Lesson 10 Knowing The Father

     Jesus said in John 10:30 (Amplified) that, "I and the Father are One."
     When you see Jesus, you see the Father.  You don't always just see God, you see God the Father.
     There's a big difference in just seeing God than there is in seeing Him as your Father.  Since we've now become His family instead of simply people, things have changed in our lives.  When God dealt with Adam in the Garden of Eden, His relationship was entirely different than it was after the transgression.  It wasn't that God was any different, but man was.  God had to deal with man differently because mankind was changed.  It wasn't that God didn't want to treat man the same, but now He couldn't according to Isaiah 59:1-2 (Amplified) that says, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened at all, that it can not save, nor His ear dull with deafness, that it can not hear."  Verse 2 goes on, "But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear."
     So now, because of the sin in the Garden, all of mankind was separated by the enormity of Adam's transgression.  Neither God's power nor His heart changed towards man, but now His presence and ability to work for His people must undergo a change.
     Romans 8:2 (Amplified) says there is a Law of sin and death and because of the dictates of the Law, death had entered into all of mankind.  The Father had to devise a way to keep life covering the death until He could get Jesus into the earth.  Since sin always brought death, then it would take a death to pay the price for it.  We read in Leviticus 17:11 (Amplified), "For the life (the animal soul) is in the blood, and I have given it for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement, by reason of the life (which it represents)."
     So now, by reason of the death of the animal sacrifice, the Law of sin and death could by paid by the blood which declared a death.  The life of the blood would be payment to extend the life of the people for a time.  By accepting the blood of the sacrifice,God could move (at least in a limited way) on behalf of man.  But, according to the book of Hebrews4:20 (Amplified), "(In fact) under the Law almost everything is purified by means of blood, and without the shedding of blood there is neither release from sin and its guilt nor the remission of the due and merited punishment for sins."
     Hebrews 10:4 (Amplified) says that, "Because the blood of bulls and goats is powerless to take sins away.  Because of His great love and mercy, He set in order the Law so as to have input into mankind until He could bring about His plan of total redemption."
     We've totally mistaken the love of this awesome God we serve because of the way He was forced to deal with mankind under the Law.  We believed that God found some perverse pleasure or disregarded man as being subhuman to a degree and that He always found fault with us.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  It was always God's plan to bring us back home into His presence and to lavish all of His love on us.
     Now, because of Jesus, we have been bought with sinless blood; the blood of God Himself.  Hebrews 18:19 (Amplified) says that, "Now where there is absolute remission (forgiveness and cancellation of the penalty) of these (sins and lawbreaking) there is no longer any offering made to atone for sin."  Verse 19 continues, "Therefore, brethren, since we have full freedom and confidence to enter into the (Holy of) Hollies (by the power and virtue) in the blood of Jesus."
     Now, this great and powerful God has once again become Father.  All of the things done under the Law were to bring us to this point of return.  Now, because of Jesus, our Father can once again deal with His family without a spot or blemish or stain because of the precious blood of His Lamb, Jesus.  The power of this awesome God is now being released in His love and grace on behalf of His family.
     God will never again (for those who have received His sacrifice) deal with man the way He did under the Law.  All of this dread of punishment and rejection for sin have been met and paid for by Jesus.  His blood didn't just cover sin for a long time, but His blood erased the sin completely.
    In Colossians 2:15 (Amplified), "(God) disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him (Jesus) and in the cross."
     Hebrews 10:35-6 (Amplified) tells us, "Do not, therefore, fling away your fearless confidence, for it carries a great and glorious compensation of reward."  Verse 36 says, "For you have need of steadfast patience and endurance, so that you may perform and fully accomplish the will of God and thus receive and carry away (and enjoy to the full) what is promised."
     Our Father has so many things He wishes to do for us, and through us, if we will only allow Him to do it.  Don't let the remembrance of past of present sin or shortcomings in your life be a barrier between you and Him.  Put your faith in the blood that cleanses you and walk in boldness before your Father just like Jesus did.
     Let your conscience be cleansed by His blood and walk in the newness of your mind.  Let the mind of Christ be made manifest in you and walk as the new creation that you've become in Him.  You're no longer separated from God, but you're His family.

Lesson 9 Knowing The Father

     Jesus said in John 10:30 (Amplified) that, "I and the Father are One."
     The plan of the Father, was and still is, to have a family and fellowship with His family.  From the time that Adam fell in the Garden of Eden, until now, our Father held only one thought and plan and that was to restore His family back to Him.
     Under the old covenant, God had to have blood to cover sin.  Leviticus 17:11 (Amplified) says that, "the life (the animal soul) is in the blood, and I have given it for you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life (which it represents)."
     Romans 3:24-26 (Amplified) says that, "All are Justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy) through the redemption which is (provided) in Christ Jesus."  Verse 25 continues, "Whom God put forward (before the eyes of all) as a mercy seat and propitiation by His Blood (the cleansing and life giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation to be received through faith.  This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment."  Verse 26 says, "It was to demonstrate and prove at the present time (in the now season) that He Himself is righteous and that He justifies and accepts as righteous him who has (true) faith in Jesus."
     There had to a be a death (a life given for a life) in order for God to be able be able to receive the people as living in His presence.  Without the shedding of the blood, there couldn't be forgiveness of sin.  Hebrews 9:22 (Amplified) tells us that, "Since the blood of bulls and goats, could not take away sins (but only covered them for a period of time) there had to be a better and eternal sacrifice to completely cleanse man from sin."
     We read in Hebrews 9:24 (Amplified), "For Christ (the Messiah) has not entered into a sactuary made with (human) hands, only a copy, and pattern and type of the true One, but (He has entered) into heaven itself, now to appear in the (very) presence of God on our behalf."
     This act of grace, mercy and love on God's behalf, was to cleanse us and bring us back to Himself, clean and whole and righteous (in right standing) in His eyes. By the very Blood of God Himself (in Jesus) He cleansed us.  Now, because of this great sacrifice, we are now one with Him again.  Now that an eternal sacrifice had been made, the covenant would be one of grace and not Law.
     Because Jesus and the Father are One, we actually could see our Father as we watched Jesus in His earthly walk.  Jesus told Philip in John 14:7 (Amplified), "If you had known Me (had learned to recognize Me) you would also have known My Father.  From now on, you know Him and have seen Him."
     This statement is all the more true for the believer today.  If you are to know the Father, then you must see Jesus.  No longer do we see the God of the old covenant, but the Father in the new covenant.  No longer do we see a God Who demands righteousness from a bankrupt people, but a Father Who imparts righteousness to a family.  We don't see a God Who demands works to justify, but a Father Who gave His Own blood to take away the sin forever.
     This act of the Law was to give life by the blood of animals (which couldn't take away, but only cover sin) only until He could get Jesus into the earth.     This power of the blood that was to be made by Jesus didn't cover sin, it completely eradicated all stain of sin.  Not just for a season was sin erased like in the old covenant, but forever (the past, the present and the future).  There's now no more sacrifice that's acceptable to God except the One made by Jesus.  That is why rejecting Jesus is the one thing that will damn a person.  Jesus said in John 14:6 (Amplified) that, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me."
     The only way into God's righteousness is by the righteousness of the Blood of Jesus.  There's no more sacrifice and no more Law that can be completed to enter in, but Jesus. The only sin that is now being reckoned to mankind, is the rejection of the only sacrifice that can cleanse him and bring him into right standing with God.
     This covenant of grace is available to all who will believe and accept the Son of God as their sin bearer.  No man can pay this bill on his own.  Without receiving Jesus, the Law of sin and death is still in effect according to Romans 8:2 (Amplified).

Lesson 8 Knowing The Father

    Jesus said in John 10:30 (Amplified) that "I and the father are One.  When you have seen Me, you have seen the Father."  We've had a difficult time trying to get a true picture of God.  Every Christian wants to walk upright before God and every Christian wants His will done in our lives.  The problem hasn't been that our heart is wrong, but that our image of God has been wrong.
     We've gleaned most of what we know about God by the old covenant of the Law.  When we did good, then He did good.  And, when we did bad, then He did bad.  Nearly all we knew or were taught about God came from the teaching about the Law.  What we've neglected to see is that we now have a new covenant of grace.  By grace, even when we do wrong, God can still do good because of the new covenant of grace.  All of our punishment for wrong doing was placed on Jesus.  Isaiah 53:4 (Amplified) says that "Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains (of punishment)."
     When Jesus went to the cross, He took our entire debt that was due under the Law and fulfilled it completely.  Galatians 3:13-14 (Amplified) says that "Christ purchased our freedom (redeeming us) from the curse (doom) of the Law (and its condemnation) by (Himself) becoming a curse for us.  For it is written (in the scriptures) cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified)."  Verse 14 goes on, "To the end that through (their receiving) Christ Jesus, the blessing (promised) to Abraham might come upon the gentiles, so that we through faith might (all) receive (the realization of) the promise of the (Holy) Spirit."
     Every curse that was proclaimed by violating the Law was placed upon Jesus.  God , being a Just God, was obligated by His Just and Holy nature was obligated to punish all wrongdoing under the Law.  There was no way for Him to circumvent it and still remain true to His Word.  Although God didn't like to punish His people, He had to be true to His covenant.
     When Jesus came and took our place, this Just and Holy God judged Jesus in our place.  He poured out all His wrath and indignation that was due to us upon Jesus.  Once His claims of justice had been met and the price for sin had been satisfied (in and on Jesus), we were paid for by His blood.
     The wages of sin was death and not only physical death, but spiritual death as well.  Our spirits that were separated from God by Adam, had to be restored to life by Jesus' separation on the cross.  As Jesus became sin, He was separated from His Father so that we might now be made alive unto Him and united with Him again.
     The sin demanded payment and the Law couldn't look the other way.  The price must be paid and the ransom must be met.  Since all men had the same sin in their blood, there had to be a sinless sacrifice made that could be legally accepted to pay the price.  That's why Jesus had to die.  Only the blood of God Himself was without sin.  Only His Own blood was pure enough to pay the bill that was due.
     When Jesus was nailed to the altar of the cross, God's Own blood ran down for us and Jesus Himself carried it to the mercy seat in the heavenlies (actually became the mercy seat).  Now in this new covenant, His blood has been accepted by God (on our behalf) for the complete payment that was due from sin according to Hebrews 9:18-28 (Amplified) especially verse 22.  In fact, under the Law, almost everything is purified by means of blood.  Without the shedding of blood there is neither release from sin and its guilt nor the remission of the due and merited punishment for sins.
     Once the blood had been shed and accepted, the price for sin and its punishment had been legally met and the bill was paid.  Now, what the Holy Spirit said in Romans 5:1 (Amplified) is true for the believer that, "Therefore, since we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us (grasp the fact that we ) have (the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy) peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)"
     This was the Father's plan from the very beginning; to be one with Him.

Lesson 7 Knowing The Father

     Jesus said in John 10:30 (Amplified) that, "I and the Father are One."  He was saying that He was bringing a new vision of Who God is to the world.  When Jesus delivered this message to the world, it was a completely new way of seeing the Almighty.  All of Israel knew Him as the "Almighty God," but only Jesus knew Him as Father.
     Jesus delivered the most well-known prayer in Christianity in Matthew 6:9 (amplified) saying, "Pray, therefore, like this; Our Father Who is in heaven."  This must have staggered the ones who heard Him pray in this manner.  Until then, they would not have even spoke God's name aloud out of fear of offending the "Most High." Now, they weren't only to pray to Him, but refer to Him as Father.
     Today, we refer top Him as Father and still approach Him as God.  The old covenant people had no way of knowing that through the death and resurrection of Jesus, our entire world would change.
     Today, we refer to God as our Father, but sometimes feel (or at least act) like we're not His children.  Mostly, we still see Him in the light of the old covenant instead of the new one.
    You may ask what the difference is.  Is God still not God even in the old covenant?  Yes!  He is still the Almighty God even in the old covenant.  The difference is how we view Him.
     President Obama is probably the most powerful political figure in the world currently.  He is President of the greatest nation in all of history.  Nations throughout the earth either seek to know him or they hate him.  His influence is sought after in nearly every nation. 
     Obama's two daughters live with him in the White House.  Both of these girls know he's the President and both know his importance and position.  But, both daughters share a relationship with him that no one else has; they're his daughters.
    Do you suppose that when these girls come into his presence they address him as Mr. President?  No!  They address him as Father or Dad.  Many people have his influence as a political figure, but only his children have all of his influence.  Do you suppose that those girls have access to more favor than most people do?  Being their father doesn't diminish his power as President, but it does put them into such positions as no one else one the planet.
     Being our Father doesn't diminish the fact that God is still the Almighty God.  But, it does put us in a position with this Almighty God that no one else shares.  All of His influence in our lives is different.  All His power as God is now directed unto us, as our Father.  The power of God is now the protection for His children.  The grace that is extended to the world has now become the power that is the glory of heaven extended for the good of His children.    
     God's influence and power to the world has been extended , but everything that He is has been given to His family.  When we understand Who this Awesome God has become to us, doesn't change Who He is, but how He functions on our behalf.  We, as God's family, have been blessed with His favor, His Love, His might, His own righteousness and everything that God has.  Every promise that God has made is now ours through Jesus.
     The world still sees Gos as God and as a distant figure somewhere in space.  We see this God as Father Who lives inside of us and not somewhere in space.  The world sees a God who they're trying to get approval from, but we see Him as the Father Who has given us His approval to and of us.  The world sees a distant God Who cannot be reached, but we see a Father Who tenderly loves and watches over us all the time.  The world sees someone they would like to have on their side (if they could arrange it), but we see a Father Who has given everything He is and everything He has to His family.
     Who God is hasn't changed...who we are has.  He is still the God of all creation, but now this God is our Father.  When Jesus brought us into God's family, His prayer in John 17:14-26 (Amplified) was fulfilled and we have become one as "He and the Father are One."

Lesson 6 Knowing The Father

     When Jesus said in John 10:30 (Amplified), "I and the Father are one," He identified the very nature and will of God for the New Testament people.  As the old covenant was about to be fulfilled and the new covenant was about to be revealed, there would be a new realtionship with God now.
     Never before did people have a relationship with God like this since the Garden of Eden.  They didn't know at that time the things that you and I now know.  They couldn't imagine that Jesus would be the Lamb who would cleanse them all of sin and iniquity.  Being made righteous (or in right standing) with God was a notion so foreign to them that they couldn't understand what Jesus meant.
     Jesus was speaking to old covenant men about the new covenant things.  When Jesus said that He and God were one and the same, it was considered blasphemy to them.  To say Jesus was the Son of God was blasphemy and was punishable by death according to John 19:7 (Amplified).
     The Jewish people had never had a relationship with God that would allow them to ever make such a statement.  The only way they could related to Him was by the Law and sacrifice.  He had been a Holy God and a just God.  His dealings with this people (since Mt. Sinai) had been based on blood, sacrifice, obedience to the Law and being too holy to approach.
     Sometimes, we as New Testament people, seem to want this kind of relationship.  We seem almost to see God as He dealt with old covenant people rather than how He deals with us now.  We seem to have a problem seeing with a clear eye what our relationship is.
     Seeing God the way He dealt with the old covenant people has changed the way we will allow Him to deal in our lives.  God doesn't need me to clear His reputation, but it hurts my heart to hear His children speak about their Father in fear, distance and ignorance.
     We misjudge God when we view Him more from the old covenant than as our Father in the new covenant.  Jesus said in John 14:7 (Amplified) that "When you see Me, you have seen the Father."  We now have a clear view of the will, the heart and the love of God by seeing Jesus. 
     Hebrews 1:3 (Amplified) makes a statement that should give us a clear picture of God that His will should be obvious to us today.  Verse 3 says, "[Jesus] is the sole expression of the glory of God (the light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the Divine) and He is the perfect imprint and very image of (God's) nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty Word of power.  When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the Divine Majesty on High."
     They only way to see God is to see Jesus.  If Jesus and the Father are One (and we know they are), then the way  to know how our Father deals with us it to watch Jesus.  It will dispel all of the foolish things and old wives tales we've been taught throughout the years.  If it's not grace and mercy and truth, then it isn't our Father.  We've been taught for years that you can never know God's will.  But, if Jesus and the Father are one, then we can know God's will by watching Jesus.
     If you truly believe that God's will is to chastise you, hold you accountable for some sins, not hear your prayers or hold back His righteousness on your behalf, then you don't know Him.  If you believe that God placed Jesus on that cross as our substitute, then you cannot believe that He is still holding anything against you.
     Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, according to Luke 22:42 (Amplified)," that if there was another way, then let the cup be removed from Him, but if not, then let God's will be done."  It was God's will to put Jesus in our place and to put us in His place.  Jesus became what I was so that I could be what He is.  Now, because of Jesus, when my Father looks at me, all He sees is Jesus.  When He sees me, He now sees me as righteous with Jesus' righteousness according to 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (Amplified).  God now deals with me as if I actually Jesus.
     We've become the Body of Christ.  If God treated us as if Jesus had never died, then the sacrifice wasn't pure and holy and didn't cover us like it was supposed to.  Now, you know that isn't true!  John 17:22 (Amplified) says that "I have given them the glory and honor which you have given me that they may be one (even) as we are one."

Lesson 5 Knowing The Father

     In John 14:9 (Amplified) Jesus asked His disciples, "Have I been with all of you for so long a time, and did you not recognize and know me yet, Phillip? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.  How can you say then, show us the Father?"
     Jesus stated very plainly that He and the Father are one and the same and the only way to know God is to know Him.  We've walked in confusion about who our Heavenly Father really is for so long a time.  We were hindered by the enemy from really knowing the love and grace that came through Jesus and we missed our understanding of God.
     We still look upon Him as only God and missed the Father even though we called Him Father.  We still believed that God dealt with His children like He did under the old covenant.  Because of this, we missed so many blessings of our new covenant Father.  Many of these things that grace has provided couldn't come to us because we still looked to the law and not to grace.
     I taught a series of messages some time ago on the unclaimed riches of grace.  It seemed to fall on deaf ears at the time because God hadn't revealed it yet to all His children.  I believe that the time is now right for His family to hear and see the power of His grace.
     It sounds so foreign to Christian people today, because of what has been preached, to believe that grace has provided all things for all time.  In Galatians 5:4 (Amplified) it's been so clearly defined that it would seem hard to miss it...but we have.  Paul says in that verse, "If you seek to be justified and declared righteous and to be given a right standing with God through the Law, you are brought to nothing and so separated (severed) from Christ.  You have fallen away from grace (from God's gracious favor and unmerited blessing)."  Verse 6 continues, "that only faith in what Jesus done at His resurrection, will establish what God wants to do in our lives."
     All of the things that are His promises of our new covenant are obtained by faith in the price Jesus paid for us.  From our healing, to our righteousness, is all received by faith in Jesus paying the bill and becoming our substitute.
     I don't walk in guilt over who I used to be because of what Jesus did for me.  If His blood was not enough to cleanse me, then I have no way of being cleansed.  I have to believe by faith that Jesus did it all.  If I have been made righteous by His righteousness, then how can I improve on that by my own idea of what it takes to be made righteous before God?
     If the old covenant had been able to do this, then would we have even needed a new one?  Jesus was the only sacrifice that could make me right with God and by so doing, make God my Father.  Before, we were only servants, but now through Jesus, we are family.  As family, we are now joint-heirs with Christ and heirs of God according to Romans 8:17 (Amplified).             
     Many read this scripture about our sharing in His suffering, and receive the wrong idea of what that is.  When the Holy Spirit talks about sharing in His suffering.  He is not talking about the cross here.  Jesus took our place on the cross not for us to share in it, but to deliver us from it.  The suffering we share in is to be rejected by those who still believe we have to somehow pay for their own redemption.  Jesus was rejected by the self righteous, but received by those of us who believed by faith in what He said and did on the cross.
     You and I are still in this world, but we are not of it.  Because we aren't of this world, we aren't received by those who are.  Jesus said in John 16:18-19 (Amplified) that the world hated Him and because we aren't of this world, it will hate us.  As long as we're here, He is here in us.  And, as long as we are here, we still convict the world of righteousness.  John 3:19 (Amplified) says, "Light has come, and they have loved darkness."  Jesus said that we are the light now.  We are to be the light of the world and we are to be the salt of the earth.
     As long as the Church is here in this world, we are to spread the light of the gospel to all people.  Some will respond and some will persecute just like they did with Jesus.  This is suffering just as He suffered.  You and I cannot suiffer what He did on the cross.  If we could, then Jesus wouldn't have had to because we could have paid our own price of redemption by ourselves.
     We must come to know the Father by Jesus.  Only then , can we know the glory of His grace..

Lesson 4 Knowing The Father

     Jesus said in John 10:30 (Amplified) that, "I and the Father are one" and revealed the difference between God and Father in this one statement.  Before we had viewed our Father by what we had seen and read of the old covenant God.  Now, Jesus is revealing Him as Father instead of just God.  Is He still God?  Of course He is, but His relationship with man has changed now from a distant God to an ever present Father and One who protected from the outside to One who is ever present on the inside.
     Our view of who God is has been slanted because the only thing we knew about Him was gleaned from the old covenant.  To actually come to know Him as Father, we must see Him under the new covenant of grace and righteousness by Jesus.  Jesus said that the Father and I are One, so when we see Jesus, we have seen the Father.
     We've somehow connected God with punishment and strict rules that must be kept to keep from destruction.  But, law has been swallowed up by grace in the new covenant.  The sacrifices of the old covenant have all been met by the Lamb of God in the new covenant.  Whatever the law demanded, Jesus met in one awesome sacrifice of Himself.  Jesus became the sin offering, the trespass offering, the offering of the first fruits, the Passover, and the offering to be made if we were unclean.  Whatever man needed to be made right with God was met by Jesus.  Now all the things that were needed to completely fulfill the Law were met by Him.
     No matter how man tried to stand upright with God by the Law, he always fell short because of the sin nature that was within him.  But, now, Jesus has made us righteous by giving us His own right standing with God.  Now, we have the right, through Him, to come into the presence of God and to address Him as Father.  Now, it's not God and His people, but the Father and His family.
     If we learn to view Him by looking at Jesus, we see Him as He really is.  Now, He's not limited in His approach to us by our sin, but made one with us through the sacrifice of Jesus which covered all of our sin and iniquities.
     We still walked in the fear that He was going to punish us every time we fell short in our walk.  We knew that some of the things we've done (even after we were born again) were wrong and worthy of punishment.  And, because we knew we deserved to be punished, we allowed a place for the enemy to move in our lives and we attributed all of the calamity to our Father because we didn't understand Him.
     This has been a pattern in the lives of Christians for years.  We knew that a just and righteous God had to punish sin.  What we didn't understand was that all the punishment fell on Jesus so that you and I could walk free from it.
     Now we understand what John meant when he wrote in 1John 4:18 (Amplified) that, "There is no fear in love (dread does not exist) but full grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors, and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and (so) he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love (is not yet grown into loves complete perfection)."
     By reading this scripture in the light of the Spirit of Grace, we begin to understand that maturity in the Spirit lets us understand how much this great love has done to deliver us.  When we're mature enough to believe that love even covered our punishment for wrong, we begin to see our loving Father instead of seeing Him as others have often portrayed Him as a vengeful God.
     Isaiah 53:6 (Amplified) tells us, "Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains (of punishment) yet we (ignorantly) considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God (as if by leprosy)."  You see, His love not only took care of all our trespasses, but also the punishment that was due because of those trespasses.
     So, 1John 4:18 (Amplified) says that when we're mature enough to understand the greatness of this love and how even our punishment was taken by Jesus, we can now walk without fear (of punishment) because we now understand that He's not only God but our Father.
     Understanding this great love will set you free from fear and close the door of condemnation to the enemy.  Now, we are finally coming to the maturity of the love of God our Father.

Lesson 3 Knowing The Father

     In John 14:9 (Amplified) Jesus asked, "Have I been with all of you for so long a time, and you do not recognize and know me yet, Phillip?  Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.  How can you say then, show us the Father?"
     Most of us have wondered about who the Father is and how He operates.  We've drawn forgone conclusions about Him and have tried to walk in what we thought was God.  Jesus said that "No one has seen the Father, but the Son."  But, then He said that "When you see Me, you have seen Him."
     We've tried getting a glimpse of God by reading His Word and frequently we've failed to see Him clearly.  We have a distorted view of God when we read about His dealings of people in the old covenant.  We hear about grace and mercy, then we run into the God of the old covenant.  Few have realized that God had to deal differently in the old covenant than He does in the new covenant.
     In the old covenant, before men could be born again, God had to deal with mankind by the flesh and not the Spirit.  The old covenant men were spiritually dead to God and walked completely in the carnal realm.  God couldn't lead them by the Holy Spirit like He does now.  Instead, there needed to be laws and sacrifices for man's failures in order to keep them in a place of mercy until Jesus could be brought into the earth.  The old covenant really was a covenant of mercy and goodness that kept God from destroying the old covenant people altogether.  Romans 6:23 (Amplified) says, "The wages which sin pays is death, but the (bountiful) free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord."
     When sin was with the old covenant man, mercy would receive the life and blood of a goat or lamb to cover the sin.  Therefore, mercy preserved the life of a sinner time and time again.  We wonder at the way God dealt with man and sometimes we allow ourselves to believe that He deals this way still in the new covenant.  Because we don't study and listen to the Holy Spirit, we get ourselves in the place of the double minded man in the book of James.
     Paul told Timothy in 2Timothy 2:15 (Amplified), "Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial) a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing (rightly handling and skillfully teaching) the Word of truth."  To rightly divide the truth of God's Word, you must let the cross be the place it divides.  The old covenant, through the blood of goats and bulls, could keep men from destruction until the Lamb of God could cleanse them.  Now, because of Jesus, God doesn't have to deal with man as in the flesh.  Instead, God can now, by the pouring out of His own blood, bring life to those who will believe.
     In the beginning, God dealt with Adam by His Spirit, but after the fall God had to deal with him in the flesh or natural man.  Once again, when man gets born again, God deals with us by His Spirit and His Word.  We have erroneously accepted that because of the old covenant, God still is doing that which He did then.  We are still looking for judgment, punishment and anger from God.  To rightly divide the Word of truth, you must see the truth of the resurrection of Jesus and the power of His Blood to give us new life with God in the Spirit.
    

Lesson 2 Knowing The Father

    In John 14:9 (Amplified) Jesus said, "Have I been with you for so long a time, and you do not recognize and know Me yet, Phillip?  Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.  How can you say then, show us the Father?"
     For so long we have misunderstood the heart of our Father and mostly it's because we were taught incorrectly from the start.  We've tried to walk with God with a right heart, but we always seem to fall short of what we believed God demanded from us.  We tried to pray, but never had much confidence in getting an answer because we were always conscience of our short-comings.  We misunderstood what it meant to "fear the Lord" and were in actuality afraid of God.
     To fear the Lord is to respect, reverence and be in awe of Him.  We've spent much of our Christian walk trying to be good so God would bless us or have favor towards us.  All this time, God had already blessed and given favor and grace to us through Jesus.
     As I continue saying to people in our congregation, "God is not your problem, He is your answer."  If God is your problem, then you don't have an answer.
     I taught a series of messages some time ago about the unclaimed riches of grace.  Because we really never understood what grace has provided, we never reached out to receive what was there.  The teaching centered in on Ephesians 2:8 (Amplified) which says that we were saved by grace (through faith), but we didn't really understand what it meant to be "saved."  Mostly, we decided that being saved meant we were going to heaven when we died.
     All that is true, but being saved means so much more than that.  We were saved by grace through faith and our faith in what grace provided will determine how much of this "gift of grace" will manifest in our lives.  It has already been provided for us, but must be received by faith in it.
     Salvation has already been offered to the whole world.  Jesus provided the doorway to God by His own sacrifice.  He came so we could be free from all of the bondage of everything that transgressed in the Garden of Eden.  Still, this awesome gift of grace and salvation must be received by faith.
     There is nothing that Jesus died for (or better yet, what He was raised from the dead to bring us) that was held back from the believer.  We were justified when He raised from the dead and all of our debt had been paid.  For the most part, we seem to still be trying to pay it off by ourselves.
     What grace has provided is a note, paid in full, that has set us free so people don't have to think about their pasts.  As far as God's concerned, you have no past.  1 Corinthians 5:17-21 (Amplified) needs to be read in the Spirit of God so you will begin to really see Jesus in a new light.  We read the words and misunderstood in our minds what the words say and never receive in our spirits the truth of this grace.  This scripture must be received by faith in order to make you free from the accusations of your old life.
     This scripture if true whether or not we believe it.  But, in order to walk in the liberty of it, it must become real to you.  Grace has provided much more for us than faith has ever received.  Jesus did so many things that we're not walking in and that we still feel we must earn them in some way.
     We've been taught that you can never know what God will do.  That's not true at all.  In
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (Amplified) the Word tell us that, "What eye, ear and the natural mind of man could not understand, the Spirit of God has now revealed them to us as believers."  The entire plan of salvation and redemption was hidden in Jesus until the time was right and now is that time to know and receive.
     We still stand in fear of failure and punishment for our failures.  We still have trouble trusting God with our lives.  We still walk in fear of punishment most of the time.  The teachings for the Body of Christ have been "do good, get good and do bad, get bad."  Jesus took the bad, gave the good and Colossains 2:13-15 (Amplified) says Jesus nailed them to His cross and cancelled them out.  And, it tells us that Jesus disarmed the powers that raged against us and made a public example over them.  
     Pleas, read this scripture over and over again.

Lesson 1 Knowing The Father

     In John 14:7-9 (Amplified), we read, "If you had known Me (had learned to recognize Me) you would also have known My Father.  From now on, you know  Him and have seen Him."  Verse 8 says, "Phillip said to Him,'Lord, show us the Father (cause us to see the Father-that is all we ask) then we will be satisfied.'"  Verse 9 continues, "Jesus replied, 'Have I been with all of you for so long a time, and you do not recognize and know Me yet, Phillip?  Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.  How can you say then, show us the Father?'"
     For years I've watched God's people struggle for a vision of the Father.  They still haven't seen that as they watched Jesus, they are watching the Father.  We still walk in condemnation of their past even though they've been set completely free.  We still walk trying to be good so that God will bless us.  We haven't yet realized that we're blessed because He is good and not because we are good.
     We still struggle with sickness and disease as God's chastisement or teaching.  We still haven't gotten hold of grace and mercy in Jesus.  Most of the time we continue to see our Father under the law of the old covenant instead of the law of grace under the new covenant.
     Somehow  we've failed to say the same thing that Phillip said, "Show us the Father."  We haven't understood the most basic teaching of Jesus from John 10:30 (Amplified), "I and the Father are one."
     Jesus said that "No one has seen the Father except the Son, but when you've seen Me, then you've seen the Father."  I can't help wondering how we got so mixed up when it comes to Knowing Him.  The only way, and the easiest way to know God is to watch Jesus.  If Jesus didn't do it, then God doesn't do it.  If Jesus didn't make you sick to teach you something, then God won't make you sick to teach you either.
     Jesus declared in John 10:10 (Amplified), "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that you may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, 'til if overflows).   "It should be very simple to determine just be this scripture who God is.  If it steals, kills or destroys, then it's not God.
     I never saw Jesus refuse healing to anyone or ever heard Him tell someone that the Father wanted them to keep their sickness.  If He didn't to it, then God doesn't do it.  I never saw Him turn anyone away who needed help and neither does the Father.
     Somehow, we got the whole of the gospel turned upside down.  It seems that the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, healing, prosperity, authority, power of His name and deliverance have suddenly come from the devil.  And, sickness, poverty, condemnation, hard times, trials, and tests were from our Father.  How could we be so blind as to mistake our greatest enemy as being from our Father?
     How can we proclaim to be saved by grace, only to be put under the Law?  We seemed to have fallen prey to the deception of the enemy as to what Jesus paid for on the cross.  Why is it that we're so quick to believe the lie of the devil about a God Who loves us so much that He died in our place?  How could we think for even a minute that our Father is the cause of all our problems?
     Even when we were unsaved and lost, He loved us at our worst.  Jesus says in John 17:23 (Amplified), "I in them, and you in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and (definitely) recognize that you sent Me and that You have loved them (even) as You have loved Me."
     If you can even imagine the love that the Father has for Jesus, then you can begin to understand how God is your answer and not your problem.  The only way to know God is to know Jesus.  If we begin to understand what Jesus did for us, then we can begin to understand and know our Father.
     How it must hurt the great heart of God to have His children think of Him as a murderer or a killer of children.  To think of Him as the source of all the hell and heartache of His children, that when something terrible happens, we blame Him.  If my children thought that of me, then I don't think I could handle it.  Here is a Father who went to the greatest length of His love to free us and then we view Him as a terrorist.
     We're going to get a view of our Father through these next set of lessons that will reveal the fullness of His goodness and love for us.  From now on, we'll see Him in Hi place of grace and love and not judgement and death.

Lesson 4 one Stronger Than He

     When Jesus defeated the devil, He did it for you and me.  Jesus was never under the dominion of the devil because He was sinless.  His blood came from the Father and there is no sin in Him.  Because we came from the same bloodline as the fallen Adam, we were born with sin in us.  It's not because of what you did, but because of what Adam did.
     A friend of mine recently adopted a baby.  The baby was born a heroin addict not because of what the baby did, but because of what the mother did.  Sin was transferred through the bloodline that was Adam just like the addiction was transferred to the baby because of the blood.
     I remember watching a television program about a diseased monkey.  Everyone who was scratched or bitten by that monkey died.  The only way to stop the disease was to find the monkey who was a carrier of the disease and use his blood to make an anecdote.  The monkey carried the disease but never died from it.  The entire time I watched that show, all I could think of was is that's what Jesus did.  He carried our sins and death and then rose from the dead to give us life in His blood.  Jesus was the anecdote for the sin disease.
     Once the sin disease was broken and destroyed by the blood of Jesus, the enemy had no hold on the one who will accept the anecdote.  The disease of sin and death has been broken by the blood offered by Jesus.  This sin was a spiritual disease that gave satan power over the one who had it.  Once you have accepted Jesus as your Lord, the anecdote of His blood cured the disease and set you free from it.
     Without this hold on mankind, the only thing for the devil to do was to try and deceive you into thinking it didn't work.  As long as he could deceive you, you still walked under the same guilt, condemnation, and shame that you did when you had the sin.  2 Corinthians (Amplified) is the written cure for the sin disease and says that, "for our sake He made Christ (virtually) to be sin Who knew no sin.  So that in and through Him we might become (endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of) the righteous of God (what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him) by His goodness."
     The blood of Jesus has made us free from the enemy forever.  Romans 8:1 (Amplified) declares, "Therefore (there is) now no condemnation (no judging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus (who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh), but after the dictates of the Spirit."  The dictates of the flesh still want to condemn you and the dictates of the Spirit declare you free.
     If satan can still move on you for things that you've done, then you're walking in the dictates of the flesh.  As long as you live under guilt, satan will torment you even though you've been cleansed.  Romans 8:33_34 (Amplified) says, "Who shall bring any charge against God's elect (when it is) God who justifies (that is, who puts us in right relationship with Himself)?  Who shall come forward and accuse or impeach those whom God has chosen?  Will God acquit us?"  Verse 34 continues, "Who is there to condemn us?  Will Christ Jesus (the Messiah) who died, or rather was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of the Father actually pleading as He intercedes for us?"
     We've been sold a bill of good by satan, as well as some well meaning individuals, that somehow God still isn't pleased with us.  However, nothing could be farther from the truth.  When we read in Colossians 2:14-15 (Amplified) that, "Having cancelled and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note (bond) with its legal decrees and demands which was in force and stood against us (hostile to us) this (note with its regulations, decrees and demands) He set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to (His) cross."  Verse 15 goes on, "(God) disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against and made a bold display and public example of them, triumphing over them in Him and in it (the cross)."
     We are so free that it makes the latter day Scribes and Pharisees angry because we don't knuckle under to their religious demands.  They want you to dress a certain way, to wear your hair a certain way, to feel guilty over who you used to be and to consider yourself as some kind of low-life.  1 Peter 2:9 (Amplified) declares that Jesus made you saying, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, (God's) own purchased special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfection of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."
     You wonder sometimes how we can read the words and miss the meaning of these scriptures.  We have the ability to understand in our minds, but we miss the truth in our hearts.  We read what it says, yet, can hardly believe it is true.  We wouldn't dare say that we don't believe God's Word, but continue on as though the blood of our Lord wasn't enough.
     If you have done something that the blood of Jesus didn't cover, then please, don't tell me what it is,  His blood did it all!  We say we believe in Jesus and act as though we're still guilty.  We say we believe that Jesus did it all and still try basing righteousness on how long we pray, how much we read and how nice we are.  We still try to improve on His righteousness that is our relationship with God.  If you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, then you can't improve on that.  You only have to believe it.
     Don't let the devil tell you that you must jump through hoops to be in right standing with God.  Just tell him who you are in Christ Jesus.   

Lesson 3 One Greater Than He

     In the 28th chapter of Ezekiel (Amplified) we find the Lord instructing the prophet to speak to the King of Tyre.  He had just spoken to the Prince of Tyre.  The Prince was the man on the throne and the King of Tyre was the spirit, satan, who was really in charge of what was going on.
     You find in Verses 13-14 (Amplified) the Lord says that this King of Tyre was in Eden.  There were only three persons in Eden except for when satan entered.  There was Adam, Eve, and God.  The only other person was the serpent or satan.  In Verse 14 God called him the anointed cherub.
     In Verse 18 (Amplified), the Lord spoke of the end of satan when He said, "'I have brought forth a fire from your midst; it has reduced you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who looked at you.'"  Verse 19  says, "'You have come to a horrible end and shall never return to being.'"
     This prophecy spoken to satan by the Lord has come to pass by Jesus.  The enemy has already been stripped of his authority and power.  The only thing left to be fulfilled is the final judgement into the lake of fire.  The ability to deceive men is all that's left for his overthrown kingdom.
     In  Thess.2:7-10 (Amplified), the Word of God speaks of the anti-Christ and his power of deception.  In Verse 9 we read, "The coming (of the lawless one; the anti-Christ) is through the activity and working of satan and will be attended by great power and with all sorts of (pretended) miracles and signs and delusive marvels (all of them) lying wonders."  Upon reading this, you understand that satan is like a magician using slight of hand to make things appear differently than they are.
     The Word says that all these things are "pretended miracles and signs and delusive marvels; all of them lying wonders."  I once watched David Copperfield make the Statue of Liberty disappear on television.  Everyone knew it was still there, but he made the illusion of disappearance look so convincing.
     In Corinthians 11:13-15 (Amplified) the Apostle Paul speaks about those who would deceive the Church in the guise of being the Church, counterfeit men and false apostles, masquerading as apostles.  Verse 14 (Amplified) says, "And it is no wonder, for satan himself masquerades as an angel of light."
     When satan comes to a believer, he doesn't come saying he is satan.  But, he comes saying that he is the Lord.  He tries to get the Church to believe that all the hard times and sicknesses and heartaches are just God teaching His people.  All the while, it's a deception of the same defrocked satanic spirit that comes as an angel of light.
     If the Church ever catches onto the fact that Jesus defeated the devil for us and stripped him of his authority and ability, then it will be all over for the devil.  The only power that was left to him was the power (or ability) to deceive people.  He'll try telling you that your sins haven't been forgiven, that you're not clean before the Lord, that you don't pray enough, that you can't get healed or that your prayers are unanswered because you don't live a perfect life.  And, then he will try convincing you that all of your problems stem from God.
     If satan can convince you of these things, then he will keep you from enjoying your salvation.  I knew a lady some years ago who was placed in a mental health ward because of the lying spirit.  She was a Christian woman who loved God.  This lying devil came to her saying that he was Jesus.  He told her that (as Jesus) he loved her enough to shed his blood for her.  Then he said that if she loved him, then she must shed her blood as proof.  The lady (who did love God) was deceived into cutting her wrists and the back of her knees to prove her love for God.  She was placed in a mental ward and remained there for 13 years until God told me to go get her out and set her free.
     This lying spirit will tell you anything to get you to allow him to minister into your life.  You must know who he is and what Jesus did to him.  If he told you he was the devil, then you wouldn't listen to him.  But, if he can deceive you into thinking he is God, then you will listen.  That's why James 4:7 (Amplified) says, "So be subject to God; Resist the devil (stand firm against him) and he will flee from you."

Lesson 2 One Stronger Than He

     We've been discussing the believer's authority over the enemy.  When Jesus made the remark about one stronger than he (satan), He was speaking about Himself being stronger than satan.  He was the One who spoiled the strong,man's house and divided his goods.
     You and I have the authority that Jesus gave to us when He gave us His name.  After being made our sacrifice for all things and rising from the dead, Jesus made the statement in Matthew 28:18 (Amplified) that "All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given Me."  When we were saved we became joint-heirs with Jesus.  According to Romans 8:16-17 (Amplified) , we share in His name and in His inheritance in the Father.  Philippians 2:9-11 (Amplified) says that, "His name (which was given to us) is a name above every name."  Verse 10 says that "every knee shall bow at the name of Jesus."  That means that every being in heaven and on earth and under the earth shall bow at that name.  We are in Christ Jesus and according to Romans 8:1 (Amplified) as believers we have what He died (and rose from the dead) to deliver unto us.
     Jesus made a statement in John 14:12 (Amplified) that if anyone else had made, then it would have been more than anyone would have dared to believe.  Jesus declared that those who believed in Him would do the things that He (Jesus) did.  This would include having His authority over demon forces.
     Many Christians seem to be squeamish about using the name of Jesus for their own deliverance.  The only name you can use is His name.  Your name has no power in it to do anything.  In our own selves we have no authority over satan or our own sin.  We're totally dependent upon His name and authority.
     When Jesus was raised from the dead, it was as though you and I were raised up together with Him.  Ephesians 2:6 (Amplified) says, "And He raised us up together with Him (Jesus) and made us sit down together (giving us joint seating with Him) in the heavenly sphere (by virtue of our being) in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
     So, we're in the place of authority over satan and his demon power by virtue of being in Jesus.  Does this mean that we can stop him from working tragedy on the earth?  No!  But, you can stop him from working in your life.
     Go with me to Ephesians 3:10 (Amplified) and let's read what the Holy Spirit has to say about God's family here on earth.  Please, read the verses before verse 10, but let me preface it by saying that the mystery that the Holy Spirit wrote about was "Christ in us, our hope of glory."  Verse 10 says, "(The purpose is) many-sided wisdom of God in all its infinite variety and innumerable aspects might now be made known to the angelic rulers and authorities (principalities and powers) in the heavenly sphere."
     This plan that God had in the beginning was that His children would rule with Him over everything.  Now let's look at Ephesians 6:11-18 (Amplified) where Paul says that this armor would make us "successful to stand against all the strategies and the deceits of the devil."  In Verse 12 he continues telling us that what we are in war against is demon forces.  Once more, Paul says in Verse 16 (Amplified) that "the shield of faith would quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked one."
     These same principalities and powers Paul spoke of in Ephesians 6:12 are the same powers he spoke about in Ephesians 3:10 (Amplified).
     God wants the Church to walk in the name of Jesus and to spoil the strongman's house just as He did.  He is the one who is stronger.
     Notice! This shield of faith that quenches all the missiles of the devil, is just that; a shield of faith.  What if you are a believer and you don't have faith against the devil?  Is it then a shield of faith?  Does this shield work if you have no faith in it?
     This doesn't mean you're not saved, but only your faith is limited by what you believe.  James 4:7 (Amplified) says, "So be subject to God.  Resist the devil (stand firm against him) and he will flee from you."  The only thing that will cause him to move is your understanding and faith in your understanding about your authority in the name of Jesus.  Without faith over the devil in the name of Jesus, you have no shield to cover you against him.

Lesson 1 One Stronger Than He

     In Luke 11:21-22 (Amplified) we read, "When the strong man, fully armed, (from his courtyard) guards his own dwelling, his belongings are undisturbed (his property is at peace and is secure)."  Verse 22 goes on, "But when one stronger than he attacks him and conquers him, he robs him of his whole armor on which he had relied and divides up and distributes all his goods as plunder (spoil)."
     In Luke 4:5-7 (Amplified) Jesus (having been taken by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to meet satan) was now entering into the strong man's own territory."  Verse 5 says that "Then the devil took Him up to a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the habitable world in a moment of time (in the twinkling of an eye)."  Verse 6 goes on, "And he said to Him, 'To you I will give all this power and authority and their glory (all their magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity and grace) for it has been turned over to me, and I give it to whomever I will."  Verse 7 says, "Therefore, if you will do homage to and worship me (just once) it shall all be yours."
     Jesus made the statement that "you shall worship only God" and rejected the deception of the enemy.  The deception wasn't that the kingdom was his to give away; it was.  Adam had delivered it over to him in the Garden.  The deception was, that had Jesus taken the bait, then He would have fallen into the same thing Adam had fallen into.  He would have subjected mankind (and God) into this world of sin and death forever.
     Jesus, walking in the authority of a sinless man (having been born of God) now walked in a place that satan's authority did not control Him.  In the book of Luke 11:21-22 (Amplified), Jesus stated (after casting out a demon), "When the strong man (satan) fully armed, (from his courtyard) guards his own dwelling, his belongings are undisturbed (his property is at peace and is secure)."  Verse 22 goes on, "But when one stronger than he attacks him and conquers him, he robs him of his whole armor on which he had relied and divides up and distributes all his goods as plunder (spoil)."
     In Luke 10:19 (Amplified) Jesus remarked to His disciples, "Behold!  I have given you authority and power to trample upon scorpions and serpents, and (physical and mental strength and ability) over all the power that the enemy (possesses); and nothing shall in any way harm you."
     This ability over the kingdom of darkness wasn't just for Jesus because He was never under the authority.  It was for us.  Jesus took the authority that Adam gave satan and took it back.  By the power of His name alone, Jesus issued authority to His disciples who weren't born again yet.  This ability over the enemy was now Jesus' to administer even before His resurrection.  Jesus stated in Mark 16:17 (Amplified), after His resurrection, "And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe; in My name they shall drive out demons; they will speak in new languages."
     Ephesians 2:1-2 (Amplified) tells us, "And you (He made alive) when you were dead (slain) by (your) trespasses and sins."  Verse 2 says, "In which at one time you walked (habitually) you were following the course and fashion of this world (we under the sway of the tendency of this present age) following the prince of the power of the air.  (You were obedient to and under the control of) the (demon) spirit that still works in the sons of disobedience (the careless, the rebellious, and the unbelieving who go against the purposes of God)."
     This stronger man (who is Jesus) took back the authority that God gave Adam in the beginning in Genesis 1:26 (Amplified) where, "God said, 'let us (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) make manking in Our Image, after Our Likeness; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the (tame) beasts, and over all the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth.'"
     This authority over satan and the dark forces of the enemy was given over to us by Jesus Himself.  After He took over the strong man and spoiled his house, Jesus gave us the power of attorney to walk in His authority.  Because of Jesus, the enemy has no right to the believer at all anymore.  His reign of death, guilt and condemnation of sin, is ended in the life of the believer.
    

Lesson 6 The Sower Sows The Seed

     Jesus taught a parable of a sower sowing seed in Mark 4:1-35 (Amplified).  In Verse 34, He explained this parable to His disciples and to us.  In Verse 23 Jesus said, "'If any man has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him perceive and comprehend.'"  Now that we have the Holy Spirit it seems so simple to understand the paraable, or does it?
     Today, we find that some people don't "have ears to hear."  There are many reasons for this, as Jesus already addressed in Verse 14-20, but He didn't stop at these verses.  In Mark 4:24 Jesus said something that many haven't seen or paid attention to and that's that the Word of God isn't the only seed being sown.  Verse 24, says, "And He said to them, 'Be careful what you are hearing.  The measure (of thought and study) you give (to the truth you hear) will be the measure (of virtue and knowledge) that comes back to you---and more (besides) will be given to you who hear.'"  Verse 25 says, "For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away (by force).'"
     All words are seeds and your heart (spirit) is the soil in which it will be sown.  As we said before, the soil has no say at what it grows, it will produce weeds just as quickly as it will produce wheat.  That is why Jesus said, "Be careful what you are hearing."  If you hear unbelief long enough, then you will begin to believe it.  If you hear doubt long enough, then you will begin to believe  how it.  If you hear how "that's passed away" or "God's out to get you" long enough, then you'll begin to believe that.
     We sit in churches all over the world and hear from the pulpit how God is angry at us for the things we have done.  We're taught condemnation and guilt and fear from all sides.  According to what the Word of God said in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (Amplified), this is bad seed and should not be allowed to find place in your heart.  Also, in Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified) we read, "There should be no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus."  Verse 2 continues, "For the law of the Spirit of Life (which is) in Christ Jesus (the law of our new being) has freed me from the law of sin and of death."
     We struggle to achieve some kind of righteousness and be accepted by God.  Somehow, it never seems to come and we feel as though we're still outside the Holy of Holies and not in God's presence.  We hear half scriptures and read Romans 3:10 or Romans 3:23 .  But, if you won't just hear these scriptures and read what He's talking about, then you find that all of the things under the law couldn't make you righteous.  But, now we read Romans 3:22 (Amplified), "Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) (and is meant) for all who believe, for there is no distinction."

     Are you a believer in Christ Jesus?  If you are, then God has declared you to be righteous by faith in Jesus.  Now you don't have to struggle to be right standing with God, so you can have boldness through your faith in Jesus, that God sees you as righteous.  Once you know that you've been made righteous and that your faith in Jesus made you righteous, you can have boldness in Jesus to pray and expect God to hear you.  James 5:16 (Amplified) says, "The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available (dynamic in its working)."
     Mark 4:24 (Amplified) says, Be careful what you are hearing."  We can no longer just listen to anything and everything being said.  We must learn to do as Proverbs 4:24 (Amplified) says, "Keep and guard your heart (spirit) with all diligence and above everything that you guard, for out of it (your spirit) flow the springs of life."
     Matthew 12:35 (Amplified) says that, "The good man from his inner good treasure flings forth good things, and the evil man out of his inner evil storehouse flings forth evil things."
     There are those in the world who will sow evil seed (words) into the soil or spirit of the believer just as good men will sow good seed (or words) into the heart (spirit) of men.  In the world we live in today, we find resemblances to Psalms 2:1-3 (Amplified) which says, "Why do the nations assemble with commotion (uproar and confusion of voices) and why do the people imagine (meditate upon and devise) and empty scheme?"  Verse 2 says, "The kings of the earth take their places; the rulers take council together against the Lord and His Anointed One (the Messiah, the Christ)."  Verse 3 goes on, "Let us break their bands (of restraint) asunder and cast their cords (of control) from us."
     I can't think of a time in all of my seventy-three years on this earth, where this is more true than now.  We hear it on the news daily about someone being forbidden from speaking the Name of Jesus in public.  We see disclaimers from the channel broadcasting a Christian program denying any association with that content.  We prayer restricted to only those who have boldness to pray in public or our schools.  We see public officials trying to distance themselves from Jesus for election purposes.  We watch the United Nations downplay Christianity and the Lord Jesus.
     We hear the cry all the time about "breaking the bands of restraint from off the people and cast the cords of control off from them."  The great revival is now underway, but so is the time of great darkness.  So, heed what you hear and guard your heart.

Lesson 5 The Sower Sows The Seed

     As we study to find the explanation of the parable of the sower found in Mark 4:21 (Amplified), Jesus seemingly changes His discourse (or so it seems) about the seed.  Jesus said to them, "Is the lamp brought in to be put under a peck measure or under a bed, and not (to be put) on the lampstand?"  Verse 22 continues, "(Things are hidden temporarily only as a means to revelation) for there is nothing hidden except to be revealed, nor is anything (temporarily) kept secret except in order that it may be known."
     As we look at this parable, it seems Jesus has ended the teaching about the sowing seed or Word.  As we drop down to Verse 26 it seems to pick up the theme about sowing the seed all over again.  In actuality, Jesus never stopped talking about the seed at all.  In Verse 26  Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed upon the ground,"  Verse 27  "and then continues sleeping and rising night and day while the seed sprouts and grows and increases---he knows not how."  Verse 28 continues, "The earth produces (acting) by itself---first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear."  Verse 29, "But when the grain is ripe, immediately he sends forth (the reaper) and puts in the sickle, because the harvest stands ready."
     When Jesus was teaching about the lamp being put on the lampstand in verse 21, He was talking about those who heard the Word and brought forth 30, 60 and 100 fold in the Word.  This seed (the Word) isn't supposed to stay hidden in the ground (or heart), but to produce and bring forth a greater harvest.
     We find in Acts 2 that when the people receive the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word, it brought forth a harvest of 300 more people into the Kingdom.  In Mark 4:22(Amplified) Jesus said, "nothing was hidden except to be revealed."  A kernel of corn is hidden in the ground, it grows night and day, and we don't know how.  It begins to produce and is finally revealed as it produces grain in the ear.  The only way you know the seed has done it's job is when you see the finished work (or corn in the ear).  Then it's totally revealed as to the success of the sown seed.
     Remember that Jesus was explaining this parable to His own disciples.  He was sowing seed (or the Word) in their hearts.
     After He had sown the seed of the Word of the Kingdom in their hearts, Jesus got into a boat to go to the other side of the lake.  On the way, He and the disciples encountered a storm and the boat began to fill up with water.  Remember how Jesus said in Mark 4:40 (Amplified) that "satan comes at once and (by force) takes away the message which was sown in them?"  Now you understand why Jesus said in Mark 4:40 (Amplified) "Why are you so timid and fearful?  How is it that you have no faith (no firmly relying trust)?"
     The seed had been sown, the explanation of it had been revealed and yet satan was successful in removing what they heard by the storm from the outside and choking out the Word.
     How many times do we hear the Word preached and then when things rise up against us, forget that it's satan coming for the Word?  Even after it's been revealed to us, we don't realize that it's still the same parable.  We realize that the parable pertains to the Word in our hearts, but seem to forget the part of it that pertains to satan and the job he's about.
     This is why I put in what I did from Proverbs 4:23 (Amplified), "Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for our of it flow the springs of life."
     Guarding your heart is the thing satan counts on when he comes.  He seems to know that most of us either don't do it or don't know how to do it.  Part of how to guard your heart is written in Proverbs 4:24 (Amplified) where the Holy Spirit wrote, "Put away from you false and dishonest speech, and willful and contrary talk put far from you."
     Remember what they said in Mark 4:38, "Master, do you not care that we perish?"  That was not what the seed of the Word that was sown in their hearts was supposed to produce.  That was a seed of fear the enemy had planted when he came to steal the seed of faith of Jesus from them.  It was taken by force from them as they took their eyes off Jesus and placed them on the storm.
     Remember, when you hear the Word of revelation knowledge, something will come up and you will have to guard your heart to protect the seed.

Lesson 4 The Sower Sows The Seed

     Mark 4:20 (Amplified) says, "And those sown on the good (well adapted) soil are the ones who hear the Word and rescue and accept and welcome it and bear fruit-some thirty times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some (even) a hundred times as much."
     If you notice, the same seed that brought forth a hundred times as much, was the same seed that was taken from them in verse fourteen.  The seed never changed; only the heart (or spirit) of the hearer.  Not everyone wants to walk in the fullness of the Word.  It seems strange to me that some are content to just go to heaven and not be bothered with going any further with God.
     Even in those who heard, they didn't bring forth the same amount of return.  The seed would have produced one hundred times as much in any of the ones who heard it.  Anyone who ever put out a garden knows that after you sow the seed you must watch over it and "tend" the garden. 
     I passed out about 100 packets of watermelon seed in our church one time.  The back of the seed packet told how to plant and care for the seed and plants.  The seeds were for short growing watermelons and would mature within 90 days of planting.  Each person was quipped with the same chance to produce a harvest.  I told the people that we would have a church dinner and have watermelon for all after 90 days.  At the end of the 90 days when we were to have watermelon, we ended up with only two.  As I compare this with the parable of the sower, I began to realize that not everyone takes things seriously at all.  You say that, well, after all, it was just watermelon.
     If we can be faithful in little things, then God can put us in charge of greater things.  Many simply forgot to water the seed, many forgot to even plant it, and some planted it far later than they should have and their harvest would come in very late (far too late for watermelon).
     It was a simple experiment, but it showed how many things choke out our harvest in the Kingdom.  It wasn't that the watermelon didn't like some people and it wasn't that only certain people were chosen to have watermelon, but it was that most just didn't take the time to invest their time in such little things.
     It showed the character of many people and their role in the promises of the covenant.  Why should I spend time messing with this seed when I could just go to the grocery store and buy one?  Well, when watermelon season is over, it can get pretty hard to find watermelon just anywhere.
     When the seed isn't taken care of then it can be very hard to make it grow. They didn't have to plant the entire packet of seed, just some of it.  If they only planted one seed, then it would have produced a watermelon that held hundreds of seed to plant later.  The results were, that if you planted them (even indoors) and taken care of them, then you could eat watermelon from your own seed even January.
     No farmer ever went out to plant a cornfield and sowed one hundred bushel of seed, only to expect one hundred bushel of harvest.  Each seed would bring forth a stalk; each stalk would bring forth several ears; and each ear would bring forth several kernels of corn.  The result would be that you got back at least 30, 60, or 100 times as much as was sown.  Now you have that to eat from and more to sow as well.
     Whatever time you spend in the Word of God, is time well spent.  As you woe the Word in your heart, you must guard your heart to protect the seed.  Proverbs 4:23 (Amplified) says, "Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life."
     We sometimes don't guard our heart and we lose our harvest.  The soil that the Word is sown in is good soil.  The Holy Spirit has prepared it to receive this seed.  The problem with good soil is this...the ground doesn't have any say in what it grows.  The same soil that will grow corn will grow poison ivy just as well.  The same soil that will produce one hundred fold for the Kingdom will, with the same gusto, produce ragweed or burdock.
     This is why we must guard our heart or tend the garden.  We can't put up a scarecrow and expect the devil to be afraid of it and leave the seed alone.  It takes the diligence of the hearer to guard the Word in his heart.