"ON EAGLES’ WINGS MINISTRIES"
“Faith’s Final Frontier” December 2012, Part 8.
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep.” 1st Thessalonians 4: 13-15.
The past seven chapters of this series have been a conquest against death, as undergirded by scripture. The fact of death in our world that involves both saints and sinners alike, after reading what the bible actually said, many Christians will bemoan the loss of loved ones, and in the process lose sight of the truth of the truth taught by Jesus Christ and his apostles.
These loved ones do not deny what the scripture teaches; they simply ignore the issue and like the ostrich, they bury their heads in the sand and hope the issue will pass. In order to add balance and calm the nerves, we must continue to remind ourselves that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God, and Paul added this final note that should help to allay all fears that plague the human heart. His bottom line is this: “We shall all be changed.” This truth holds firm irrespective of our various doctrines and personal choices.
As we listen to the daily mantra that two things in life are sure, and they are death and taxes, without any extra effort on our part, we simply fall in line behind these un-biblical statements.
Ever since I passed 65 fifth birthday, I cannot find insurance coverage if I needed one. I began filling out the application in my wife’s name and with her age, but when I enter my personal information as spouse, the entire process is denied.
To add to the system of the world and the mindset with which it functions, I soon began receiving in the mail, flyers and brochures selling burial plots. All of this makes me chuckle in amusement. It is generally accepted that life begins at the cradle and ends at the grave. But multitudes of Christians are never told that we existed in God long before our mothers knew what they would bring forth.
God surprised Jeremiah when he told the young prophet that he [God] knew him before he formed him in his mother’s womb, and before he brought him forth, God ordained him to be a prophet to the nations. From the fact that God said he knew him before he formed him in the womb, it stands to reason that he existed in real form , or rather, spirit form, because God did not say he was thinking of him, but that he knew him.
That means knowing a personal friend or knowing one intimately. Jeremiah was not merely a thought in God’s mind, like a project on his “to do” list. In fact, I get goose bumps whenever I read David’s account of our origin.
He wrote: “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect [undeveloped] and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.” Psalm 139: 16. Shall we break that down a notch? God knew us even before our substance as an embryo, came into being. How could God have known us away back then in the realm of total spirit? Because he has been our dwelling place in all generations! Before the mountains were brought forth or ever he laid the foundation of the world. Psalm 90: 1, 2.
Here is something to chew on that is likely to disturb some who are faint at heart. But by simply using reason and simple logic, we have to agree that since God knew the prophet before he was born, and even back then he ordained him to be a prophet to the nations, we must conclude that the event of physical death does not prevent God from continuing to deal with us. We usually walk away from the grave after we have sprinkled the last bit of earth over it, with a feeling of closure, thinking that it is all over and whatever state the deceased died in, in that state he/she will remain till judgment day.
Even though we cannot provide chapter and verse on what goes on after death, we are told that when any person at all dies, the spirit returns to God who gave it, and the body goes back to the earth out of which it was taken. Since we are not living in that lofty realm of spiritual realities, we cannot give an educated guess of what transpires in the realm of spirit after a person dies. All we can conclude, even though many would rather not, is that if the spirit returns to God who gave it, nothing is lost in the process, because Jesus himself said, “The flesh profiteth nothing it is the spirit that giveth life.”
Let us remind ourselves that nothing we dare to teach from the bible can be labeled as being new. As we pointed out in previous chapters, some of the Messianic prophecies that were being fulfilled as Christ walked the earth were spoken hundreds of years before his birth. It bodes well to say that anything that one can teach or preach from the New Testament scriptures, were written at the most 96 years after the death of Christ.
So whatsoever Brother Kennedy or any other teacher of the scriptures can bring to the forefront, has been around for at least two thousand years, and can in no wise be called “new.” But as it was in the days of Paul there are those whose ears are tuned on a frequency to receive something new.
“And they took him [Paul] and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)” Acts 17: 19-21. It is almost amusing to notice that one faction in Christendom is violently opposed to anything new; while another faction is always on tip toe, grasping after something new.
While the pendulum swings back and forth among different groups of believers, the central theme of never ending life remains a viable theme for discussion. As we have alluded to in previous writings, Jesus Christ on earth never attended a funeral to bid farewell to a loved one; and he never taught that men must die. He did say some would die in their sins, but not that they had to.
How can we ignore or treat lightly the words of the giver of life in that he said: “I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.” John 10: 10. The mindset of the average believer is to endure sickness and ever failing health, while serving God the best way they know how. When their struggles on this side of Jordan are over, they will meet the Lord and their loved ones on that blissful shore.
It is unfortunate for all of us that the highly visible ministries and those at every local level continue to fail to emphasize the life message that Jesus brought to earth. Seemingly, those that dare to preach and teach of a healthy and vibrant Christian life centers their sermons around personal, material, and financial success. Lurking behind the scene, like termites doing their deadly job out of sight, is the fact of death imposed upon all men.
Some ministries highlight the fact that Jesus said: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6: 38. All of this is fine for lifting a good offering and to boost pledges for the building fund and pastor’s aid. This theory has become the calling card for preachers of success and financial well- being for their constituents.
Healing campaigns have moved from city to city over the many decades of what we call, “The deliverance ministry.” Healing, casting out of devils, and receiving the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands dominate those years. But have you noticed that one major factor has remained un-noticed and un-preached? Have you ever seen or attended a crusade or a special series of meeting down at the convention center with the theme being: “There shall be no more death” as John wrote in the Revelation and as Jesus taught in so many passages in the gospels?
Most alarming is the silence over the airwaves, in the pulpits, and at camp meetings, concerning the issue of death being vanquished from the earth. Excuse me, my Friends! But it is obvious that Christendom at large has surrendered to the “chilly hands of death” as the saying goes. Much like a paradox, we have accepted death as a way of life—we deem it to be inevitable, when Jesus taught no such thing.
The average believer has a fixation with death, because we continue to be fed a strong diet of death. How can people arise out of the ashes of defeat, sickness and death if no one tells them what is possible? That is what I admire about the ministry of Christ on earth. He took every opportunity to teach in practical terms the message of life.
After he received word that Lazarus was gravely ill, he tarried yet an extra day before responding, waiting until the man had actually died. This time, instead of a lesson in theory, Christ intended to offer an actual demonstration in real time, in real terms, so that his message of life and power over death would not be misunderstood. Thank you Jesus! Are you following me closely on this? Here is my mindset! I do not worry about what I see in the mirror when I shave or brush my teeth, because what looks back at me is not reality—is not the real story. My life source is in the invisible realm.
Jesus himself laid it out this way: “As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.” John 6: 57, 58.
It is almost amusing to notice that one faction in Christendom is violently opposed to anything new; while another faction is always on tip toe, grasping after something new. But the main issue that we need to consider very seriously is the fact that growth in any aspect of life requires, or generates change, and change usually necessitate going through death. This is made quite clear by Jesus Christ, in his lesson of the grain of corn that falls into the earth. The accepted process that is readily understood, is that the grain will not reproduce outside of dying.
When we take a closer look at the death of Christ which was a vicarious death, meaning that he died on our behalf or in our stead, we cannot escape this truth of paramount importance. He gave one whole man for one whole man; but Paul indicated that at Calvary our salvation was bought and paid for. But we were given the Holy Spirit of promise until the redemption of the purchased possession.
Of late, around my way in Prince George’s County, Maryland, words have been going around by way of revelations and what is supposed to be words of wisdom that the bridegroom cometh. However, the idea of the coming of the bridegroom should not surprise us in any way. There is one kink in this philosophy that we cannot afford to overlook. Sure enough, I believe in the appearing of the bridegroom but not as those who look for a man riding downward on a slivery cloud flanked by angels and saints on both side, possibly with trumpets blaring. But we are given a hint of something quite different in the book of Hebrews.
At the end of the chapter we are told that Christ will be appearing [not coming] only unto those who look for him [not the whole world seeing him descending] and this appearing is not to deal with sin, because he already took care of that at Calvary. Oh no! This time he is appearing to bring to full salvation [spirit, soul, and body] those who eagerly await him.
The idea contained herein is not that he will be taking us back to heaven, but as Paul said in one of his letters, our conversation is in heaven, from whence we look for the Lord Jesus Christ, [this is an appearing] who shall change our vile [human] body, like unto his glorious body. Seemingly, every time someone brings forth a prophecy or a vision about the coming of the Lord, all eyes are fixed upon the eastern sky, simply because of the traditions of the elders.
That is the way they learned it, and that is the way they teach it to all who come under their particular ministry. In the meantime, we can look again how Paul exhorted us to be sure that we are among those who believe in total and complete salvation. He writes: “But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” Hebrews 10: 39.
While we diligently seek to save our souls, and deem it to be the ultimate in our salvation, Paul offered a separate goal, and strongly admonished all believers to seek after it. Speaking of God and his judgments, the apostle wrote: “Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance is well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, and
eternal life.” Romans 2: 6, 7. Notice that Paul is exhorting the Roman Church to seek immortality and eternal life while living as human beings. The verse did not infer a waiting period that kicks in after we die.
Paul is saying that among all the benefits that you seek by reason of your salvation that was purchased at Calvary, be sure to seek immortality and eternal life. Was this an empty notion?
Was Paul simply adding words to fill up pages of his letter? Was he simply thinking up ideas that would trigger the curiosity in those who read his letters? You can answer these questions out of the conviction in your own heart.
However, down through the ages the people of God have been fed oversized portions of sermons telling us to be prepared to die and go to heaven. That was good in its time, but as time elapsed and we moved forward in God’s ultimate plan for his creation, we have become a people with a different sense of purpose and destination in Christ. One Sunday after speaking at a church in Clovis [just outside Fresno} California, the pastor and I shared some thoughts in his study.
He referred to Romans 8 in which we are told that creation groans in travail, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. He remarked that this truth was written over two thousand years ago, and then he asked how much longer must creation wait. While I understand his mindset, I have to also recognize that God does not count time in terms of years as we do. But as we walk in the Spirit and listen to the nudging of the Lord, we begin to feel a little like the great whales in the warm waters of Baja California, getting the signal that it is time for them to navigate the waters back to Alaska and the waters of Bering Sea.
The whole truth is that much of what the Church in general believes and is looking for, has nothing to do with God’s exact program, and the manner in which he will unfold his acts in the earth. Let us look for his “appearing” because this has to be before we can even consider a coming. Either way, we are not of them who live with little or no hope at all.
Once again, please be reminded that your support of this ministry must be made payable to Royce Kennedy. I must thank each and every one of you who have reached out and offered a helping hand. The Lord richly bless you in return! Brother Kennedy