifts and powers of all who have gone before them. The greater works promised by Jesus will be done by the sons of God. The "works that He did" have in measure been done by believers during the church age, but the "greater works" have been reserved for the anointing of the Seven Spirits of God. The sons will walk in unlimited power and authority. Men will no longer look back wistfully at the early church and historic moves of God because of the exploits of those days, beseeching God to "do it again." All will recognize that He certainly has saved the best wine for last! The most glorious times in the world's history now lie just before us. The magnitude of this unveiling of the glory of God's Christ will astonish even the most optimistic believers. Miracles which exceed even the greatest Biblical marvels will cause whole nations to bow before the authority of God's sons. The visible glory of the Lord will appear upon multitudes of people, and power will flow out from them to convict, deliver, and transform all who come into their presence. The cloud and pillar of fire that hovered over Israel in the wilderness will not even compare to the intense presence of the Lord in these days. Never has the Lord Himself been as personal and intimate with His people as He will be at this time. The whole world will stand on tiptoe continually, wondering each day what great new wonders they will behold.

Wondrous things await the people of God, things that it is not possible for a man to utter. We do not know, we may not know all that awaits us. But enough is known, enough is revealed, to wean us from the things of earth, from the priorities of religion, from the concerns of time, and fill our souls with rapture on account of the extraordinary vision. For He hath "made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself: that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him...that we should be to the praise of His glory...and...that in the ages to come He might show (display) the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Jesus Christ" (Eph. 1:9-12; 2:7). We are now come to the dispensation of the fullness of times. This dispensation was yet future in Paul's day, he pointed to it and to the comprehensive work of restoration God would do in it, but it is now upon us with its power and glory. The world has never yet seen anything like that which shall take place when God's sons are manifest in this dispensation of the fullness of times! The transformation of the saints is the next event in the commencement of this Day.

THE SYMPHONY OF LIFE

A brother related the following experience. "When I first went to Nashville, Tennessee, some friends, thinking they were doing me a favor, called me and said, 'We have tickets for the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra that's coming to town, and we want to take you as our guest.' Well, I love music, but I know nothing about it, and I can't sing it -- I always help congregational singing by keeping quiet. Frankly, I can't think of anything more boring than a whole evening of symphony! But I had to go because they were so polite and I wanted to be polite, so I accepted graciously and went along.

"I had never been to a thing like that before, and I was impressed by what I saw. We went in, took our seats, and in a few moments there began to drift out from the sides the musicians. They were in shirt sleeves for the most part, and each man went up to his instrument and started tuning it. The fellows with the fiddles too big to put under their chins sawed back and forth -- oh, it sounded terrible. The fellows with the little ones they put under their chins squeaked up and down with those. The ones with the horns -- oh my, nothing was in harmony. It was a medley of discordant, confused noise. Then after they got through with that kind of a disturbance, they all disappeared again, went out through the wings.

"Another five minutes went by when all of a sudden the lights in the auditorium went off, the lights on the platform came on, and the musicians walked out. This time they had on their coats. My, they looked so nice. Each one came out and stood or sat at his instrument. Then there was a hush in the auditorium, a spotlight was focused on the wings, and the conductor stepped out. When he did there was thunderous applause for him. He bowed. Then he came up to the podium and picked up a thin little stick. He turned around again to the audience and bowed, then turned his back to the audience, lifted that little stick -- total silence came over that auditorium, you could have heard a pin drop -- then he brought that little stick down. And, my friend, there were goose pimples all over me. I never heard such music in all of my life. Oh, what harmony, what wonderful harmony there was!"

I tell you today God is preparing His sons for the greatest symphony the world has ever heard, a symphony of divine wisdom, omnipotent power, and unconditional, unbounded love. The sons themselves will be the symphony! All the chords of God's nature, wisdom, and power will be struck in them. At this present time, as God is fine-tuning our lives it seems as if every man is tooting his own horn, everyone is playing his own little fiddle; it sounds like everything is out of tune, a medley of discord. But as God deals in our lives, teaching us His ways, writing His laws in our hearts, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, establishing His will and transforming our beings, He is creating within each of us a chord of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Our minds and our souls are now being renewed, through repentance, by the Spirit of God. Through the crucible of daily experience by the dealings of God we are learning to perceive and fully understand by the wisdom of the mind of Christ instead of thinking with old Adam's carnal mind. As God by His refining fire purges out of us the trusting in our own strength, our confidence in the flesh, the inbred mentality of Babylonish religion, and the spirit of the world, what a raucous screeching is emitted from our lives!

We all seem so different, and Father's purposes in us appear disparate. What a motley crew the sons of God appear to be today! But you, precious friend of mine, are an instrument designed to be a channel of Life, Light, and Love. And Jesus Christ is the Master Conductor, and wants to play the strings of emotions and thoughts and desires and nature within you until you become a son indeed, the Song of the Lord in the midst of the earth. Your life, when it is hid with Christ in God, becomes a beautiful thing; your thoughts and actions all in unison with God are running along the lines that lead to God, for they diverge not. When the hour strikes for the unveiling of God's sons, Jesus Christ the Lord is going to lift His scepter -- oh, the harmony that will sound forth from all His many brethren! Then the world shall see the fullness of Christ, which includes Christ, the Head, and Christ, the body, in all the life and glorious harmony of the Kingdom of God!

Every knee on this globe, and in the heavens above, and in the underworld, shall bow before the majesty of the presence of the Lord as they awaken to hear the pure melodies of the harmony of God in His sons. Never again will they be satisfied with the discordant notes of this world's pleasures and programs, nor the off-beat of the world's religious systems. As they hear the pure song that flows from the heart of God in His sons, all men shall hunger and thirst to be filled with the same, the harmonious chord of the righteousness, peace, and joy of the Kingdom of God. We have not yet witnessed the glory of God's manifestation in the way it is going to be expressed. We have not seen the hand of God move in the way it is going to move. The Lord spoke through prophecy years ago, at the time of a mighty move of His Spirit, and said that He was moving by His little finger, and I tell you when He moved that little finger there were tremendous things that happened, glorious things took place. But now -- just think of the glory that shall come when He moves by His hand and makes bare His holy arm!

THE GREATER WORKS

Amazed, the sons themselves will stand awed, as suddenly before them unfolds the true purpose of their lives on earth. Quickened within them in all its power and potential will be the great and high secret of God. They will become within themselves the magnificent expression of the greatest glory God has ever revealed. Reproduced in them will be the sonship ministry of Jesus intensified into the light of seven days in one. They will stand in the earth as the firstborn brothers of Jesus Christ, the sons of the Father in heaven.

When a man becomes a father, he is not diminished by his children, but enriched, increased, and expanded. If his children grow up with nobility and accomplishment, he is proud and delighted. His children make him greater than he ever was before. Sonship is the Father's delight, the culmination and climax of His ages-long plan and purpose. God is electrified with anticipation to see His sons with skill and maturity visibly revealing the invisible things of His eternal power and Godhead to creation. This is the message of sonship revealed in the life of the firstborn Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Sonship is the singular objective of God, and the sole purpose of the formation of His body. The sons of God are the principle players in the awesome plan of God for all the wonderful ages to come.

The sons of God are reality. This company of divine-human beings is even now rapidly reaching completion. These will become what Jesus is and have what He has as their very own reality. God will be in them and through them in all His unutterable plenitude. What He is they will be also. They are the express image of their Father in Jesus Christ. This is the revelation of God and the staggering message of the Bible! The sons of God are destined to inherit all things on earth and throughout all the vastnesses of infinity, for they are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus, who is the heir of all things (Heb. 1:1-2). They are destined to be the blessers, deliverers, quickeners and transformers of all the created realms. Thus creation groans with expectant birthpangs, longing for their arrival.

From the lowest darkness of demons and devils to the inhabitants of the farthest galaxy of light, the universe stretches in anticipation of the glorious unveiling of God's sons. They will be the full and complete expression of God in all the attributes of His deity. Like a super-nova the sons will burst into everlasting splendor, streaming glory and power for all creation to behold. These noble beings will conquer and restore all things to God on earth and throughout all worlds of the unbounded heavens. As priestly shepherd-kings they will lead the creation, dispensing judgment unto righteousness. As saviours they will loose the bands of Adam's curse from this world, and the darkness from all worlds in all realms. The sinful will be redeemed and changed, the ignorant will be taught of God, those in the church systems will be delivered from their delusions and guided into the pure truth of God. The angelic realms will behold the birth of God's manchild and arrive to honor God's sons. All creation will marvel at the splendor of a race of beings who are the offspring of God matured up into the fullness of all He is. The reins of creation will be surrendered to them, and all created beings everywhere will be committed to their loving and skillful care. These divine sons of the omnipotent and loving heavenly Father are the only answer to creation's lack and problems. They have been ordained of God as the power that shall deliver creation from the bondage of corruption.

These sons are the anointed sovereigns, the appointed rulers of all things. Today they stand in the wings, at this very moment they fine-tune the instruments which they are, but suddenly shall they enter upon the stage of history, strike their majestic chord, and all flesh shall hear the word of the Lord and see the salvation of God. Then a mighty power shall arise from the earth, as a stream of expanding light it will race through the galaxies, spreading out and penetrating all things with the life of God. Every creature on earth and in distant worlds will see the wonder of God. Every kingdom will be subdued, changed, instructed, and brought into harmony with the Father of lights. Throughout the endless eons to come, the sons of God will govern the creation in righteousness, infusing all things with the dynamic of His life.

When the sons of God arise, cruel oppression shall be banished. When the sons of God appear, savage war shall be driven from the face of the earth. When the sons of God come, the power of sin shall be broken, every sickness and pain shall be healed. When the sons of God march forth, the last enemy, even death, shall be destroyed. When the sons of God are unveiled, Satan shall be bound to deceive the nations no more; darkness shall flee away, the sorrowing shall be comforted, the meek shall be exalted, the weak shall be made strong, the broken-hearted shall be healed, and the glory of God shall cover the earth. These are God's kings and God's priests, a Kingdom of priests unto God and for creation. Every son is royalty -- a king -- born out of the loins of the King of the universe. As a king he rules in the sphere in which God places him, and as a priest he serves. He is kingly in his sphere and it is the priestly spirit that makes the nobility of character in the king. In Christ the sons stand above all authority and dominion and glory, holding the scepter of infinite love and power.

The ancients wrote on the pillars of Hercules, Ne Plus Ultra, meaning "No more beyond." For centuries those words chiseled on the mighty rock of Gibraltar reminded seafaring men that beyond those straits was nothing but a shoreless sea. One day, however, a man named Columbus sailed through those straits and set his course westward. In spite of storms, discouragements, and threatened mutiny, he sailed on and on and discovered a new world. Later men climbed the rugged straits of Gibraltar and removed the word Ne, leaving the message Plus Ultra meaning "More beyond."

Captain James Cook was a famous English explorer who lived more than two hundred years ago. His adventurous life began when he joined the British navy at the age of 27. He surveyed the St. Lawrence Channel and the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador before he was given his own ship, the Endeavor, to command. He sailed this ship all the way around the world, exploring the coasts of eastern Australia and New Zealand on the way. After returning to England he set out again for the South Pacific with two ships, the Resolution and the Adventure, and explored the icy Antarctic Ocean. He explored the New Hebrides Islands and discovered the island of New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean off Australia. Early in his career Captain Cook made this amazing statement, which I am paraphrasing: "It is not my desire to merely go where other men have not gone; I WANT TO GO AS FAR AS IT IS POSSIBLE FOR MAN TO GO!" And his wish was granted, for when he was killed in 1779 by natives of the Hawaiian Islands, there were no more frontiers on this planet to explore, and no more coasts to be charted.

Ah, in the spiritual world just such a desire has arisen within a company, those destined to become the manifest sons of God, the desire to not merely press on in God into heights and depths not discovered by those great ones who have blessed this earth with God's grace, glory, wisdom and power, but indeed to GO AS FAR AS IT IS POSSIBLE FOR A MAN TO GO IN GOD! What a vision! We are well acquainted with the "in part" realm, where God anoints men with the Holy Ghost and with power, and their gifts increase and their ministries expand and many are blessed. But then they die, and while others might try to carry on their vision, it is never again the same as the movement crystallizes around the "part" the ministry possessed, and while men try to perpetuate it, it finally stagnates and dies. For one thing, every generation needs a new vision and not a carry-over of the old, but in this transition of the ages God is birthing a SON COMPANY that desires not merely to rebuild and restore the work of God of yesteryear, be it New Testament Church Order, five-fold ministry, gifts of the Spirit, expressions of worship, or whatever; but we are possessed of a heart to become identified with Jesus Christ beyond the veil, in the Holiest of all, after the power of an endless life, to know God not just in a measure, but in His fullness, and receiving that ministry after the order of Melchizedek which can proceed through the ages until a full victory is consummated and God is ALL IN ALL.

A dear brother, in opposition to this teaching of the ministry of manifested sonship, wrote, "We cannot have any selfish ambitions. It may sound very good to have the desire to change the world, to walk up and down the earth doing miracles, releasing people from their misery. This would make us look great in the eyes of people, yet that would be receiving glory for self. This desire for glory has to die!" My question would be just this: If doing miracles and releasing people from their misery is self-glory, then why did the firstborn Son of God do just that! And why did the apostles go out and walk up and down the earth doing the very same thing! Was Jesus grasping after glory for Himself? Were the apostles in this thing for the glory they would receive from men? I DON'T THINK SO! Creation is groaning for deliverance and God is birthing in His sons the intense desire and holy passion to set creation free.

When those who treasure the beautiful hope of sonship speak the words the Spirit is speaking to His elect in this hour, people demand, "Who do you think you are?" When we declare that we are called to be the sons of God, to grow up into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, to partake of a ministry greater than that of the church age, to set creation free and reconcile all things, people ask, "Just who do you think you are?" It really makes no difference who we think we are, but it makes a great deal of difference that we know and understand WHAT WE ARE APPREHENDED TO BE IN HIM. Our ears have heard the sound of the trumpet and we cannot, dare not, settle for anything less, we must follow on to know Him in all of His glorious fullness.

Are you willing today, in the presence of God, to hear the word of God, "As the Father has sent me, so send I you." Someone says, "How can you declare such things?" Because they did not originate with us, it is the Father who is saying them in us. We are not commissioning ourselves. We are not a group of people who of our own selves have a burden for the lost creation, we bear the burden of the Lord in our hearts. And what His burden is, that is what matters. If we were a people with our own burden for the lost, to try and help people, we would say, "We have tried everything else; we have had apostles, we have had prophets, we have had evangelists, pastors, and teachers; we have had gifts of healing, working of miracles, we have had money and missionary programs, we have had everything and it did not get the job done, so let us now try this sonship message."

We are not such a people. God has not put on us the problems of the world -- God has called us unto HIMSELF -- that we may live unto HIM, that we may be totally committed to HIM, that He may send us out to being salvation to humanity. If this thing began with OUR BURDEN, I would be suspicious of it. If we were wondering whether the communists were going to take over the world, and what about the masses of Moslems and Hindus, and the millions of lost souls in Africa, and we must hurry and reach the whole world before they slip away into damnation and hell; if we were speaking in that sentimental, religious vein, I would be suspicious. But our vision is not turned that way, we are not "need" conscious, nor "problem" oriented, nor "world" centered, nor "self" conscious -- our eyes are turned toward the Father. "Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests," saith the Lord. Jesus never went around looking for that which He could do, or needs He could meet, or problems He could solve. Jesus went around looking to see what His Father was doing. That's all!

God wants sons today who are not caught up in world events and prophecies of gloom and doom, not worried about the desperate needs everywhere, but who are occupied with the Father's words and the Father's works. God is raising up sons in these days who do not have to explain anything, defend anything, build anything, promote anything, protect anything. God is merciful to us in saying to us, that the reason we can declare this, the reason this commission is coming, is because the burden is not of ourselves, but the Father is sending us. He is saying to us, "I am setting you to be lights. I am ordaining you to be saviours. I am forming you to be the habitation of God, I am anointing you to be kings to reign and priests to minister my salvation. I am sending you forth to be bread to be broken and fed to the hungry multitudes. I am pouring you out as a flowing, surging, bounteous river of life." Let us not sell creation short in these days. Let us not deny the Lord who has purchased us to be His people with a purpose for the ages. While we seek no glory of our own, there is, nevertheless, great wealth and heavenly glory for all who fulfill all the will of God. You never lose with God!

The compelling passion of my life is to be filled with all the fullness of God and be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. This is what sonship is. The deep cry of my heart is for the satisfaction of knowing that my life counts for God. As God knows my heart, it is not a selfish desire. The reason I want to be like Jesus is because I love Him so, but also because it is the only way I can ever be used in the restoration of fallen creation. I see the needs of the world around me, and realize that I am practically powerless to do anything about them. And should I initiate a program it would not even scratch the surface of the need. Men hold great crusades today and when you listen to their glowing reports you would think the whole world is turning to God. But should you walk the streets of the city they just left, you can barely find a trace of evidence that they were ever there. Oh yes, we can pray, believe God, and do our thing, and see some people saved, blessed, healed and delivered. But anyone who says that they have reached the place where their ministry is meeting the needs of the world is either blind to the needs of men, a proud hypocrite, or a liar. But God not is not blind to the need of this day, nor is He impotent to move. He has a plan, a wonderful plan! And He is going to move in mighty power just as soon as the time is ripe for it.

To be continued...

J. PRESTON EBY

PART 47

PART 49