As each of us enters into this New Day of the Church, we begin to realize the potential that God has given us.

God is concerned about YOUR heart (or mind). What you hold in your heart, or thinks, affects you spiritually, mentally, and physically.

It is my prayer today that you fully realize how your beliefs, thoughts, and actions control your future and where your go in life.

· Solomon wrote, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Prov. 23:7)

· Jesus said, “Hear, and understand: Not that which enters into the mouth defiles a person; but that which proceeds OUT of the mouth, this defiles them. (Matt. 15:10-11)

· Jesus told Peter this Parable, "Are ye also even yet without understanding? Don't you understand that what ever goes into your mouth passes into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But the things which proceed OUT of the mouth come forth OUT OF THE HEART; and they defile the man. For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, railings: these are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not the man.”

· The final passage is found in I Sam. 16:7 and reads, “For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but God LOOKS ON THE HEART.”

Our response to your question: “What’s happening to the church?”

By Jeff Benhem, Anglesea, AU (Pastor Jeff is a member of Jubilee Alliance and dear friend of Dr. Kluane).

THE KNOWLEDGE OF IMPERFECTION

It would appear our beliefs have separated us for 2000 years. Through our beliefs we’ve become denominations, cults, separatists, independents, heretics, home groups, mega churches, micro churches, exclusionists, inclusionists. Even our very closest friends in Christianity don’t believe ‘just like us’. There are things we could argue and disagree about because we don’t see it like they do, or they don’t see it like we do. Well who’s right? Them or us? Who’s beliefs is God going to be most happy with? Theirs or ours?

It is the ‘them and us’ mentality that I believe needs to be swallowed up of ‘oneness’. Our doctrines have become denominations. Our knowledge and beliefs have become weapons. The one thing that has blurred the truth is our beliefs. Walls of belief have stopped people from freely entering the truth of their true identity.

The children of Israel were hindered from entering into the experience of the Promised Land because of their ‘unbelief’. It would seem that belief has caused just as much trouble as unbelief has because they both divide.

Hebrews 3:19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

What a joy it is to know that at the point of Jesus’ death, all had forsaken him. There was not one who believed. When Jesus died, he bore the sin of the world. Could the perfect, redeeming sacrifice of Jesus Christ have also taken the sin of unbelief? Could Jesus have taken our belief and our unbelief? Could he have absorbed the shortfall of both our faith and our faithlessness?

Paul said ‘Have the faith OF God’.

Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

So, if we have the faith OF God and that faith is not of ourselves, it is up to God to persuade and convince us. The work of trying to attain and build our own faith so that God will find us pleasing sons and faithful servants is not ours to attain. We are pleasing sons and faithful servants because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ which has been imputed freely to each and every one of us. The work of trying to have faith and believe in something is not my problem – it is God’s to persuade me.

Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

The writer of Hebrews is talking about the Old Testament/pre-cross brethren here. Three words stand out and when we look at the mood of them in the Greek it is very interesting.

The word ‘seen’ is of our action; it is likened to when we see something new. With all truth in Christ we can say ‘Yes, I can see that’, but then we try to get faith, by continual confession, by being positive and refusing bad negative reports. Having heard and read much of the multitude of self-help sermons and books, how many of us have succeeded? Is it something just for the ‘elite’? The hours and days and months and years we have spent trying to move the mountains - waiting and waiting and waiting. We exhibited great endurance but to very little affect; but man, how we have honestly tried!

Well, give up and stop!

The next word is ‘persuaded’ or ‘to convince’, this word is in the passive mood. The subject (which is you) does not do anything. God persuades, God convinces, it is His action. Look up the word ‘faith’ it means: to persuade and convince. The next word is ‘embrace’ and it is your action. So, YOU see, GOD persuades, YOU embrace. It is His faith not yours. This has brought so much rest in my life. I find my walk in Jesus very easy because He proves His word - not me!

We’ve got to be prepared to let go of our beliefs. It’s OK. We HAVE to do it. Things we thought were stepping stones have turned out to be stumbling blocks to the church. For instance, what do we call ourselves? Truth is progressive, and if we are progressing we won’t have time to stop and make a comfortable camp on any particular truth. It’s when we set up camp on a specific truth and colonize it, we denominize it, the sum of that truth becomes us and it becomes a stumbling block to our perception of the whole truth. Let’s journey on together in the ‘rest’ of God that has been previously colonized for us through the channel of the faith of Jesus Christ the Messiah.

The best thing we can do is to comprehend together with all the saints, the height, depth, breadth, and length of the LOVE of God. I found it interesting to ponder these four dimensions of the love of God. We know and understand only three dimensions. Perhaps there’s another dimension already existing that we are yet to comprehend.

The word ‘comprehend’ means: to receive fully, or to realize. We have come to the realization that it’s not about what I believe, or what you believe, or what the person down the road believes, but it is ALL about what God believes about us. What’s God’s opinion of humanity? His son, the spotless sacrifice, died once for the sin of the world, and has successfully taken away that sin. From God’s perspective, the world is redeemed, and people are the image of his Son. Christ in you is the hope of glory.

But our taught belief systems do not allow us to see the world that way. I was amazed to discover lately, that the word ‘glory’ in the Thayers concordance means: ‘the view and opinion of God – the judgment of God’. What is God’s judgment of the inhabitants of the earth? Jesus’ sacrifice declared everyone he died for ‘Not Guilty’, and I can’t think of anyone that he didn’t die for. He died once for all. He became sin, and we became righteousness. It was a transaction that occurred between Father and Son 2000 years ago.

Do we really believe that a person’s ignorance of their redeemed condition can reverse the universally cataclysmic transaction that took place? One side of the cross, everyone was ‘Adam’ – the other side of the cross, everyone is ‘Christ’. The Father views everyone as perfect, righteous, and holy, because the sacrifice of the ‘Last Adam’ was perfect, righteous, and holy. The high priest never inspected each individual person before declaring Israel ‘clean’ for another year, he inspected the sacrifice. In the same way Father does not judge you by your own righteousness, or holiness, or perfection, but he inspected the sacrifice, and saw it was absolutely perfect. Christ is our life and he’s appearing.

(1 Corinthians 13:8) Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].

(1 Corinthians 13:9) For our knowledge is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect), and our prophecy (our teaching) is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect).

(1 Corinthians 13:10) But when the complete and perfect (total) comes, the incomplete and imperfect will vanish away (become antiquated, void, and superseded).

(1 Corinthians 13:11) When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside.

(1 Corinthians 13:12) For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood [by God].

A lot of the doctrine and knowledge that has been taught is fading away; it is because the Church has been taught “the knowledge of imperfection and incompleteness”. But it is fading and becoming obsolete. How many people are floundering waiting for the next and great last revival. The last, great, end-time revival was 2000 years ago at Calvary, and that was enough. Truth is superseding knowledge, and truth is ‘The Christ - the sons of the Living God’.

We must let go of all our pet doctrines that divide us into a dualistic mentality. We must let go on how we think things should be done, and rest in the flow of the river that comes from under the throne which is IN His body. No more knowledge of imperfection, but truth in all its wholeness and perfection.

It may seem weird and scary, but if we will allow ourselves to start to perceive our brother through the eyes of our Father, all our separating walls begin tumbling down like a kingdom made of sand and the sun begins shining so much brighter.

There is a joy we have found in ‘losing doctrines’ because we have realized we were holding tightly to some things that only separated us from others and kept us from loving.

I had a vision of the bride of Christ holding a tattered hessian garment to herself. The knowledge she had clothed herself in was fading away and crumbling in her hands, but underneath - She was clothed in gold – but she couldn’t see it.

Perhaps its time for us all to comprehend who we really are. We are Christ. When we dare to stare face to face into the mirror of this mystery, we discover who we really are, and the most wonderful part is we also discover who EVERYONE is. We are different facets of the same diamond. There is truth to be gleaned from everyone. Our essence is Christ, the only difference between us being some have not unraveled the mystery of their identity yet. Religion tells us we must ascend, we must accept Jesus – well, Jesus accepted the entire human race 2000 years ago and placed us in himself.

That’s why He will never leave of forsake us – because we are all in Him. Jesus is the only way. He is the way the Father got to all of us. True Christianity is not a religion, because we are not trying to appease an angry deity by our good works or morality. We are ONE with that deity we are born of Him, our life is His seed, and He is happy.We can rest, we are pleasing sons, because of the One who IS truth, and holiness and righteousness and perfection; the One who is mirrored in each of us – Jesus Christ the righteous.

(1 Corinthians 13:8b) As for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].

Allow Him to persuade and convince you.

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