"ON EAGLES’ WINGS MINISTRIES"
“Called to be God’s witnesses to the world” June 2014. Part 2. Page 1.
“Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servants whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” Isaiah 43: 10.
As we study God’s ultimate intentions for his entire creation beginning in Genesis, one thing stands out very clearly. From the very beginning, God began to lay down the building blocks to his kingdom and his ultimate residence with man. In the process, as we shall see in this study, from the very “get-go” the Creator placed man as the major player in his grand design. Instead of building a wall of separation between himself and man, God constructed man within the framework of himself. DO NOT LET THIS TRUTH SLIP AWAY FROM YOU!!
To teach our oneness with God in religious circles is to ask for trouble: and to be castigated by mainstream religion. We grew up being made to understand that God is holy: in fact, so holy that he dare not look upon sin; and as sinners, we must come to him pleading for mercy, confessing our unworthiness. As I like to say, that mindset is a false humility that is designed to rob you of your power and victory. No father is appreciative of a son who comes to him with his head bowed low, confessing how unworthy he is. One day the father is likely to grab the son by the collar, shake him a few times, look him directly in the eyes and ask: “What is your problem son? Why are you engrossed with overwhelming inferiority complex?
But what is the real story of who we are and why we are here? In the very beginning, we are told that God made man in his image, and after his likeness. We did not suggest or invent that status for ourselves. That was God’s choice, and there was a profound reason behind that choice. He tells the end from the beginning, and before the foundation of the world, he placed the building blocks in place. Even the name Adam carries certain connotation that impacts the ever unfolding workings which is in his predestinated will for us and for creation at large.
The Hebrew word for Adam, is ad’-um or aw-dawn: It means to show blood in the face, to flush, to turn rosy, and of low degree. Remember that David wrote saying that man was made a little lower than the angels which means a little lower than el-o-heem which is plural meaning lower than the Gods. This fits in with the announcement: “Come let US make man in OUR IMAGE and after OUR LIKENESS. After man disobeyed God’s command, the Lord said: “Behold, the man is become as one of US, to know good and evil.” Genesis 2:22.The word image is tsch’-lem and it means to shade, resemblance, a representative, a figure. The word likeness is dem-ooth and it means resemblance, model, manner, similitude. We know that God is Spirit, but from the words used in the creation of man, we see a precursor, or a harbinger of things to come. But let us look at the fact that God breathe into man, the breath of life, and he became a living soul. That breath of life that is in every man is the God-part of all of us. And we know that at death the spirit returns to God who gave it, while the body returns to the dust.
The apostle John puts it this way: “In him (the Word) was life; and the life was the light of men. That was the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John 1:3,9. This drives home the thought that God has placed himself in every person that comes into this world. But we learn from the prophet Isaiah, that our sin has separated us from God. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that he cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” Isaiah 59: 1,2.
Looking back at the time in the Garden when Adam first came on the scene, we see that God brought the animals to Adam to see what name he would give to each of them. And whatsoever he called them, that was the name they went by. But as I mentioned in other writings: not only did Adam give them names: it was necessary for each one or each species to possess a corresponding nature. In other words, the lion did not act like a rooster: and a zebra did not act like a domestic goat. The lesson to take away from this action is that Adam functioned as a “co-creator” with God. He did not have to be corrected or advised in his task.
So, when we serve as workers together WITH GOD, we ought to be building or constructing that which God is building. On Monday morning, a workman reports to the main trailer at the worksite, to begin working on the project in going forward. The first order of business is to spread a copy of the blueprint out on the table. The master workman, or the foreman, then points out the area and all the details that this new workman will be working on.
In order to know what God is building as we get ready to be laborers with him, we must embrace the fact, or the TRUTH, as written: “He that is joined unto the Lord is ONE SPIRIT.” God does not work in duplicity, but rather in the singular. Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is ONE LORD. Thus, it was God’s intent and divine purpose that his brand new creation, should reflect all that he is in a visible world, while he remains invisible as the Eternal Spirit.
We are told that God IS LOVE; but love is invisible as an entity. It cannot be harnessed and put in a bottle, and even our description of it varies from one individual to another. Love can only be assessed and judged by the actions we take that serve as an “expression” of love. The word has been over-used in the movies by people falling in and out of love that the true meaning has long been lost. But we must remember that it is not merely that God loves for us to love. He does not merely delight himself in love among us human beings. No! The fact is that GOD IS LOVE! That is what and who he is!
But to bring it out of the invisible realm and give it form, he said “Let there be, and there was.” Paul indicated that God has made himself known, meaning that he has demonstrated his love in such visible ways that we read: “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” Romans 1:20.
Indeed, the God of love, who himself is love would not have it any other way. But the creation did not totally fulfill his divine purpose in displaying his love. Yes, the creation was fine in its time, but obviously not dramatic and meaningful enough. There was not enough reason for LOVE to be appreciated! So to up the ante, God lowered the entire creation into bondage or futility, resulting in thorns and thistles, sickness and death. But with hope attached!
Every time you look in the mirror before you hit the road to fight peak hour traffic, (morning or afternoon) know that the person looking back at you is the product and result of God’s love. You are a visible expression of his love. I like to remind the saints in my sermons that “you are not a product of God’s after-thought.” It was not like baking a cake and having some cake mix left over, so you bake some cookies as an after-thought.
David reviewed the issue in careful deliberations and concluded: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; (including you, you, and you) and that my soul knoweth right well. “Psalm 139:14. As God placed one brick upon another, in building his grand design for man, using man in the process, he had us in mind. Remember that God is fine without the creation. All that he creates is for man’s benefit and well-being. Like the oceans that surround the earth (two-thirds water to one third land) God’s love stretches from heaven to earth, and it even reached into hell, in so much that after Jesus Christ was buried he had a ministry to those who were disobedient to the preaching of Noah, and he finally led captivity, captive, and gave gifts unto men.
In order to put substance, shape, and form to his love: in order to make his love personal and applicable to every human being who ever walked the earth we read: “For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. The mystery and the miracle in this narrative, is the fact that this Son who came to die on the cross, was God himself, taking on the form of the son (Adam) that he came to redeem. (He came as a Son, to redeem a son.)
If God had sent an angel to redeem mankind, we would be bound to worship that angel. But God is a jealous God and his glory he will not give to another. So he came himself, gave himself, and all glory goes back to him. Christ came as the “firstborn” as the “pattern Son” after whose image we are to conform. Notice that God did not demand that we become perfect or meet a specific requirement, without knowing what it was, or learning how to accomplish those requirements. He outlines the task, then gives us the wherewithal to get the job done.
When the Son came in our midst, as lost sheep without a shepherd, he called for us to gather unto him, and he announced: “Take my yoke upon you, and LEARN OF ME.” If I say we are to learn how to be Godlike many will raise their brows in wonderment. But Jesus himself said: “As your heavenly Father is holy, even so be ye also holy.” To me, that sounds like Jesus is saying we are to be like God, because we are exhorted again by Christ” “As your heavenly Father is perfect, so be ye also perfect.” Now, honestly! What are we to conclude from those statements? One statement settles it! “He that is joined unto the Lord IS ONE SPIRIT!”
Yet, we have been so brainwashed into a “poor sinner mindset” that being like Jesus is possible and perhaps some of us will achieve that high mark. But please, don’t tell me to be like God. However, since God was in Christ, (the fullness of the Godhead was in Christ bodily), if we become like Christ, it seems to me that we also become like God. Don’t be scared by the word God. In Christ Jesus he has removed the fear and the awe that people in the Old Testament lived with; in so much they never tried to pronounce his name. God’s ultimate intention is that we as his children, sons and daughters, will fill the earth as his embodiment and physical expression, just as Jesus was the expression of the invisible God. It is to this end, and for this very reason Jesus took on the seed of Abraham and not the nature of angels.
Let us remember that even at this very moment, we are told that “As Jesus IS, so are we in this world.” 1 John 4:17. Notice it did not say as Jesus was, and it did not say so shall we be. That is the views and doctrine of the futurists, who preach and teach what “is about to happen” and each year they sound the same symbols and beat the same drums. I teach the present realities, and I suggest that what we shall be when he shall appear will have to wait until he does appear.
But if you have $20 as a part of the grocery money which should to be $80, you do not sit with no dinner on table as your husband walks in from work. With a quick glance he sees that nothing that remotely resembles dinner is on the table. He turns to you and asks why there is no dinner ready. Imagine you saying: “Honey as you know, I need to have $80 in order to provide dinner, but I only have $20, so we will have to be on compulsory fasting for the time being.”
Alarmed, and perhaps a little annoyed, he says: “Honey, why not spend the $20 at McDonalds, or buy a few items to rustle up dinner in whatever size. At least let us eat something.” By the same token, God is not impressed with those who crave for big gifts and talents in order to serve, while ignoring the talents they already have.
First of all, working as laborers together with God in his vineyard is not meant to be a competition between the workers. Paul exhorted the church that each man should abide in his calling. It is in faithfully utilizing what we are blessed with, no matter how bumble it seems to be, that God waters it, nourishes it, feeds it with nutrients, so that it produces the maximum.
The call is not for skilled careers people, but for laborers (unskilled labor.)
Jesus suggested that if a man abides in him, he will bring forth fruit, and his Father will be glorified that he brings forth much fruit. Thus the process goes from fruit, to more fruit, to much fruit. As the branches abiding in the vine, what sort of fruit are we bringing forth? Remember that back in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 1:11) God determined that each seed must produce after his kind. That is the law of reproduction!
So if Jesus, as the grain of corn, falls into the earth and dies (death marks the process of germination) what is he bringing forth? What is he reproducing? Multitudes of HIMSELF or offshoot after his kind! That is why in Mars hill in Athens, Paul saw the people worshipping “The unknown God” and pointed to the fact that even their own poets said: “We are the offspring of God.” Meaning his next of kin, offshoot, or his children!
That is why our salvation is designed that we are made partakers of the divine nature, which in turn, enables us to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, so that as a matter of progression, he becomes the “firstborn” among a family of many brothers. Can you see more clearly how God systematically and purposely put in place a divine order that will produce his offspring in the earth?
While we savor divine worship in the local Assembly with the saints: and while we dance in the Spirit down the aisle, lay hands, and even prophesy, all of that is like fringe benefits. They are like by-products! But the real purpose goes a long way beyond our average understanding, because we think and equate things on our basic human level, with human understanding. We will get no help from sermons and bible teachings that highlight how undone and unworthy we are. While some think that is humility, the truth is that possessing that mindset robs us of our birthright, and de-throne us from our place with Christ on his throne, even though we are told in scripture, that as kings and priests of God, we shall reign with him on the earth. Rev.5:10.
I will not preach and teach what the bible does not support in its narrative. But by the same token, I will not restrain myself from teaching biblical truths, no matter how rear and unpopular they are with the masses. It is the truth that will make us free! What intrigues me about this whole business of our salvation, is how God wonderfully, skillfully, hides as if between each line of scripture his ultimate intentions for us as a people, and for his entire creation. I can only say that the “BIG PICTURE” is so big, it will blow our poor feeble mind.
I join George Beverly Shea in singing: “O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds thy hands have made: I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my Savior, God to thee, how great thou art.” The average believer builds up a schedule and a system that allows for divine worship, with music, a few selections from the youth choir, and the adult choir. A message is preached and the doors of the church are open for prospective members to step forward.
The Sunday routine is usually clear cut and fixed in the church bulletin and program handouts by the ushers. This process continues years in and years out, while folks come and be saved: served their years and die. At the funeral we are told of the mighty works that the person did in a life well lived.
And yet, without maliciousness or being overly critical, the average believer in Christ is never told how to be like Christ in the earth, not merely as a Christian, because the word Christian can mean different things to different people. The saints must learn what it means to be “Sons of God” heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.
They need to be told perhaps on a daily basis that “As Jesus IS, so are we in this world.” They need to be told perhaps in every service that as Christ and the Father are one, so are we one with him, because the fullness of the Godhead was in Christ bodily, and he now lives within us, bringing along that same fullness. It is no wonder then, that Paul wrote saying that we are complete in him. Colossians 2:9,10.
It is rather amazing and even a little intriguing that the believers in Christ are being told in just about every service to prepare to go back with him to heaven in the Rapture, while Jesus prayed to the Father, not to take us out of the world, but to keep us from its evil. The reason is obvious! Jesus said that as long as he is in the world, he is the light of the world.
But after he left the world, he surely did not leave the world in darkness! O No! He that follows after me shall have the light of life. He admonished us to “Let your light so shine before men.” Ye are a city that is set upon a hill, and as such, ye cannot be hidden. Like a lighthouse shining in the night on yonder hillside, your light must shine to lead the wanderer home.
God’s master plan of salvation is designed so he can make his abode in us and be the center of gravity in his creation. Even angels sought to look in on this master plan and were not afforded that privilege. His master plan is that the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Don’t be put off, side-tracked, and confused, by the commotions and contrary winds that blow from one nation to another. Everything is alright!
“In your patience possess ye your souls.” Luke 21: 19. God does not adjust and revamp his plans based upon how we react. Every iota is moving along just the way he planned it, and within the time frame that he ordered it. Indeed he alone is God! Be blessed my Friends!
Please be reminded to make your gifts payable to Royce Kennedy and not to the ministry. Thank you!