The second set of teachings of an in-depth examination of what is required to achieve the overall goal of the Almighty that marriage should be as Heaven on Earth.  These teachings build on the foundation of the first series and contain a diverse set of teachings on the Believers way, the Believing life, bringing about change in our lives by the Spirit of Yah, etc.  This is the spiritual "how to" with regard to application of the teachings in the first set of tapes.

Yah’s plan for Healing Marriage – Part 4 – Towards Heaven on Earth in Marriage

The second set of teachings of an in-depth examination of what is required to achieve the overall goal of the Almighty that marriage should be as Heaven on Earth.  These teachings build on the foundation of the first series and contain a diverse set of teachings on the Believers way, the Believing life, bringing about change in our lives by the Spirit of Yah, etc.  This is the spiritual "how to" with regard to application of the teachings in the first set of tapes.

<<< PREVIOUS SUB-SECTION: Yah’s plan for Healing Marriage – Part 3 – Scriptural Definition of Marriage, Divorce and Adultery

NEXT SUB-SECTION: Yah’s plan for Healing Marriage – Part 5 – Practical Application of the Marriage Teachings >>>

Download book of draft transcripts of the Marriage Teachings Nikita link to follow

Caution – These Transcripts have NOT been Proof Read

I would like to offer a word of caution.

At this stage (April 2019) these are the raw transcripts as produced by the transcribers.  I have not proof read them so there are likely to be minor transcription errors which may in the extreme case impact the accuracy of the measure.  For that reason, as with all material on this website it is up to you to pray about anything that seems doubtful and seek Father Yah’s guidance as to the validity of what you read.

Section 4 -- Towards Heaven on Earth in Marriage

Caution re Transcripts

The transcripts are nearly complete in draft but must still be proofread.  Given that they run to over 1,100 pages it will take time for me to do this.  There may therefore be minor typographic errors and errors where the transcriber misheard what I said or did not understand it.  Regrettably I have used up all available Annual Leave producing this Book Set so it is likely to be a year or longer before I have time to proofread the entire set.  However, Father has stated to me that He has been waiting a long time (19 years) for me to make these documents available and that He would rather I publish them now in their present form than wait for a further indeterminate period for me to proofread and publish.

This set provides a comprehensive analysis of the current spiritual dispensation and also why marriage in this age is such a mess and HOW to fix it.  I therefore encourage you to read these texts allowing for the possibly of minor mis-transcription to a limited degree.

These recordings were made in 2000 at a time when I was receiving considerable revelation on diverse topics with the result that my doctrine changed substantially during and after the recording of these teachings, nevertheless the fundamental message of these teachings is sound and very important and inspired at a significant level.

Accordingly I must advise caution in reading these texts – there ARE MANY important truths but they are intermingled with significant error relating to the Name of the Almighty, the Name of Yahooshua {Jesus}, the Person of Yahooshua, the Bible and related topics that mostly do NOT impact the overall marriage teaching.

Introduction

This is the introduction to Volume 2 of the marriage tapes in the suite of tapes ‑ God's plan for healing of marriage in the 7th millennium. The second volume of marriage teachings concerned with 'Towards Heaven on Earth in Marriage.' This set of teachings builds on the first set of marriage teachings and I cannot stress strongly enough how important it is for you, first of all, to listen to the tapes in Volume 1 of the marriage series. And I would encourage you to make sure that you listen to the tapes on the coming tribulation on the tapes on judgment in this life before you do that.

Please in going through Volume 2 work systematically, start at the beginning and go on till you get to the end. As with the previous series, you will find much that is controversial and much which if you do not approach this in the order that the Spirit of God gave it to me is likely to offend you. As I mentioned before, the whole process that God has used in this is iteratively dealing and digging deeper and deeper into the truths of His word into the practical application of those truths. And in the process, revealing more and more which has the potential to offend if you do not have the right foundation. So please walk the journey that the Lord has set out in this series of tapes.

Volume 2 of the tapes that we are dealing with now comprises 23 teachings. It includes teachings from a variety of different ministries on issues such as faithfulness, the blood covenant, disciplining of flesh, etc., etc., and that was a combination of tapes which the Lord just lead me to pull together as the teachings were unfolding to assist to paint a wonderful tapestry of the beauty of what marriage was intended to be, the vision that God has for marriage and that He wants us to have for marriage and how to get there. The spiritual principles and spiritual disciplines and scriptural principles that God has provided for us to get our marriages healed and to come to a place of Heaven on Earth in marriage, to deal with the issues of change. This set of tapes also draws on my experience as management consultant in the areas of bringing about organisational change and some lessons and principles associated with it and it draws on my entire life experience, things that God has been dealing with me on for a number of years.

And as with the first series, I say to you with firm conviction, all the fundamental principles that are contained in these teachings, God has been revealing to me over a number of years, the finer points of how it all fits together, the finer points of how it is applied and practised have only been revealed to me as I have been putting the tapes together but the underlying core scriptural principles or things that I have been wrestling with and debating with God for a number of years and I declare again as with the first volume, this is given by the Spirit of God, please receive it as that, in Jesus name. Amen.

04_01 Foundation -- Towards Heaven on Earth in Marriage

This is the first tape in the second volume of the series 'Understanding God's Way in Marriage.' Volume 2 is entitled 'Towards Heaven on Earth in Marriage,' and this teaching summarises the teachings in Volume 1 and lays the foundation for Volume 2 directed at helping us to understand how we can experience Heaven on Earth in marriage.

This message was recorded on December 2, 2000, and the prayers and worships that preceded this teaching follow immediately. The teaching itself commences about half an hour and it is two-thirds of the way through the first side of the tape.

Father I bring all of those assembled around the world in time and space who will hear this teaching before you in the name of the Jesus. Father I ask you to pour out your spirit upon them right now and throughout this entire series in Jesus name. Father I thank you that you open their eyes to see the truth, open their ears to hear your voice. Father I thank you that you fill them with a passion for you, the desire to be children before you, the desire to serve you and bring joy to you, the desire to walk in most holy love and faith and serve you with all their hearts and all their minds and all their soul and all their strength, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Early this morning I completed the 23rd tape in the Volume 2 teaching, 'Towards Heaven on Earth in Marriage.' And one of the two songs that the Lord gave me in the wee hours this morning to close off the series was the one that we have just heard ‑'Release me father to dance like a child again. Turning to what is true, seeking more of God of Jesus, to returning to passion in our love and our service of Him.' And it just seems to me that He has backed this whole series of 23 teachings on the subject of Heaven on Earth in marriage by this song and I just urge you to hear his heart as he calls us to return to the full truth of his word, to return to a love and passion for Jesus which cause everything else to dim and pale into insignificance. If we do not love the saviour, if we do not lay down our lives to serve him and to love him and to praise him and to worship him as we were created to do, we are nothing in the Sight of God who of this strictest judgment. But if we were to lay down our lives and do our all to his truth and the truth of his word, no matter how difficult that is. If we will seek him first, we will experience Heaven on Earth in our marriages as we become more like Jesus as we draw closer to him.

In the series which precedes this Volume 1, which deals with the Scriptural Definition of Marriage, Divorce, and Adultery and lays the entire scriptural foundation for this entire series of teachings, we have gone and travelled a journey which has dealt with many aspects of doctrine which are contrary to what the church teaches and practices today. And I believe that you have been open and if you have put the Word of God first and the Word of Truth first in your life throughout this series to date, you will have been severely and seriously challenged. But if you have persevered and overcome your reservations to this point, God has a wonderful blessing for you.

I have been absolutely amazingly blessed as I recorded this series of tapes in a period of somewhat of the order of between just on a week from the time that I thought that volume...well, I did not even there was going to be a Volume 2, I just had one or two teachings and then it became 10 and then it became 20 and then it ended up being 23 tapes that had been recorded on a continuous basis over the last week or so. And just as things have unfolded and I was laid to a collection of four tapes from a diversity of speakers that had somehow remained together on a bookshelf since 1994-95 and somehow resembled themselves together and came to my attention just as I was doing this teaching. As other teaching series that I was laid to buy as I started this entire series with four 3-day fast over a period of 40 days approximately, suddenly filled in the last pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that God has been constructing in my heart over the last 5-1/2 years to my knowledge since 1995 when I cried out to Him about the level of divorce in the church, where at that point statistics indicated that more than two-thirds of people in the world, or certainly the western world were getting divorced and remarrying and that two-thirds of the people in the Body of Christ were getting divorced and remarrying and yet God says in Malachi that He hates divorce.

I was seeing such brokenness and such anger and such hurt and I cried out and I said,"Lord, why is this?" And by implication I said, "Lord, how is this to be fixed?" And to contextualise that statement, I am an engineer, I have been raised to solve problems. My entire life focuses on if I find a problem, I seek the solution to it. And that has gone into the work that constituted my doctoral research for my PhD. It has gone into the absolute fabric of my business career as a management consultant specialising in the effective application in information technology and why information technology investments fail, why 70% of IT projects are written off, why 70% of corporations are dissatisfied with the IT investment. There is more than occasional correlation between what the Lord has called me to do and is contained in this series of teachings and what I do in my professional career.

And so after I prayed that prayer, Lord decided to deal with me about issues of Scripture which rattled my cage in known and certain fashion. I argued with Him for months on one particular point on the reality of Scripture permitting a man to take more than one wife. I wrestled with God over that. I wrestled with Him from Genesis to Revelation and every book of the Bible as I turned to it and said, "Father, I am sure here you will tell me and show me where you changed the practice of the church to what it is today." I just found in every book of the Bible the shadow and the type of the Body of Christ which that are many bodies are one body with Him. And I saw increasingly as I faced our position, as I worked through so much of what forms the fabric of these teachings. I saw by the Spirit of God that it was God's own heart in the end of the age for men to provide their covering to more than one woman, and I saw that this was not something that was carnal and lustful.

I saw that we could not understand God's love for us until we could do that. I saw that we could not understand the marriage until we understood marriage. I saw that the church could not come into unity until we could walk in unity in marriage. In the first volume of the series, you have seen the scriptural basis for all of these things and in the second volume, we will study in depth all the action points that God has shown me since I prayed that prayer and in retrospect things that He was teaching me even in the 30 something years prior to my coming back to Him in 1993 while I was backsliding and away from Him and walking in pride and arrogance self confidence, all of that has come together in a most beautiful jigsaw puzzle or mosaic where God has painted with broad brush strokes on a magnificent canvas a picture of Heaven on Earth in which a man and his wife walk together and serve God where the harmony and the unity is of such enormity, such magnitude that those people can be separated by thousands of miles and they will be able to communicate in the spirit heart to heart as they were in the same room that there would be no distance to separate them.

He has shown me a picture in which at that level of unity begins to be achieved in the life of a married couple where a family unit of more than one wife, the gates of hell will be shaken by prayer and agreement against principalities, power, thrones and dominions and all the evil powers of darkness in this age. He has shown me that as we come into that unity, as a man and his wives proceed through the jungle in this spirit realm that is this age, the ground will be recaptured for the service of the living God. That we would bring Heaven to Earth if we will go to Him as the author and the finisher of our faith for the truth for deliverance, for salvation, for cleansing, for provision and every , He will lay aside every care, every sin, every wait that so easily besets us and we will run the race without giving up, without slowing down and run to Jesus. He will do a miracle in your life and he is doing in ours. And he will bring you to a place of glory on Earth and Heaven on Earth in your marriage, which is beyond anything that you can ask or imagine as you listen to this tape.

And I urge you sincerely, if you have not listened to every one of the 20 tapes that precedes this in Volume 1 of this teaching, please turn back. This is not a journey that can be taken by taking shortcuts. The church has been taking shortcuts in the area of marriage for too long and more than 66% of the Body of Christ today are seen in Heaven as adulterers and adulteresses and many of them, if not most of them, are joined to every Satanist and Witch and Warlock and Wizard and Prostitute on this entire planet by One Flesh Bonds. It is the most appalling abomination. There is no time for shortcuts. God knows the route. He has brought us down a journey to this place and the journey that follows that I have travelled in the last week is a journey of grace and splendour, of magnificence and great and deep soul-searching conviction by the spirit of the living God. I urge you, go back to where you departed from the road and follow the road faithfully for there is much that he has revealed in those first tapes and there is much to follow.

As I was finishing off the second series of tapes thinking that the series was now complete, I started to get a picture of another volume, the practical application of these teachings, to the healing of marriages, to dealing with the consequences of divorce and adultery, to preparing for marriage. And at the moment, those tapes are still a dim picture, but I have an urgency to complete them within days and God willing, that will happen, but you have a journey. You have a journey of something of the order of 30 plus hours of tapes before you reach that point, and I would encourage you and urge you to not deal with a slack hand. Do not take shortcuts.

Marriage as I have seen it in the last week encapsulates the entire Christian walk. We had been given marriage to understand our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and that relationship encapsulates everything that constitutes the Christian walk. As the teachings that follow unfolded, I found myself drawing in teachings with regard to faith, with regard to deliverance, with regard to disciplining the finish. The power of the tongue, the anointing of the Holy Spirit and each of these tapes by a diversity of men of God slotted in a place that He had appointed to rephrase, in other words confirm things that are on my heart, confirm things that had been said or things that resonates about to say and introduce a richer and deeper perspective of things that have made the mosaic and the tapestry of marriage so much richer and more beautiful. So I urge you to take the journey one step at a time as I have been doing for God has an awesome plan for your life and mine.

And remember as we go 1 John 5:3: "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome." Remember, the scriptures which tell us not to add or subtract from the Word of God lest we be found liars on the Day of Judgement. And as you come to the difficult patches in the road ahead, as you come to the defiles in the jungle and the narrow bridges over ravines of roaring water, and as you are challenged by aspects of doctrine which are completely foreign to your way of thinking, as you discover the things that you thought were carnal are deeply spiritual and things that you thought were deeply spiritual are in fact carnal. Keep your eyes on Jesus and remember this is the love of God that we keep his Commandments and Commandments are not burdensome. So when you find something in these teachings that look burdensome, understand the devil has lied to you and is lying to you again. Understand the need that you have to turn around and look at that Scripture from Jesus' perspective. Seek to understand that he is telling me and telling you through me about that Scripture.

As I give you a brief summing up of all that we have covered to date and form a sketch of what follows, I was led this morning to include passage from Mark chapter 10 in the Amplified Bible. Reading from verse 1: "And [Jesus] left there [Capernaum] and went to the region of Judea and beyond [east of] the Jordan; and crowds [constantly] gathered around Him again, and as was His custom, He began to teach them again." And before I go further, it just struck me as I came to read that Scripture and Jesus left there and went and I believe today, with all my heart that anybody who is listening to this message Jesus is saying "Leave there and go." Leave the place where you are today, and go where he wants you to go. Leave the sorry state of your marriage, leave the loveless situation, the lack of submission, the striving and the argumentation, the spiritual and sometimes physical treachery and betrayal, leave that place and go where he is calling you to go to Heaven on Earth. Recognise that it is God's will today and every day to make your marriage work. God created marriage to work. There is nothing anywhere in Scripture that tells us otherwise.

"And some Pharisees came up, and, in order to test Him and try to find a weakness in Him, asked, 'Is it lawful for a man to dismiss and repudiate and divorce his wife?' He answered them, 'What did Moses command you?' They replied, 'Moses allowed a man to write a bill of divorce and to put her away.' But Jesus said to them, 'Because of your hardness of heart [your condition of insensibility to the call of God] he wrote you this precept in your Law. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave [behind] his father and his mother and be joined to his wife and cleave closely to her permanently, and the two shall become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh."

And it is so important to understand many people think that Jesus was introducing some new ramification of Torah, the Law of Moses. He was simply restating what the Word of God says concerning marriage and divorce. Moses said exactly what Jesus said. The Pharisees were dealing with a situation in which man was putting away his wife for no reason. Jesus was restating the truth and setting them right about the false doctrine that they were espousing in that day. What they call divorce was putting away. And when Jesus refers to the hardness of our hearts, I have just seen more and more clearly in recent days that he was saying is because of our incapacity to love as he loves, our rebelliousness and our foolishness and our insistence on doing things our way, divorce became necessary. But now, in this age, at the end of the age of the coming judgement, he is calling us to return to his way of doing things.

If you are sitting on the brink of divorce or recently divorced, I have to say to you in the Sight of God, divorce is not an option unless one of you is headed for hell with no hope of turning back. If that is not the case, repent and turn around because God is able and willing to heal your marriage as you will see as you walk this journey with me. Verse 9:"What therefore God has united (joined together), let not man separate or divide. And indoors the disciples questioned Him again about this subject. And He said to them, 'Whoever dismisses (repudiates and divorces) his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if a woman dismisses (repudiates and divorces) her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.'" And we saw that adultery is a spiritual state in which a woman is joined to more than one man and by being joined to more than one man as men become joined to one another, we saw that adultery is treachery, it is betrayal. A man sending away his wife for no reason is betraying his covenant with her.

We saw that if people commit adultery, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says: "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." And yet reports today indicate that 66% plus of all marriages end in divorce in the world and a greater percentage in the church. Those statistics are being repeatedly reported and nobody is disputing them. In terms of what we have just read from Mark 10 and 1 Corinthians 6, approximately 70% minimum of all people who call themselves by the name of Christ, who have been involved in an ungodly carnal divorce will not inherit the Kingdom of God. That is a devastating statistic. It is time for all to repent and turn around and return to the truth of God's word.

In order to lay the foundation for Volume 2 of this teaching, 'Heaven on Earth in Marriage,' I want to provide you with a concise scripturally recap of Volume 1, 'The Scriptural Definition of Marriage, Divorce and Adultery.' Volume 1 sets the doctrinal, theological foundation, if you want to use those words, I prefer to use the word'scriptural foundation,' we have to return to what the Word of God says. Our own imaginations, our Doctrines of Demons, our own understanding are an abomination in the sight of a holy righteous living and loving God. So let me take you briefly through the headlines of what we have covered so far. We referred to an article called 'Wow! So that's how Jesus loves me' that was published in Joy magazine in October 1999 and I read the introductory passage. "The Lord began speaking to us recently about marriage and giving us some understanding of why so many marriages are in a mess or out of order and even why so few Christian marriages are what they could be. Daily we seem to hear of people suffering the most terrible abuse and unhappiness and fear within marriages and hear of more and more Christian marriages ending in the cataclysmic of divorce. Something that God purposed to be one of His greatest sources of joy and blessing to people often ends up as a curse and misery. The Lord began to reveal that the reason why marriages are under such incredible attack is because of what He meant it to be. We see God purposed marriage to be a prophetic sign and a wonder, yet the enemy so often succeeds in making it a laughing stock instead of a prophetic signpost that points the way it is something much deeper."

Ephesians 5:21-33: "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."

That passage of Scripture has been the cornerstone, if you like, of this entire teaching. The three verses which clearly juxtapose us a born-again believers being one body with the Lord Jesus Christ and a man being one flesh with his wives. We have to see that those three verses of Scripture unlock a great mystery, that unlock the reality that everything we read in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation about the relationship between God and His church speaks of the relationship between a man and his wives. And conversely, anything in Scripture which speaks of relationship between man and wife tells us something about our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Returning to the article, 'Wow!' and quoting, "Paul says this is a great or profound mystery he is speaking about. The only other great or profound mysteries found in 1 Timothy 3:16: 'And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.'" And what I see here is if we understand the mystery of marriage, we will understand the mystery of godliness. Because if we can experience that spiritual oneness that I spoke about earlier in marriage, we will begin to understand what God is speaking about. But it is an iterative recursive process. We need to understand God before our marriages can work and we need to understand marriages before we can develop a full relationship with God. It is so intimately correlated and correlated and that is why Satan is so hell bent on destroying marriage.

Returning to the article, "Whenever Scripture speaks of a mystery, it is something that can only be understood by divine revelation how much more so a great mystery. However, these mysteries are something God wants us to understand because if we do not, the enemy will run riot in that area of ignorance in our lives. So Paul is saying, when I am talking about marriage, I am talking about Christ and the church. He is saying that every time you look at a Christian marriage, you should be able to say, "Aha, so that's how Jesus loves his church and that is how we as the church should respond to him." Marriage was made by God to be a sign that shows the world how much Jesus loves his church. Yet how many of us can say we have seen even a handful of marriages in our lifetimes that have been this. Marriages where you look at the way loves his wife and you can say "Wow, that's how Jesus loves me" as part of his church. Or you look at the wife and are able to say "Yes, I see my understand how I as a Christian need to submit to Jesus in love." And the article goes on and makes many, many important points. It returns to the statement, every area of marriage was purposed to be a prophetic sign. If you want to understand what idolatry does to the heart of God, then look at what sexual infidelity does in marriage and so it goes. A profoundly important publication and one which gelled and confirmed many things that the Lord had been saying to me at the time that I received it.

And that formed the core of teaching 1, the introduction to this entire series which at the time I recorded it I thought was going to be about six tapes. It was based on the draft of the book, 'The Scriptural Definition of Marriage' which I have been writing over several years and which constitutes in a sense a thesis of all scriptures dealing with marriage, which is available from this Ministry should you require a copy. But let us return to the different components of this teaching. In the second teaching, which is entitled 'How Scripture Defines the Marriage Covenant,' we looked at Deuteronomy 22:13-21, "If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and detests her," and we saw that in verse 17,"Now he has charged her with shameful conduct, saying, 'I found your daughter was not a virgin,' and yet these are the evidences of my daughter’s virginity." And verse 19, "And they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name on a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife; he cannot divorce her all his days. But if the thing is true, and evidences of virginity are not found for the young woman, then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel, to play the harlot in her father’s house. So you shall put away the evil from among you."

And we saw further in Deuteronomy 22:28-29, "If a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out, then the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife because he has humbled her; he shall not be permitted to divorce her all his days." And we saw in Judges 21 a dramatic implementation of that particular passage of Scripture. But the cracks of what we saw here was that if a woman is not a virgin, she may not get married. We saw very clearly that virginity and marriage go hand in hand. We discussed in some length that the actual definition of the marriage covenant and we saw that covenant requires the shedding of blood in Hebrews 9:18-20. We saw that covenant requires this cleaving or splitting or cutting of some living creature and we referred to Genesis 15:4-21 and we see that was where Abraham split the animals and God walked through the split animals. We saw from a variety of other aspects and the passage in Jeremiah that the cutting of covenant involved the splitting or cleaving of an animal and walking in the blood.

We saw that out of a footnote to the Living Torah which refers to Genesis 15:10 where it says that he split the animals in half and then in the footnote in the commentary, it says split them, this was the way of making a covenant. Indeed the words both covenant and split appear to be closely related. It symbolised that just as the two halves of the animal were really one, so will the two people making the covenant. Moreover, just as one side cannot live without the other, so the two cannot live without each other. It was also seen as a malediction. Anyone violating the Earth would be torn asunder. And so out of that we saw the critical components of covenant. We also saw that the word split in the Oxford English dictionary is defined as break forcibly, be broken into parts, especially, longitudinally or with the grain or the plane of cleavage. And from there we went on to Genesis 2:24 in the King James translation which says therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh and suddenly we saw that the act of sexual intercourse between a man and his virgin wife cleaving or splitting her on the plane of cleavage of her sexual organs cleaving the hymen with the shedding of blood is the act of the marriage covenant that as that marriage is consummated, as the pain is experienced, as the blood is shed, as the man walks in the blood, the covenant is cut and it is unbreakable, they become one and a person who breaks covenant is to be put to death.

And the fact that we may not see the death in this life, does not mean that on the Day of Judgement we will not be found guilty of covenant breaking and put to death for eternity, or at the very least have a part in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, which is the second death. The imagery is vivid and powerful. If we put aside our prudery for a moment and wonder at the physical appearance of the external female sexual organ, we should be even further amazed at the imagery which our God has encapsulated in what superficially is an organ whose structure and design makes no earthly sense; it is not intended to. It faithfully recreates the two halves of the covenant animal, even to the hair covering the animal. Surely we must conclude that God knew the end from the beginning and designed woman to be symbolic of His covenant with man.

Taking it further, He symbolically recreates the cutting of covenant every time a wife and husband make love. How can we conclude other than that the sexual act is the most sublimely holy representation of the act of covenant? How can we be other than appalled at how this symbolism has been lost and distorted? The sexual act is an act of such enormous spiritual significance. Is it any wonder that Satan has expended the energy that he has to deceive us for so long? And so we saw that the female sexual organ is in fact the symbol of the marriage covenant and likewise the male sexual organ is the counterpoint to that. We then understood that in 1 Corinthians 12:23-24, "And those members of the body which we think to be less honourable, on these we bestow greater honour; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honour to that part which lacks it." And we saw that the male and female sexual organs are the most holy part of a body. They are sacred. We also pointed out that the 'red heart' that is used on Valentine's Day's cards and as a symbol of love throughout the world is in fact a graphic portrayal of woman's most holy organ. It is an abomination and it subliminally sends a message of lust and fornication to the hearts of all who look on it.

In the third teaching, 'The One Flesh Bond and Submission,' we saw in the Genesis 2:24 in the Amplified, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall become united and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." Matthew 19:5-6 in the Amplified, "And said, for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be united firmly (joined inseparably) to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder (separate)." And we went through the scriptural basis of that. I shared a portion of my testimony where I was almost totally destroyed as a consequence of an ungodly One Flesh Bond resulting from an adulterous extramarital relationship and that I wrestled with this situation for nearly 18 months, cried out to God, laid down my life, read the word and took counsel and nothing helped until I had a revelation of the One Flesh Bond and the mercy and the grace of God which permitted me to petition him for something that I have no scriptural basis for. Because the Word of God says man cannot put asunder the One Flesh Bond, only God in His mercy and His grace can put this asunder. We went on and we saw Ephesians 5:24 which says,"Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything."

We saw that said everything, not just something, it is not just when the wife felt like. 1 Peter 3:1, "Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives." In 1 Peter 2:21-24 what wives should likewise be submissive to and that was Jesus Christ who committed no sin nor was deceit found in his mouth for when he was reviled did not revile in return, when he suffered, he did not threaten but committed himself to him who judges righteously who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes we are healed. We saw out of that very clearly and out of other scriptures that a wife is required to submit to her husband no matter how ungodly, how just and righteous he is no matter how he conducts his life, no matter what his appearance his and no matter what he requires of her, we saw that even if he forces her into prostitution or adultery she is required to submit to him, and that we saw that Sarah submitting to Abraham in two instances which put her in a situation to find herself in adultery but because she submitted and she walked by faith, God delivered her. We saw that this is not telling women to suffer without God. It is an act of self denial, it is an act of laying down the life, and being crucified with Christ. And if it is done in faith and obedience we saw that God is well able to intervene miraculously to save such a woman and that even if she was not saved, she would be storing up much treasure in Heaven through her obedience.

In the fifth teaching, we spoke about love. Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her." James 2:8, "If you really fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself,' you do well." We looked at 1 Corinthians 13 and many other scriptures which indicated that the love of God and the agape love of God was prerequisite for the Christian walk and prerequisite for healing in marriage. In the fifth teaching, the husband is covering but the wife builds the house, we saw very challenging Scripture in Proverbs 14:1, "The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands." We saw progressively that woman has a very active and very positive and constructive role to play in the success of marriage. In Ruth 3:9 in the Amplified we read, "And she answered, I am Ruth your maidservant. Spread your wing [of protection] over your maidservant, for you are a next of kin." From a book by Schnoebelen entitled 'Masonry: Beyond the Light' with regard to headship we read Paul teaches that the head of every man is Christ and the head of a woman is man, 1 Corinthians 11:3. This is how men and women are created by God. Two verses in this passage tell us that "Any woman who prays or prophesies when she is bareheaded dishonours her head; it is the same as [if her head were] shaved. For man was not [created] from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created on account of or for the benefit of woman, but woman on account of and for the benefit of man. For this cause, ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels." And the commentary says, although this is a rather deep passage, it is not so deep that it cannot be interpreted by turning to the Bible itself for help.

The first part is clearer. The husband is to be head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the husband. And we go on and he demonstrates that the angels that are referred to are the angels that came down and married women in Genesis 6:1-8 which brought about an abomination on the Earth, those angels we saw in Jude 1:6 are reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgement of the great day and in 2 Peter 2:4, "For God did not spare angels that sinned, but cast them into hell, delivering them to be kept there in pits of gloom till the judgment and their doom." We saw that it is possible for a woman without the covering of a man to come under angelic attack even to the extent of Angels coming and posing as men and marrying those women and siring children. We recently ministered in a case of a woman who was being visited by demonic spirits sexually at night. So we saw that the covering and the responsibility of the husband to provide a covering, we saw a vision in which the husband provided an umbrella over his wife and as long as she was in total submission, she was totally under that umbrella and Satan could not touch her. We saw that in the case of Job and his wife, Satan took Job and afflicted his flesh, but Job's wife emerged personally unscathed because of the covering.

In the sixth teaching on headship, the relationship between Christ and the church is a pattern for the relationship between husband and wife, we saw that the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is head of the church and he is the saviour of the body. We saw also that the father is the head of Christ. We saw that the wife's relationship with her husband is a mirror of the husband's relationship with Christ. We saw that if the wife was not submitting to her husband, it meant that the husband is probably not submitting to Christ. If the wife was not making love to her husband in a pleasing fashion, we saw it is indicated that the husband was not praising and worshipping God as he ought. And so we saw also that the children's relationship with their mother was a mirror of her relationship with her husband. So if she saw that her children were behaving in an unacceptable fashion, she needed to examine her relationship with her husband. In the same token, the children's relationship with their father was a mirror of the husband's relationship with his heavenly father. If the children were not behaving in an acceptable fashion towards their father, we understood that it potentially indicated that he was not behaving in an acceptable fashion towards his father. So the whole concept of headship took on a vibrancy that we had not seen before.

The scriptural definition of adultery, Romans 7:3, "So then if while her husband lives she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress." Again we saw in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 that adulterers will not inherit the Kingdom of God and we saw that the vast majority of people who have divorced and remarried in the world today are adulterers in the Sight of God.

In the eight teaching, 'Tying up some loose ends, some controversial points,' we went into the implications of Hebrews 13:4, marriage is honourable among all and the bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge and we saw from that that there is no sexual practice between husband and wife that is unacceptable in the Sight of God but it is adultery and fornication that is unacceptable to God. We saw that the attitude of regarding marriage's sex as being carnal was in fact unfounded. We also saw Isaiah 4:1 and specifically looking at that reading Isaiah 4 verse 6 to verse 1 in order to understand the day that has been referring to indicated that in this age that we are entering now, there would be seven times as many women as men in the Body of Christ and we understood that just casual observation in most congregations indicate that shows approximately in existence right now and that they had enormous ramifications for God-fearing women who is seeking godly husbands when there were just not enough husbands available who meet that requirement.

In the ninth teaching, 'Do you love like Jesus loves,' Matthew 22:37-40, "Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself." And these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. John 15:12-13, "This is My commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than to lay down his own life for his friends."Again we saw 1 Corinthians 13 and we saw at the end of the day that Jesus died for us because he loved us. We saw that the husband was required to lay down his life and die for his wife for his children to bring about healing in the marriage. That laying down of life is not necessarily a physical laying down of life, but it is a laying down his life in service to God in drawing close to God. We saw that no man can bring his wife into submission. Submission and obedience and love and sexual desire cannot be commanded, demanded, or forced. They are free gifts given as a matter of choice by the wife and if they are not given, there is nothing that the husband can do with regard to the wife that will change that situation. He has to deal with it spiritually. He has to go to a father and the son and the holy spirit to guide him.

In the tenth teaching, 'Scriptural divorce versus putting away,' we have already touched on. We saw that most of what is called 'divorce' in the world today is in fact not divorce, it is putting away, it is adultery, it is abomination in the Sight of God. The eleventh teaching was a summing up. At that time that I did that teaching I thought that this was virtually the end and then suddenly the floodgates opened and situations were developing which just caused me to see a greater and greater richness in this tapestry. Teaching 12, 'The scriptural response to the sexuality of teenage girls,' we saw that girls were sexually and emotionally and scripturally ready to marry at about 12 and a half to 14, the age of puberty and that many things which are attributed to loose morals and so forth in the world today are consequence of wrong doctrine. And that was addressed in detail.

The 13th teaching, 'The scriptural relevance of betrothal,' we saw that there was no scriptural requirement for there to be betrothal before marriage but marriage is straightforwardly simply the act of sexual intercourse with a virgin. We did understand that betrothal was a preferred right of passage if you like, but if it was in place it was binding vows, etc., and that this idea of getting engaged on an experimental basis, again, is an abomination in the Sight of God.

The 14th teaching, 'The price of righteousness; lessons from Judges 19 to 21, rape, vows, oaths, etc.,' we saw a scriptural incident where one gang rape resulted in 40,000 men giving their lives to bring judgement and in the process slaying in battle 26,000 men plus their wives, children, and livestock. We saw just how appalling rape and adultery is in the Sight of God and the sacrifice that God requires of us for holiness and sanctification and righteousness. We saw that vows were binding and we saw that virgin wives and their instance in Judges 21 were allocated with no selection other than the fact they had to be virgins and we saw how dramatically that re-establishes and re-reinforced the principle God created marriage to work. The only requirement is that the woman is a virgin and that both a man and a woman are believers and we have seen throughout the series that for either a man or a woman to join themselves to an unbeliever is an act of the greatest possible spiritual folly.

The 15th teaching was entitled 'Marriage matters for men,' and it dealt with a diversity of issues in terms of the age of marriage of men, the extended family, the role of parents and grandparents, etc., wives working for husbands.

The 16th teaching, 'Learning how to love,' an in-depth analysis of 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 based on a book called 'Lord, teach me how to love' by Creflo Dollar, an immensely challenging and powerful teaching which caused certainly me to see that I did not even begin to understand to love, how to love the way Jesus loved.

The 17th teaching, 'The scriptural response to rebellious or treacherous wife,' and we saw that a man cannot demand love and submission if a wife insists on rebelling and betraying her husband. The only measure open is for the husband to hand her over to Satan in terms of 1 Corinthians 5:5, deliver such a wife to Satan for the distraction of the flesh that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord Jesus. We saw 2 Corinthians 2:6-11 referring to the same incident saying that we should be ready to forgive and restore such a one as the moment correction has taken place. And we saw that the only way to bring about submission and so forth within marriage is for the husband to appeal to the Father not to bribe, beat, and harass, and lecture and resort even to physical abuse to bring it about. We were not created to work that way, it is never going to work, it is the world's way, it is not God's way.

The 18th teaching, 'Is polygamy spiritual' analysed a television programme that had been broadcast and showed in great detail that 1 Timothy 4:1-3, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry" speaking specifically about the false doctrine of enforced monogamy even if it is speaking about other things, but to forbidding to marry is an attribute and a characteristic of the church today with its false doctrine of monogamy. And so we saw that polygamy was not scriptural because it involves many men with many women which is fornication in scriptural terms but polygyny, one man with more than one wife was completely scriptural.

In the 19th teaching, 'Facilitating change in marriage,' we saw the basic principles with examples of learning to touch type, learning to ride a horse, and understood the change took time. It required revisiting skills, it required practice and training and repeated instruction in order for it to come about. And that laid the foundation for Volume 2 of this series which is essentially a composite of all the spiritual things that can be done to bring about change. And that was closed and signed off.

Volume 2 starts out with an introduction which is this tape now 'Towards Heaven on Earth in marriage,' we go through bringing joy to Jesus, the kingdom context, the call, the end of the age, why this is happening now, preparing for change in marriage, faithfulness, before the Judgement Seat of Christ in this life, the realm of exceedingly abundantly hidden answers by the Holy Spirit, 'How to Discipline Your Flesh' by Kenneth Copeland, 'Renewing your Mind' by Kenneth Copeland, 'The Power of the Tongue' by Kenneth Copeland, the anointing and the of Jesus by Benny Hinn, 'Demonic Oppression of the Flesh and Deliverance' by , 'Cleansing the Temple of the Holy Spirit and the Jezebel Principality,''Covenant made by Blood -- Hesed - Agape' by Kenneth Copeland, 'Cutting of The Marriage Covenant, Faith and Implementing Change, a tape by Kenneth Hegan Junior,'The Power of Negativity Preventing Change,' a tape by Brian Houston, 'Building the House -- the One Flesh Bond' and that rolled over into the second tape which went into some detail. The world, the church, and marriage from 4000 BC to 2000 AD, which showed how the scriptures which indicate that God created man in his likeness and his image clearly showed us that man was a very superior being 6000 years ago to what he is today. But the church has progressively backslid away from God for 6000 years and that Moses and Jesus came to restore truth that had been lost to the church but this slide has continued. And that we are in such a poor state that we truly are poor and naked in the Sight of God and yet we think we are rich, we think that we are the most advanced civilisation that has ever lived the Earth and nothing could be further from the truth.

The next tape will address the responsibility of married Christian women towards single Christian women and the corresponding responsibility of men. And the 22nd teaching deals with 'Living in Excellence - Reaching for the Heights of Marriage,' which includes a teaching by which was a real blessing to me and that it has pulled this whole thing together in terms of God has called us to excellence and to reach out for the fullness of His blessings and finally, the last tape in this series, 'Spreading the Good News -- the Theology of Nobodies' with a message by David Wong from China with a series of testimonies of people with absolutely no advantages in life who are leading thousands to Christ and we saw that this western world and the world in which we live in we are so phenomenally spiritually blessed and yet so phenomenally spiritually destitute. We have so little concern for the salvation of our own souls, let alone the souls of those around us. And an enormous challenge where God is really saying to me and I believe to everybody who will listen to that tape there is no longer time to mess around. Go out and speak the truth, tell people of the coming judgement.

As I mentioned earlier, the Volume 3 which has suddenly come on to this horizon in the last few days is a series of teachings on the practical application, the idea is a tape if you are seeking as a husband to restore your marriage likewise for a wife and so forth. And those will, God willing, unfold in the days ahead. I pray that as you go forward on this journey that you will systematically work through the next 22 tapes, prayerfully understanding that there is much to learn that you have to recognise that in the Sight of God there is only one way and that is His way and that this is only accomplished in the spirit, not through carnality and if you are not at a place where you accept the Bible as the living word of God, where you have been water baptised where you have truly confessed your sin and come to a place where confession of sin and repentance is a daily part of your life, if you have not received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I would urge you to come to a place where all of those fundamental principles that are entrenched in your life, if you are not having all of those things that need to be dealt with, we do have teachings from this Ministry and there are many teachings which deal with all of those issues. By the time you get through this series of tapes, all of those basic principles will have been established and you will be in place to put them into practical application in your life for the healing of your marriage.

Father in the name of Jesus I pray that anything that I have uttered that is not according to your word and your will that you will blow it away and it will find no root in the hearers. But I ask Father everything that is being said on this teaching that is of you that it would be engrafted into the hearts of the hearers that it will find deep root that will be watered and nourished by your spirit and that it will produce abundant fruit to the glory of your kingdom and the glory of your name. Father, I thank you for healing the marriages of every single person who hears this tape and leading them to a place where they experience Heaven on Earth in their marriages. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.

Should you need to contact this Ministry, you can contact us telephonically on Johannesburg, South Africa, international code 0027, local code 117912327. You can contact us by fax on 7915004. You can contact us on email at James@EndTimeIssueMinistries.org.za.

04_02 Bringing Joy to Jesus

Volume 2 of the series ‑ 'Understanding God's way in marriage,' Volume 2 being'Towards Heaven on Earth in Marriage' is a message entitled 'What brings Jesus joy' or'Bringing Joy to Jesus.' It was preached by Neil Dryer of the foundation for living congregation in Pretoria North during the course of the preparation of the messages in Volume 1 and I felt impressed to include it in Volume 2 as part of the foundational Scriptures and principles in terms of what God is saying to the church today, in a sense that truly the Father loves the Lord Jesus Christ and we are commanded to love him. He loves us, he went to the cross for us. And our hearts' desire should be to bring joy to Jesus. So I pray that this message will bless you, in Jesus name.

Preaching by Neil Dryer:

And folks, if we are in the place where God wants us to be, we are going to take advantage of it. You know, you could witness to somebody by speaking to them. Better still, you can speak and give a track. Better still, if you are being blessed by a message, give them a tape, an audio tape. Take them, distribute them. We need to reach out folks. We need to reach out. We need to be active in this outreach and God can bless us in it. So please, you ask my brother for tapes, he will give you tapes. Is that right, brother? That's perfectly right. I want you to come with me to the gospel of St. Luke, the 10th chapter and we read the first 12 verses together. Jesus says in the previous chapter, he ends it by saying, "No one, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is worthy of the kingdom of God." When you start ploughing, determine that you are going to plough to the end of the Father. Without looking back, because it is not worthy. If you regret beginning that ploughing. God wants you to do with wholeheartedly. No man builds a except he sits down first of all and counts the cost. He wants us to count the cost. And then he goes on and it says: "After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go." He is planning here. Do you see it? Jesus plans. He says you go ahead into every village, into every town, prepare it, I am coming. So they go ahead, they preach there. Jesus comes along and he finds the ready audience. It is organisation. Here Christ is working with the seventy. "Then He said to them, 'The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road. But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.' And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the labourer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 'The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.' But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city."

So Lord, we worship you and we pray that you are blessed the preaching of this word, in Jesus name, amen. I have entitled it ‑ 'The joy of the Lord.' The joy of the Lord Jesus Christ. What were the things that made Jesus happy? We are already aware of the things that make you happy. You know what kind of news you like to hear and what kind of news you do not like to hear, but what was it that made Jesus, the son of God glare? What rejoice his heart? What were the things that were important of him as the son of God? These are the things that we need to look into just a little. In Romans 5 and 12 the Scripture sets forth a scenario for what we are about to say. In Romans 5 and 12, where for as by one man, this is tremendous, as by one man sin entered the world and the death, the result is tremendous. Death by sin. It comes for one man and the result is death by sin. Listen, so death passed upon all men. It is tremendously wide. It goes from generation to generation from the cradle to the grave. It effects every person that breaths. And it came into the world through one door, through one man. Staggering. What kind of man must this man, Adam have been? That he could have such a tremendous effect on his generation and every succeeding generation that followed. His action was vital. God puts tremendous things in this man's hands. He handled tremendous power. Otherwise this could never have happened. He handled tremendous power. Listen to me. So death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. This statement is clear and the result is as plain as the nose on your face. It affects you, it effects your children. It affects all your relatives, everybody that you know. There is not a single human being that is not affected by it. And here, it is not just a matter of being born in sin. He says we are all born in sin that we are not sinners. We are born that way that we are not sinners. We are sinners when we start committing sin.

And he says from the time of understanding, we have all sinned, and came short of the glory of God. The little ones that can understand and come to the age of understanding and the older ones, everybody, we are all fainted. We are all touched by the same thing. We have the same violence. We are in the same difficulties. Then you come to the 15th verse and listen to this. But not has the offense, so is the free gift. For it through the offense of one, many be there, much more the grace of God and the gift of grace which is by one man ‑ Jesus Christ, happen down to one man. Happen down that overflow. This raises the overflow to all man. Every man that has ever been condemned. Jesus Christ has got something to say. This one man. This one man that came into our world to redeem the world. To do a tremendous work for all of humanity. Some people say, well I have nothing to do with Adam's sin. I wasn’t there. That's true. But neither you have anything to do with of the death of Jesus Christ. It was free, absolutely free. He did it for you. You didn’t have to do a thing, you just have to believe it. He did all the suffering. You get all the benefits. Blessed be the name of Jesus Christ, worship him.

Adam had the seed of life within him and he passed on this life to all. It was a tainted life. It was a corrupted life and the Bible give that as a result. The result was a curse. It says it passed this on to all of us. A curse of weakness and a failure. We did it over and over and over again in his footsteps. In Genesis 3:17 "Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life." And this is the first mention of limited life. In the day that surely die. All the days of thy life, as long as you shall live, but you will not live forever. For as long as you will live. The death sentence was passed and yet it was carried out. That was the result of original. Sin is like AIDS beloved. You might deny its power over your life. But if you have it, you cannot deny the evidence. And not one of us can deny the evidence of what God's word is saying for all of us who have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We are tainted by it. It is within us. It is in our genes if you like. It comes out of us. They said to a black man we are not sinners because we commit sin. We are sinners, that's why we sin. It is natural and we all in that category, we are sinners. But reality pay the much bigger price by inheritance than just this life.

By faith we have a relationship and that relationship is a powerful relationship. If you do not have faith, you do not have the power. You lost it and Adam was coupled from God that was the tragedy. From that moment onward he was on his own and he was vulnerable. He was susceptible to everything that a devil could throw at him because he was outside the protection of God and when we step outside the protection of God, we lose power. We lose power with God and we have lost this thing that will give us victory in life, that will enable us to overcome. We lose these things. Cut off from God we are nothing. We are nobodies. We are distanced for no relation and we deserve it and we have no right to anything more. So we lose standing, we lose position, we lose authority, we lose power. And union with God, that only can faith can bring. When we have this unity with God and this liberty that comes in and say my Father, and I know that I am his son, I can put my knees under this table and I will not be rebuked. I have got a place I belong. When the soul cries out to God, when we sometimes in agony before Him and we say "Oh God, I need you more than words can ever tell," you do not have to pray for hours but when you say that and you mean it, God knows it. It registers with Him. He knows that you are sincere.

He was vulnerable without protection from his own weakness and when man is not under control, he comes out of control, he does not have control anymore. He is like the alcoholic. He thinks that he is in control of his habit and his life, but the truth is that the habit controls him and controls his life. It is a make-belief world that he has when he thinks he is in control. He is not making the choices. He is under control. He is a victim. Without God, man is bound in the prison of his own weakness. Ineffective, the lack of ability to trust to know his goal. He does not have the faith that can bring change in vital situations. And with the alcoholic, the 31st drink was the one that set the pattern for the rest of his life. He did not know that he was falling into a trap but it was. A death trap, and he did not know it. He walked into it with his eyes wide open. And man does it time and again and again and again. He does not know why things are going wrong in his life. He does not understand why things just do not come right and he does not understand that sin has separated him from God from the source of life, from the source of blessing and he is walking alone and he thinks he is making the decision. It is a dream world. It is the fantasy world. A world where reality does not exist. The lie is I am managing, I am doing all right. You better believe me and all the tiny spelling hand over fist. This gave Satan the first in the world. It was due to weakness of man.

Sin entered through one door, the weakness of man. You know, the rhinovirus that causes flu and they say rhinovirus has a secret. You come to a normal cell and it begins to tick it and suddenly that cell which is meant to defend you against the rhinovirus opens to rhinovirus because he thinks he is friendly. The rhinovirus goes in and the minute it is inside, it begins to multiply at a furious rate until eventually it bursts the whole cell and the cell is fatally wounded and then it spreads throughout your body and it ravages you for weeks. Suddenly it stops just as suddenly it began. But if it continued, nobody would survive. It would be your end. But it slays the cell that it inhibits and the devil inhabits the human being and he is set to destroy him. He will destroy him and bring him to nothing. The devil has nothing to do with you except in order to take from you and to destroy you.

Sin always robs of power because the sinner loses the confidence to come to God and liberty is the casualty. Conscience keeps him away from God because he says I have got no right. How many people do not think like that? I have got no right to come to God. I must first of all put my life right, then I can come to God. That is a fantasy. You will never do it. Only God can change your life. Only God can put you on the right track. And you need to walk with Him every step of the way and then God will bless you and use you. Sin always robs of power, because the sinner loses the confidence to come to God. There are own thoughts. The Bible says either condemn or justify them and many condemn themselves before God. Conscience does that. And this is what drew Jesus Christ from his Father's throne. This is why he came to the Earth. This is why he was willing to go to Calvary all the way for this joy that was set before again. The prospect of doing this, of being this, of being the victim, of being the victim in your place and mine of being the sacrifice of God for the joy that was set before him to do this. Jesus came to the world. This is what drew him. Jesus wanted to come. In Hebrews 10:6-7 the Bible says: "In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God." To obey with my whole life in living and in dying on behalf of all humanity. To get to do on their behalf what they are unable to do and give themselves, I will do it for them. I will be the perfect man in their stand. I will be the spotless lamb of God, I will be sinless for their sakes. For their sakes I will keep myself pure. For their sakes I will be everything that God's law requires. What gives Jesus joy? Not the glory. Satan wanted the glory. He said I will be like the most high. I will establish my throne in the sides of the north and from then he fail. He wanted the glory. Jesus does not want it. He does not want it. He did not come here for that reason. He came to die. Listen to this heart this morning. Listen to it.

In John 12:27-28 he says: "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name."You take the glory. That is all I want to do. I want to glorify you and I want you to save people. Do not save me. Do not save me; save them. Save them by my death, Lord. Do that. This is why I am here. Bring glory to yourself by my death. Christ came to this hour for this cause. And he made this hour your hour and mine. This was the hour of our time. It was the hour of his death that it was the hour of our trying for over the devil. Overall his forces here is the victory. It is Jesus dying on the cross of Calvary for you for everything that you have ever done in the whole of your life. The things that you brushed about, the things that you are ashamed of, Jesus died for ever one of them. He made it possible for you to live past it, beyond it, above it. He made it possible so that you never have to go back there again and say, "Lord, I am sorry." Once it is forgiven it is forgotten as it never was and you are sinless. You are sinless because Jesus Christ's blood, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son cleanses us from all sin. Is not that a marvellous statement? From all sin I am free from everything that binds me. Praise his holy name.

Zephaniah 3:17 says this: "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing." Can you image? Jesus singing about you. What would he sing? He is going to sing . Father this is what I brought to you. Take a look. He is pure. He is clean as the snow. There is not a mark on him. The devil cannot do a thing with him. Is not that wonderful? Praise his holy name. He is so good. This joy is the result of Christ saving these people. You remember those momentous words as he died he says it is finished. The end of the nightmare, the beginning of a glorious truth. It is over. Sin is defeated. The devil is defeated and this marks the end of slavery and bondage for you and for me. It is restoring what has been lost and squandered and neglected. People say, you know, does each generation of kids get the music it deserves? The answer is no, but it gets the music that defines it. The music that tells you what they are, what they are after. Yes, this is what it tells you. You listen to the music and hear what it says. And this is what the answer is looking for. It is being said that we give the politicians and the children that we deserve and the Bible says we reap what we sow, this is what Christ came to deliver us from, the consequences.

He came to deliver us from the consequences of our own behaviour so that we do not have to pay the price from getting out just deserves, Jesus set us free from this. So this is a new era, a new beginning, the dawning of a new day. Opportunity from God once again knocks at humanity's door and says you cannot live your life over that you can live it differently. You can live it differently. Jesus makes that possible. Hebrews 12:1-2:"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Where is his dignity? You know how important your dignity is to you. You know what happens if somebody slaps you or somebody insults you, what kind of reaction you give. What happens in your mind and your heart. Jesus Christ embraced the cross and how he overcame it was he despised it. He despised the shame. It could not turn him one way or the other from the Will of God. Ego did not get in the way. And ego cannot get in the way of you and of me when we are doing God's service. We do not have the right. We do not have the right. Man crucified him, but God raised him and put him at his right's hand, accepted and honoured and glorify. Was this his joy? Does this what he wanted? I say no, the cross was. We are the represented in Heaven beloved and he has wounds in his hands and his feet and his eye. We got a representative there, a high priest familiar with our weaknesses, who understands. He prevails for us on his merit, no doubt. He comes before God and what he has done for us, not what we have done for ourselves. Christ did that. He did it for you and for me. Do you understand why I love it? Why I want to serve him? Amen.

And from this position, Jesus Christ pours out his Holy Spirit. In John 7:39 says: "(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified)." When Jesus Christ was glorified, he was ascended to the right hand of the majesty. When the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, they knew that Jesus has arrived there. Do you understand? That was the sign for the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. So we rejoice in the Lord. Why did he do it? I want you to read with me Luke 10:17-24 and here is his vision: "And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them."

Have you heard? Have you seen? Are you amongst the mighty and the wise? Or are you amongst the humble? I am so glad that I am not a big man. I am so glad that I am enough of a child to accept Jesus Christ. I thank God. I thank God for the things that my eyes have seen and my ears have heard. I thank God for withstanding that has given me. I was praying the other day. I walked when I pray and there is somebody that has done me a lot of harm. And I thought of myself, I was praying for the person. I do not pray against people. I ask God to have these words in their lives. I was praying for this person, God bless this person, save his soul. Change his outlook, make him different. And the Lord brought it forward to me. I have never been able to understand what Jesus meant when he said forgave them for they know what they do. Because they knew what they were doing. They did it with the fore thought and with malice and a fore thought. They wanted to kill him. They wanted to put him aside and he knew it. And yet he says forgive them, they do not know what they are doing. What did he mean? He is saying when I get saved, before I was saved, I was a different man altogether to the man that emerged from the city hall when Christ came to his eyes. I saw things altogether differently. I saw it from God's perspective. Before I saw it from the world's perspective. I only understood the world's perspective, not God's. And then God came into my life and I saw the world from his perspective. And it is a different perspective.

And the man who does not see it from God's perspective is really not responsible for his behaviour because he does not understand and that is what Jesus was saying. They do not understand what they are doing because they cannot see it from God's point of view. They have been blinded, the devil has blinded their eyes. I cannot claim benefit. I cannot say that it was the cleverness of my decision that saved my soul. It was the Grace of God. And if the Grace of God saved my soul beloved, then I must have the sin regressed to this person is on me. Because he does not understand what he is doing. He does not know God. And I expect him to behave in a godly way. He does not know how. He has never learnt. He has never been so privileged as I have because I have learnt it from my Father's hand. Blessed thee who is holy man. So Jesus was glad. In Luke 8:1-2 it says: "And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils." They shared the same vision. They were on the same mission. They were doing the same thing. They took it from Jesus and they carried it forward. That is what going to happen amongst us. We take it from Jesus and carry it forward. And this makes Jesus glad. The glad tidings of the kingdom. These are the things that filled his life.

Jesus was not thinking of having a mansion. He did not want to become a multi-millionaire. Those were not his interests. It was the Kingdom of God. He was sold out entirely to that kingdom. All right. I want to ask you a question. Do you think that madness is a blessed release from reality? I want to say to you, no. It is torment. In Mark 5:1 it says: "And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes." That was part of Christ's strategy. He was reaching out to villages. He crossed the sea. He had to reach somebody. There was somebody there that needed him. And so he comes over the sea in the boat with his disciples. The second verse says: "And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit." It was prearranged meeting. Jesus said for this purpose that I have come into the world. This is one of the purposes. Verse 3: "Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains." He broke chains in pieces so that no man could tame him and verse 5 says: "And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones." He was in the mountains and in the tombs crying and cutting himself with stones. We saw Jesus he worship him and bow at his feet, one power inferior bowing before the superior power of God. He recognise it. The mad man recognise what same people often do not see. They understood who Jesus is. In their madness they knew and same men looked past and they do not understand. They do not know who he is. Always day and night, night and day all the time, he gave himself entirely to what was in his mind. What he thought was profitable but it was mindless, it was thoughtless, it was going nowhere, it was going in circles with his life with the precious days of his life achieving absolutely nothing, amounting to nothing. All the efforts did not mean this. He gave himself to it entirely, more definitely than most people give to making a fortune.

It has been said that men ruin their health making a fortune. And they spend their fortune trying to regain their health. Go around in circles. And here was this man doing this. Achieving nothing, giving his life to trivial pursuit. His life meaningless. Many normal people are on this treadmill of life. I want to tell you. They give themselves avidly to things that have no benefit and think this is success. What the mad man was doing filled his mind, it occupied him. It filled his days and nights. Was this vision? Was this what God intended for him? No, I tell you. This was Satan's work. It is diabolic. It is tragic. It is fake. It is taking away from a man that which is profitable to him, his values go down with you. The devil does that every time fellows. Does not want you to succeed. Does not want you to walk with God. I tell you that no one will ever get to victory over Satan and the weakness he brings until he recognises who is behind the behaviour. If you keep on making excuses friend, for the life that you are living, you are never going to arrive where God wants you to be. It is better recognise who it is responsible for the things that we are thinking and the things that we are doing so we can deal with it. And if we do not recognise Satan's hand, we will never defeat him. He will always have his hand on our shoulder. Evil that destroys the life while holding out promises that never can be fulfilled. It is a myth, a mirage, a delusion, we need help to separate imagination from reality. Jesus Christ said in John 10:10: "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

The amazing thing is that the madman was so deluded that he was doing what he wanted to. It was a choice that was made under pressure from spiritual forces that he did not understand. Romans 12:2 says: "Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." The renewing of the mind is changing your value system. It is coming over to God's sight. It is getting your perspectives on you, your life, and God. The madman does all the time what he wanted to do and somehow it made twisted sense of nonsense. But to him it makes sense somehow, and so he kept on doing it. Yet there are no limitations. All is acceptable. It can be done. I have heard this voice. I have heard the person talking to someone that does not exist. Rebuking, fighting. I have seen a grown woman and begin to wash her dress while it is upon her. You say this is not rationale. No, it is not. But it is tragic. It is not rationale but tragic. I have heard this voice. It is a mockery of sanity. This man's satisfaction came from torturing himself. Destruction was in his paths. He does his own nemesis and his own victim. If you keep doing what you want to, does that always satisfy? If you have no restrictions, are you really free? Are you best left alone to go your way?

In Mark 5:15: "And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid."Amazing. They beg Jesus to leave their coasts. They were amazed. And the world is afraid of people who are in their right mind. They do not want to hear it. They do not know what they won't. They do not want anybody to tell them that. Leave me. I want to cut myself and torture myself in the tombs. I want to do my own thing. Leave me. Even if this is rationale, I want to do it. What do you fear in life? What peace have you got? What assurance beloved? That is vital. Before we leave I met a man. He was talking to me. He was an alcoholic, rehabilitate, and there was a man in the same town and this fellow could drink the constitution of a horse. My friend said to me that I used to buy a of wine every weekend and we would sit on the carpet in my wife's house and I would drink until I was unconscious. And that man would sit there drinking, drinking, drinking long after I passed out and do you know that men really believe that the man who can take drink like that is a real man. Do you believe it? Is it something worthy to admire it? I say it is lunacy, crazy. What do you giving it for? What do you doing it for you? Oh beloved. We need the Lord. Let us bow here and pray before the Lord.

Father we come to you in the lovely name of Jesus and we worship you. God would be desperately want to be in our like mind when it comes to defensive God. Lord we want to be as they . We want to make the choices Lord. We do not want to have things that are more powerful than what we are, beings that are more powerful than what we are, making the decisions. Lord, bring us to that point we pray where we decide by the light of the word of God that which is right and then put our back into it and say oh God where I stand. These are the things that I stand for. It is in violate, it is not negotiable. I stand here. Like Martin Luther when he said "Here I stand, so help me God, I can do no other." In Jesus name, guide us your spirit Lord as a congregation, as individuals, guide us oh God. There is a world out there that is in the same position that the madman was in. People going after pleasure without thinking Lord. Heavenly Father in Jesus name, help us to be a force for you in this place, among our friends, among our family Lord. Help us I pray. In Jesus name, that you may be exalted in worship of the Lord. Blessed be your name. Amen.

This message presents us with a number of serious challenges. But which brought Jesus joy was to do the will of the Father, to do the will of Him who sent him, to bow with his whole life, to be the perfect sacrifice. Not for glory, but to die. I believe the challenge in this message for everybody who has heard it and everybody who has listened to the tapes that preceded in this marriage series and the tapes that follow, will you lay down your life for the truth of the gospel? Will you lay down your life for the restoration of marriage as God appointed us on this Earth? Adultery and fornication are like alcoholism. Once it is started it requires divine intervention to turn us around. But people think they are okay like that mad man in this message.

If those who heard the truth about marriage and about adultery and fornication and divorce and virginity, do not go out and tell the truth, how will the world change? If the message is not broadcast, how will it change? Will you let the Lord Jesus Christ rejoice over you because you laid down your life to spread the gospel of the truth concerning marriage? Or will you continue to follow the path that you have followed up till now? We do not have the right to eager. We do not have the right to what our flesh wants. We are called to bring joy to Jesus and the cross was Jesus' joy. We are called to rejoice in our suffering for the gospel. And yet Jesus came that we should have life and life more abundantly but if we will not die with Christ, if we will not lay down our lives, if we do not allow our flesh to be crucified with Christ so that there is no longer I but Christ that live within us, we cannot become like Jesus. We cannot do what he has called us to do.

The conduct of the world today regarding divorce and adultery and fornication, the conduct of the church today is not rationale, it is tragic. We find that where people do seek to share the truth that are in these tapes they are persecuted, they are shunned. The world is afraid of people who are in their right mind as was preached in this message. This is where I stand. Where do you stand? In the world out there, there are mad men going after pleasure, hell bound on going to hell; will you? Step out and turn the tide of destruction by your prayers, by your faith, by your love and by your sacrifice, in Jesus name.

Foundation for living community church meets on Sundays at 9:30 at the , Jack Hindon Street, Pretoria North. The leader of the congregation and pastor is Neil Dryer. He can be contacted at Pretoria, 0128081650. Neil is an apostle called by God to restore truth to the church in preparation for that which is about to come. Should you be lead by the Spirit of God to make an offering to this particular work and to say into this ministry, the account details are as follows: Account name: NJ Dreyer. Account number 51030119874. Bank: First National Bank, South Africa. Branch: Silverton. Branch code: 25084500.

This message has been recorded by a church without walls, a ministry of End Time Issue Ministries, P.O. Box 898, Randpark Ridge, Randburg 2156, Republic of South Africa. We can be contacted by email at James@EndTimeIssueMinistries.org.za. Our phone numbers, international dialling code, normally 0027, but this may vary from country to country, the 27 is standard. Our landline, 00271179123644 and in South Africa 0832516644. Our fax number internationally 0027117915004 and locally 0117915004.

All materials produced by this ministry are available at no cost to those who require them irrespective of financial means. At the same time, donations and offerings are clearly welcome to support the work. Please feel free to copy any of our materials in part or in full as the Lord leads you understanding that the manner in which you utilise these materials and the manner in which you cite them and quote them is for your account on the Day of Judgement. So we would ask you to use the materials widely but please feel free to copy them whoever you see fit and to share these truths with anybody as the Lord leads.

I would urge those of you who receive copies of these tapes at no charge that once you have listened to them that you consider passing them on and blessing others with them. Our hearts' desire is that they should not become artefacts sitting on a bookshelf and gathering dust that the Word of God contained in these teachings should be spread as far and as widely as possible.

Should you be lead by the Lord to sow in to this ministry, our bank account is End Time Issue Ministries. The account number is 0427527805. The branch is the Standard Bank of South Africa, Randburg branch and the branch code is 018005.

If you are listening to these messages, you have realised that you do not have a personal saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and that if you were to die right now you would not spend eternity in Heaven with him. I would urge you to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and saviour and to pray the prayer of salvation. These tapes to salvation are as follows. Firstly, admit and recognise that you are a sinner. Romans 3:23 says"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Secondly accept and believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, that he came to Earth as a man, that he crucified and died on the cross, that on the third day he rose again. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father, and that by death and resurrection, he took your sins for eternity. Romans 5:8 says "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Thirdly confess your sins, repent of your sins, and turn around. Repentance means turning around. It means ceasing to do what you now realise is wrong.

1 John 1:9 says "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Four, confess your faith that Jesus Christ is Lord that you believe this and receive his salvation and invite him to dwell in your heart. Romans 10:9-10 says "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Give thanks to God for your salvation. Pray and cry out to God and give thanks to Him for saving you. Sixthly, work out your salvation by the Spirit of God. Philippians 2:12 says "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Salvation is a process. You are saved the moment you pray the sinners' prayer, the prayer of salvation and invite the Lord Jesus Christ to come into your heart and be Lord of your life. But salvation is also a process whereby your mind is renewed and you come to have a personal and deep relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is your choice how far you go in that relationship. He desires a wonderful and a deep and an intimate relationship with you, but it is your choice whether you will do what is necessary to come to that place through reading your Bible, praying, seeking counsel, seeking guidance.

You should be water baptised at the first possible opportunity. Matthew 3:6 says "And were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins." I encourage you to ask the Lord to lead you to somebody who has some knowledge of the basic ordinance of water baptism who can water baptise you or to lead you to a church where they can water baptise you. There is no reason why you cannot be water baptised today as a symbolic cleansing and washing of your sins. In fact, the minute you pray the sinners' prayer, it would be preferable for you to be water baptised.

Choose to be obedient to the Word of God, accept the Bible in its original Hebrew as given by the Spirit of God and choose to live your life according to that. 1 John 5:3 says"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome." I encourage you to read the Word of God daily and to put into practice everything that you encounter. As a principle which I believe will bear fruit in your life, I would encourage you to make an effort right now after you have prayed this prayer, start reading your Bible from the book of John through to the book of Revelation and then make a discipline of reading the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation at least two, three, four times a year and read the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi at least once a year. And I would encourage you to do that using different translations.

Ask God to lead you to the church where He wants you to be at this time, where they will teach you, they will guide you, they will pray for you and they will help you to walk in the fullness of God has called you to be. Be aware that He may move you, God may move you from church to church over time to teach you new things and you should not be reluctant to do this. The service of God is a personal choice. It is a wonderful choice and if you will step out by faith today and pray the sinners' prayer and follow Him, you will reap a rich harvest if that is your desire to be found faithful on the Day of Judgement. Should you have listened to this and have decided that you are now ready to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, I would ask you to pray the following prayer with me, in Jesus name.

Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus and I confess that I am a sinner. I confess that I don’t have a personal knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and I recognise that without Jesus if I were to die right now, I would spend eternity in hell and not with you. I confess that I have sinned and I repent of those sins and I turn around, I choose to turn my back on sin and to serve God. I confess that Jesus Christ came to Earth as a man that he was crucified that he died and was buried and that he was resurrected on the third day, and that he sits on the right hand of the Father. I confess by faith that he died to take all of my sins, and I thank you Jesus for taking my sin and I give you my sin right now in Jesus name.

I confess by faith that Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and I choose now Lord Jesus to make you the Lord of my life. I invite you to come and dwell in my heart. I invite you to take charge of my life. I invite you to start leading and guiding me and directing me and I give you my life and everything that I have and I commit myself to serving you now, Lord Jesus. I thank you that you have heard me and I thank you that you have now come to live in me, and I thank you for saving me. I thank you that I am now child of the most high God. I thank you that I am now servant of the most high God and that you will lead me and guide me into the paths that you want me to walk. I ask you Lord to lead me to the church where you want me to be. I ask you in the name of Jesus to bring the people that you want in my life into my life by your spirit and to remove the people that you don’t want in my life by your spirit, in Jesus name.

I ask you to close all doors in my life that you do not want opened that no man may open and I ask you to open every door in my life that you want opened that no man may close it, in Jesus name. Father, I ask you to teach me to be lead by your spirit. I ask you to open my eyes to have a revelation of the Word of God. I ask you to give me a hunger for the Word of God and for your spirit and I ask you to teach me to pray, in Jesus name. I thank you Father and I thank you Jesus for saving me and I declare that I am now child of God and I praise you and I worship you and I glorify your holy name and I thank you for changing me and saving me and delivering me, in Jesus name. Amen.

Now that you have prayed that prayer and you are born again into the body of Christ, realise that the Christian walk is a journey, which Apostle Paul likens it to a marathon race. You need guidance, you need assistance. If you have no one to help you, pray and ask the Holy Spirit of God to come into your life and to help you. If you need to contact somebody, contact any of the major ministries. If you are not sure who to contact, contact this ministry through the address and telephone and email, details that was supplied earlier. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.

04 03 Kingdom Context - The Call - End of the Age

James Robertson -- 26 November 2000

Message number 3 of Volume 2 of the series ‑ 'Understanding God's Way in Marriage,'second volume 'Towards Heaven on Earth in Marriage' and the title of this message is'Kingdom Context ‑ The Call ‑ End of the Age' that was recorded on November 26, 2000.

This morning, in my quiet time, I was led to read in Matthew, and I was really impressed with regards to the words of John the Baptist at the beginning of Jesus’ Ministry. It is important to recognise that John the Baptist came at the end of the Mosaic Covenant. That was approximately 2000 years after that Covenant was given by Moses. Jesus came to introduce a new Covenant and John was the voice crying in the wilderness to announce the coming King. 2000 years later, we are now at the end of the Church age. There has been, as there was between Moses and Jesus, and between Jesus and today, a great apostasy and falling away. The Church has been in great bondage through the dark ages. We saw the Reformation with Luther, Calvin and Zwingli and others, the translation of the Bible into English, and many other events about 500 years ago which have ushered in an age of Protestantism, an age in which slowly the truths of Scripture have been restored. We have seen the restoration of Revelation through God, to baptism by immersion in water. We have seen the restoration of Revelation with regards to the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. We have seen the restoration of truth with regards to the gifts of the Spirit and healing, and so forth. With each one of those restorations, there has been great persecution of those who brought the message in the early days.

We have seen, throughout the series of teachings, that before the Lord Jesus Christ returns for the spotless bride, the bride must become spotless. In the area of marriage, the bride is anything but spotless. In fact, virtually everything that is taught and practised by the modern Church today, in the area of marriage, is pagan heresy and has absolutely no substance in Scripture. Most of the world and the Church is in adultery. Therefore we need to reassess the context of this message as I taught, also some time ago. The first miracle that Jesus performed was at the wedding at Cana in Galilee where He turned water into wine, and therefore the wine at the end of the feast was the best, and better than the wine at the beginning. And again, Jesus is about to perform another miracle. He is about to restore the truth of marriage on Earth today. In order that the bride can be ready for the marriage feast, how can a bride go to marriage feast if she does not know what the marriage feast is about, or if she does not know what marriage is about?

Divorce or putting away

We have to understand that the Church is not ready for the so-called Rapture. It is not ready to be called up into Heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ and to sit at the wedding supper of the lamb. The Church is far from it. Today the Church is in, as we have seen in these teachings, a terrible state and I do not say this to be judgemental, but we have to speak truth. We have to be honest with ourselves. We have to say that if God has said that He hates putting away, or the popular term today is divorce, although we have seen scripturally that is not technically accurate. The reality is that the vast majority of divorce in the Church today is in fact putting away and God has said that He hates that.

Now, if God has said that He hates that, how on Earth can we speak of the Church being ruptured? I would just like to go through a series of messages that I have been led to share with others on the Internet over the last six months or so, to give, what I would term, the kingdom context, with regards to the end of the age, or perhaps if you like, a call, in order to place much of this teaching in a more significant context. So, reading from Matthew 3 in the Amplified Bible verse 1, "In those days there appeared John the Baptist, preaching in the Wilderness (Desert) of Judea and saying, Repent (think differently; change your mind, regretting your sins and changing your conduct), for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand. This is he who was mentioned by the prophet Isaiah when he said, the voice of one crying in the wilderness (shouting in the desert), prepare the road for the Lord, make His highways straight (level, direct)."

Repentance, perdition and destruction

I must say to you, today, prepare the way of the Lord. We do not have time to play games with God. We do not have time to play games about doctrine. We do not have time for pride and ego of what we have been taught by old school regarding marriage, and what we have believed and what we have practised. It does not matter how many marriage ceremonies one may have officiated over. It does not matter how many marriage certificates one may have signed. It does not matter how many rings one may have officiated over the placing on people's fingers. It was a pagan rite and if you have done those things, I have to tell you before God today, repent. They are nice to do, but do not attribute them to the Word of God and certainly do not call it a binding marriage ceremony. If you have performed that rite on a woman who was not a virgin, who was divorced, but actually put away before God, you have participated in adultery. The blood of those people is on your hands because you claimed to see. I beg you, hear this message today. It is time to repent and return to what the Word of God says. It is time to take the truth to the people of the world, in Jesus’ name.

Reading from verse 8, "Bring forth fruit that is consistent with repentance [let your lives prove your change of heart]; and do not presume to say to yourselves, we have Abraham for our forefather; for I tell you, God is able to raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones!" I was very impressed when I read that verse this morning to say 'and do not presume to say to yourselves we are born again.' You will see in the teaching that follows, there are many Scriptures which tell you that being born again is just the beginning of the road and there are many wrong turnings that one can take, all of which lead ultimately to perdition and destruction.

The question I will ask you now, and I will ask you again at the end of this message is, do you want to be found to be wheat or tares? Do you want to be found to be a goat or a sheep? Do you want to be found to be the foolish virgin? Do you want to be found to be a worker of inequity, or do you want to hear those words ‑ well done, my good and faithful servant? Do you want to be called up to sit on a throne, or do you want to be cast into outer darkness with weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst those who are barely saved, shunning even the garments singed with fire?

Verse 10, "And already the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you in (with) water because of repentance [that is, because of your changing your minds for the better, heartily amending your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins]. But He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy or fit to take off or carry; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fan (shovel, fork) is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear out and clean His threshing floor and gather and store His wheat in His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with fire that cannot be put out."

Again, I have to say the axe is at the root of the tree. Great tribulation has already befallen many who call themselves by the name of Christ in the Earth today. Greater tribulation is to follow. Great persecution and great destruction are to follow. Those who have not sanctified themselves and washed their robes in the blood of the lamb are going to suffer greatly. If you are practising the doctrines that have been dealt with in the first volume of this series, and you do not repent, the prospects are that there will be greater tribulation in your life in the years to come. I say this with love, to warn you of impending judgement and impending destruction in your life. If you will turn and restore God's truth regarding marriage in your own life, in your own marriage, and in the marriages of those around you, if you will take this Gospel, if you will take this good news that God intended Heaven to come to Earth in marriage, if you will take the truth that you heard in this series, if you will press on into the truth that are yet to come in this series, some of which are extremely challenging and extremely difficult, and if you will run and not grow weary, because you are pressing in to the risen son of God, then there will be a great reward for you as an overcomer at the end.

Rick Joyner

So, to sum up the essence of this message, The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, repent and bring forth works worthy of repentance. Having introduced the basic context of this message, I would like to continue and develop this theme in greater detail. In order to do that I would like to read some key points that arose after reading a section of the book, 'The Call' by Rick Joyner, published by Morningstar Publications in 1999. This is a report of the series of visions experienced by Joyner when he was caught up into the third Heaven and the sequence to defy visions reported in the book, 'The Final Quest' in which Joyner was also caught up into the third Heaven. I actually read this after completing a series of emails on persecution of Christians, wheat and tares and judgment of the Church, tribulation first, which I will present, God-willing, at the end of this tape. I want to address these first because the conclusions and the key headlines are so critical, but I would ask you to recognise that these actually came after the prophetic words that I was given, which were presented later in the message.

So, the message that came out of the 'Final Quest', was a confirmation of what had been written from my leading of the Holy Spirit shortly before reading 'The Call.' The introduction to the email reads as follows: Shortly after completing a series of emails and persecution of Christians, wheat and tares, regarding persecution of Christians, judgement and the Church tribulation first, I started reading the book, 'The Call' by Rick Joyner. As I read, I became increasingly aware that what was reported was in line with the earlier emails and became increasingly convinced that time is now rapidly running out. If our love has grown cold, we do not have much time to address the problems. So we see the thread of love that has been running through the series on marriage tying in here into End Time event.

Matthew 24:12-13, "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. If there is no oil anointing in our lamps, we do not have time before we are found to be foolish virgins.” Matthew 25:3-4,"Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps." Matthew 25:11-13, "Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." Judgement is at hand. It is at the very door and anyone who fears God must put aside all the cares of this world and focus their attention on getting closer to God, the Father, Yahweh and to Jesus, Yah, Yahooshua, than they ever have before. Mark 4:19, "And the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in, choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful."

The following are extracts and paraphrases of passages in the book 'The Call', up to page 76, which seemed important in the context of the previous messages. The whole world still lies in the power of the evil one. We walk on the edge of hell every day. Through the midst of this phase of path of life, there are deep ditches on either side of the path of life. So, we must not deviate from the narrow way. If one falls into these ditches, no one can find their own way out. Following our own way is how we fall into them, and our own way will never get us out. Jesus is the only way out. When you fall, do not waste your time trying to figure everything out, for you will only sink deeper in the mud. Just ask Jesus for help. He is your Shepherd and He will always help you when you call on Him. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Pray that the eyes of your heart may be open to see into the heavenly realm and to see what the Father is doing. Ask first judgment to come through own life and then begin asking for them to come to the world. This is a critical statement. Judgment is about to come on the world, and it is being prayed over the world by those prophetic believers who will pay attention to what the Spirit of God is saying to them.

Make His judgments known. His judgments would not be true if they were not the same for all. Therefore the Church must be judged first. A critical point, the vast majority of the Church today seems to be expecting to be ruptured and escape tribulation, but as we have seen in this teaching series on marriage, the Church is defiled to false doctrines in the area of marriage and many other areas. The Church will be judged first. God cannot judge the rest of the world until He has judged His own people first. Understanding His judgment is not enough. You must agree with them. We can come boldly before His throne of grace. The sin of wanting to trade with the world has entangled the Church.

Joyner was told many will repent and be saved if you will go to those to whom Jesus sends you and give His warning. And I must say this is the message that I have for you - many will repent and be saved if you will go to those to whom Jesus sends you and give His warning. You call on Jesus to ask what He wants. God's house exists for Him, not for us. Overcomers do not waste their time. Jesus will no longer allow us to presume on His mercy. The days of ‘happy clappy sloppy’ Christianity where we just carry on leading our lives the way we want to, not the way Jesus wants us to, and then presume on His mercy and His grace are over. We have to seek to know Jesus.

Seek Jesus

Deny yourself daily. Seek Him in prosperity and not just in adversity. There is wisdom to come to Jesus every day. Know Jesus as I am, wisdom, the Lord of judgment, the Lord of the Sabbath, the Lord of hosts, the Prince of peace, the lion of Judah, the lamp and it is wisdom to know His times. He may have different times in different cities, different nations, and even different families. Hear His messengers and act. It is no good you listen to these tapes and then not put into practice what is taught in these tapes. It is no good listening to the Scriptures on these tapes and then returning to your comfort zone of your past doctrines, and so forth. You have to analyse against the Word of God by the Spirit of God, clearly the message contained in this series of tapes and everything which is of God, which I truly believe is the vast majority the essence of everything that is contained on these tapes. You need to act on it.

If not, you will be subject to a harsher judgment and I would be subject to a harsher judgment and I have been severely convicted in recent weeks of failing to spread the message and the full ambit of the message that is contained in these tapes, much more urgently and much more widely than I have done. I pray that by the time you listen to this, these tapes will be in greater circulation and the transcripts and the book will be in the course of preparation. The time has passed when Jesus will tolerate those who say they serve Him but who do not obey Him. The lukewarm are about to be removed. Come to the throne of grace daily for grace to serve Him. Murder will be released on the Earth as never before. Even the two World Wars will leading to what is to come. This was a confirmation of the Word I had from the Lord in Israel in 1996. He had taken me over to Israel on business and I found myself in the Holocaust Museum on a because I had a day to spare during my visit.

As I was looking at the photographs of emaciated and men, women, and children stripped naked, standing before bulldozer excavated trenches in open fields, and then being mowed down with machineguns, hoarded into cattle trucks, hoarded into gas chambers, subject to the most frightful medical experiments, the Lord said to me, this is only a shadow of what the Church is about to go through. So I have to say to you, prepare for tribulation. The sense that I have is that we are in already in deep Spiritual tribulation for those who will open their Spiritual eyes to look, and for those who do not experience tribulation right now, perhaps one has to ask oneself whether it is because you are not really giving the devil any trouble and therefore he has no need to attack you.

Judgement and persecution

There are many who are passionate for Christ who are experiencing great persecution. Love is stronger than death. If you do not fear death, you will overcome it. Only true love can bring true unity. As the Lord's people begin to love, He will use them to release His judgments. His judgments are to be desired. His people will stand as the largest in the last days. Their words will shut up the Heavens or bring rain. They will prophesy earthquakes and famines, they will come to pass, and they will stop earthquakes and famines. When they release armies in Heaven, armies will march on the Earth. When they hold back armies, there will be peace. They will decide where Jesus shows His mercy and where He shows His wrath. They will have this abode because they love and those who love will be one with him.

Walking in love

I pray that you can see how this ties into this whole teaching on marriage. You cannot be truly one with Jesus. You cannot be truly walking in the love of God if you are not walking in love in your marriage, or if you are not walking in unity in your marriage. If your marital house is divided, the body of Christ is divided, and you cannot be one with Christ. You cannot be a true servant of God if your marriage is not the way God intended it to be. And I speak this to men whose houses are not in order. I speak it to women whose houses are not in order. Ladies, if you are not in submission to your husband, if you are not focused on getting your life in line with your husband according to the Word of God, if you are trying to serve God apart from your husband, you are not in the will of God.

Peace will be taken from the Earth, but various servants are called to help restore it. Will you be one of those called, or will you be one of those who is part of the problem? Will you be part of the solution or part of the problem? Peace prevails in Heaven and Jesus' servants are called to bring Heaven to Earth. This ties in to the message of bringing Heaven to Earth in marriage. Those who abide in Jesus’ presence will have peace and will spread peace. The Earth itself will shake and tremble. Tons of trouble, greater than have ever been known will begin to move across the Earth like great waves of the sea. Even so, those who know Jesus will not be troubled. They will withstand before the raging of the seas and so peace bestow and the seas will be calm.

Even the least of his little ones will be like a great fortress of peace that will stand through all that is coming. His glory will be revealed to his people first and then through them. Even the creation will recognise him and his people and will obey them as it does him. Obedience brings life, disobedience brings death. We have seen this message repeatedly. You cannot love God if you do not obey God. The most powerful weapons are truth and love. When truth spoken and love is rejected, death has been chosen over life. Walk with God and learn his ways. You will refer to his authority and you must be one with him in order to use it.

Love your enemies. Do not desire that any perish; a critical weakness of so many of the Body of Christ today. Extra time has been given to the Church but few have used it wisely. If you fear him, Jesus, you do not need to fear anything that is coming on the Earth. All of the evil sewn in mankind is about to be reaped, and so is all the good. During the darkness that is to come, Jesus' people will stand as a testimony. Not only has He redeemed men, He has removed sin from them, that is from these true people. All of these are immensely challenging statements, and I will readily suggest to you that we are all well advised to take them to heart and to act on them. It is vital to understand that the indications are according to the visions that John has had, and others, that as much as 99% of the Church is not where God wants them to be at this time, in terms of preparedness. They are not even close. They are pursuing doctrines which have absolutely no scriptural basis in the areas that have been addressed in this teaching series and elsewhere. Not one of us dare hear what is contained in this series of teachings and presume that they are in right standing with God.

So that was basically the summary that I produced from the book, 'The Call', the visions that Joyner had, or that specific vision on the November 14, 2000. To put that in context, some of the preceding messages that came from this ministry going back to early in the year, Tuesday, April 4, 2000, were visions concerning Zephaniah 1 and 2. I will just read extracts from that. The message started out this morning while I was reading the Word of God. I came to Zephaniah 1:2-18, and before I read this passage of Scripture, I need to draw your attention to the fact that in many places, including in the Book of Revelations, it is widely held that the term Jerusalem speaks of the Church. The New Jerusalem is also referred to as the bride coming down from Heaven that is the Church.

Tribulation

Where End Time Prophesy speaks of Jerusalem, it seems that many times it is speaking of the Church. Some hold that it speaks of the Spiritual Spirit, the Church, that is obedient, and that Babylon in the same passage speaks of the Church, which is carnal and trading with the world. But I want you to note the use of Jerusalem specifically in the passages that I am about to read. Zephaniah 1:2, "'I will utterly consume everything from the face of the land,' says the Lord." Verse 12, "And it shall come to pass at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men who are settled in complacency, who say in their heart, 'The Lord will not do good, nor will He do evil.'" And I really ask you to consider that and take it to heart if you have not got a revelation out of this teaching so far, that there is something dramatically wrong in the teachings of the Church with regards to marriage. I would ask you to see also, that this passage of Zephaniah is speaking of tribulation of the Church of the believers. This is not talking about tribulation of the world. It is talking about tribulation of the Church.

Verse 14, "The great day of the Lord is near; it is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; there the mighty men shall cry out. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress," and so it goes on. Verse 18 in part, "In the day of the Lord’s wrath."  The message that I sent out at that time continues and I quote, "As I meditate on this passage of Scripture, I saw vision of a great six wheeled articulated cart with three wide specked wheels made of iron. The deck of the cart was made of massive slabs of iron and it was all black. Whatever it drives over would be utterly crushed to powder. Then the following came to me: This is the chariot of the Lord's wrath which is about to be driven over the Church and judgment of the inequity, and apostasy of the past 2000 years. For the crusades and all the other abominations which have been, and still are committed by those who claim to act in the name of Jesus Christ.

Those that resist the judgment will be utterly destroyed for eternity. Those who repent and lay down their lives will be crucified with Christ and will live with Him for eternity. Those who will actively seek His judgment in their lives now before the chariot comes, will rule with Him for eternity. Today, you stand opposite the valley of decision and judgment. Cross over that you may enter into the joy of the Lord. Having considered this for some time, I continue to read and we come to Zephaniah 3:8-20, "'Therefore wait for Me,' says the Lord, 'Until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations to My assembly of kingdoms, to pour on them My indignation, all My fierce anger; all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy. For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord.'"

I would suggest to you that whereas the first passage of Zephaniah that I read speaks of judgment of the Church, this passage speaks of judgment of the world coming after judgment of the Church. We saw that confirmed in the passage of 'The Call' that I read earlier. Verse 13, "The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed their flocks and lie down, and no one shall make them afraid. Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!" And there we see the juxtaposition of judgment on the Church on the world in verses 8 and 9, and the rejoicing now of the remnant of the Church in verses 13 and 14. That is the remnant that has been refined and purified by the tribulation.

Verse 19, "Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you." And I went on to write off after that quote, I believe that this Word is not just for me, but for the Church at large. Please pray about it and share with others as the Lord leads you. It also seems to me that at this time, it speaks of a Spiritual judgment, in other words, a judgment that will manifest itself in the Spirit realm in each of our lives and not yet in the physical realm. It is not something we will see with our natural eyes, but it is something that we will only see if we look with the eyes of our spirit. That was written in April of this year. Since then I have seen escalating Spiritual tribulations of Christians. My own house, my own family have been through enormous tribulation in recent months, which has forced me to deal with large quantities of sin in my life that even after giving this Word, I was completely blind, and I felt dismally to examine myself in the Word and to judge myself. It became necessary for the Lord to judge me in a serious fashion in order to get my attention and to make it understood that He was not going to tolerate my disobedience any longer, and that I have to get down and produce this series of tapes. I would really urge you to take note of what I have just said. I do not produce these steps lightly.

These tapes were not issued at a whim. They were issued after much prayer and a number of fasts which have brought me to a place where I am under absolutely no doubt whatsoever that this series of 40 tapes, that is in the course of preparation is of God, that the message is of God, and that even the aspect which you may find extremely challenging and controversial are fundamentally of God. There will no doubt be elements of leaven that you will be able to find because I am human and because I do make mistakes. I slip up, but the bulk of this message, and I stress, including the more controversial and most controversial content, is of God. Please do not be offended by the elements of this message, which go way beyond what you believe God could say and the Bible could say. You do not have time, and we do not have time to play games with God any longer. We have just read that out of Joyner's vision out of the words of the people that spoke to John in his vision. We need to recognise the Church has fallen mightily from where Jesus created it to be. It is to be restored. We have a choice. We may play a role in restoring it or we may be amongst those who are found to be foolish virgins.

To contextualise what I have just said further, a few weeks ago, a good friend of mine said to me that in his lifetime of about 50 years, he had not seen so much difficulty experienced by Christians as in the last two years. This is a man who has grown up in a Christian home. His father has been serving the Lord for most of his life and their lives were a real testimony of the love of God and of Ministry and healing. We have been mightily blessed by this particular family and by way of observation, they have not seen so much tribulation in the Spiritual sense, of financial sense, loss, lack, just one difficulty after another as they have seen in the Body of Christ in the last two years. And I submit to you that there are strong grounds to believe that the tribulation is in fact in process already in the Body of Christ. A few weeks later, I wrote on April 18, 2000 and I quote, "I woke at about 03:30 this morning and was unable to sleep. I rose and picked up my Bible to read and came immediately to Luke 4:34, "You cannot make the sons of the wedding feast fast so long as the bridegroom is with them." This was in Lamb's translation from the Aramaic.

I was suddenly struck by the whole implication of the wedding feast as a time of great rejoicing taken together with the bride price being a substantial sum of money. Jacob worked seven years each for Rachel and Leah in Genesis 29. Eliezer brought many precious gifts from Abraham, including golden servers when he went in search of a bride for Isaac, Genesis 24. The bridegroom went to prepare a place for his bride, John 14:2-3 and refer also to the article, 'Wow! So that's how Jesus loves me', that was reported in the first tape of volume 1 of this series.

Marriage

These Scriptures collectively signify that marriage in the sight of the Lord, that's Yahweh, is a tremendously significant event, and that a wife is viewed as a great treasure. Jesus laid down His life for His bride. Surely this signifies that women were greatly esteemed, and that men did not take a wife lightly unless he was assisted by his father, Isaac and Abraham in Genesis 24, Samson in Judges 14, etc., and could afford to provide for her, Exodus 21:10. Truly we must say he who finds a wife, finds a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord, Proverbs 18:22. But likewise such a wife must be a virtuous wife as in Proverbs 31, for Proverbs 21:9, 21:19, 25:24, and 27:15 will speak of a contentious wife and Proverbs 21:19 goes so far as to state that it is better to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and angry woman or if you would like, wife, would be the more correct translation. Proverbs 12:4 states that an excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.

We thus see that Yahweh intended marriage to be something of enormous significance and regards a virtuous, chaste, and submissive wife as being of great worth; how different this is from the present age. The article, 'Wow! So that's how Jesus loves me',that was reported previously, expresses some of these thoughts in much greater depth and goes much further. The thought that struck me that is morning, that was on April 18, 2000 as we approach the commencement of Passover, which starts in two days' time at sunset on April 20, 2000, I was subsequently advised by somebody else who had studied the Jewish calendar that in Jewish terms, Passover had actually commenced on the Wednesday and therefore which would have been the Tuesday night in which case this message was in fact written of the morning where Passover commenced that evening 2000 years plus 3 and a half years from the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now there is a debate in terms of whether it is 2000 years, 2003 and a half years or another number, and I do not propose to address that in this series of teachings. It is not material whether we are now in the tribulation or whether we are about to go into the tribulation and other issues are not the core point. The core point here is tribulation, and it’s coming on the Church. I believe it is great tribulation and I do not want to get into a debate about dates and what have you. The dates all add up to being roundabout the year 2000, somewhere between the year 1996 and the year 2003, 2004. We are on that cusp. We are either in it or we are about to go into it, and that is the important point.

It is whether, in some way, the state of marriage in the world today bears some relation to the abomination of desolation spoken of in Daniel 9:27 and Matthew 24 seen below. Matthew 24:15 says, "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand)." Certainly, there are those who suggest that Scripture can be interpreted to signify the commencement of the week of Daniel 9:27, as being 2000 years after the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is other evidence to indicate that this date was actually the great day of the feast of Tabernacles, October 1996. If we accept that Jesus’ death on the Cross ushered in a Spiritual Covenant of temple not built of human hands, 1 Corinthians 3:16, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you", And if we consider 1 Corinthians 3:17, "If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are", should we not be looking for the abomination of desolation in the holy place as being in the body of Christ, whose body and temple we are?

Surely the state of marriage today dramatically demonstrates that the abomination of desolation is indeed in the holy place and that there is no way, that today there is a bride for the Lord Jesus who is worthy of a wedding feast. Surely we should therefore look forward to the anniversary of our Lord's death that was Passover 2000 and resurrection with a "Certain fearful expectation of judgement and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries," Hebrews 10:27. It seems to me that there are serious grounds to anticipate that Passover 2000 will usher in a season of great tribulation, but if we look for the physical manifestation in a physical temple, we will be like the Pharisees and miss the Messiah. If we look at the state of the bride in the Spiritual temple, we may see a different sign. "Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is," Mark 13:33. It seems to me that more than ever before we should cry out, “judge me in this life that I may be cleansed of my sin before I stand before you on the Day of Judgement.”

Judgement

It seems clear to me that judgement is about to be meted out on the Earth and the likes of which we cannot today imagine. "Will you be a bride worthy of the price that is being paid one for whom the sons of the bride chamber will rejoice?" That message is essential and a critical element of this series on marriage, which is directly associated with preparing the bride of Christ. Two days later on Thursday, April 20, 2000 I wrote further, and I quote, "In this series of messages that I have been impressed to write over the past two weeks commencing with the vision concerning Zephaniah 1 and 3, on April 4 in which I saw a six-wheeled chariot of judgement about to be driven over the Church. There has been a progression of emphasis towards challenging us to depart from our pharisaic beliefs and Talmudic teachings and to return to the pure Holy Spirit Word of God. The message for this Passover as I have  this morning is, “blessed is he who does not stumble on account of Me,” that is Jesus reading from the Lamb's translation. The New King James states, “blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” Together with this, it is necessary that each one take careful and prayerful account of a number of Scriptures.

1 Timothy 4:1-3, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving Spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth." Many in this age have indeed been giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron. It behoves each one of us at this Passover time with judgement knocking at the door to humbly petition Almighty good, the creator of the Heavens and the Earth, Yahweh in the name of his dear Son, Jesus Christ, to reveal to each one of us any aspect of our lives where you may individually have given heed to deceiving Spirits and doctrines of demons.

Anyway, we may be speaking lies and hypocrisy in any aspect of our lives in which our consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. As we do this, we must also seek His face to find out what these means, have we been forbidden to marry, or have we been forbidden to marry. To understand the impact of the above passage from 1 Timothy in this age, consider the broader context of Luke 7:23, particularly Luke 7:30-35, "But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by Him. And the Lord said, 'To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; We mourned to you, and you did not weep.' For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by all her children.'"

In considering the passages of Scripture contained in this document, constantly consider Luke 7:30, "But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves." This is an urgent and insistent message of the Spirit of God for everyone who calls themselves by the name of Christ ‑ do not reject the will of God for yourself. To better understand the reasons for what is about to happen, consider John 17:19-23,"And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me, I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me."

The Church

Clearly at the eve of Passover 2000, the Church of Jesus Christ is in reckless division. The Church is split, God-fearing men and women are disciplined and cast out, strife and division prevail. Church meetings are empty copies of worldly gatherings with no holiness, no power, and no Jesus Christ, the son of God, but many who come in His name. There are a very few if any places where one will truly encounter believers all with one heart as described in Acts 4:32-33 ‑ "Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all." It is unlikely that there is any significant group of Christians anywhere in the world of which the above report would hold true today. For all of us who are not in such a level of unity and harmony, such oneness of heart and walking in great power for tribulation in the days to come, if we do not turn from our deception and error afflict to come into unity as never before. In fact, the coming judgement is what is required to bring about that unity, but as was written yesterday regarding Luke 6:11, this will never be accomplished according to our own strength and our own understanding.

Consider, particularly James 4:7-10, "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." This Passover it is time for each to humble themselves in the sight of the Lord, to submit to God and resist the devil. In order to do this, each must ask Him to clean them from all doctrines of demons, all lies spoken and hypocrisy, to judge them severely and correct them harshly, that they must serve Him more perfectly, to reveal to them the level of their present deception, to open their eyes to what He would have them see and to close their eyes to what He would not have them see. To open their ears to what He would have them hear and to close their ears to what He would not have them hear. To bring the people that He would have into their lives, into their lives, and to take the people that He would not have in their lives, out. To open doors in their lives that no man can close and close doors in their lives that no man can open.

Those who will pray the above prayers over their lives today and regularly hereafter will find that much will change in their lives and much will be gained by them in the life to come. As I shared in another teaching, it is vital that we pray these prayers over our lives. We cannot change ourselves, except by choosing to change and asking God to change us and in doing what He leads us to do by His Spirit. Remember also 1 Corinthians 6:15-20, "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For 'the two,' He says, 'shall become one flesh.' But he who is joined to the Lord is one Spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your Spirit, which are God’s."

That message continued. Clearly there is an abomination of desolation that has come upon the world and the Church to the devastated state of marriage within the Church today. Desolate women are abandoned by their husbands, the vital men have their children stolen from them by adulteress, unfaithful wives and are left desolate. The vast majority of women are classed as harlot by Scripture, and the men who join themselves to such women, who will take the virginity of women and move on, are likewise classed as adulterers. Adulterous One Flesh Bonds are done between innumerable men and women to the point where it is likely that almost the entire humanity is joined together into one massive Spiritual spiders web of illicit One Flesh Bonds, resulting from illicit and ungodly sexual intercourse. Consider that any person who has joined themselves to anyone else is one flesh with that person and with every person that person has joined themselves to, and so on ad infinitum. Surely this is an abomination. I urge you to fast, pray and seek the face of the Lord to know whether the state of marriage is in fact the abomination of desolation spoken of in Daniel 12:11, and discussed in more detail than the previous messages on Luke 4:34 and Zephaniah 1.

So that message and that series of messages that I have read to you so far just establishes more and more forcibly that the state of marriage today by the Spirit of God is an abomination in the Sight of God. Since then I have seen more clearly just how great an abomination it is, and I will share with you in a moment further revelations in that area. I have come to see that increasingly; the abomination is a composite of all the things that are wrong. We have no reverence for the true Sabbath which is Saturday. We use the term ‘Lord’ rather than ‘Yahweh’, which is the true name of our God. Whereas Lord is in fact, as best I understand it, an English translation of the word 'Baal.'So, we have Baal carried forward out of the Hebrew into the Bible as Baal, and Yahweh translated as Lord whereas in fact we should have brought forward Yahweh as Yahweh and Baal as Baal. I could go on and on and some of the teachings that follow in this series will address it.

But as you consider this and that which follows, I urge you to consider and know the enormity of these statements, and consequently the desperate urgency of the message contained in this tape series. Four days later, on Monday, April 24, I issued another message, but I need to put that in context. Having issued the previous message to the effect that the abomination in the temple spoken of by Daniel was in fact the state of marriage in the Church that was Thursday, April 20. On Saturday, April 22, we went through to a meeting in Pretoria and I was praying about this as we went and I said,"Lord, please give me a confirmation. Please, if this is truly what You are saying to me concerning the state of the Church, please will you give me an indication today in the public place that this is so." On the way back from Pretoria having attended the meeting, the publication was on sale on the side of the road and the headlines was a large colour photograph announced the pending divorce of one of the most widely known Church leaders in South Africa, and I read the message there. The point that I need to make is that I was profoundly convinced after that, the Lord had shown me that there are, on what I understood to be the D-day of Passover the year 2000. Here, one of the most prominent Christian leaders in the world was announcing his divorce or his divorce was being paraded in the public place.

On the morning of Saturday, April 22, 2000 that was reported as probably the most widely known Christian in South Africa that was on the brink of divorce. This report was confirmed in two other major newspapers on Sunday, April 23. The reports alleged that the divorce was already well in process, that the wife had instituted the divorce proceedings and that she had asked the Church for Spiritual support. It is further insinuated that there is another man under this report of newspaper on the Sunday that someone has said reported an Afrikaans translation, you know how it is a person falls in love and the love gets lost. In this case, it was the wife who said straight out to the husband that she does not love him anymore. Recognising the fallibility of the popular press, one must conclude that given the profile of the individuals concerned and the size of the Ministry, if the report on Saturday was without foundation, a high court order would have been obtained to prevent publication on Sunday. One must therefore conclude that a divorce is almost certainly in process. We therefore have a leader in the Body of Christ who is well known around the world, who is frequently on secular and Christian television around the world, and who must rate as amongst the top hundred most widely known Christian leaders in the world today, if not possibly the top 10 most widely known in the process of divorce.

Without attaching too much significance to the press report, one must note that Deuteronomy 21:15 clearly states that if a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, in other words, if there is validity in the press report that there is no love, that does not constitute a basis for divorce. We have also seen in the teaching so far that love never dies. So, for a woman to say that she wants to divorce her husband because she does not love him anymore is completely unscriptural and it is an abomination in the Sight of God. That was the end of that message. A footnote to that, in about October 2000 about six months later, the divorce had been finalised and the man involved, as referred to above, was pictured again on the front page of the same major national Sunday newspaper posing with his new lady friend, his girlfriend who was a divorced mother of, I think it was two children. Subsequent reports indicated that she had been divorced something like two times and that one of her children was born out of wedlock. The implications of that, if you view them in the context of the teachings to date, is absolutely stunning and horrifying when viewed from God's perspective. It is a total and appalling desecration of the Word of God.

I am not seeking to judge the man; clearly there are Spiritual and demonic issues of deception at play in that situation and we are called to have pity on that man. We are prepared to call to have compassion to intercede for his restoration and for that of his wife. There can be no scriptural basis for that divorce in terms of what was reported in the press, or in terms of what has been given in this teaching. Of all people, that couple should be seeking to set a godly example not to follow the ways of the world.

Signs of the End Times

I cannot stress enough that you should read the signs of the times and see that with situations like that,  truly judgement is at the door. Various things happened in the intervening month, early in October, round about the time that I started with this series of message. I produced another message, email message on Tuesday, October 3, 2000. It was entitled based on something I read on the internet, 'The War of Gog and Magog and the beginning of great tribulation?' I subsequently realised that there is some uncertainty whether the great war spoken of in Ezekiel, and the war of Gog and Magog spoken of in Revelations are in fact the same war. There does appear to be some basis to think that there may be a third world war roundabout now and that there may be, if you like, a fourth world war at the end of the millennium when Satan and his cohorts are released from The Pit for a short time. Right now, we are facing a situation, which is the leader to Satan and his cohorts being cast into The Pit for a thousand years. So, to read that message, just extracts of it, the developments in Israel over the past five days have potentially great Spiritual significance.

The first day of the Jewish New Year is currently recognised as 30th of September. The day of Atonement is Monday, the 9th of October. The great day of the Feast of Tabernacles widely held to be the day of Jesus' birth, is October 22, unless there are slight errors in the modern Jewish calendar. Some believe, and some hold that there is a month error in the calendar, but again, I would ask you to consider the broad spiritual context rather than to get bogged down in dates. If we get down in dates and counting things according to different people's interpretation, we are likely to fall into Pharisee-ism. We need to be aware that the dates add up to more or less this season, but we also need to be sensitive to what the Spirit of God is saying.

Let us continue that message. In the extract of information below you will find an analysis posted on the http://www.6001.com website some months ago, which indicated that the World War of Ezekiel 39 would commence on September 29 this year. Refer also to Ezekiel 39:11-15. A wide range of information posted on the http://www.templemount.org website over some considerable time, which indicates the significance of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in this age, and which reports what has been going on behind the scenes to give rise to the current tension in Israel. This series of reports from the http://www.cnn.com, CNN news website which indicate that the violence began on September 28, correlating closing to the prediction of September 29, keep in mind that there is a 12-hour difference between Bible days and current days. Bible days begin at sunset, not sunrise.

Ezekiel 7:3-17, which seems to speak of the utter destruction of Israel. These verses were given to me on July 2, in the context of a prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem. Matthew 24:15-31, which speaks of great tribulation and the abomination in the Temple. It is possible that the activities on the Temple Mount could constitute the abomination in the Temple or at least part thereof. Refer also to a previous mailing regarding the level of fornication, divorce, and adultery in the Church being an abomination in the Temple of the Holy Spirit, which comprises believers. Taken all together there appeared to be strong grounds to consider that the word of Ezekiel may be in the process of breaking, and that great tribulation may be about to break on the Church. To interject in that reading, it is important to understand, it seems very clear to me, that God will give spiritual signs to the Christians who are under a spiritual Covenant, but He may well give physical signs to the Jews who are still under the mosaic Covenant which is a physical Covenant. So we may find that the abomination in the Temple that I spoke of earlier in the Spiritual realm is an insignificant measure to the state of fornication in the Body of Christ, where the Body of Christ finds themselves effectively joined, in many instances, to all the Satanists and warlocks in the world, in other words, to the Church of Satan.

At the same time, the excavations and the construction of additional mosques on, and in the Temple Mount, illegally may well represent the desolation or abomination of the Temple in Jerusalem in a physical sense. The message continued, there are certainly strong grounds to declare that God is calling all His people to sanctify themselves and make themselves holy and set apart for His service in these days, and particularly that we should all earnestly consider our sins and repent. Jesus sacrificed on the cross for our sins is of no avail if we do not confess our sins to him and repent and receive the forgiveness that he purchased for us.

That message continued with more detailed reports of the incident of Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount, which supposedly triggered the fighting, the violence and the deaths in Jerusalem on September 20, 2000. Other reports concerning that, and others comment that the reality was that the tension was a result of unreasonable demands from the Muslims and the Palestinian Authority, and that really there should have been no reason for there to be any problem with Sharon's visit. The quotes in the Temple Mount sight go on to establish that Jerusalem is only the third most holy site to Israel. It is the most holy for all of Israel. There are reports of deliberate intention on inciting violence around the Temple Mount on the part of the Palestinians. There are various other reports around that area which lead one to conclude that another agenda has been clandestinely followed around the Temple Mount, which has been deliberately directed at denying the Jews access to their most holy site, and performing acts on it, in terms of construction and excavation, which were guaranteed to offend the Jewish people, or certain elements of the more scripturally observant Jewish people, and that it could be concluded that there was a certain element on the Muslim Arabic Palestinian side that was intent on provoking conflict and quite possibly war over the Temple Mount.

Certainly, the conclusions that I was forced to draw was that what was being reported in the press was extremely one-sided and failed to recognise the scriptural significance of the Temple Mount to the Jews, in terms of the fulfilment of End Time prophesy. I think there is a lot of reason to continue to believe that the unrest there will eventually flare up to full out war. We may well look back on year 2000 as being the start of the Third World War.

Other information on the 6001.com website which seeks to establish that the new Jewish New Year is the beginning of the year 6001 from Creation and presents some quite interesting information there. It is not essential to this teaching, so I want to address it and you might find it interesting to visit that website and the Temple Mount website, but the point is there is a large amount of information available particularly over the internet, all of which points to, plus the year 2000, plus or minus about 3-1/2 to 7-1/2 years being the breakpoint for the end of the Church age and the commencement of the third millennium after Christ. There is a lot of disagreement over exactly what will happen there. The majority are expecting the Rapture as hopefully you realised by now, the Rapture is totally out of the question until the Body of Christ has been cleansed.

That increasingly seems to me that we are about to face the most appalling and most terrible Spiritual and then physical tribulation of the Church of Jesus Christ. Next will be judgement on the world, followed by Satan and his cohorts being bound and cast into The Pit for a thousand years, followed by the millennium reign of Christ on Earth in which life will continue in a fashion, which is not similar to what we have experienced up until now, except there will be no activity of Satan, his demons and his fallen Angels. It seems increasingly to me it may take a thousand years for the bride to cleanse herself of all the impurities and all the false doctrines that currently exist in the Church. It may take a thousand years before we come to fully practice the form of marriage universally around the world and throughout the Church. It seems to me that even in that period, many people will choose, without Satan's interference, even they are not to serve God, because of the peace, and so forth.

God is seeking people who will worship Him and spread truth without having to be forced to do so. At the moment, the vast majority of us, and I speak for myself as well, only rarely press into God and seek to serve Him when we are in trouble. When things are going well, we start leaning to our own understanding, we start relying on our own strength and we drift away from God. It is only His grace that allows us to be tested and that allows us to stumble and fall as a result of us doing things our own way to bring us back to Him.

As I was completing those messages above read in email, which gave the website of an address which had a number of photographs of the current pope sitting on a throne of the Mount of Israel in about March 2000. On the mountain where the sermon of traditionally held to have been preached and the throne had a large inverted Cross in the back, but the exact significance of this may be unclear in the sense of who put that inverted cross there, but the point of that website was that it is generally widely accepted that an inverted cross is a satanic anti-Christ symbol. inferences draw there I do not hold a view on that. I think we have been mistaken when we get bogged down in trying to attach certain labels to individuals. I think there is far more happening in the Spirit realm than we begin to understand and why that may be, that the beast of Revelations, is in fact an individual. I think the beast in Revelations may have a much more fuller and more complex spiritual context than we currently understand, and we should not be focused in any event on looking outwards for those signs. We should be looking inward to the Spirit of God, which is within us, and we should be seeking to cleanse ourselves and seeking to draw close to Him, no matter what.

Sanctification

It is not a case of saying, "Oh, when I see the beast and I know that is the beast, then I will start getting ready to sanctify myself for Jesus." We should be seeking to sanctify themselves for Jesus right now and we can do that by praying for Him to judge us and correct us. We do not need to see any man on a throne with an inverted cross to decide whether we should act or not. We must be careful that we do not get bogged down in watching for leaves on the fig tree, instead of doing the things that we are told to do in preparation for the leaves appearing on the fig tree. Each of us must correctly discern the times and I pray that this teaching assists you. I will encourage you to further fast and pray into these issues to better understand them.

On November 7, 2000, which is just a couple of weeks earlier to this, I posted a message which read as follows: The following was received earlier today and I felt that I should forward it to you. It quoted the following passage which said the international day of prayer for the persecuted Church will be held on November 12, 2000. More than 300,000 Churches in 130 countries will take part in praying for the brothers and sisters in Christ who suffer for their faith. Will your Church be one of them? Many of us think of persecution as a modern-day tragedy, but in truth, persecution has been a reality for the Body of Christ since the days of the apostles.

Hebrews 13:3 states, "Remember those who are mistreated as if you are yourselves who is suffering." Now, that passage was a widely distributed email and the following was a commentary that I felt impressed to write concerning that. It raises an interesting question, "Why we should undoubtedly pray for those Christians who are being persecuted, and assist them with Bibles and other materials including TV, radio broadcasts, etc., etc.? Are they more in need of prayer than the western Church?

In reporting one of the series of five visions in which he was transported to the third Heaven, Rick Joyner in the book 'The Final Quest' reports of meeting with the apostle Paul in the presence of the Lord Jesus. I quote verbatim from page 135 to 136, names in square brackets added for clarity. "You must recover the ministry and the message," he [Paul] said emphatically. I [Joyner] looked at the Lord [Jesus], and He nodded His affirmation, adding, "It is right that Paul should say this to you. Until this time he has been the most faithful with both of these." "Please explain," I [Joyner] implored Paul. "All right," he replied. "Except for a few places in the world where there are great persecutions or difficulties, we [those already in Heaven] can hardly recognize either the ministry or the message that is being preached today. Therefore, the Church is now but a phantom of what it was even in our time, and we were far from all we were called to be. When we served, being in ministry was the greatest sacrifice that one could make, and this reflected the message of the greatest sacrifice that was made—the Cross.

The Cross

The Cross is the power of God, and it is the centre of all we are called to live by. You now have so little power to transform the minds and hearts of the believers because you do not live, and do not preach the Cross. Therefore, we have difficulty seeing much difference between the Church and the heathen. That is not the Gospel or the salvation with which we were entrusted. You must return to the Cross." The message continued, consider James 1:2-4, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." Revelations 20:4-6, "And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the Word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years."

It is clear that those who are persecuted or died for their faith have a special and more elevated status with God than those who do not. Therefore why should one pray for those who are persecuted to be splayed martyrdom? Should we not seek the privilege to die for our faith and perhaps Steven did make a major impact on the life of some individual. Given that widespread tribulation and persecution may be closer than those Christians would like to believe, should we not all be seeking God to strengthen our faith and our commitment to serving the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter what the cost. And again, just to comment on that message, in the context of this message on marriage, dear listeners, I cannot stress enough, please do not be disobedient as I have been until this time that I have now recorded this message months later than I could have done. There is not much time. We must spread this message urgently. The people of God must return to the truth of Scripture with regards to marriage.

Heaven on Earth

We must seek to bring Heaven to Earth through our marriages so that Jesus may come back through the ministry that we bring. We cannot minister as prophets, apostles, evangelists, teachers and pastors if we are not walking in the fullness of what God created marriage to be. If our house is divided, our house will fall and if we cannot even rule over our own houses, men, as prophets, priests and kings, how on earth can we think that we can rule over the Body of Christ? How on earth can we think that we can remove the division of the Body of Christ when there is division between man and wife and between parents and children?

We have to see our marriages and our family as a mirror of the state of the Church. If 60% of all Christian marriages are ending in divorce and remarriage, we have to see there is something terribly, terribly, terribly wrong with the Church today. I challenge you, I urge you, I ask you, I plead with you, step out today and do what God is calling you to do. Take these truths and run with them. Write the vision and make it plain, preach these truths from the housetops. Repent of your deception and error in preaching other beliefs and putting them into practice. Jesus wishes to give you a few images to repent and turn around. There is no time to resist. There is no time to dwell in the past. There is no time to hang on to "I cannot do this because so many people will reject me." If Jesus rejects you, it does not matter how many people accept you. If Jesus accepts you, it does not matter how many people reject you. They rejected Him and they will reject those that He sends. If they reject you, they will reject the One who sends you, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not be ensnared in fascism. I plead with you in Jesus’ name.

On November 10, 2000 in response to message that I received to the message that I have just read to you, I posted another message entitled as, 'Rick Joyner, the prophet.' I read: In response to the mail on persecution of Christians, the following comment was received. "I do not believe Rick Joyner went to Heaven in any way, shape or form. So his comments and books are irrelevant. It sure did not sound like the apostle Paul whom I read in the pages of the Bible speaking, it sounded more like Rick Joyner!" The message that I wrote continues: As written earlier, each one of us must discern the truth and each of us will be judged accordingly. We must know the terror of the Lord regarding His judgement, and we must therefore reverently fear His judgement and fear being found wanting on that day, before one states they do not believe, and therefore what Joyner writes is irrelevant. One must take account of Matthew 10:40-41 in which Jesus is speaking: "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward."

True Christians

Joyner comes in the name of a prophet. He states clearly that he has had visions and he has been spoken to by the Lord Jesus Christ and that Lord Jesus Christ has sent him. So we see Joyner comes in the name of a prophet and claims that Jesus sent him. If he is correct and we receive him as a prophet, we will receive Him who sent him. In other words, we receive Jesus and we will receive a prophet's reward, the reward of the service of the prophet and the blessings that came from receiving a prophet. If we do not receive Joyner as a prophet and he is in fact a prophet, then we reject Jesus and we are judged accordingly.

And I wrote further: "I am personally absolutely certain that Joyner is a prophet and that he was sent by the Lord Jesus Christ. I also am absolutely certain that what is reported by Joyner in what was quoted in the previous posting as of God, the Church, is far removed from what Jesus has called us to be. This is being confirmed through many at this time. Please carefully consider before rejecting Joyner's message in the books,'The Final Quest,' 'The Call' and 'Visions of the Harvest.' If you have not read them, please make every effort to obtain them and read them as a matter of urgency. The two books referred to here, 'The Final Quest' by Rick Joyner published by Whitaker House, issued by Morning Star Publications, 16000 Lancaster Highway, Charlotte, NC 28277. That is in the United States. The ISBN number is 0883684780 and I will strongly urge you to get hold of that book.

The other book, 'The Call,' the sequel to 'The Final Quest' by Rick Joyner is published by Morning Star Publications, 16000 Lancaster Highway, Charlotte, NC 28277-2061 and published in 1999. ISBN number 1-878327-84-4. Two books which are absolutely vital reading in this age. Also later November 10, the following message was produced and I read extracts. This was entitled 'Wheat and Tares.' Further to the mail on persecution of Christians, a number of comments have been received. It appears that the created the impression that I am suggesting that we should not pray for those who have been persecuted. Apologies for that, it was certainly not the intention. It is right and scriptural to pray for suffering saints and for their deliverance. However, the point of the email was regarding the fact that the Word of God to the Church, as a whole today, is that the Church is very far removed from God, the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ required it to be, and that where the Church is 'free' and comfortable, the Church tends not to seek Jesus Christ as first and vital necessity and therefore tends not to love God with all their hearts, minds, soul and strength. In assessing this mail, each of us must discern the truth, and each of us will be judged accordingly.

Now it goes on to few passages, 2 Corinthians 5:9-11, "Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences." We must know the terror of the Lord regarding His judgement and we must therefore reverently fear His judgement and fear being found wanting on the judgement day. The point of the previous posting for the sake of clarity is that almost the entire Church, bearing a small group who are greatly persecuted is so far removed from what we are called to be, that we are not recognisable as Christians. In other words, we are not noticeably different from those who do not believe. Therefore, since it appears that Christians only truly laid down their lives for the Gospel when they are persecuted, we should ask ourselves whether it is not asked that requires pray and that in fact we should pray for judgement, tribulation and persecution to come upon us as well. There may be people who receive the mail, who have undergone massive persecution both Spiritual and physical, but the vast majority of Christians, and even those of us who have been intensely persecuted are lukewarm, and may well find on the Day of Judgement that they are counted amongst the goats, the tares, the foolish virgins and the workers of inequity, and Scriptures for those are given below and just to quote the headlines, you can look them up if you desire.

Matthew 25:33-46, reading 33 and 34, "And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father.'" 45: "Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."Matthew 13:24-50, I read 24 and 25, "Another parable He put forth to them, saying: 'The kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way." Verse 30: "Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, 'First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn.'" So first the unrighteous must be gathered and cast into The Pit before the righteous are gathered. We have to see the tribulation has to come before rupture.

Verse 47: "Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet." Verse 48: "Which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away." Verse 50: "And cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 25:1-13, "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom." Verse 12 and 13: "But He answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.'" Luke 13:23-30, reading 23 and 24: "Then one said to Him, 'Lord, are there few who are saved?' And He said to them, 'Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.'" 27: "Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity." 28: "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out."

Matthew 7:12-23, verse 13: "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it." 14: "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." 15: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves." 23: "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" In other words, who do not observe the Commandments of God, the Word of God.

All of those passages are addressed to believers. The message continues: For anyone who fears this judgement, the visions in the book titled 'The Final Quest', are salutary and prophetic in rank of close to modern Scriptures will likely to be granted the privilege of receiving. I strongly urge all readers to get this book and also 'The Call' and 'Visions of the Harvest' by Joyner, which each give us startling perspectives on the state of the Church today. The bottom line, Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Many Christians appropriate this verse. Few have actually reached the level of holiness and sanctification which is associated with it. Until we reach this level, it is probably true to say that Christ is in us, but we are not yet in Christ. Even when we reach that level, we can still fall at any time.

1 Corinthians 10:1: "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." 2 Peter 3:17-18 "You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." The end of that message.

To sum up this message, the Kingdom context, the call, that is the fibre of this entire 40-tape series on marriage. Crucify self. Crucify the flesh. Die to self, live to the risen Son of God. Live to love. We can only do these things through the Spirit of God, through the love of God, through dying to self, through putting self behind us. We will only be able to walk in the fullness of what God intended marriage to be if husband and wife put away self, crucify the flesh, die to self, and walk in the Spirit as one flesh, as one Spirit. In doing so we have to understand that sexual intercourse between husband and wife is the most holy and most deeply spiritual act that is available to mankind between man and woman, as distinct between man and God. And therefore to talk about sexuality and sex as carnality is an absolute abomination in the Sight of God. Sexual intercourse between husband and wife is a holy, sacred and Spiritual act. I pray that you will take these things to heart as you continue with this series, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Father I ask you in the name of Jesus’, if there is anything that I have uttered in this teaching which is not of You Lord that You will blow it away and if whatever is of You Lord, all that is of You that is according to Your Word and by Your Spirit, I pray that it will find deep root in the hearts of the hearers and that it will grow and produce abundant fruit and that You will water it by Your Spirit and that You will come against everything that hinders it, in the name of Jesus.

This message is issued by End Time Issue Ministries through the ministry, a Church without walls. Our address is P.O. Box 898, Randpark Ridge, Randburg 2156, Republic of South Africa. You can email me at James@EndTimeIssues.org.za. You can phone us on international code whatever your prefix is, typically in many countries 00, some countries 0, some countries something else, 27, and my mobile number is 832516644 or in South Africa, 0832516644. Our landline, international code 27, local code 11, phone number 7912327 or within South Africa 0117912327. Our fax 27117915004. This series of tapes is available, as mentioned, this is part of the Ministry of a Church without walls. We seek to make all our teachings available at no cost to those who would like them. Clearly offerings and donations are welcome, but if you cannot afford to pay anything for these tapes, write to us or contact us, and as funds permit, we will make them available to you. We will put you in touch with somebody who already has the set of the tapes in your location. I pray that this message so far and the balance of this message has been a blessing to you. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

04_04 Preparing for Change in Marriage

Number four in the series, 'Understanding God's Way in Marriage,' the second volume'Towards Heaven on Earth in Marriage.' The title of this message is preparing for change in marriage and the message itself commences after the prayers and worship, which follows immediately.

Before starting this message, perhaps I should just clarify the comment that I have made at the start of a number of the tapes which have been preceded with prayers and worship about the spiritual context. We have a five CD which plays five CDs in sequence in a collection of probably about 50 Christian prayers and worship CDs. What we do is, before a meeting we just select, we believe led by the Spirit, five CDs, which we put in any order without considering the content of them. Then during the prayers and worship as we feel led, we just select tracks on any one of the five CDs. Through this it provides a vehicle for the Holy Spirit to guide us and to give us a message through the prayers and worship. I certainly believe we saw very clearly a message coming through in the words of the prayers, and particularly the worship in this morning.

The crux as I received it was that God will protect those who obey Him, that we should draw close to Him, and that Jesus is the rock of our salvation, our firm foundation. He is the chief cornerstone. I really believe in the context of the preceding messages in volume 2, with regards to bringing joy to Jesus, laying down our lives, being willing to die for the truth of the Gospel and then the message of the context of the kingdom in this present age, the call, the coming judgement that is already upon the Earth and particularly upon the Church, these are indications that we may well be heading into the major World War that is spoken of in Ezekiel. All of these things challenge us as we go into the second series on understanding God's way in marriage, dealing more with the implementation of Scripture and actually putting it into practice in our lives towards receiving the vision of Heaven on Earth in marriage.

We need to understand Satan does not want this to happen. We need to understand that there will be attack and persecution, but those that know their God will endear to the end and will overcome. The Scripture that really came to mind during the prayers and worship which had been given prior to the meeting with Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” To move onto the message itself, as I said, the message is entitled 'Preparing for Change,' it builds on the message towards the end of the first volume of this series 'Facilitating Change'. It is really a compendium of my thoughts as I believe the Lord has given them to me with regards to preparing for change, and actually starting to go through the prices of change. It is important to understand that virtually everything that has been revealed by the Lord through Scripture in the text to date is seriously, seriously challenged.

Our understanding of what the Word of God says concerning marriage, the practice of marriage, the doctrines of marriage, and consequently certainly for anybody who has spent their lives in what you might call the Western Church, no matter whether that is Catholic, Baptist, Anglican, Methodist or any form of Charismatic or Pentecostal congregation, we have been heavily, heavily influenced in the area of marriage. The whole legal framework of marriage in most Western countries and many other countries, which are influenced by the British Empire, has a strong pagan flavour to it, and we have seen that the wedding ring, the wedding ceremony, and the officiation at the wedding by a priest is all pagan. We have seen that marriage is actually the cutting of Covenant with a virgin bride.

We have seen that submission is not some misogynist dictatorial marital setup as is so often portrayed. It is actually an environment of deep love and teamwork and partnership. We have seen so many things that are taken for granted and taught, certainly in my own experience by virtually any pastor, any congregation, any Church anywhere in the Western world and probably as I say, throughout the former British Empire, to be fundamentally flawed and to owe more to Satan than it does to God. We have seen the passage in Timothy, which refers to doctrines of Demons and so we understand.

I pray that by the time you have listened to all the tapes preceding this, that in order to experience God's fullness in your marriage, in order for the world at large and for the Church to experience God's fullness in marriage, and in order for the absolutely devastating catastrophic magnitude of divorce in the world and in the Body of Christ today to be brought to an end, it is absolutely essential that change comes about. And people who are listening to this tape at this time, let us understand that they are called to be pioneers. The fact that you are listening to this tape at this time I believe means that God has called you to be a pioneer, and certainly if you receive the messages of this series, you will be going into relatively uncharted waters.

Preparing for change

Preparing for change. The first point that I want to make is that change should be gentle. It cannot be produced by force, anger or coalition. We have looked at that in some detail in the previous teaching. Change must be voluntary. Change in marriage requires a conscious choice by whichever partner needs to change. The reality is, as we have seen from this series of teachings that both partners need to change dramatically, almost inevitably. Very few people, if any today, truly understand how to walk in the love of God as we saw in the teaching on learning to love. Very few women today know how to walk in submission in the way it is envisaged in Scripture. So, we must recognise that our conduct and our beliefs, our knowledge and experience are learning patterns in some areas of our lives and not appropriate scripturally. Therefore, we need to make a decision to change. If, having heard these truths, we choose not to change, we are then in violation of the Word and the will of God and we will be judged accordingly as we heard in the previous message. However, if we truly love God, we will seek to change, no matter what it costs us.

I hope that this series of teachings so far and the teachings that follow, will provide you with much information to assist you to recognise where your lives, your beliefs and your practices do not conform to Scripture and need to be changed. If you are serious about serving God, I really believe by now you will be convinced of the need to change. Firstly, to bring an end to any behaviour and conduct which you have now realised is contrary to the Word of God, and as importantly, or perhaps more importantly, from an individual personal point of view, to put into practice that which is necessary for you to experience the blessing of Heaven on Earth in marriage, which God has prepared for everyone who chooses to earnestly desire and seek it.

In order to prepare for change, you need to study out the principles of gaining information until you have a reasonable idea of what the end state of a particular transition step should be. You need to take things a step at a time. This is important. A lot of what I am going to say in this message is based more on my experience as a management consultant in the area of business change, which is where a lot of my knowledge and experience lies, rather than specifically from a scriptural context. The message that follows this, we will deal with the scriptural context and the scriptural principles of how you actually give effect to what I am teaching on this particular message. One has to reduce the steps that are necessary to get from where you are today to where God has shown me that He wants to be into . You need to identify specific aspects of your behaviour, specific aspects of your understanding of Scripture, and specific aspects of your thinking which are now aligned with the Word and the will of God, and you need to take steps one step at a time to deal with those. It is no good saying, ‘I am just going to go to Heaven on Earth in my marriage’, and that somehow you are going to get there.

There is a saying in the world which says, "If you do not know where you are going, any road will get you there." In the same token, if you do know where you are going and you do know which road you are following, you have to follow that road one step at a time. You cannot take one mighty leap and just go from a marriage which is not the way God wants it to be, to God's ideal state. It is going to take time. And we saw that very clearly in the previous teaching on facilitating change. So, it is important that you pray, and you ask the Holy Spirit to show you which issues you should deal with first. You should seek to understand and envisage the new behaviour, in other words, the words and the actions which are appropriate. If you have been convicted in the area of love, and as you have seen from the previous message, love is absolutely critical, cardinal and essential to what God is calling the Church today. If we do not love God, we cannot obey His Commandments. We will not even try to obey His Commandments that we do not have the ability to bring about that change. We cannot bring about change even in ourselves by equation. It is only the love of God that would bring about change. We have seen the Scripture which says it is the love of God which leads us to repentance.

If you think about the examples that I have given previously of learning to touch type and learning to horse ride, it is fairly readily apparent that in those instances one will generally have in mind a mental picture of being able to type fast and accurately, without looking at the keyboard or thinking about the actions involved, and only thinking of the content. Even in horse riding, one would potentially think of somebody riding a horse and galloping over the countryside. The probability is that picture would be based on someone we have met who is an accomplished typist or horse rider. In other words, we would have a mental picture of what a highly proficient touch typist looks like. We all have met somebody who is able to look over their shoulder, take dictation, and type at 80-90 words a minute with almost 100% accuracy, and we would aspire perhaps to that level of confidence. By the same token, we may have seen people riding horses in a training ring and we might aspire to ride at that level of confidence. We might have seen Western movies with cowboys and Indians galloping over the range at top speed and jumping and really, this moving on their horses, with the horse and rider, seemingly as one, you might aspire to do that. Or you might actually have seen that in practice.

Taking a step at a time

And obviously the more tangible the picture is of what we have seen, the more real that objective will become to us. So, it is important that we seek to have a vision. We saw in Habakkuk 2:2, "Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it." So, it is absolutely scriptural for us to envisage the end result and for us to describe that end result in words and pictures, either in writing or mentally, and that is absolutely scriptural for us to seek to achieve that result. What is important is that we prioritise and we set those goals by the leading of the Holy Spirit, not by striving in our own strength.It is not by might, it is not by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord. So, we need to have the vision, but we need to set our steps to get there. We need to take a step at a time. We must ask the Lord in the name of Jesus to show us what step to take today.

And some of those steps are going to be time-consuming, arduous and may take a long time. I would think that it is probably going to take all of us the rest of our lives to even approximate walking in the love of God, the way Jesus did. But we should aspire to that. We should seek to see ourselves in Jesus' shoes doing the work that Jesus did and greater works than He did, because that is scriptural. If we cannot see ourselves at some point in the future standing in Jesus' shoes raising a dead, opening the eyes of a blind, healing the crippled, we are not going to get there. If we cannot come to a place without the Spirit of God, or can see ourselves doing greater works than Jesus did, we will never do greater works than Jesus did. If we cannot see ourselves doing equivalent works to the apostles, Paul, Peter, and John, we will never reach that level of anointing.

So, we have to recognise that in this area of marriage, the teachings with regards to marriage in the world today are so corrupt and so perverted, that it is highly debatable whether, at this moment in time one can find a complete picture, if you like, in the real world of what this marriage looks like. So we have to piece it together. We have to realise that those people who seek to reach out for this vision are pioneers. They are going where nobody has gone before. They will make mistakes. They may not get all the way to the vision, but they will make it easier for those who come after to get there. To put that in a little bit more context, if we consider the horse-riding example, if you have never seen a horse, it is going to very difficult for you to aspire to ride a horse. So, somebody who has never seen a horse for that matter, or somebody who has never seen a typewriter or computer keyboard, is going to have enormous difficulty learning those skills.

So, part of preparing for change and part of facilitating change is to come to a place where we understand what it is, we are talking about and what that look like. Until we can envisage the end result in some measure, we are going to have enormous difficulty. So, we need to turn to the Holy Spirit to illuminate our hearts, and as I have been preparing and giving these messages, and as I have been praying into this whole subject of divorce in marriage over nearly six years now, I have just seen more and more. It is a wonderful picture of marriage, but it is very difficult to turn it into something that is tangible for other people. I hope that by the end of this second set of tapes, I would have managed to convey a little bit of that picture. I would pray that by now the Holy Spirit has been giving you a bit of a picture of what marriage can be but let me try and just articulate that briefly for you.

Heaven on Earth

The picture that I see is a man and wife. As we have seen, Scripture permits a man to have more than one wife, a family which is in perfect love, walking in the love of God where strife and argument, fault-finding, judging and competition are just unknown, where the husband truly is the head of the home, where truly he is walking in Jesus' shoes and ministering correction and discipline to his children. He is also ministering guidance to his wife, in the love of God gently, meekly and humbly without seeing himself as the lord and the master, without being dictatorial, just by laying down his life for his family and taking the lead in a firm and a just, but a loving way. I see a family in which there is perfect unity and where there is absolutely no schism or division. I see a house which is absolutely in unity and harmony and I see that harmony.

I see a harmony where, if the husband and wife are halfway around the world from one another and they are interviewed, asked questions or even in adverse circumstances interrogated on any point, if those two messages are recorded, if those two responses are recorded or transcribed that bottom changes in just personal communication style, etc., the heart of that message will be exactly the same. There will be no difference. There will be no distinction. They will be singing from the same song and they will be singing in the same key and they will be singing in perfect harmony. There will be no discord between husband and wife whether they are apart, or whether they are together. I see a family which is at peace in adversity, and at peace in prosperity, a family where the piece of God is so tangible that it is something that can be felt by strangers entering their house.  I see a family where the love can be felt by strangers entering their physical house. I see power in prayer. I see a man and wife in prayer, kneeling before God. As they come into agreement, as they pray, regarding any matter in Heaven or in Earth, I see the principalities and powers of hell trembling because this is the prayer of agreement in complete harmony and unity.

I see the husband in harmony with Jesus and the wife in harmony with her husband. I just see prayers which have incredible...sorry, I am trying to avoid the word incredible, it has a negative connotation. It means not credible in actual fact, and it is one of those instances of words which are widely used in the world which actually speak against the intention of what is being said. So it is not a wise choice of word. I see an absolutely amazing, wonderful and awesome power emanating out of that marital house, out of that couple as they are praying, even as the children praying in unity with their parents.

I see a situation in which the generations dwell harmoniously together where the different generations are loved and each plays the role that we have seen in previous teachings is appropriate to them. And I see at the end of the day, a married family as a formidable spiritual unity in the hand of the Master. I see Jesus able to take that unit and to wield in prayer in ministry as he sees fit. I see the power of God and the love of God, the love coming first, and then the power, as we have seen in a number of teachings flowing through that family into the world. I see the dead raised. I see the blind seeing. I see the lame walking. I see deaf ears opened. I see demons cast out, just the way Jesus did. That is the body of Christ, that is unity. Until we come into all of that, that vision is unattainable, but I hope that you, by now are starting to see the glory of what the Lord is showing me. What I have just said to you is a very limited depiction of the vision that I have and as I say again, I hope with progress you will see more clearly exactly what this vision looks like.

At the same time, I would like to make the point that this is not as challenging as it may sound in terms of what I have just said. One of the things that the Lord has shown me very definitively over the last few years, is that while Satan has corrupted the world to an enormous extent, and brought about enormous deception and error, corruption and perversion, and we have seen just a little bit of that relativity to the wrong teachings that have been dealt with in the preceding tapes, the Lord has, by His divine hand preserved all truth throughout the world in different groups. And so, we find that for example, and I am going to use labels here which are probably familiar to you, but I do not use those labels other than just to ensure that I have a common base of communication with you. I am not trying to champion any particular denomination of course, but for example, we find that the Baptists have a profound revelation about the truth of water baptism by immersion. We find that the Charismatic Churches have a profound revelation of the gifts of the Spirit, and we find that other denominations have profound revelations in different areas.

Muslims and the Western Church

What we find also is that certain of the truths with regards to the practice and conduct of marriage have been in fact preserved in certain societies, which we are now western arrogant regard as primitive but where many aspects of the family life is in fact closer to what we have been discussing in this series and it is practiced in the western world. We need to understand that this is one of the reasons why those of the Muslim faith, many of them, regard westerners, and particularly Western Christians, as agents of Satan because they have seen the extent to which the Western World has corrupted the morals and the standards and God's pattern of marriages as laid down in Scriptures. Many people are not aware of the fact that devout Muslims hold, what they call the Tawrat what the Jews call the Torah, what we call the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses, to be inspired by God, and they call them a very high level of reverence. In fact, a much higher level of reverence than is accorded to them by most Western Christians. Accordingly, we find that a lot of the hostility amongst Muslims towards Christians is in fact, while it is not right in the sense, that it is not love as God intended. It is just criticism of the abominations practised by the Western Church. So we need to be very, very careful in judging other groups.

My point here is that certain truths have been preserved in the Muslim faith which have been lost to the Western Christian Churches. Other truths are preserved by the Jews, and other truths are preserved in pagan groups that we will not normally consider to have any truth at all. But the reality is that only Jesus is totally righteous, without sin and only Satan, his cohorts and demons are totally evil and without truth. Every human being that walks this Earth has a percentage of God's truth and a percentage of Satan's deception and evil in terms of what they believe and the way they live their lives. It is important that we understand that a person that has been in a pagan and demonic satanic situation may have a high proportion of what they understand and believe being from Satan, a relatively small proportion being from God, but if they have the revelation that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that He died and was resurrected for their sins, they can be born again and they can come into the faith. In terms of the current conventions, they can apply the label, ‘Christian’ to themselves. The reality is that many people who call themselves by the name of Christian, in fact, probably most, have less than 50% of what they know and believe being God's truths and more than 50% being error and deception in terms of certainly the area of marriage. This does not make them good or bad. We are told not to judge, it just means that it is a journey of revelation and truth. Therefore, we will press closer to all truth, but that is a journey and it is not for us to condemn those who have less truth in a particular area than others.

Do not judge

It is important to recognise Jesus' teaching and parable where Jesus told us not to judge in Matthew and said that we should remove the plank in our own eyes before we look at the specks in our brother's eyes. It is extremely important in the area of denominational and religious differences. Satan has trapped Christians particularly in pride to the extent that they have become proud of the little knowledge of God that they do have, and because others do not have that particular piece of knowledge, they reject them as being unrighteous and ungodly, when in fact, the others in turn are rejecting them because they can see they have a revelation of certain truths which generally the Christian Church does not have.

I mentioned this in one of the key threads that comes out of this whole teaching on marriage, that until we learn to live in unity in marriage, the Church will not come into unity. Part of that Church coming into unity is that the Church has got to stop judging people and judging its brethren. The fact that the Baptists have revelation of water baptism and the Charismatics have a revelation of the gifts of the Spirit, it does not mean that those that are Baptists are bad, or if you are a Charismatic, and vice versa. It means that each has some knowledge that the other lacks, and we should all have a revelation of how little we know of the things of God and stop judging others and condemning them, because they have truths that we lack, that we do not understand and which we do not think are necessary.

We have to start looking at other people and saying what do they know about God that I do not know. If they know something about the devil that we do not know, well, let that go. But if we look at every person we meet, every group we encounter, and so Father in the name of Jesus, please show me what they know that you that I lack and give me that revelation. The Lord has shown me very, very clearly over the last few years that we can learn an enormous amount in that fashion. I would encourage you to apply that principle. So accordingly, as one examines, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, other groups of people and their marriage practices and so forth, one can begin to piece together the jigsaw puzzle which constitutes the picture of marriage that I outlined to you a few moments ago. Through this process, the Lord has shown me in some detail what that picture looks like. As I wrote to somebody a day or two ago, I believe that most of the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle have fallen into place while I have been doing this series of teachings. I do not claim by any manner it means that they are all in place, I am quite sure that, as always seems to happen with God, just when you think you have a full revelation of something, you discover that there is something else that you lack.

Sexual matters

My point is that the Lord has been showing me things through a variety of other through Muslims, through Jews, through people of other groupings. Together that constitutes something of a picture which I am in the process of seeking to paint for you in this series of teachings. Another aspect of this is that we need to examine the Bible very carefully. There is a tendency amongst Christians to be very prudish and to be very unwilling to talk about sex in a reverent, but dare I say, explicit fashion. There is very little in the way of Christian teaching which actually provides insight to the actual plan of God, with regards to sexual conduct between men and women, or between man and wife more correctly.

I am not talking here about public display of sex, public discussion of sex, voyeuristic discussions of sex, or any form of discussion which is intended just for the sake of discussion. There is a place for reverent learning of the things of God. And again, I mention this just by virtue of a number of comments that I have encountered recently in discussion with various Christians. If you seem to feel that any discussion with regards to sexual matters is offensive, is carnal, and has nothing to do with any Christian who is truly seeking to serve God, I would just like to put that in some sort of context. Please understand where I am coming from. I am not seeking to offend you, but I am asking you to re-examine very carefully some of the things that you might believe in this regard.

I am going to make the assertion that the Bible is a very sexual book. The metaphors, the language and the allegories that are used throughout the Bible have a very, very strong sexual connotation. We have talked at length about the word ‘virginity’ and we have seen that virginity refers to a very specific physical state of woman's most holy organ, her sexual organs. It is something to be reverenced and treated with great respect, but the reality is that whenever we use the word ‘virgin’, we are using a word which describes a particular physical state of woman's most holy organ. In the same way when we use the word ‘circumcision’, we are using a word which describes a specific physical state of man's most holy organ. If we do not want to acknowledge that words tend to have association with some pictures, we are misleading ourselves.

The reality is that the word ‘virginity’ has associated with it, a mental image of a particular physical state of a woman's most holy organ. By the same token, the word circumcision has a similar connotation with man's most holy organ. When we talk about marriage, we have seen repeatedly in this series of teachings that the word 'marry' in actual fact is synonymous with sexual intercourse with a virgin. So whenever the Bible talks of marriage, it is talking about a man having sexual intercourse with a woman. When we read the voice of the bride and the bridegroom and they are rejoicing, we are talking about the rejoicing when that act of consummation has been completed. There are some who are of the opinion that it was common practice in Bible days for there to be physical witnesses in the room at the time the marriage was consummated, in order to be in a position in terms of the requirements of Deuteronomy 22, to testify that the blood that was collected on the cloth, was indeed from the woman at the moment that she was penetrated and that her virginity was taken.

Bear in mind that the Word of God says that no person can be put to death except on the testimony of two or three witnesses. We have seen in Deuteronomy 22 that if a woman was found not to be a virgin on her wedding night, she was to be put to death as a harlot. Consequently, the husband is not sufficient testimony for that woman to be put to death. The point there has to be the implications of that Scripture is that there may have been witnesses of the consummation and. I have encountered secular books which indicate that as recently as the 1860s in Victorian England it was commonplace for the guests at a wedding to congregate around the bed while the marriage was consummated. Now, that may shock us in our attitude today, but we need to understand that when we speak about marriage, we speak about a specific sexual act between man and woman. When we speak about adultery, I have identified that adultery is a particular spiritual state, but again, it is a word that describes a particular sexual act. When we speak about homosexuality, the same thing applies.

And so, we find that if we understand this, God has given us sex to understand a variety of things and therefore, with due respect for propriety, modesty, decorum and so forth, we have to understand that it is not ungodly and unchristian in the right forum to discuss sex. It is proper for parents to give detailed and comprehensive guidance to their children with regard to matters of sex, whether it is the parents or the grandparents. Children need to be informed about the functions of their bodies in the sexual act and they need to understand that God has given it to them for sublime pleasure on Earth.

We also need to understand that the One Flesh Bond is the strongest when simultaneous orgasmic releases are experienced both by man and woman. The orgasm is something which actually culminates in the release of spiritual energy between man and woman. The strength of the One Flesh Bond is directly proportional to the frequency and the power of orgasm of the man and woman. I believe that the Lord has shown me that the actual experience of orgasm is in fact a spiritual release which has a physical manifestation. It is absolutely vital that we stop regarding sex as carnal and dirty and see it is something that is sublime. It is beautiful. It is spiritual. There is no higher form of spiritual experience known to man, between man and woman, than the act of making love. The only higher form of spiritual experience available to man is in prayers, worship and spiritual intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ, the Father and the Holy Spirit. We have been given the sex act understand much of what pertains to these things.

Later in the series, I will endeavour in a fashion that you will find acceptable, to address in more specific detail what the Lord has shown me in these areas, and I would ask you to pray about it. By the time you get to the tapes on cutting Covenant and building One Flesh Bond, I would ask you to be prepared to consider in more depth the subject that is implicit in what I have just said to you.

Prayer for change

Continuing with the subject of preparing for change, prayer is an absolute vital prerequisite to change. We cannot change ourselves. We have seen that. I have discussed that at some length in previous teachings. We are unable to change unless we are taught by the Holy Spirit, unless we are led by Jesus as our head, husbands, and wives by your husband. In order to do that we need to pray the right prayers. Sadly, the majority of Christians tend to pray carnal prayers in terms of which they superimpose their understanding of what they think is right for them or what they think is God's will for them and try and dictate to God what He should do. One of the situations that opened my understanding in this whole area that I have been teaching on in the series of tapes, was shortly after I went before the Lord and cried out to him for the level of divorce, and as I said implicitly, how that should be rectified. Shortly after that, I focused on the passage in Romans which said, as many as are led by the Spirit of God they will become sons of God, and I started asking the Lord to teach me to be led by His Spirit every moment of every day.

In response to that, He started guiding me and leading me in a variety of ways, both in my Christian walk and business, and so forth. I will be the first to say that I am a long way from being fully led by the Spirit every moment of every day, but that is my desire and it is prayer that I pray on a fairly regular basis. But shortly after I prayed that prayer, I was led to pray another prayer and that was: Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask you to bring the people that You want into my life and to take the people that You do not want out of my life, in Jesus’ name.

I was not prepared for the consequences of that prayer, and I have come to see it as an extremely powerful prayer. We associate with people for the wrong reasons. We associate with people based on our understanding. We associate with people that are brought across our path by the enemy without even knowing what is going on. Only God knows the hearts. Within about a year to 18 months of praying that prayer, the Lord had turned my life upside down. He took one of the partners out of my business. He took some of my staff out of my business. He then took my wife out of my life. He took various other people out of my life and then He started to bring other people in. What was absolutely amazing about that process was that at the time that He took each person out, things happened which I would never have believed possible. Things were revealed in the hearts of those people which were beyond my ability to imagine that could be going on.

I discovered that my wife had been betraying me actively for 25 years. She had set out after she first met me to, in her words, cut me down to size. And sums of money that I had, because I trusted implicitly, had disappeared, that I could not, and to this day, cannot account for. And a variety of other things which were enormously stressful and hurtful at the time, but as they happened and as the Lord led me to terminate that marriage and terminate certain other relationships, I began to understand how powerful that prayer was. He brought other people in, who have been faithful and have really stood by us in enormous difficulties.

So I would encourage you right now at the end of this tape to pray that prayer and just to go before the Lord and say, "Father in the name of Jesus, I ask You to take the people that You do not want in my life out, and to bring the people that You do want in, in Jesus’ name." And pray that on a regular basis. Please understand, do not judge the people that He takes out. He will reveal things that are wrong in their hearts and when He takes them out, He is taking them out as much for them as He is for you. Please do not become mighty and proud that He is revealing things that are wrong in their hearts. He is also potentially revealing things that are wrong in your heart and the things that are wrong in your heart, and the things that are wrong in their hearts are just incompatible at the time that He takes them out. He may bring them back years later.

Another prayer that I learnt to pray at the same time is "Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask You to open the doors in my life that You want opened that no men may close and to close the doors in my life that You want closed, that no men may open, in Jesus’ name." Again, a remarkably powerful prayer. Since that time the Father has led me through a journey in terms of which my business direction has changed a number of times, and each time we have discovered the hand of God in situations which often, at the time, we did not understand and I must be quite honest, did not enjoy.

So again, I would encourage you to pray, even right now as I pray it again, "Father in the name of Jesus, I ask You to open the doors in my life that You want opened that no man may close, and to close the doors in my life that You want closed that no man may open, in Jesus’ name." As I said, I would encourage you to pray, Father in the name of Jesus, I ask You to teach me to be led by your Spirit, every second of every minute, of every hour, of every day, of every week, of every month, of every year, for the rest of my life, in Jesus’ name, that I may become truly a son of God. Also, an extremely important prayer.

Another prayer that I was led to start praying about two years ago, based on something that I read in Rick Joyner's book, called 'The Final Quest' the report of his five visions, is"Father, in the name of Jesus I ask You to judge me severely and correct me harshly that I may serve You more perfectly, and Father in the name of Jesus, I ask You to show me the level of my present deception and how to change." Again, two very, very important and very powerful, very straightforward prayers. Many people do not realise we came to be judged in this life. The Word of God tells us that we should judge ourselves lest we be judged, but it is apparent what was said to Joyner in his vision, that we are actually not competent to judge ourselves, and we should ask the Lord to judge our sins in this life. That which is not judged in this life, will be judged in the life to come.

If you want to avoid finding yourself in the place of being cast into outer darkness, of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, then I would urge you to seriously consider praying, "Father in the name of Jesus, I ask You to judge me severely and correct me harshly that I may serve You more perfectly." Then do not expect judgement; judgement is not pleasant. Judgement may involve you losing your job, it might be a car accident, it may involve any number of things going wrong in your life, but that is grace and that is mercy from God.

When something goes wrong, the challenge is to develop the discipline and the intuition and the sensitivity to say "Father, why did that go wrong? What is the cause of that? Where is my sin? What do I need to repent of?" And I will present in a subsequent teaching a more in-depth analysis of that, but nothing happens in our lives without sin. Job was judged because of fear and pride in his life. It was not just some haphazard act of God that Job lost everything that he had and was so afflicted. Illness and everything else comes as a consequence of sin, bringing wrath and judgement upon us. So I would encourage you to pray this prayer but also to think very carefully about how you live your life from now on.

I pray that this has given you some background to the teachings that follow this. Just briefly, in the teachings that follow, there will be a series which is directed at turning what I have said in this particular teaching, and in the preceding teaching, on change into reality.

As I said before, we cannot change ourselves. One of the key things we need to do is to pray the prayers that I have just prayed. We need to come before the Father and say"Father in the name of Jesus, I desire to have a godly marriage according to Your Word. I ask You to show me everything that is wrong in terms of what I believe regarding marriage and I ask You to show me everything that is wrong in terms of what I practice in terms of marriage, and I ask You to change my heart and change my direction and to cut off those things which are wrong, in Jesus name." If we pay those prayers with a sincere heart, you may be astounded of the changes that will come to pass in the days ahead. The teachings that follow address subjects such as faithfulness, the issue of judgement in this life, how to understand judgement in this life, and how God has given us judgement in this life for our benefit, that we may not be judged in the life to come, that we may be found faithful servants, that we may not be found to be foolish virgins and not be found to be amongst the workers of iniquity who never knew Jesus.

We talk also in terms of the gift of tongues and praying of mysteries and seeking answer through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which is also vital in this situation. We do not know often what to pray, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues is an important tool that is available to us as Christians to bring about change, if we use it appropriately and wisely. Disciplining the flesh is a major issue, recognising that the flesh is not about sex, the flesh is about carnal and godly thoughts. It is about godly behaviour. We are racing, not against blood but against principalities, powers, and only evil forces of the air. We will have a tape on how to discipline your flesh.

Renewing your mind with the Word of God again, is absolutely vital. If we are seeking to change, we have to apply the Word of God, which is Jesus, through the Bible to our minds, to renew our minds, that we may come to a place where we have the mind of Christ. The power of the tongue, again, in marriage, is particularly challenging, and particularly difficult, but generally in our lives, in the Western World, we are constantly speaking places over ourselves with our loose and idle words, and our slipshod abusive language. We may talk about ourselves. We think we have been humble, but in fact we are cursing ourselves, and we are cursing others and we are saying discord and division in judgement, and these things ought not be said. And so we will address that in some detail.

The anointing of the Holy Spirit and the anointing that is available for different areas of our lives

We will not come into the place that I have described without the anointing of God in our lives, and without the anointing of God in our marriages. No husband will become like Jesus if he is not anointed the way Jesus was. So, there will be a teaching, God-willing, on the anointing, and also something about touching the Lord's anointing. Unfortunately, too many people speak out against God's anointed without realising that, and we will address that briefly. Demonic oppression of the flesh and the subject of deliverance is a whole series of easily 8,10 or 20 tapes in its own right, but we will just give you the headlines there. It’s an extremely deep subject and a subject which, once you become aware of that, will exercise your retention in the Spirit for many years to come.

Principality that seeks to destroy marriage, Jezebel

It is important, as you seek to embrace the truth contained in this series of teachings, that you understand a little bit about the demonic principality that is about it. If you do not, as you seek to put these truths into practice, you will find yourself almost certainly counting the Jezebel principality through people who are oppressed by the Jezebel spirit. You may find, even right now, that you are experiencing some emotional or spiritual distress at some of the things that have been taught. That could indicate that you yourself are oppressed by Jezebel spirit. I am not seeking to be rude to you, but we need to speak truth. We need to recognise that virtually every Christian on the Earth today is to a greater or lesser extent oppressed by demons, which are oppressing the flesh, and using the flesh to manipulate and control them.

Cutting of the marriage Covenant

We will then discuss in some detail the cutting of the marriage Covenant and I will share with you some of what I believe the Lord has shown me in terms of understanding the wonder and the beauty of the marital act. I will then, God-willing, share a little bit of the history of marriage from Jesus’ day to the present, and help you hopefully understand the historical context to the teachings with regards to marriage today. I hope it will make it easier for you to adjust to some of the things that have been taught in the series, just to see how absolutely unbiblical they are and where they came from.

Responsibility of Christian men towards single Christian women, reaching the heights, the pinnacles of marriage

We will discuss some of the more difficult aspects of what the Lord has shown me regarding the full truths in terms of what He intended marriage to be and how He intended it to be implemented, and why there is so much divorce, fornication and so forth in the world. And God-willing, that will then bring this second volume, and as I currently understand, this entire series, to an end with a summing up which will hopefully help you to tie all these different teachings together to put them into practice in your life and to be blessed, and to experience God's Heaven on Earth through marriages as He intended it to be experienced.

"Father in the name of Jesus I ask You to blow away anything that I have spoke in this teaching which is not of You and not of Your Word and not of Your will, in the name of Jesus’, and I ask that anything and everything that I have spoken that is according to Your Word, according to Your will, that You will cause it to be implanted in the hearts of the hearers and to take root and to produce abundant fruit, in Jesus’ name. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Lord of Lords and King of Kings, our risen Saviour, amen."

04_05 Faithfulness

Dr Creflo Dollar

In volume two of the series "Understanding Gods way in marriage", volume two "Towards Heaven on earth in marriage" and this tape in on faithfulness. The initial message is a direct recording of a message by Dr Creflo Dollar, an apostle of God, as part of a series of three sets of six tapes each entitled "Faithfulness, the power connection". The tape that is recorded here is simply the first tape in the first set of this series, there are another 17 tapes, I think it is, in the complete series. The reason for including this particular tape in this series is that faithfulness is an absolutely critical aspect of marriage, if we cannot be faithful to our spouses we find ourselves in adultery, we find our marriages failing. If we cannot be faithful to God, we cannot serve Him. This particularly series of tapes, the three sets of tapes I was lead by the Spirit of God to purchase. Just before I started recording this series, as I went into the first of four 3-day fasts over a period of about 40 days and as I was listening to these tapes, I was immensely convicted. Faithfulness is a dimension, another dimension of the love of God, you will see this tying in very closely to the previous messages on love and particularly the message based on Creflo Dollars book "Lord, teach me how to love" and I would urge you to listen very carefully to this message. And I pray that it will be a blessing to you and I would encourage you to obtain the entire set from Creflo Dollar ministries.

Faithfulness

(Inaudible (00:02:21)) in our lives, with Your presence and with Your wisdom. (Inaudible (00:02:29)) in our lives with Your power, with Your anointing. Now Lord, as we continue to practice and train and yield into You, as we continue to practice and hear You and flow with You and following You, we know that it is Your desire and it is Your plan to lead us into greatness and promotion. Lord, we are (inaudible (00:02:56)) on this mountain but it is time to move off this mountain and get on a higher mountain, glory to God. (Inaudible (00:03:09)), we magnify Your name and we take great joy in coming into Your presence, coming before Your glory and realizing that you are alive and that you are manifesting Yourself on the inside of this, we give You praise. And with all (inaudible (00:03:36)) that we practice Your presence and we come to know You more and more, (inaudible (00:03:44)). So God, we give you praise, we thank You that our ears are anointed to hear You and that our spirits are going to proceed  and get a hold of what (inaudible (00:04:02)) and it's in Jesus name we pray and (inaudible (00:04:08)). Come on, give the Lord a hand clap, Hallelujah. Glory Hallelujah, thank the Lord. We're going to turn around and meet two or three of your neighbors and you can take your seat. Glory to God, Hallelujah. Praise Jesus.

You know, we're doing some training and (inaudible (00:05:01)) talk about that a little bit, I don't want to frustrate anybody but there are some great, mighty things that God wants to get to you, He wants to get to us and we can continue to make excuses for the lack of proof that things (inaudible (00:05:22)) in our lives. I mean, you could do that or you can find out what's wrong and make the correction and bear the proof. And you know, religion is a devil. Let me say that again, religion is a devil. It has you operating in form that no power and no result and so my main concern and the thing that I'm really just going to be pushing for as we continue to get out of debt and all this other stuff, is that supernatural (inaudible (00:05:57)) like supernatural healing is always going to be based on a wholer lifestyle. And, you know, somehow or other, we think that when we become (inaudible (00:06:11)) then somehow or other that God will excuse our willful freedom. There are some things that (inaudible (00:06:24)) amongst the body of Christ, there are some things that ought not be done in the body of Christ. And I will tell you the truth man, since I've been back and just been (inaudible (00:06:38)) by myself, I am appalled at some of the things that's happening in Church. (Inaudible (00:06:49)) and there is no way in Heaven that I'm going to allow the devil to bring those devilish spirits back into this Church, isn’t going to happen.

Adultery will stop you from prospering in things of God. You listen to me now because you're going to hear a lot about adultery till you (inaudible (00:07:30)) but I'm not going to tolerate it, I'm not going to tolerate it amongst my staff and I'm not going to tolerate it amongst my leadership. You can be coming to Church and, of course, we can help you get deliverance but adultery, you can't do that and I don't know whether I haven't preached on it enough but if you're married you're obligated to be faithful. I don't care (inaudible (00:08:03)), there's a right way to do things. You don't go spread your legs for somebody (inaudible (00:08:09)). You can be glad you isn’t dead because we die the body of Christ, sleeping with the body of Christ and committing fornication with Jesus (inaudible (00:08:31)) put your hearts on hold or the key, it's not right, it's not God. I thought I'd let you know and I'll let the other sessions know it isn’t right. That's the spirit and that spirit (inaudible (00:08:55)) and homosexuality, for some reason that thing spread in Churches. It is starting a thing, you know, you've got another adulterous affair, another adulterous affair and some of the earlier situations I've taken, you get that homosexual spirit, the next thing you know you look around and you've got things in spirit everywhere.

No, not as long as I'm alive and pastoring this Church, we'll seek you out and we'll kill you. We've come too far, let's straighten things out. Now I know it isn’t easy all the time and I know there are things and challenges that come in your life but folks, you are doing what's right, (inaudible (00:09:47)). I don't care, I know there are challenges, everybody gets them, you're not the only one. There is not one man in here that doesn't have an opportunity to sin, everybody’s got opportunities to sin, every man in here has the opportunity to cheat on his wife, what's the difference? The men that are faithful to God choose not to and that's where the real issue is, that's what we're going to talk about tonight. Some might say I thought we're going to talk about adultery. No, we're going to talk about the root of adultery, the root of sin, the root of sloppiness, the root of all of the stuff is dealing with faithfulness to God.

It's the first thing that the Lord dealt with me on my fast was faithfulness. I want you to listen to this very carefully tonight, we understand how important it is, the fellowship with the Holy Spirit, how many are getting a understanding of the fellowship. It ought to change your life, it should just absolutely change your life. I mean, you ought to be like a new person spending their time with the Spirit of God. And then we talked about how to be alone with God. How many of you are spending time alone with God? For its sweet man, I mean, you're spending time alone with God after (inaudible (00:11:01)) you know you isn’t wasting your time. It's an awesome thing to spend that time alone with God and (inaudible (00:11:06)) and anointed and ready for the task at hand. (Inaudible (00:11:11)), you can't take a man or woman of God in the Bible in the Old Testament, that was anointed by God and not see the air of faithfulness. (Inaudible (00:11:22)) had the opportunity to see it, Moses made it very clear, he said look man, he said I would rather serve God than to serve sin for a season and folks, everybody has the opportunity to serve sin, you've just got to determine if (inaudible (00:11:40)), who are you going to serve? Well, I choose to serve God. Do you understand what I'm saying, if the choice, I choose to serve God.

Now in serving God, it's going to require faithfulness, it's going to require me being faithful. You know, I'm kind of tired of everybody looking for a little pat on the back because you see it. Oh, bless your heart, it's going to be alright. (Inaudible (00:12:05)) You can't do that, I mean, your faithfulness is towards God and you're faithful towards God. Now in the Old Testament, (inaudible (00:12:25)) blood of Jesus and mercy and Grace and stuff like that, there are consequences for actions. I mean, Moses got angry and arrogant. I mean, (inaudible (00:12:37)) and in the middle of the funeral they want to go complain (inaudible (00:12:45)). God had a problem with that and the reason why God had a problem with that is because his arrogance, you know, Moses the mighty man of God, opened the Red Sea and all the great things that God had used him through, so he wouldn't wait and allow God to show His faithfulness to the children of Israel, he turns around out of anger and arrogance and he hit that rock, BAM, give them water, BAM, and water came out of it, there now take it. Well, wait a minute, God said there's going to be consequences for that. See, I tell you what, they're going into the Promised Land, you'll see it but you won't enter in. And I'm thinking, (inaudible (00:13:55)), we don't even see the power of the blood and the forgiveness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

(Inaudible (00:14:06)) right now today because they're standing up for the right of Christianity and (inaudible (00:14:14)), right now today and (inaudible (00:14:25)) perfect time for me to go to India, I've had lots of indications to go but God said not now, not now, not now, see I'm too bold to be going to India (inaudible (00:14:38)). We take so much for granted and when I begin to look at all this stuff in the time of prayer, here's what the Lord begins to show me about Abraham. Abraham, I mean, think about what Abraham went through, you know, trying to (inaudible (00:15:09)), faithful to God. Think about what Noah went through, about 120 years, it's going to rain, it's going to rain, they laughed at him, it's going to rain, it's going to rain, faithful.

Look at Isaac and Jacob who will not bow down to idols, they're faithful to God, they're already committed to Him. This one word faithful, faithfulness will take you so far with God and all of a sudden I'm thinking of God because (inaudible (00:15:40)), I want to know the power connection. When I'm on the (inaudible (00:15:47)), they're spending time alone with God, (inaudible (00:15:50)), fellowship with God and spend time alone with God (inaudible (00:15:56)) until I begin to study the word faithfulness, it's a power connection and if a man can understand what it is, you know, we've talked about being faithful to the Church, we've talked about being faithful to (inaudible (00:16:10)), we talk about being faithful to this and faithful to that but folks, the reason why you're failing in faithfulness in other areas is because we haven't got the (inaudible (00:16:19)). When I'm going to be faithful to God I'm going to be faithful to my Church, when I'm faithful to God you isn’t got to worry about me, you know, (inaudible (00:16:30)) because my faithfulness is with God, now that motivates my faithfulness in every other area. You know, you try to be faithful to a man and haven't been faithful to God, you got to be faithful to God, you can't be faithful to your pastor until you're faithful to God because your vertical relationship is going to determine your horizontal relationship. So if there's no faithfulness toward God, you know, honey you are going to (inaudible (00:17:00)) unfaithful to your wife, unfaithful to your friends, unfaithful to your Church, unfaithful to your ministry because you isn’t faithful to God.

And until you resolve faithfulness to God, you're going to always be a person with a question mark over your head and the question is will they pass the test and I'm telling you we can eliminate that. We're Godly people, we are (inaudible (00:17:31)), we don't do like everybody else do. Faithful, faithful to God. (Inaudible (00:17:51)) I heard it very loud and clear, (inaudible (00:17:55)) if you want to go to the next level. How do we know there's another level? I mean, wherever you are I'm telling you there's another level. It can be great in your life that there's another level. (Inaudible (00:18:06)), honey there is another level, that level is waiting on you. If you know it's going to get you to the next level, faithfulness to God, can God rely on me, can God trust me.

And listen, let me make it plain, can God trust me to keep His word, can God trust me to say no to sin, can God trust me...you know, in the old days they wouldn't bow down to (inaudible (00:18:40)), you know what they said, they said I can't bow down because it's against my belief, it's faithful to God. Well, he'll kill you, he has to kill me then, I'm faithful to God. Now he does kill me because I am that faithful to God but  I will not bow down to another man. See, they're willing to put their life on the line because of their faithfulness, what are you willing to put on the line for your faithfulness towards God? What are you willing to put on the line for your faithfulness toward God? That when the opportunity to sin comes, you don't sit up there and struggle (inaudible (00:19:18)).

Here's what you do, I'm sorry, I'm faithful to God. I can't do that, I'm faithful to God. No I can't go there, I'm faithful to God. No, my faithfulness to God won't let me do that. See, my faithfulness to God now makes it easily (inaudible (00:19:48)) and I remind myself at the precious times of temptation that I am faithful to God and because I am faithful to God I am faithful to my wife, because I'm faithful to God now I am faithful to my husband, (inaudible (00:20:11)). You know, here's the critical part about it, that unfaithed people who don't even have the Holy Spirit, some of them demonstrate a better life of faithfulness than people who have the Spirit of God and the word of God on the inside of them. (Inaudible (00:20:37)) person wouldn't do just from good home training he wouldn't do, being faithful to his home training and we have the Spirit of God, we have the one who said let there be light, it should be easy for us to be faithful to Him. (Inaudible (00:20:55)).

Look at the God we've got and we have problems being faithful to this kind of God. A loving kind sensitive God. Are you following where I want to go here today? Faithfulness to Him will resolve a lot of struggles and debate and battles inwardly that you have. You'll resolve those because it's automatically no longer pressure, you already made your mind up. I can't go there, I can't do that because I'm faithful to God, there's just certain things that my commitment, my loyalty won't allow me to do. There is a line that I won't cross and in the lines of most Christians you need to get those boundaries, where’s the line that you won't cross? You're dangerous if do anything. Where's the line that you won't cross? My family have sons in the ministry, they've just grown and grown and grown and there was one time where I was flying all over the country because they couldn't seem to figure out who they're supposed to be sleeping with, so I had to go and tell them who they're supposed to be sleeping with. Yeah, but you don't understand, the secretary. Get you an ugly secretary or somebody who's not attracted to you. You don't need to be getting all nice looking seductive and there are certain things I don't allow my staff to wear, I don't want a woman working on my staff to come in there with a dress that looks like it's been painted on and then all this way up here and high heels and long finger nails, no no no, you've got to go somewhere with all that, because we represented my God. Faithfulness to God, I better get started here, I think you know where we're going right.

So (inaudible (00:23:18)) so I'm taking every available opportunity to address our issues about being what we're doing here. Look at Luke chapter 6 and (inaudible (00:23:29)), you know, every Christian wants God to show up and do what He promised, every Christian wants God to manifest himself, every Christian wants to see results, why is that not so? What is it that we are not doing for God to be faithful when we really need it? You know, I need to know that honey, if I'm on an airplane that's going down, I need to know that God's going to be faithful to me, I don't (inaudible (00:23:57)), that is not the time for me to wonder if God's going to show up, I need to know that He's going to show up. Look at Luke chapter 6 and I want to start at verse 36, I want you to notice something here, "Be ye therefore merciful as your Father also is merciful." He said you be merciful and then your Father will be merciful. "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, you shall not be condemned. Forgive and you shall be forgiven."What do you notice here? Give and it shall be given. Go over to Mark 11, let's just look in a (inaudible (00:24:57)). Mark 11 verse 25 "When you stand praying, forgive, if you have ought against any, that's your Father (inaudible (00:25:14)). There's a pattern here folks, if you don't judge others, I won't judge you, if you don't condemn others I won't condemn you, He says if you forgive others God says I'll forgive you, there's a pattern going on here. And then I checked this out in James chapter 4 verse 8 "Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you." Are you seeing a pattern here, talk to me about this pattern, what are you seeing? There are things (inaudible (00:25:48)) and then it goes back and it also says "If you don't, He don't" so it seems to me Gods movement in my life is based on my movement in my life. If I forgive what happens, he forgives. If I condemn not, what happens, He's not going to condemn me. If I judge not, what happens, He won't judge me. If I give, what happens, He'll make sure that it's given unto me. I don't want to say this statement, it's going to be hard on the flesh but whatever you don't have right now you didn't deposit, there's a reason why.

(Inaudible (00:26:41)) you've got to look at yourself. Well, what about this issue we're talking about here, God being faithful to me, faithful to me that when I pray I get answers, I (inaudible (00:26:54)) or when I do this or do that then God does what He's supposed to do or what He promised. I have to have (inaudible (00:27:07)), if He don't do it then I can do it by myself. So I've got to have Him showing and demonstrating faithfulness in my life, I need God to be faithful to me. Now imagine what it must have took for Moses to go before the Red Sea (inaudible (00:27:28)), everybody is trying to figure what's going on, (inaudible (00:27:49)) and the more Moses was demonstrating to God, the more God was (inaudible (00:27:58)) and it was faithfulness to God that caused God to be faithful to Moses and the children of Israel and the Red Sea opened. (Inaudible (00:28:08)), it was like a hurricane coming and that wave all of a sudden parts that water, (inaudible (00:28:19)), imagine how strong that wind had to be to dry the dry ground off, suck that moisture clean out of that ground that they walked over and had no muddy feet. Moses faithfulness to God harvested Gods faithfulness to Moses. I want to know that God is faithful to me at gunpoint, I would like to know that God is going to be there, it is not the time to be figuring (inaudible (00:28:52)), you need to know God's going to be there. When they told me in New York that some guy tried to plot something to assassinate me or shoot me or something, (inaudible (00:29:12)) but God's faithful, it don't matter because He's faithful. I can't to live my life if God is not faithful. I can't afford to do that because I need Him, in Him we move and breathe, I've got to have it.

I can't be playing the games and then looking around and wondering is God real, God must not be real because there isn’t nothing happened yet, I didn't get anything, I don't see nothing yet. I have been praying and praying and isn’t nothing happening yet. You're floating around now, you're having problems because you don't see God as being a faithful God. Well, let's go right back to you, have you been the faithful servant. Brother, would you pray for me, you don't have faith in your own prayers, why? Because you haven't done what you're supposed to do to harvest the faithfulness of God and I want us to harvest the faithfulness of God, I want you and I to harvest the faithfulness of God to such a point that you know He's going to be there when you need Him without a second guess. So how can I have that confidence, because I know I've been there when He needed me, when He said go I went, when He said jump I said how high, do you understand what I'm saying, I became His servant and (inaudible (00:30:39)) God must be reliable, are you reliable, can God trust you to be reliable, can He trust you, how reliable are you, you're not reliable to the people that you know, you know why, because we're reliable to God. Whatever is going on vertically is a result of what's happening horizontally. Put your hands up, everybody, put your hands up right now. Somebody is going to go I don't know if I'm ready to make this decision, too bad, we're going to make it. Say it out loud, Father, I pledge my faithfulness to You right now, in the name of Jesus and receive Your faithfulness to me, in the name of Jesus. That's it. You've got to walk in that man, you've got to walk in that.

Now let's look at some Scriptures. (Inaudible (00:31:53)) can faithfulness be that powerful to produce such a connection that I can actually be blessed for my faithfulness or am I having to wait till I get to Heaven (inaudible (00:32:09)). I want to know if my faithfulness is going to do something for me right now, what will my faithfulness produce for me right now. Proverbs 28, what will my faithfulness produce for me right now, you know, we're talking about getting out of debt, you know, God is faithful in getting people out of debt but is he faithful in getting you out of debt? Well, it all depends on how faithful you are. Check it out, verse 20, read it with me "A faithful man shall abound in blessings", that just tells me right here that as a faithful man I will...do you all understand what it means abounding, that's a serious word, that's a (inaudible (00:33:03)) type of word, that a faithful man will abound in blessings, that means the man is just floating in it, do you understand what I'm saying, I mean he's got blessings coming in, blessing coming out, blessed to the left, blessed to the right, blessings when he's sitting down, blessing when he's standing up, when he goes to New York he's blessed, when he goes to Florida he's blessed, when (inaudible (00:33:29)), the man’s just blessed all the time, why? Because of his faithfulness to God, that a faithful man abounds in blessings, a faithful man. If you believe in God to get you out of debt, you know what (inaudible (00:33:44)) it's your faithfulness to God, faithfulness to not owe God anything, not get in debt with God. (Inaudible (00:33:54)), it ought to 15 or 20 minutes of Lord, thank you, that was good and Lord, I appreciate that and God is so ready to show his faithfulness towards you but his heart forgot to do that, (inaudible (00:34:23)) faithfulness shown towards Him. Sometimes we take it for granted.

The Lord is good, He isn’t supposed to do nothing but what He says, did you hear what I said, he isn’t supposed to do nothing but what he says. A faithful man abounds in blessings, that's an s folks, in blessings. That's anointing, that's prosperity, that's healing, that's deliverance, that's peace, that's happiness, that's joy, it's delightful to say could it get any better Lord (inaudible (00:35:02)), it's the abundant life He promised you. But how do you get it? Faithful, I'm faithful to God. When nobody else will, here's the question, will you? If God can't depend on nobody else, can He depend on you? Do you understand what I'm saying? I asked Lord about that, I said God, the gifts and callings of God are giving what I repented, I recognize that and I know you call who You will and all that stuff. I said but Lord, how come I had to have two or three callings on my life, how come I just couldn't be as happy or as evangelist, one or the other, how come I got (inaudible (00:36:01)), why can't you just keep with one of them. He said because hope, I never had any more problem after He told me this. He said there's other people who's supposed to be doing this but won't and you're the only one I can find faithful enough to get the job done until I can get somebody else to do it.

God spoke to me those several months ago this year and He says I'm about to relieve you from some of this, I've found some faithful men. And I'm going to tell you something, lots of faithful people, you know, if I'm don't have to go do it no more somebody will have to go do it, do you understand what I'm saying? I know what my reason for calling was, my reason for calling was passion (inaudible (00:36:55)), you know, going in there and fighting the devil (inaudible (00:37:03)) , I get high off that, I like that stuff. (Inaudible (00:37:13)) their whole life change, they feel prosperous, you see them a year down the road, they don't look like the same folks and you are like man, that's what I'm talking about, that's what you live for. And then you get on the road to evangelism and they flood the alter with hundreds of folks like what happened in Los Angeles and you don't want to (inaudible (00:37:53)), you want to minister to them all night long. Would God do that, remember the reason He said He called Abraham, He said I called Abraham because I knew he'd be faithful (inaudible (00:38:07), He said I needed somebody that was going to be faithful enough to teach it to his children. There've been times in my life where God said I need you to help me in something, will you? And I said, yeah Lord, what is it? I have a situation over here that I can't get nobody to help me with because all of the preachers have allowed the law to block out my message, will you help me?

And He sent me out to see a guy who had been advertised, He went with me, we went out there to Texas to see the guy right before he got into jail, I think blessings changed that man’s life. (Inaudible (00:38:46)), he did what he wanted to do and that's the only reason he went to jail, (inaudible (00:38:52)) and the Lord said no, I need you to help me, how else can I get the man to repent if nobody is going to show him love, will you help me in this? Yes sir. And anytime you hear that kind of stuff God says I can depend on you (inaudible (00:39:18)) I can depend on you, do you hear what he's saying, you can depend on me. (Inaudible (00:39:27)) can He depend on you to get up because obviously He's tried to get somebody else but they wouldn't get up, can He depend on you. (inaudible (00:39:42)) and they need prayer and God says I need somebody who's faithful, the Bible says in Proverbs a faithful man, who can He find, He's searching for somebody that He can depend on, somebody that's reliable. Oh yeah, I was waiting for the Spirit of God (inaudible (00:40:04)), be careful not to allow excuses to become the rope that you use to climb out of the perfect will of God for your life. Watch me very carefully. The training involves making your bed, somebody challenging you to do it, you have that (inaudible (00:40:42)) and he doesn't bend to the left, he doesn't bend to the right for the sake of the people.

He says (inaudible (00:40:50)). One phrase that the Lord gave me that I use to train someone, some of the leaders we have right now today. A little phrase that simply says why is irrelevant. Check it out now, why is irrelevant, you have to be careful because we set a goal and then when we don't reach it and we'll say we're faithful and then when we fail we have a tendency to come out of it with an excuse, we're the reason why. And so the excuse becomes our avenue to walk out of our faithfulness and we think that we're okay because here's the reason why I couldn't be faithful. (inaudible (00:42:06)), here's the reason why I couldn't be faithful. Now here's what I want you to see, regardless of the reason why faithfulness still was not obtained, why it was not obtained is still irrelevant, the goal wasn't reached, the destination wasn't reached, you can up with all of the excuses of why it wasn't reached, the bottom line it wasn't reached. And I tell you what, that'll train you, that'll discipline you because what happened is you come up with this really important excuse, I was late because I had a flat tire. Okay, you had a flat tire but you still didn't fulfill the objective. But I had a flat tire, but you still didn't fill the objective.

The objective had one thing to fill (inaudible (00:43:14)) That'll get you established, that'll get you disciplined, that'll get you ready for the things of God. I can see right now, Moses, Abraham, God tell them to go up to the mountains, (inaudible (00:43:47)). Abraham, I told you to stop. Well God, I was emotional, I got emotional about this, that's the reason why I didn't stop is because I was really into it. It's irrelevant, there was a goal, you missed the mark. You know where I'm going with this now, you missed the mark, why've you missed the mark is irrelevant and you are going to be able to come with pages of reasons that you missed the mark because you realize that Heaven will operate by what I've just said why is irrelevant. There'll be millions of people on their way to hell, telling God why, thousands of people that missed Heaven that have a reason why but all God knows was I planted a destiny for your life and you never arrived and so I'm not going to judge you, I am not going to judge you by the way of your excuses, I am not going to judge you by the way of your reasons. (inaudible (00:45:19)) No, you've got to focus in on the objective, (inaudible (00:45:33)) because one of the excuses within your minds eyes (inaudible (00:45:39)) you still have an unfulfilled objective that didn't get fulfilled, why not?

Somebody’s life's on the line, somebody need to be faith, somebody need to be delivered, somebody need to be praying for, God has set you up for it, He pleaded you for that very destiny but you never got there. So Heaven is not going to be (inaudible (00:46:03)) sorting through all the excuses, it's got to figure out why. God will only judge you based on that which He called you to do. (inaudible (00:46:17)) I gave you all the reasons (inaudible (00:46:21)) but you don't want to go because you didn't like (inaudible (00:46:27)). Oh, let me see what was that, oh yeah, this is the 195th time I was getting ready to quit. And I had a vision like this one on my left, I had too many visions, had the vision of this Church and maybe two others. It's been very, very clear where it almost look like you could touch them, I mean the visions where I open my eyes and they're still going on, I mean that'll freak you out, your eyes are open and it's like whoa, what's up. And I saw myself coming into Heaven and the gates opened and the angels turned their back, their wings, like in disgrace and I approached the throne of God and I heard these words "Faithless servant, a vision incomplete", that's not what I heard He's supposed to say, I'd always thought He's supposed to say "My good and faithful servant, well done" but I didn't reach my destiny, I was so busy trying to figure out how to die early because I was tired of people, you tired of doing right, they do you wrong. Talking about me and all I'm doing is love them, (inaudible (00:48:55)). That doesn't excuse the fact that I didn't do what God told me to do, God gave me an assignment, He gave me a destiny.

All of my hurts, all of my pains, all of my discouragement, all of the attack on my body, all of everything still won't matter, I didn't reach my destiny. Now here's why it's such a serious thing in Heaven, look who you've got helping you, if you did not have the helper that you had then (inaudible (00:49:46)) Oh Lord I couldn't do that because of a flat tire and He put the anointing on Elijah to outrun (inaudible (00:50:07)) God has enough anointing and has enough faithfulness based on (inaudible (00:50:28)), it's something about a man who appears to be faithful against all odds that opens up the faithfulness of God to anoint him, to do whatever it said cannot be done. You all know what I'm talking about. Simple tenacity (inaudible (00:50:55)) that refuses to accept deceit, I will not quit. There are certain times that the tax on my body (inaudible (00:51:15)) God said go to Africa, he said go there and I went there in the condition I was in and it got healed on the way. I've come to Church, I've been to Church with temperatures that were outrageously high and God healed when I got to my destiny, my provision is at my destination and the excuses are trying to keep me from my provision, that's why why has to be irrelevant, that's why there's got to be somebody in the midst that says sweetheart, I hear you but it's irrelevant and if you can protect yourself from (inaudible (00:52:11)) Why is irrelevant, it's irrelevant that I've got a bunch of staff people that aren't lead by the Holy Spirit, they come and tell me I couldn't do that, they just think I'm a hard man, I know about this God that I serve and I can't tolerate somebody saying I can't do it because of that or this happened or that happened, I will never accept it, small Church attendance because it was raining. I remember one time I (inaudible (00:53:25)) that's the biggest sign to get up at all costs, get here immediately, get past your comfort zone, get to your destination.

People want to come to Church, I want to come tonight but...All you're doing is showing God He can't depend on you, you're not reliable, He wants to use you to (inaudible (00:53:56)) but He don't know how you're going to feel the next Church service so I mean so He's got to go find somebody that's going to be faithful. You know, He's got a steward, do you know what a steward is? A steward is a manager, stewards are found already faithful, they don't become faithful, they're first found faithful. That's the revelation from servants to steward, they're found faithful, God didn't find you faithful. So now what have you done since you've been born again? What test have you passed? You know, my wife and I were talking about this the other day, I have to receive your gift for your account, (inaudible (00:54:47)), do you understand what I'm saying. I've been delivered from that, faithful. You know what, even in that area God says can I depend on you to receive or are you going to act like the rest of these foolish creatures? You need that more than I do. I found out after holding onto this stuff a little bit they’re go home and cry, say God please, let the harvest come, you've got to be faithful to me, do you understand what I'm saying? Why? Because I've got to be faithful to Him. Aah, somebody has been healed on the right side of their back, I felt that right now. Now, let me give you some more Scripture.

What time is it? Nice watch brother. Can I share something, Rick stand up. Let me just show you faithfulness. Rick used to be homeless, no place to stay, something happened in his life and every year God keeps proving His faithfulness to him and he proves his faithfulness back to God. Now, at this very point, he's the owner of how many...I mean, I know your wife oversees one of them. He now has three medical labs, he's the owner, medical labs, owns a salon, sales consultants, do you want to know what happened? When I travel around this country, they take time off and say we're going to go help pastor, London, Australia, we'll be out there to help you because God blessed us and has been faithful to us, I'm going to be faithful to Him and the faithfulness towards God, and don't forget that He bless you, is what keeps the blessing coming in your life, faithfulness is the key. Honey, most people get successful and then they stay home, they get successful you don't see them no more, they're out of debt where the Lord has blessed them, amen, you don't see them no more. Well, don't forget the Lord because as soon as you stop being faithful to Him, He has no choice, not because He wants to but the faithfulness towards you will be hindered because of what you sowed. The whole earth operates by the Kingdom of Gods system which means a man sows the seeds and then he reaps the harvest, faithfulness is the seeds sown and the harvest received.

Look at this, Psalms 75 and I finished this up on Friday. Look at verse 6-7 "For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, it doesn't come from the south. God is the judge, he putteth down one and setteth up another." Turn to your neighbor and tell him God's setting you up. I don't think you understand what He says, He says I got enough power to demote one person and promote another, I can shift down one and push up another. As the people are walking around (inaudible (00:59:26)) right now, when God said promotion don't come from the North, it don't come from the East, it doesn't come from the West, it doesn't come from your boss man, it comes from me, I'm the one that has set you apart, I'm the one that will you where I put you, I'm the one (inaudible (00:59:43)). Now this is something that's got to be practiced in every of your life, (inaudible (01:00:17)) because the faithful man abounds and blesses. Can God depend on you to get into His presence, can God depend on you to pray for others, can God depend on you to sow the seeds so He can release it, what can God depend on you? Ask yourself, can God depend on me to minister to the unfaithed family members, can God depend on me to be the middle person and reconciliation (inaudible (01:00:49)), can God depend on me, whatever God needs to be done can He depend on me to do it? Well folks, answer the question, let's go beyond religion, let's go beyond the norm, let's get off this mountain, we've been here long enough. I like what He said, it's time to come up hither. (inaudible (01:01:18)), it's time to come up hither and you can't do that practicing sin, practice faithfulness, don't practice sin. If you've been looking at somebody’s wife and doing it maybe stop, you devil, I cast you out in the name of Jesus, stop. You had better not look at my wife in a lustful way, we'll have an exorcism because that's my woman, my woman. Can't get enough of your love baby.

Oh God, give mercy (inaudible (01:02:26)) we come before you with faithfulness, that you will come before us with faithfulness. We're not going to let excuses become the thing that keep us out of the supernatural, we're not going to let excuses rob us from the supernatural, we're not going to let sin rob us from the supernatural. (inaudible (01:02:57)) There is a level in you that many haven't reached because of their lack of faithfulness, Lord we're going to break that barrier, we're going to break it in the name of Jesus and we will arrive in the place that you have appointed for us. I give you praise now. We worship you Lord, we receive this word right now, we judge our lives, we judge ourselves, You will be able to rely on us, You can rely on us, (inaudible (01:03:46)) Look no further God, you have found world changes, we're ready Lord, we're ready God, we're determined we're going to see Your word work, we praise you Lord and all of the things that are going on and all the things that seem to stop us and get us distracted and intrude on our mind, you're better than that Lord because the greater one lives on the inside of us and there is nothing that we're being challenged with that is greater than the one that is living on the inside of us, equipping us, guiding us and leading us in the way we should go. Glory, praise you Jesus, praise you Jesus. Thank you Jesus, praise you Jesus.

There are folks right now Lord, in the hospital going through things and they need healing power, I send it now, I send your healing power God to those faithful believers right now, they're being attacked in their body and I send the word of healing to make them whole and well, restoring the bones who have lost, renew unto us the joy of our salvation, renew a right spirit, Oh God. (inaudible (01:05:49)) God, we want You, praise you Jesus.

As previously mentioned, this series goes on for three sets of six tapes each, these can be obtained from Creflo Dollar ministries, PO Box 490124, College Park, Georgia, GA39349 in the United States or from other Creflo Dollar ministries around the world. I really believe that this message in faithfulness is one of the keys to experiencing Heaven on earth. At the same time, I must also stress that until we come to a place where we walk in the fullness of marriage, we will not come to a place where you walk in the fullness of our Christian walk. It just struck me as I was listening to this tape, the two go hand in hand, the next series of tapes that are in this series, all address different aspects of the Christian walk, all of them are central to our walk in marriage, you cannot separate our marriages from our Christian walk. If our marriage is not the way God intended it to be then our Christian walk is not the way God intended it to be. And this is a really important thing to recognize with regard to the ministry, you cannot be the prophet God called us to be until we're the husband God called us to be, likewise, the apostle evangelist, the pastor or the teacher.

And it's really important for women to understand they cannot be the woman of God, that God's called them to be until they are the wife that God's called them to be. God has called women to serve Him through their marriages, through their husbands. The husband is the head of the wife just as Jesus Christ is the head of the husband. It is the husbands job to draw close to God and the wife’s job to draw close to her husband, she cannot serve God by getting into disagreement and disunity and disharmony with her husband. If she will press into God through her husband, she will press her husband towards God. If she bypasses him she will come out of his covering and will expose herself to all sorts of problems. We need to see that the point that was made in the teaching, a loving kind and sensitive God. Husbands, we need to ask ourselves, are we loving kind and sensitive, we need to draw the boundaries that we won't cross, we need to come to a place where we see a marriage which is Heaven on earth as being part of our destiny and we need to seek to accomplish that.

Tithing

I felt impressed just to include in this another teaching by Creflo Dollar or part of it, it's entitled a Covenant connector and it refers to the tithe, it's a little booklet also from Creflo Dollar ministries. Starting, the chapters entitled, the earth is the Lords. For the earth is the Lords and the fullness there of. 1 Corinthians 10:26 "We are owners of nothing but called to be faithful stewards of all that God blesses us with." "For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out." 1 Timothy 6:7. In other words, everything on the face of this earth belongs to God, everything. There is absolutely nothing we brought into this world and there is likewise, nothing we can take with us when we leave. As simple as that is to grasp when it comes to most material things, Christians have traditionally been unable or unwilling to accept that idea when it comes to what they label as their money. "The truth of the matter is, God has blessed you with whatever increase you obtain and requires only that you return to Him the tithe of 10% of your increase. To tithe is to return to God 10% of what He has given you. Inherent in our willingness to tithe is the acknowledgment of God's ownership of everything in the earth, including our finances. Therefore, the tithe should be an expression of your appreciation and thanks giving to God for what He has done in your life. It should not be seen as a burden or a loss, it should be seen as the opportunity it is for you to prosper in the things of God and that includes prospering in your marriage. And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, the Lord said is Holy unto the Lord and if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes he shall add there to the 5th part thereof and concerning the tithe of the herd or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tent shall be Holy unto the Lord. He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it and if he changed it at all then both it and the change thereof shall be Holy, it shall not be redeemed."

These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel and mount Sinai, Leviticus 27:30 - 34. Notice in the first verse we are told that the tithe belongs to the Lord, it is not yours or mine to do with whatever we choose because it doesn't belong to us, it belongs to God. In Proverbs 3:9 we're instructed to honor the Lord with our substance and with the first fruits of all our increase. The substance of our finances is what we are to honor the Lord with, thanking Him for the provision to have our needs met. The first fruits are equal to the tithe so anywhere in the Bible it refers to first fruits you know it also belongs to the Lord. Now, if you're a good businessman, you know the tithe of your business belongs to God. Only 90% of your business is yours and the first fruits of all your profit should be presented as tithes in honor to the Lord. As a Christian, only 90% of your time is yours, the remainder should be spent in time of prayer, fasting and communion of God. Likewise, your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit on loan to you from above. It was purchased with the price and on the day of judgment you will have to give an account of how you carried yourself. What I need for you to see, child of God, is that tithing is not an option, it is not something that has been put up for a vote for us to decide whether or not it's the right thing to do. No, God says that the first fruit, the initial 10% of your increase is His. It is dedicated and set aside for His use. Folks come up with all sorts of reasons as to why they should not, could not or would not tithe. They say things like well, it's an Old Testament thing, it's not mentioned in the New Testament, we don't have to tithe. Others try to justify not tithing by saying that God surely is not moved by something as basic as money. The problem is that up until now we have not understood God's heart on this subject and, in so doing, have missed out on the blessings we are supposed to inherit through tithing.

Working our way through Scripture, we will prove that tithing is a Biblical mandate, a Covenant issue and an opportunity to honor God. Victory in your life is determined by how you handle the tithe. The tithe is Holy, as we discovered in the previous chapter, the tithe is Holy, it belongs to the Lord and it is Holy. Being Holy has nothing to do with how you dress, it's not in outward things, Holiness is the state of being in agreement with God, it is the state of being of one mind with God. To be Holy is to find out what the Bible says and to be in agreement with what God says. In the Old Testament there was something else deemed Holy and sacred unto God and that was the Ark of the Covenant, the Sacred portable chest along with its two related items. The (inaudible (01:15:13)) was the most important sacred object to the Israelites during the wilderness period, also known as the Ark of the Lord, it was the only article of furniture in the inner most room or Holiest of Holies, of Moses tabernacle and of Solomon’s temple. This was something so special that a person could not just touch irrelevantly, it was so Holy that even if you touched it unintentionally you would die. In the Bible, the word death is literally translated as a separation in when a man touches the tithe or mishandles the tithe, separation from God takes place. When you're Holy, whatever the Bible says is wrong is what you say is wrong, whatever the Bible says is right is what you say is right. If the Bible says that behaving in a certain way is sin, well that's what you say is sin, that's Holiness.

Now when He says the tithe is Holy and we understand the definition of Holiness, then we begin to see the tithe as the thing that keeps us in agreement with what God has promised. God has given us a Covenant and then He has given us this system called tithing which is an avenue by which we maintain or break agreement, to tithe is to maintain the agreement between you and God, on the contrary to not tithe is to break agreement with God. Tithing the tithe is the process by which you present your tenth to Jesus, our High Priest, the author and finisher of our faith. When you are tithing the tithe, you are constantly confirming your agreement with God and with the Covenant promises attached to the tithe. The problem most people have with the Leviticus 27 is that it is in the Old Testament, because it is located in that portion of the Bible, most people will say they don't have to receive that as a commandment from God and believe that we're governed only by the New Testament. Well folks, this is what I perceive concerning this New Testament/Old Testament issue, if we're not obligated to keep the entire Bible then God would have only given us the New Testament. You may have been lead to believe that since some publishers only print those little green Bibles that only include the books from Matthew to Revelation. Now we do live under the New Testament but the Old Testament is foreshadow and a foundation, it acts as a column to hold up the beliefs and confirm the position of the New Testament. But how obligated are you, is this just an Old Testament issue, can you just ignore the commandments about tithing because you consider yourself a New Testament Christian.

Well now, let's back up a little bit, let's go to the book of Genesis and answer this question, let's decide once and for all if this is an Old Testament issue or if it is a Covenant issue. Second chapter of Genesis begins the saga of a man by the name of Adam, he was, as you may know, the first man we see in the restructuring of the earth. I didn't say he was the first man on the earth but that's a discussion for another book, another time. God is talking to Adam, he gives him the garden authority and all these other neat things and makes promises of what is to come. Then in Genesis 2:16 and 17 he says of every tree of the garden they must eat freely but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thy shall not eat of it, from that day that thy eats thereof they shall surely die. Well, in fact, you could only eat 90% of the garden, God specifically told Adam not to eat of the dedicated tree, God was telling Adam that they would be able to maintain the agreement they had just as long as Adam did not touch that which was Gods. The success of their agreement was based on whether or not Adam touched the dedicated thing. As far as God was concerned, if that happened, the agreement was off and he would have to separate from Adam. You're probably saying he did eat of the tree and the Bible says he was going to die but yet he lived several hundred more years, there was still a death, the separation that took place in that situation, the glory that Adam had been walking in, the promise to walk like God and be like God was over, he touched Gods stuff and since he touched Gods stuff the agreement was off, not to be reinstated until someone came along to redeem the crown.

I think it's important to understand that tithing is an absolutely fundamental part of our Covenant with God, if you're not tithing you cannot reasonably expect God to heal your marriage and you cannot reasonably expect to have ongoing revelations in the word of God. Tithing is such a fundamental principle and part of our Covenant that if you're not tithing I would urge you forthwith to commence tithing in Jesus name. That completes the message on faithfulness and I'm sure you can see just how absolutely central faithfulness is to this message on marriage and what a critical component it is of seeking to bring Heaven to earth in marriage. Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask you to blow away by Your Spirit anything that I have spoken that is not according to Your word and anything that has been in the teaching and corporated in here that is not according to Your word and I ask you that all that is of you Lord and all that is contained in this tape will find deep root in the hearts of the hearers and take root and grow and produce abundant fruit in Jesus name. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Lord of Lords and King of Kings, Amen.

This message has been recorded by a Church without walls, a ministry of end time issue ministries, Po Box 898, Randpark Ridge, Randburg, 2156, Republic of South Africa. We can be contacted by email at james@endtimeissues.org.za. Our phone numbers international dialing code, normally 0027 but this may vary from country to country, the 27 is standard. Our landline 0027 11 791 2327 or in South Africa 011 791 2327. My number 0027 83 251 6644 and in South Africa 083 251 6644. Our fax number internationally 0027 11 791 5004 and locally 011 791 5004. All materials produced by this ministry are available at no cost to those who require them, irrespective of financial means. At the same time, donations and offerings are clearly welcome to support the word.

We pray that this message has blessed you and that it will assist you in your service of the Lord Jesus Christ, in Jesus name, Amen.

04_06 Before the Judgment Seat of Christ in this Life

Message 6 in Volume 2 of this series ‑ 'Understanding God's Way in Marriage,' Volume 2 'Towards Heaven on Earth in Marriage' and Lesson 6 'Before the Judgement Seat of Christ in this Life.' This teaching is an inclusion of a teaching given in the church without walls on November 13, 1999 by myself as the first tape in this series of 10 teaching tapes around the subject of judgement in this life in the house of the Lord Jesus Christ. The overall message of this series is how the church experiences judgement in its life. Word of God says that judgement will begin in the House of the Lord and you have heard in previous tapes in this series, various direct and indirect references to the Lord's judgement in this life.

There is no doubt that if you are not walking in the fullness of God's blessings, one of the areas that may well be affecting you is the area of marriage, adultery, and so forth. And in the teaching on One Flesh Bond where we went in some detail into how ungodly One Flesh Bond with a spouse that is no longer resident with you can give the enemy great ammunition with which to attack your marriage, to attack your finances, to attack your health. This tape gives the introductory overview to the concept of judgement in this life. In order to fully understand the subject you would need to obtain the 14-tape series which is available from us.

On the subject of judgement in this life, you can turn to 1 Peter 4:17 and I am reading from the New King James unless I indicate otherwise. 1 Peter 4:17 says, "For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator." What I would like to do then is to read from the book 'The Final Quest'by Rick Joyner, which is a series of five report of the series of five visions experienced by Joyner, and during this progression of visions Joyner sees himself ascending the mountain of God. He sees the demonic battle that is taking place in the world at the moment and he sees into the spirit realm and he sees large numbers of Christians taken prisoner by the enemy by Demons and fallen Angels and placed in considerable bondage and fighting amongst one another.

He subsequently climbs to the top of the mountain and experiences pure worship such as he has never known before and he experiences a particular change in the situation when he reaches Galatians 2:20 which is crucified with Christ, and reaches a place where he is no longer conscious of self and subsequently given the Mantle of Humility which allows him to see it more clearly what is going on. He subsequently goes into one of the rooms in Heaven and from there he finds himself in the judgement hall in Heaven and having gone through a very taxing progression of meetings with people who have previously died he comes before the judgement seat of Christ and in the process of the dialogue that takes in place between Joyner and the Lord Jesus Christ, he reports the following conversation in response to the Lord Jesus asking Joyner whether he wanted to sit on one of the High Thrones in Heaven with Christ for eternity.

In page 118 Joyner responds: There was no way that I could answer "yes" to the Lord's question if I considered myself worthy to sit here. I was not worthy to sit in the company of any who were there. I knew I had been given the opportunity to run for the greatest prize in heaven or earth, and I had failed. I was desperate, but there was still one hope. Even though most of my life had been a failure, I knew that I was here before I had finished my life on earth. When I confessed that I was not worthy, He asked: "But do you want this seat?"

"I do with all of my heart," I responded. The Lord then looked at the galleries and said,"Those empty seats could have been filled in any generation. I gave the invitation to sit here to everyone who has called upon My name. They are still available. Now the last battle has come, and many who are last shall be first. These seats will be filled before the battle is over. Those who will sit here you will know by two things: they will wear the mantle of humility, and they will have My likeness. You now have the mantle. If you can keep it and do not lose it in the battle, when you return you will also have My likeness. Then you will be worthy to sit with these, because I will have made you worthy. All authority and power has been given to Me, and I alone can wield it. You will prevail, and you will be trusted with My authority only when you have come to fully abide in Me. Now turn and look at My household."

I turned and looked back in the direction I had come from. From before His throne I could see the entire room. The spectacle was beyond any earthly comparison for its glory. Millions filled the ranks. Each individual in the lowest rank was more awesome than an army, and I knew had more power. It was far beyond my capacity to absorb such a panorama of glory. Even so, I could see the only a very small portion of the great room was occupied.

I then looked back at the Lord and was astonished to see tears in His eyes. He had wiped the tears away from every eye here, but His own. As a tear ran down His cheek he caught it in His hand. He then offered it to me.

"This is My cup. Will you drink it with Me?"

There was no way that I could refuse Him. As the Lord continued to look at Me I began to feel His great love. Even as foul as I was He still loved me. As undeserving as I was He wanted me to be close to Him. Then He said: "I love all of these with a love that you cannot now understand. I also love all who are supposed to be here but did not come. I have left the ninety nine to go after the one who was lost. My shepherds would not leave the one to go after the ninety nine who are still lost. I came to save the lost. Will you share My heart to go to save the lost? Will you help to fill this room? Will you help to fill these thrones, and every other seat in this hall? Will you take up this quest to bring joy to heaven, to Me and to My Father? This judgment is for My own household, and My own house is not full. The last battle will not be over until My house is full. Only then will it be time for us to redeem the earth, and remove the evil from My creation."

So we see that the emptiness of Heaven and the emptiness of the thrones in Heaven is related back to the judgement. We have also seen that based on that report, 99% of all people who have called on the Lord who could have been there are not in fact in Heaven. I really believe that we have to see that as a very, very sobering warning to the Body of Christ. We are so prone to assume that just because we prayed a decision for Christ that this all going to be planned early. In the same book on page 106, during the judgement process and Joyner is meeting various people who he either knew off during his life or he actually met or people who had died before his life and in the meetings and the conversations that take place, he is coming to realise how little he actually knows about the Kingdom of God and how many mistakes he has made and how much sin there is in his life, even though he has been serving Lord permanently for something like 25 years and published numerous books which are widely considered to be highly anointed and highly prophetic. Page 106 Joyner makes the remark: How could all of those who have not been given the grace of this experience have any hope at all I asked. I heard a new voice, "What you are experiencing here has been given you on Earth. Every relationship, every encounter with another person could teach you what you are learning here if you will keep that cloak of humility on and learn to always keep your attention fixed on his glory. You搀are given this experience now because you will write the vision and those who read it will understand it. Many will then be able to carry the glory and the power that they must carry into the last battle."

I was amazed to recognise this man as a contemporary of mine and I did not know that he had died. He goes on later to say that this man had become so proud at the end of his life that he was doing the Lord's prophets harming the disciples of others to the point that the Lord had to take him away early to humble him. That again the message there is that we can learn on Earth. The challenge is to understand how we learn on Earth and what mechanisms the Lord has provided for us to learn on Earth. Just by way of what I consider to be another salutary warning on page 94, page 95, he had a discussion with a man that he refers as the great reformer. He does not identify the man but it is apparent that this is a man who lived quite some time before Joyner and is widely regarded as a great reformer and in that conversation it transpires that this man was taken to Heaven and sits in Heaven today amongst the foolish virgins, those who only just made it into Heaven in relative terms, sitting in outer darkness in Heaven.

"As he talked, his words were striking me deeply. I, too, was guilty of everything that he was relenting of. Many young men and women who I had brushed off as not being important enough for my time were now passing through my mind. How desperately I wanted to return now and gather them together! This grief that I began to feel was even worse than I had felt about wasting time. I had wasted people! Now many of these were prisoners of the enemy, wounded and captured during the battle on the mountain. This whole battle was for people, and yet people were often regarded as the least important."

In another discussion with regard to Paul in which it is said that if Paul have not learnt in his life that the magnitude of his sinfulness he would not be sitting today on one of the greatest thrones in Heaven. So we see a whole panoply of information that should lead us to very carefully examine our hearts and to very carefully examine our understanding of the Word of God. And when I am seeking to develop in this teaching is to share my understanding in terms of some of the things that I perceive the Word of God shows us in dealing with this life and in a sense correlating what we experience in day-to-day living with what Joyner reports in 'The Final Quest' in what appears in the word and my personal life experience and seeking to serve the Lord and finding the many things that did not seem to work as I expected. We go to 1 Peter 5:8, the word says "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." And I want to stress the word 'may devour.' It is permissive. In other words, Satan cannot devour just because he feels like devouring. He must have permission to devour and by implication, he must have some basis on which to gain permission to devour. Verse 9 says, "Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world." So we are clearly told to resist the devil and to resist him in such a way that he may not devour us.

If we go back a couple of verses, verse 6 says, "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." Again, we see that He does not exact us when we feel like being exalted. He exalts us when the exaltation is dear that more significantly verse 5 says,"Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble," which is quoting Proverbs 3:34. So we see the same thread of humility versus pride encapsulated in these verses of Scripture which sum up a lot of the message that Joyner has for us that if we are proud, Satan will recreate havoc in our lives. So let's try and understand a little bit more about what it is that may cause the devil to be able to devour in our lives. We turn to John 10:10, the Scripture says and this is Jesus speaking, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep." Then we see that pertaining to the passage in 'The Final Quest' that I read a moments ago where the Lord is saying that he laid down his life for the sheep. He went after those that were lost and yet in the church today, this somehow seems uncommon with anybody who considers himself to be in a position of leadership lays down their life in a way that is particularly noticeable. But the key part of this verse that the thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy and the thief that has been referred to there is Satan. And he is coming to kill, steal and destroy those for whom he has obtained permission. We will go back to the verse which says "Seeking him whom he may devour."

If we go then to the Book of Revelation, chapter 12, and we seek to understand the process whereby Satan may gain permission to kill, steal, and destroy in our lives. We turn to Revelation 12:10, "Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 'Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.'" It is important to see there first of all that Satan is referred to as the accuser of the brethren that is confirmed in verse 9, which says "So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." So it will seem from that verse given Revelation refers to the end of the age that as it is today, Satan is still before the Throne of God and he is still accusing the brethren which is every believer night and day and it would appear that the accusation may have something to do with this issue of Satan claiming permission to devour those whom he has permitted or whom he may devour.

If we consider John 6:70, there is a footnote in Lamb's translation of the Bible, from the Aramaic which says that Satan is one who causes to slide to slip or to miss the mark and sometimes I think we lose sight of who and what Satan is if we recognise that his objective in life is to cause us to slide or to slip or to miss the mark. In other words, to cause us to backslide to miss the mark and not to reach our high calling, not to reach what God has called us to do. Perhaps it reduces the mystique roundabout Satan. Again, what I am seeking to do is to understand how he goes about doing that. If we turn to Book of Job chapter 1, we begin to see the picture developing of this accuser of the brethren who is before the Throne of God night and day seeking whom he may devour. Job 1:6, "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, 'From where do you come?' So Satan answered the Lord and said, 'From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.' Then the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?' So Satan answered the Lord and said, 'Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!'

And the Lord said to Satan, 'Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.' So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord." And in the verses that follow, we see that all of Job's possessions are taken away and destroyed that his sons and daughters are killed by great one and that everything that he has, is taken from him barring his wife and himself, and he is not harmed in any way. Then it continues in chapter 2 and again Satan is before the Throne of God and in verse 3,"Then the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.' So Satan answered the Lord and said, 'Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!' And the Lord said to Satan, 'Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.' So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes. Then his wife said to him, 'Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!' But he said to her, 'You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?' In all this Job did not sin with his lips."

So we see a situation here in terms of which we clearly see Satan coming before the Throne of God. We clearly see a dialogue taking place and we clearly see Satan making certain assertions and requesting that certain things are done and we see God acceding to certain of those requests. The impression one gets from reading those verses of Job is of a capricious and God who in response to provocation from Satan will simply allow Satan to do whatever he feels like doing in a person's life as some form of a test. If that is the case then one is faced with some difficulty in understanding how to live the Christian walk. But if we turn to Job 3:25, we see what I certainly consider to be the pivotal verse in understanding what happened to Job. And it says, "For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes." We see earlier on in Job 1:5 that his sons and daughters were inclined to have significant parties which went on for some time, feasts which went on for days. In Chapter 1 Verse 5 it says, "So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, 'It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.' Thus Job did regularly."

What is important about that particular verse is that Job did it because his sons may have sinned, not because they had sinned. So we see the manifestation of the fear. He did not have complete confidence in what the situation was. He was taking almost enormous precautionary measures in saying, "Well, maybe my children have sinned, so I better sacrifice for them." Instead of trusting God to shame if they had sinned and responding to the sin and confessing it. If we start getting into a situation where we are apologising for things that our children may have done when we do not know whether they have done it, I think that that is indicative of the fear that he refers to in chapter 3 in verse 25. Now, there is a verse in Scripture which says that without faith it is impossible to please God and elsewhere it says that God has not given us the spirit of fear but a spirit of love, power, and a solemn mind, and therefore we see that fear is not the same as faith. It has been taught quite widely and I believe that is in fact true is that faith is the opposite of fear. I cannot have faith and have fear at the same time. If I have faith in God, I will not fear and Scripture repeatedly tells us not to fear. Again, I have had it taught and it does seem to be correct that fear is in fact faith in the devil. So once we have fear, that means that in a certain area, we do not have faith in God. If we do not have faith in God, that is sin. It is not pleasing to God and furthermore it is fear in the devil and on the face of this particular Scripture, according to my understanding, it very clearly indicates that if we have fear, we have faith in the devil and that grants Satan a legal right to do what we fear.

So we see here that notwithstanding the fact that Job was righteous before God, he had on the face of it at least one sin in his life and that was that he had fear and that fear was fulfilled in the same way that if we have faith, the faith comes to pass if we have fear, that which we fear will come to pass. If we begin to understand that even though it is not explicitly mentioned in Job and it seems to me that many of these deeper things about the Word of God are not explicitly revealed possibly because they may have been removed from early manuscripts because Satan was not just prepared to have those things continue or because the Lord knew that if they were made explicit, they would be rejected or the documents would be destroyed. So for whatever reason, the Lord has chosen to obscure these things, but if one follows a process of systematic deductive reason, I believe that one has to conclude that Verse 3 Chapter 25 is the key to the basis of how Satan gained the right to attack Job, taken in the context of 1 Peter 5:8. If we then turn to Lamentations, Chapter 3:38, "Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That woe and well-being proceed? Why should a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord; Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven. We have transgressed and rebelled; You have not pardoned. You have covered Yourself with anger and pursued us; You have slain and not pitied. You have covered Yourself with a cloud, that prayer should not pass through. You have made us an offscouring and refuse in the midst of the peoples."

So here we see that punishment for sins comes from God or the judgement which leads to the punishment at the very least comes from God and it obtains from the sin that we have in our lives from the transgression against the Word of God. If we turn then to 1 John 2:1-2, we read, "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." So we see that Jesus is our advocate with the Father. If we take all of these verses together and put together the jigsaw puzzle which I believe the Lord has given us in these Scriptures, we see God the Father sitting on the Throne of Judgement, we see Satan coming before the Throne of Judgement as the accuser of the brethren, the prosecutor if you like in modern legal parlance, the individual who brings the charges and demands a sentence, we see Jesus before the Throne of God or on the right hand of God, as the advocate pleading on our behalf, pleading in our defence and pleading for remission of the sentence or for the sentence to be waived or for us to receive forgiveness and then we see ourselves effectively in the dock before God being judged and Satan is bringing our sin before the Throne of God in a very rigorous legal basis. He is standing there effectively, one can almost perhaps imagine him standing there with the Bible in his hand and pointing at a specific verse or series of verses in Scripture which the person being tried has transgressed and it seems to me that in dealing with such a situation, an advocate can only plead on the basis of the evidence and if the evidence is such that the accused is in fact guilty and just advocate cannot plead against the guilt has to acknowledge the guilt and the only defence that is left in him is to plead for a remission of sentence or a reduction of sentence or extend in circumstances and I think we come to understand that and we begin to understand why Jesus died on the cross for us to receive forgiveness of sins, because once we confess our sins, he is faithful and just forgive us and so the minute we realise we sin if we immediately go on our knees before God and confess that we have sinned and we repent of that sin, we confess that it is wrong and we receive the forgiveness that Jesus brought for us on the cross, then that sin is washed away and if Satan then comes before the throne, it would seem that the advocate would then say that person has confessed and I paid the price in full. If we do not confess our sins, then it would seem to me that we do not have the covering of the blood of Jesus with regard to that sin. That sin is open, it is exposed. We are guilty because we have not paid the price and we have not taken the step of confessing the sin, repenting of the sin, and in that process, transferring the sin under the blood and receiving forgiveness and receiving grace.

It also would seem that in the same process that grace extends to incorporate on the one hand that the level of the judgement and the level of the sentence and whether in fact we found guilty is a function of our maturity in Christ. A newly born believer who does not know the world, does not know the ways of God, it seems that there are many things that I seem to envisage Jesus standing before the throne and saying to the Father, I urge you to extend grace to this individual at this time because he does not have the knowledge and he is a child in Christ, in much the same way that if a 3-year-old child takes hundred rand note off a table and he goes and puts it in the piggy bank or whatever, we will explain to him gently that it is wrong and just take it back from him and maybe just smack to his hand, but if a 40-year-old man does a similar thing in a business situation, we would expect him to receive a disciplinary hearing possibly to be dispersed possibly even for criminal charges to be placed against him depending on the sum of money involved. As I understand it is a form of grace as we mature in Christ, the graces is in a sense real black and at some point we are called to account for our lives fully without hiding behind the sacrifice that Jesus made and I think that is part of growing in Christ.

And we then see a situation where if we are not conscious of our sins, if we are not seeking God to reveal our sins, if we are not confessing and repenting our sins and receiving forgiveness when we make those sins, we open the door to Satan to go before the Throne of God and one then begins to envisage a situation where there is sin in one's life and Satan goes before the Throne of God, God considers the case, Jesus is unable to argue that the sin is not there, the sin is manifestly there and Jesus is unable to argue or is unable to extend his blood to cover the sin because there has been no confession and no repentance and no receiving of forgiveness and he is also unable to argue extenuating circumstances because the person has been born again for some years. They have plenty of time to read the scriptures, that have plenty of time to understand what the Scriptures say and they show no interest in dealing with the sin or understanding that what is happening in their lives is a consequence of sin and at that point, it would seem that the Father will then grant Satan permission to devour or to kill and steal and destroy in that person's life. So one can envisage him saying touch their finances but do not touch their bodies and one can envisage him at a later stage in the person's spiritual development saying he might touch his body but do not take his life and it would seem that one can perhaps even argue that why people who are relatively young in the Lord tend to possibly obtain and keep healing but may go through a lot of financial and personal loss in other areas and that in some way those people who are very mature in the Lord seem to suffer more with affections and one hears reports from time to time that people who regarded as great men or women of God, who have infirmities that they are just not able to be healed from even though they are laying hands on people and those people have been healed and it would seem that following this chain of thought, what happens there is that as they mature and perhaps deal with other areas in their lives, God then wants them to deal with things which are much more personal and which gives Satan the right to attack their health and so forth.

I really believe that we have to look at each and every instance whether it is illness, whether it is problems with cars, whether it is problems with finances or anything else. We need to seek the Lord to find out where the sin maybe. It does appear that one could draw a conclusion that may be there are certain Scriptures which say that trials and tribulations arise in any event but if we consider the scriptures which deal with the various instances where people were plotting to kill Jesus. For example, when he spoke in the synagogue of Nazareth and they took him to the top of the mountain to throw him off the mountain and it says that Jesus walked through the crowd because it was not their time, it really does seem that if there is absolutely no sin, Satan is unable to touch that person without God's expressed permission in exceptional circumstances. But it does seem to me that it is inconceivable that there is a single person on Earth who is without sin, therefore there is always an opportunity for Satan to attack that person. In Timothy it is Paul who refers to himself as the chief of sinners and in the interview with Joyner in 'The Final Quest' Paul makes the point that at the end of his life, he saw himself as the chief of sinners because there was so much that he knew to do that he did not do and so much that he knew not to do that he did do.

As we come to revelation of sin as anything which is not in the perfect will of God as we come to revelation of understanding that if we do not do what the Word of God tells us to do that is sin and it potentially opens the door for attack and conversely if we do anything that we know that the Word of God says we should not do that also potentially opens the door to attack. Again, I believe that one should not interpret this in a legalistic sense. One has to recognise that that is the practical reality of the spiritual dispensation under which we currently operate. Satan is the God of this world. He is the lord of this world. He is the king of this world. He is free to do what he likes on this world, except with regard to Christians and Jews, those people who have committed their lives to God and serve God and where they have come under the protection and therefore Satan requires some form of permission in order to deal with that. I think a lot of people will have a lot of difficulty with this teaching. A lot of people will say, "Well, what hope have I got?" And the hope that we have is that we have the hope in the blood of Jesus. We have the hope in the sacrifice of Jesus and if we are aware of our sinful natures, if we are aware that our righteousness is filthy rags in the sight of God, and that Jesus Christ is our righteousness. If we continuously stand on the Scripture that Jesus Christ as our righteousness, not as an excuser or a cop out to dealing with the sin in our life, but as a spiritual reality and if we constantly cry out to God to show us the sin in our lives to deliver us from that sin to show us what is required to deliver us from that sin, over time, we will draw closer to God.

If we see any trial or any situation which there is killing, stealing, or destroying in our lives, be it in our finances, be it in our health, be it in our families or whatever, if we immediately become sensitive to the fact that that can only be happening if Satan has permission to do it and he can only get permission if he has gone before the Throne of God, if the advocate has had to admit that the sin exists, if the advocate has to say that there is no repentance and there is no confession and therefore the sin is not covered by the blood. If the advocate has to say that the level of maturity of the believers is not at a level where grace can legitimately or reasonably be extended to them, and if the advocate has to admit that the person is not seeking to deal with sin in their lives and therefore there is no good basis on which the judge should not grant the prosecutor his petition in terms of judgement and sentence. If we can come to understand that, then we can understand that all that is required in the event of any form of attack in our lives is to immediately examine ourselves in the Word of God to immediately go before the Throne of God and to ask the Lord to show us exactly what it is and what we need to do. In my own experience that can very frequently give rise to having to deal with legacy issues, legacy sin, things arising out of adultery, fornication, lying, deception in one's lives before coming to salvation or going back into previous generations down the blood line. Many blood line curses will pass down ten generations.

And none of those things are simply just summarily washed away when we come to salvation as far as I can determine. Some of them, may be, but many of them are just covered for an interval by grace until we have the opportunity to come to the point where we can actually deal with it. But if we not prepared to deal with the blood line issues, if we are not prepared to deal with the sin of our forefathers and to confess it and repent, those sins of the forefathers which have brought curses on the blood line will continue to manifest themselves in our lives. I believe a very classic example of that particular principle which is I believe is starting to manifest in the church now, we see increasing numbers of people saying by the Holy Spirit that God requires the Christian church to confess and repent of the sins that have been committed against the Jewish people in the name of Jesus Christ. I had to do that in Israel in 1995 at two conferences. I read various articles which report other people saying the same thing themselves by the name of Christ have in fact touched the Lord's anointed the Jewish people and done them harm. I believe that is heaped up massive wrath collectively on the Body of Christ for everyone who does not come to a revelation that that is sin in the Body of Christ and that sin must be confessed and repented of by every individual that calls himself by the name of Christ, otherwise it would be passed down through the Body of Christ and the body of the church.

I think there are many other instances like that that we have to examine ourselves. But the positive side of that is that it provides us with an understanding for what is going on. The document that I have written entitled 'Poverty in the Church of Jesus Christ' is a diagnostic document, which just lists dozens of different aspect which I have identified as indications of symptoms of different types of sin and just in broad terms how to deal with it. If one prays about that and deals with it, certainly in my own life I have seen algebraic solution in that area. I think the last thought that comes to mind is people are inclined to see a teaching like this as indicating that it is too hard to be a Christian, and I believe we really have to bring this back to our life experience. We are called Children of God and that is a metaphor, parable if you like, but a metaphor that God has given us that we may better understand that one dimension of being Children of God.

We are also servants of God and that brings in another dimension to which there are some parallels in that metaphor. We are also brethren of Christ that we need to understand that the nature of our relationship is incredibly complex and in a sense multidimensional. He is omnipotent, He is omnipresent, He is omniscient. He knows everything. He is everywhere at all times and He can do all things. Our human understanding is totally incapable of even beginning to comprehend God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit and to differentiate between them and to understand the way He works, and for that matter to understand the way Satan works in our lives. If we can just roll back to this very simple metaphor of being children of God, then we need to recognise that the day we are born again, we are like a baby that has just come into the world that is incapable of protecting itself and therefore God extends extreme grace to us in the same way that would happen with the baby, but when that baby is a year old, and is calling around and starting to pull things off table, eventually it has to learn that if it pulls the corner of the tablecloth, the tablecloth will come off and fall on it and it will get hurt and it will probably get a hard hit. When it is a couple of years old and it is toddling around and it taking things it should not take, it needs to learn that it will get disciplined and when it gets to school it will receive more extensive discipline and it will discover everything that it could do at home is no longer permitted to do. When it is in the first rugby team, it will find out that mother is not there to protect it when 180 pound lock or somebody is tackling him and he is going to get hurt.

By the time he has gone on to the army, his parents are able to do very little for him and when he is a reconnaissance commander dropped behind enemy lines, he is pretty much on his own. He need to understand that as we grow in Christ, as we progress in Christ, we move from being that newborn baby wrapped in soft linen cloths protected from everything around us to if we are sincere about following our calling in Christ that we will eventually find ourselves as effectively the reconnaissance commander behind enemy lines in this world which is ridden with evil and with Satan's work and we will find ourselves at a point having to stand on our own two feet having to give account for our actions and if we make mistakes, we will have to pay the price. If a reconnaissance commander fails to maintain his rifle and it jams at the critical incident, he will not be able to win that engagement. At worst, he may be killed, injured, taken captive and brutally tortured or one of those, and therefore we need to understand that as time goes on, as we grow in Christ, we have to accept more and more accountability.

I think really enclosing, there are two prayers that come out of 'The Final Quest' that Joyner mentions which I think are really, really critical to walk in Christ in these days and the first of those is Father, show me the level of my present deception and what to do about that deception and lead me into more truth, recognising that all truth is a journey. Not one of us will reach all truth until we have lived this life and we been judged and found worthy to spend eternity in Heaven and if we do not reach that point, one would assume that we will never ever know all truth. The second prayer is Father, in the name of Jesus I ask you to judge me severely and correct me harshly that I may serve you more perfectly and the essence of that is that unless we receive judgement in this life, we will be judged at the end of our lives on the day of our judgement and we will pay the price for all our sin on that day.

So we should actually welcome the opportunity to be judged in this life. We should welcome the opportunity to experience Satan's killing, stealing, and destroying in our lives as a diagnostic that our lives are not where God wants them to be and we should respond instantly to any incident like that by going before the Throne of God and asking Him to show us the sin and diligently seeking to find the sin and how to deal with the sin in order to be cleansed in order to get a remission of sentence, in order to bring that sin under the blood of Jesus and the sacrifice of the cross. If we are not prepared to do that, we should not be surprised to find that our lives on Earth are pretty miserable. We should also not be surprised to find that at the end of our lives, we come to the Throne of Judgement and we find that perhaps we find ourselves amongst the foolish virgins, we find ourselves amongst those who are cast into outer darkness with the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth or even in extreme cases we find ourselves amongst those who in fact have lost their salvation, and are given their part in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur which is the second death which is spoken about in Revelation 21:8, so I think imposing the key point is we need to seek holiness and sanctification. We need to see anything that goes wrong in our lives as an indicator that there is sin and that if we deal with the sin, we will walk in the full blessing and provision of Almighty God. But if we do not deal with the sin, we will continue to experience distraction in our lives.

That is the end of the original message. A few further points just to tie that message together, just to recap, that is the first of a series of ten messages. It was originally recorded about a year ago. It is interesting that a points of the points in that message confirm things which are presented in the teaching on the third tape on the Kingdom Context ‑ The Call, The End of the Age. Particularly significant that we will only walk in the full authority of Jesus Christ when we fully abide in Christ, we saw that in the teaching on love as well. But there is a paradox here. We cannot fully abide in Christ until our marriages are in full harmony that our marriage can only be in full harmony when we fully abide in Christ. It is a closed loop. The journey to get to abide in fully in Christ is a progression of iterations of progressively drawing closer to God and simultaneously seeking healing of our marriages, yet only can be done in the spirit. The husband must draw closer to Christ and in the process, draw his wife closer to him, and the wife in her terms seek to draw closer to the husband.

The wife cannot fully abide in Christ except through and with her husband. It is just so absolutely critical to understand, wives you cannot hope to abide fully in Christ unless you do so through and with your husband. You cannot go off and do your own things because you are then dividing your husband's house. And the fact that your husband is not godly and is God-fearing and as spiritual as He would like him to be, does not give you a basis for divorce. You chose to marry him. This point alone just reemphasises the point, do not marry outside the faith. It is utter spiritual foolishness. Do not marry a shallow or uncommitted or carnal Christian. A man who calls himself a Christian but has yet to go in Christ. Seek a mature believer. Ideally that man should be at least 7 to 10 years older than you. Do not go and marry a man who is much younger than you in Christ.

If you are a young believer, then perhaps yes, marry a man who is younger than you but who is mature in the Lord, perhaps a man who has grown up in a Christian family. But if you are a mature woman in Christ, do not go and marry a man who has been in Christ much less time than you are and perhaps above that are younger than you. If you do, you will pay a heavy price. But if you do that, that is your problem. You have to live with the consequences. Why is irrelevant as we saw in that teaching on faithfulness. You have done it, you cannot undo it. There is no basis for divorce which says I married the wrong man or I married the wrong woman. Make sure before you marry and if you have made the wrong choice, then make the best of it. Apply the teachings in this series to seek to heal your marriage. If you do apply what is in this series, you should be able to assist your husband to draw closer to God. But you need to repent of your sin in the wrong choice of a marriage partner, that is to say, if you married an unbeliever or as a mature believer you married an immature believer, or a man that was not really committed. If you did not make absolutely sure it was God's will for you to marry that man before you married him. Obviously if you are both unbelievers at the time of marriage and you have come to salvation and he has not, it is a different story. You are told to pray for him and to see it from lay down your life for him. If he leaves you because of your faith, well and good, but if otherwise, you have no basis for divorce. But at the same time, if you are in that situation, recognise that Isaiah 4:1 makes it quite clear that there will be seven times more women than men in the Body of Christ and you see that throughout the body of Christ today. In virtually every congregational I have ever been to since I became aware of this, there is generally anything from one and a half to 5 or 10 times more women than men in the congregation. That is the reality.

Tape 18 in Volume 2, God willing, will deal with this subject in detail. But it is an enormous challenge. If you are a single woman today seeking a godly husband, you need to listen to the rest of these tapes and understand what they are saying to you. I saw again in this teaching, resist the devil through love and through faithfulness. It the same thing, resist the devil in your marriage. Love, faithfulness, and so forth. That brought us again in this teaching, that Job's wife was not touched. Job carried the full brunt of the attack on the flesh. His wife as far as we are told went unscathed. Recognise also from the point of Paul being the chief of all sinners. Satan will always find some basis for attacking you. The challenge is to move forward steadily so that grace can be extended to you. Recognise your accountability. Recognise above all things, seek holiness and sanctification.

Few other points there, if your house is divided, it will fall, you will be judged. If you run flesh with people who are not your spouse, you need to repent, you need to deal with it, and if you are married to them, you need to do whatever you have to do. I know this sounds terribly harsh, but the truth is, if you marry at 14 to a man who is still around who is in a position to take you as his wife, then you are his wife and almost certainly unless by the goodness and the grace of God in some fashion, you are released, but God is not in the business of breaking His word and breaking the commandments of His word. So if you gave yourself willingly as a young girl as a virgin to a man, and that man has not totally disappeared from the scene or is not totally serving Satan, you could have a major problem, even if you have borne children by another man. And men, it is the same with you. If you have taken a woman's virginity, you may have an enormous challenge ahead of you. Just bring your house from a point of being divided. If you are married to a woman even if you have been married for years and she was not a virgin when you married her, you have got major challenges to deal with. The Body of Christ is totally corrupt. I have to say this to you. I do not say it because I want to make you miserable, but I would rather you hear it now than in the age to come on the Day of Judgement.

A few other points relating to something that has a great bearing on the subject of faithfulness, but also in the area of judgement. I mentioned it under the title of judgement simply because it is an area that the Lord has dealt with me very, very severely in recent months. We have to understand that no matter what your secular occupation, it is tent making. It is just a way for God to provide a vehicle through He can provide you with food and income to feed and clothe and accommodative your family. It is never ever any more than that. We tend so easily to want to believe that our career comes first. It is idolatry. Just a few notes on that, a few days ago, do first the work that Yahweh has employed you to do. And then He will remunerate you for your work. Do not expect Him to pay you first and then expect to make time. So often we leave the projects and the activities that God has given us until the end of the day, till the end of the week, the end of month, the end of the year, and they are never get done. The devil will make sure that they are never get done, until we treat God as our most important employer, our most important plant, and realise that He is not unjust and He would not ask us to do things we cannot cope with or never get anyway. Once we do what He is calling us to do, we will walk in the anointing. If we are not coping, we need to understand we are not close enough and we need to deal with the issues that are dealt with in subsequent tapes. And many of the subsequent tapes deal with issues which go further in the area of judgement. But to go further on the subject of tent making, it does not work that way in the world.

If you do not do what you are employed to do, you do not get paid. So why should it work that way in the Kingdom of Heaven. Read Malachi for a series of examples. It is another case where there is a lot of false teachings which goes on to suggest that somehow your service to God comes second to your marriage and various other things. I am talking about changing your employer either. You cannot say to your employer who has employed you to work 8 or 10 hours a day five days a week that you can only work three or four days, four hours a day because you are too busy serving God. No, that is not the intention. If God has given you a job working eight hours a day, you are expected to work eight hours a day for that employer and if He has given you another job working eight hours a day for Him, He expects you to do that as well. But if you are partying and messing around for four hours a day when God expects you to work eight hours a day for Him, you need to sort out your priorities. If you do not, then you cannot expect Him to move and heal your marriage and all the other things.

The consequence of that is if we put our work first, our secular employment, and if the employer exacts some reasonable rates and hours that detriment our relationship with Yahweh and our families, is detrimenting himself. But we need to understand that we should never agree to work unreasonable hours. If your employer is asking you to work hours which are outside the realms of what is contractually required or what is reasonable because it is now eating into the work that Yahweh has given you to do, you need to stand past. You will resign your job and ask Lord to find another job or negotiate and sort it out. But often we do things voluntarily because we are trying to please men and not God. It is utter foolishness to discount rates or agree to deadlines which results in one's relationship with God or one's family being detrimented. At the end of the day, those things have to remain after the work is gone.

A few other thoughts, there is a whole document available from this Ministry entitled'Poverty in the Church of Jesus Christ,' a discourse on contributory factors based on personal experience towards holiness and sanctification, circumcision of the heart and growth in Christ. It is a document written by myself some years ago and it covers a lot of headlines about the sorts of things that can be causing you to be walking in lack. It is not comprehensive. There are various things that I need to add to it to update it. But they need to be there. Keep in mind that there is a proverb which says that if you curse your mother or your father, your lamp will be put out. So if your health is suffering and you have been failing to honour your mother and father and perhaps you even curse them, you may have a major problem with judgement. Recognise that Satan is not stupid. He is highly capable, highly intelligent.

Just a few headlines, read the word daily. Recognise that there are translation problems with the English translations. Read more than one translation. Apply the word and practise. Do not call any man teacher. The Holy Spirit is your teacher. Look for information from men, but confirm that with God. You will find error concealed amongst truths in most, if not all teaching. Every man has sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. Every man is human. No man is perfect except the Lord Jesus Christ. Recognise that not one shall pass away. If there is a Scripture that you do not like, it does not matter. Women, if your husband does not love you, the Word of God says that even if a man has two wives and he loves one and he does not love the other, that does not constitute a basis for divorce. Feed your spirit constantly. Read the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation at least once a year and try to read the New Testament more frequently. Recognise even if you do not understand it, and even if it is boring, it is still the Word of God and it is feeding your spirit. So do not jump over sections. Pray. Do not neglect prayer. Pray at all times without ceasing.

There is another teaching on praying in the spirit. God's people perish for lack of knowledge and I hope you have seen that in the series on marriage. There is enormous lack of knowledge in the area of marriage. Honour God with the small things, your time, gifts to beggars, etc., as He leads you and that might be 10 or 20 or 50 rands instead of 2, 20, or 50 cents. The joy of the Lord is your strength. Seek that joy. Be separate. Come out from the world. Do not be yoked with unbelievers. Do not be constantly engaged in the things of the world. Forsake not the fellowship of the brethren. Do not get involved in fellowship with unbelievers at the expense of your fellowship with believers. Make the Holy Spirit welcome in your home. Sanctify your home, your car. Play gospel music, prayers and worship in your home 24 hours a day, even when you are not there. The Spirit of God is in your home at all times. The Word of God says in Him we live, we move, we have our being. Take ungodly stuff out of your house. Destroy it. Constantly crucify the flesh. We have got another teaching on it.

If you have not been water baptised, it is an ordinance of God. You need to be water baptised. Pray in the spirit without ceasing, as I said, there is another teaching on it. Avoid foolish and empty words. There is a teaching we are coming too shortly. Restitution. If you have wronged someone, you may be required by Scripture to make right. There is no good ignoring it. There is Scripture on it. The spirit is speaking to you. It does not matter if no man will believe you, make restitution. If you have committed adultery and caused the woman you committed adultery with to lose her job, you may have to make up the loss of income to her husband for as long as it takes her to find a job. We only hear God within the limitations of our . No man hears God perfectly. The day you think you hear God perfectly, there is a day you have totally missed it. So recognise that part of what you think God said to you, may not be God. Get to understand that the one thing that is absolutely certain is that anything that you are certain about is probably containing error. You got to lose confidence himself and trust God. Gain confidence in Jesus. Obey God and not man. There is so much that men will tell you to do and so much that men will tell you scriptural which is not. Obedience in finances. In a previous teaching, I have talked about putting the tithe first. I read that passage from that book by Creflo Dollar. You need to put the tithe first. You need to bring the tithe with joy, you need to honour God with the tithe, you need to praise and worship God with the tithe. It must be joyously brought and it must always be brought first. There is no excuse for delaying the tithe. Pray beforehand to know how to use the tithe.

Obedience to His word and His spirit. If God speaks to you, obey. We have heard about that before. Seek the presence of God. Adultery and fornication, we have talked about at length, the One Flesh Bond. A terrible means whereby Satan will destroy you financially and in other ways. Lust in the heart. Do not lust of the women and desire women who are not your wife. Agreement between husband and wife, we talked about that repeatedly. If you are not in agreement, the devil will take you apart because your house is divided. Jezebel, we will talk about in some detail in a later teaching. Divorce, we have talked about. Pride versus humility. Pride presses virtually all of us. It is a terrible problem. The consequences of sin can take time to harvest. You can sow sin today, but it may take weeks or months or years before you reap the full harvest. We saw that in 'The Call.' Blessings of obedience can also take time. You may sow today and not reap for some time. It is the same with sowing seed. Demons, we will have a whole series, a whole tape on that. The curse of things in your possession. Any demonic Satanic ungodly object in your possession must be burnt. Pornography and African voodoo masks, African carvings which represent idols must be destroyed, physical idols, things that are idols in your life. If your car is an idol, get rid of that. If your house is an idol, fell it, because that is the only way you can destroy that idol in your life. Spirit of stupor comes upon you for disobedience. Eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear, if you are not getting revelation from the Word of God, if you are not hearing God, if you are unable to make sense what people are saying, it could be you have got a spirit of stupor. It needs to be bound and cast out, but you must confess the sin first.

Christian ownership of a business. If you own a business, then you are the head of that business and your sin will bring judgement on the entire business. Unequal yoking, do not employ unbelievers unless God clearly shows you to do so. Do not go into partnership with unbelievers. Satan will use those unbelievers as an open door to attack you. Unwise talk and boasting, talk in unsanctified atmospheres about what God has shown you bind demons and fallen angels. If you must discuss those things, if God has given you a promise in a sensitive area, keep quiet about it. I have had a situation where demons heard what I said and in minutes turn around a promise of God because of my foolishness. Satan cannot read our minds. Pray in our hearts to God with our understanding or pray in the Holy Spirit.

Forgiveness, you have heard before. If you do not forgive, the date is not cancelled. A straight path and a narrow gate, we have to understand that. Many are called, but few are chosen. Tithing we have spoken about. Infertile soil, you need to tithe into fertile soil. Do not just give any odd place. Pray and ask God where He wants you to give and do not get deceived to believe that you have to give your tithes to a particular ministry. Give where God leads you to give, otherwise He cannot direct that ministry. If they start getting out of the Will of God, He needs to be able to restore funds. If they are in serious error or deception, do not sow into that ministry but do not use your understanding. Many ministries beat the sheep; you do not want to be there. Sowing and reaping, you should name your seed when you sow. The Word of God does not have any private interpretation. You need to die to self. You need to seek the refiner's fire, we have come across that repeatedly. Unkept and broken vows and promises, we have dealt with in some depth. They have an enormous impact. Satan can use those things to take you apart.

Soulless prayers and false prayers against people who pray with the understanding and ask for things that are not according to the Will of God those words still have eternal significance if they are not cut off. Prayers against God's will can take you into witchcraft. Blood line curse, we will touch on that a bit more in the tape on deliverance and modern curses. People can curse you today and those curses carry just as much weight as they did 6000 years ago, which is caverns and other satanic groups. If you are recognised and marked by Satanists who are fair to kingdom, there will be witches' caverns and Satanists praying against you and doing even more extreme things, unless you pray protection on a regular basis.

Wrong and right actions and right and wrong motives, many of us do the right things for the wrong reasons and the wrong things for the right reasons. We need to get our hearts right. We need to get our thoughts right. We need to recognise that if we do not believe that God cannot say something because we have a paradigm that is wrong does not mean that God cannot say it. If you truly have been mislead to believe that the Word of God says a man can only have one wife even though you cannot find any relevant Scriptures, you are going to have great difficulty when God tells you to the contrary. I argued with God for months before I finally accepted that truth. I read basically from Genesis to Revelation and in every book, He confirmed the truth.

Realise that there are differences between today and the day that Jesus was crucified and that there has been great apostasy in the church. Again, obey God rather than man, observe the Ten Commandments plus the New Commandment, love one another which sums up the Ten Commandments. We have seen love coming through the teaching time and time again. If, one of the smallest words in the Bible but one of the most significant, all of the promises of God have preconditions. If you will obey His commandments. If you do not obey His commandments, He cannot bless you. We have seen that repeatedly.

God is uncompromisingly righteous and He expects us to seek to be uncompromisingly righteous. He uses strong language to describe sin. We have to look out for planks in our eyes. I keep seeing things that I did not know were wrong in my own life. And in many cases, I keep judging people incorrectly as a consequence. We need to recognise that if we give offense, an offense is a crime. So we need to stop giving offense, but people who are offended at the Word of God were offended and stumble at Jesus, the stumbling stone, then they need to realise that is a crime on their part. Put your hand on whatever you find to do, do not just sit back and do nothing. God has got an enormous amount of work to be done by those who will listen to Him. There are millions and millions going to hell. If you have listened so far in this message, you have an enormous responsibility to spread these truths. Even if there are a few that you do not necessarily agree with, go and spread the truth that you do and pray about the ones that you do not agree with. You will be judged with what you do with this information.

Diligence, we have to be diligent with the Word of God and the Work of God. God stewardship, we must be prudent, and not extravagant with the funds and the businesses He gives us. We must be willing to serve others. We must avoid talebearing and there is a whole teaching on words and the power of the tongue. Translations of the Bible, again, recognise the different translations contain different errors. I would encourage you to read at least two, three, four, five different translations in sequence. Do not read the same translation time and time again. Amplified Bible is very useful. The Lamb's translation from the is very useful if you can get hold of it. The Living Torah, the Jewish translation is excellent, if you can get hold of it.

Satan seeks your areas of weakness. So wherever your areas of weakness are, Satan is going to take you apart there. Seek to grow strong in those areas. Ask the Holy Spirit to help. Persevere, do not give up. Seek to become an overcomer. But pray the right things. As we have touched on in a previous teaching, God never changes. So do not expect His word to say something different in the New Testament to what it said in the Old Testament. Jesus came to fulfil the word, not to replace it. If you oppose the sense, you are opposing God. Pay your taxes. Ignorance does not prevent legal entry by Satan. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. If you do not know the Scripture, that does not stop Satan from attacking you. Much of what I have shared in this teaching has been taught to me because Satan has been taking me apart and when I prayed about it, I found that it is because there is an area of sin in my life that I did not know about that I did not know was sin consciously, and quite often that it was contrary to what the Lord showed me. It was contrary to what the church was telling me and in that I progressively came to see a lot of the truths. But if you are not prepared to consider those possibilities, you would not grow, you would not learn.

There likely to be extreme tests before extreme abundance. God needs to test you in little before He will give you much and most of us fail when He gives us much. I have seen it in my own life. We get abundance and eventually we slip and slide away from God and He has to bring us back to Him. Do not underrate the power of the Blood of Jesus. If you do not have a full revelation of the Blood of Jesus, there is a teaching on the blood covenant but even that may not give you enough of a revelation. The Blood of Jesus is extremely, extremely powerful.

Praise and worship. God created us to praise and to worship Him. If you do not praise and worship Him with all your heart, if you do not passionately praise and worship Him, if you do not stand and raise your arms and move about and love Him in your praise and worship, you are not honouring Him. And again, I make the point, praise and worship and lovemaking between man and wife are exact parallels. But if you are inhibited and restrained in the way you make love to your wife, you will be inhibited and restrained in the way that you praise and worship God and vice-versa. Do not expect to touch Jesus' heart if you sit in your seat with your hands in your lap during praise and worship.

I could go on, but all of these things require prayer. Any of those areas if you are missing that, if you are getting it wrong, is going to open the doors for Satan to take you apart in judgement in line with the teaching that you have just heard. But that is good news. I am an engineer, so I work on the basis of if you know the things that are breaking, you can fix them. Engineering is about designing solutions. You do not engineer a solution for success. You engineer a solution against failure. You seek to design every component with an equal probability of failure so that there is no weak link. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. So in a lot of what I do in business and management consulting and these teachings is to concentrate on the things that can cause failure. It is no good, it is nice to talk about the promises and the blessings and what have you. But let us talk about the things that prevent you getting there and how to fix them and please God by the tongue of series is complete. You will have a pretty complete set of guidelines as to how to fix your marriage and how to fix marriage in the world. How to bring divorce and putting away to an end in the world and I pray Father in the name of Jesus that that will come to pass.

"Father in the name of Jesus we pray that that which has been spoken in this teaching that is of you Lord will reside in the hearts of those who have heard it or read it and I pray Lord that if whatsoever in what I have said here is in error, is incorrect is in any way not of you Lord, I ask you just to blow it away as chaff before a wind, but only that which is pure and of you will remain in the hearts of the hearers of this message, and I pray that you will help them to discern and put into effect that which applies in their lives, in Jesus name."

04_07 The Realm of Exceedingly Abundantly -- Hidden Answers by the Holy Spirit

Creflo Dollar

In volume two of the series understanding God's way in marriage, volume two being towards Heaven on earth in marriage and tape number 7 being answers through prayer, praying mysteries in the spirit. This message is recorded on the 27th of November, the year 2000. During the process of preparing these messages and fasting and praying and seeking the Lord for answers in a variety of areas, I was lead by the Spirit of God to purchase a set of teaching tapes by Dr Creflo Dollar Jnr from World Changes ministries entitled Hidden answers revealed through the prayer of tongues, this is a six tape series on a revelation that was given to Dr Dollar in 1999, it might have been late 1998, in terms of praying in the Spirit and mysteries. I believe it's an extremely important message in the context of moving towards Heaven on earth in marriage. We understand so little of God's plan for marriage in the world today and in the Church today and therefore it is absolutely vital that we know how to pray in order to obtain revelation of how God wants our marriages to be and also to obtain revelation of the change that's necessary in our lives to come to that place. So, as in the number of other tapes in this series, what follows is just a direct copy of, in this case, the fourth tape in this series by Creflo Dollar and I pray that that will bless you.

How many of you, I mean seriously are ready to invade this realm called exceedingly. Now, you do know it's not going to be by your regular means. The God Almighty will have to, you know, allow us to come into a point of revelation knowledge which He has done and if you obey it then you will see the realm of exceedingly. Make your mind up right now that you're going to obey number one, Gods way, number two Gods voice because I think what you've been looking for, what you've been praying for is going to be (inaudible (00:03:11)). Great things don't come, a lot of times, because of our failure to (inaudible (00:03:23)) I returned his phone call and I asked him, I said if you could find it in your heart to please come and preach this Sunday morning of our finance convention (inaudible (00:03:44)) if you could show us how to do it and I said (inaudible (00:03:55)). Now listen, I talked to Him and I said what you up to, (inaudible (00:04:14)) and what I had heard a week before that, there's a relationship between the mistress and the instructions that come from your man of God. (Inaudible (00:05:01)). Now if we're going to get to exceedingly we're going to have to get into this area of believing God for the mistress, if we're going to go exceedingly above what we can ask (inaudible (00:05:23)). Ephesians chapter 3 (inaudible (00:05:50)). I haven't seen my wife all day, you all like that, I like that too. Shall we leave now. I want to introduce some special guests we have here tonight from Brazil, a couple of weeks I was with them and in their country, we are so privileged to have them, (inaudible (00:06:33)), could you please stand and the guest that came with you, we welcome here tonight in the name of Jesus.

Ephesians chapter 3, now what I want to do is instead of starting in the middle of this, I want you to recall the teaching on the anointing, I want to go over that, I want to start in verse one, I want to skip the full context of what this is saying and work our way around and we will do some things tonight, what we don't finish tonight we will go ahead and finish up on Friday night, amen. And get ready for this weekend boy, go ahead and cope with that 19h30, OR Roberts at 11 o' clock, Kenneth Copeland at 6 o' clock, we aren’t going nowhere until we get what we showed up to get. (Inaudible (00:07:27)) I am not leaving till I get what I came expecting. Praise God. Verse one "For this cause I, Paul, a prisoner of Jesus, the anointed one and his anoint", now get that fresh in your thinking tonight, it's going to be important to this message tonight. The anointed one, as is known Christ, the anointed one. Christ, the one who's anointed (inaudible (00:07:54)). He said I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus, the anointed one and his anointing. How many of you would rather be locked up in that anointing? Paul said I am a prisoner, I am a prisoner of Jesus, I am a prisoner, voluntary prisoner like (inaudible (00:08:18)) slave is a voluntary slave, you become a slave by your own wheel and then he goes on and says on behalf of you Gentiles, if you have heard of the dispensation of the Grace of God, which is given to me to you (inaudible (00:08:33)) by revelation, he made known unto me the mystery. Now remember what revelation is.

Revelation is revealed knowledge, revealed by God to your spirit. That’s what it means when you talk about revelation, revealed knowledge and knowledge that doesn't come through the study of outward things, it doesn't come through the study of Sunday school quarterlies, it doesn't come through the studies of (inaudible (00:09:11)), this is knowledge that comes from God that your Glory you didn't have, revealed knowledge, revelation knowledge. Now you've got revelation gifts, where the wisdom is a revelation gift, wisdom revealed. The word of knowledge is a revelation gift, revelation or knowledge revealed to your spirit. (inaudible (00:09:36)) those are revelatory gifts. So the deed of knowledge, he said here, how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery by revelation. So it used to be a mystery but God revealed it to him and he got a Holy something that used to be a mystery. (Inaudible (00:10:05)) you may understand my knowledge. Now notice something, here he says that God can reveal knowledge to one person and then that person now says that you can get what is now mine.

I can tell of revelation that's been given to me by God and I can impart it into you, Glory be to God and that's what I intend on doing tonight. Whereby where you read you may understand my knowledge, now watch this in the mystery of translate, the anointed one and his anointing, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of man. So there was a time that other ages did not get it, there was a time where other ages that it was considered a mystery to other ages, there are a lot of things that were considered mysteries, they didn't know it and yet you and I know it. And I'm telling you in these last days, God wants us to know all (inaudible (00:11:16)), other ages did not know about the anointed one and his anointing, like you and I know it tonight. (Inaudible (00:11:24))going to stop right there, Gods got some more stuff He's trying to reveal. I mean, imagine, think about what the knowledge of (inaudible (00:11:35)) what it has done for your life. You just don't put up with (inaudible (00:11:41)) like you used to, do you? You don't put up with folks like you used to, you know that there's a power greater than your burden, there's a power greater than you know and yet God has not seen, He has not stopped making things known unto us.

(Inaudible (00:11:57)) and then tried to go and reveal it and to show you what he got a hold of, just like he did this mystery of Christ which (inaudible (00:12:03)) prophets by the spirit as it is now revealed unto His Holy apostles and prophets by the spirit, as it is now revealed unto His whole apostles and prophets by the spirit, Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost revealed unto His Father. Now what did (inaudible (00:12:28)) said God doesn't reveal anything except He first reveals it to His prophet. He doesn't do anything. Now either that's a lie or the truth, he doesn't do anything unless (inaudible (00:12:44)). You mean to tell me Jesus is going to be coming back here and no apostles or prophets are going to know nothing about it. Just because all your life somebody said no man knows the day, I know it's in the Bible but He didn't say that man would not ever know it. The return of Jesus is a mystery, how many of you agree with me? It's a mystery, isn't it? Let me go to Mark chapter 4, it is a mystery. I don't know when Jesus is going to come back, the Bible says no man knows the day nor the hour that He returns. Well, (inaudible (00:13:29)).

But now look what this says here, it may deal with you as it did me. Mark chapter 4 verse 22 "For there is nothing hid which shall not be manifested; neither was anything kept secret but that it should come abroad." Now either that's a lot of truth, if it is the truth then this thing about not knowing when He's going to come back, this thing that's been kept secret, somehow He has to reveal it to His apostles and prophets otherwise Jesus will never get back here. If it was true of what He said (inaudible (00:14:21)) reveal it to His prophets. And in 1 Kings when Elijah was being taken up, they knew that this was the day that your master would be taken up. There was a composite of the rapture of the Church that's coming up for us. We live in that age where God Almighty is about to reveal some secrets. Deuteronomy 29:29 says "The secret things belong to the Lord, the things that have been revealed belong to us." So there are some secret things but by the Spirit of God, He's trying to reveal or let you in on some secrets. You know the number one enemy to the revelation knowledge of God, your tradition. Your tradition will keep you in the dark when all the time God's trying to turn the light on because you have never heard that before. There are a lot of things you have never heard before. Some of you may not have heard and understood where dinosaur fossils came from but they are shown here because we've got the remains. Now figure that out and figure out what these buildings are doing underwater. (Inaudible (00:15:47)), you probably don't know where your cerebellum is or your cerebellum cortex. I thought we was in Bible study tonight.

So just because you don't know nothing but God is trying to let us know that He wants us to know something, He's trying to reveal something to you and it's going to take more than Bible reading to get it. It's going to take some fellowship found in the secret place, it's going to take some time so God can talk to you and tell you some stuff. God will reveal things if you take the time to spend time with Him. (inaudible (00:16:42)) some of you talk too much when you're playing, learn the value of listening, learn the value of when you speak in tongues pausing for a moment and say Lord, I receive that by faith, Lord I receive that by faith. Let me go on, I'm a little ahead of myself. I go back to Ephesians chapter 3, this message is getting bigger as we go. Verse 5 again which (inaudible (00:17:14)) was not made known to the sons of men as it is now revealed unto His Holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit that the Gentiles should be (inaudible (00:17:23)) and have the same body and partakers of this promise in the anointed one that was anointed by the Gospel. Whereof I was made a minister according to the gift of the Grace of God given unto me by (inaudible (00:17:35)) of His power, unto me who (inaudible (00:17:39)) that I should preach amongst the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of the anointed one and his anoints, now we've done that, I have preached unto you, the riches of the anointed one and his anoints. We studied it, we spent years on it almost and it still won't go away.

Alright now, let's see where we're going from there. Verse 9 "And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery."  (inaudible (00:18:13)), that word fellowship, you remember it comes from a Greek word called (inaudible (00:18:20)), to make our men see what their part is, that's what it means, your participation, your fellowship or your participation, to make all men see, now that's what it says, and to make all men see (inaudible (00:18:41) to make all see what the fellowship of the mystery or to make all see what their part is of the mystery which from the beginning of the world had (inaudible (00:19:09)). All mysteries are in God until they're revealed to me. The beginning (inaudible (00:19:24)) who created all things by Jesus, the anointed one, his anointing. Now, get the subject of what He's talking about now, He talks about the mystery of the anointed one and his anointing, how Paul wants to preach and get men to see their part in it and then He says now I want you to see your part in the mystery, He talks about His part in the mystery of the anointed one and his anointing, now He says I want men, I want all to see your part in the mystery. You have a part in these mysteries. Well, nobody's ever preached it before because it's been a mystery. By the way, nobody preach on the mystery.

Today we're going to talk about a mystery. I've heard people say the Lord works in mysterious ways, well they weren't lying but God wants us to know our part in His mysteries. Watch this now, to the intent that nor unto the principalities and powers that (inaudible (00:20:28)) in Heavenly places, He said to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers (inaudible (00:20:36)) might be known by the Church, it's alright, I'm the Church. That is might be known by the Church, (inaudible (00:20:47)) wisdom of God, so He intends on the Church getting the wisdom of God. Say it out loud I receive the wisdom of God. God is just waiting (inaudible (00:21:00)), I receive the wisdom of God, say it again. I receive the many wisdoms of God, I receive the many wisdoms of God. The word of God says if any man (inaudible (00:21:16)) I have the wisdom of God. You see how it works, ask in faith. If you like wisdom ask in faith, (inaudible (00:21:41)). Everybody follow me? There's some wisdom you need for some situations in your life, He said if any man would like wisdom (inaudible (00:21:55)) he will not hold back. Praise God. Lord we ask for wisdom right now by faith. I thank you for wisdom right now, every day of your life, don't ever leave your house without Lord, I thank you for wisdom, I receive it by faith. If you like it ask in faith. The man trying to tell you how to get wisdom, (inaudible (00:22:33)) he said ask. Lord, I ask for wisdom right now and I receive it by faith according to the book of James which says if any man likes wisdom let him ask from God who will give to him liberally (inaudible (00:22:46)). You need to practice that every day of your life.

Now wisdom can be revealed to your understanding and once you get it you can walk and do things you didn't know how to do before but there's something (inaudible (00:23:03)) especially when you read Proverbs, (inaudible (00:23:15)) and yet a secret has been made known. So watch this, He goes on, He said I want the Church to have the wisdom, according to the (inaudible (00:23:29)) by faith in Him. Now look what He says, we have bonus and access, that just means we have liberty and we have access, an open access or an open door, we have the liberty and an open door to boldly go in and ask for this in faith in Him. Therefore I desire that you (inaudible (00:24:02)) at my tribulations for you which is your Glory. For this cause I bow my knee unto the Father of our Lord Jesus, the anointed one of whom the whole family in Heaven and earth is made. Now listen, He said I bowed my knee for this reason, that He would grant you according to the riches of the Glory. Question, what are the riches of the Glory? Go to Colossians chapter one verse 26 says "Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations but now is made manifest to his saints." How do you know there are more mysteries that God is going to make manifest to His saints. Well they aren’t going to do it aside from faith. "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the Glory of this mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ in you, the hope of Glory."

Now translate that word, the riches of the glory is what? The riches of the Glory, the anointing (inaudible (00:25:52)) is your only hope of Glory. Now we go back to Ephesians. You're going to get this tonight if I have to cut your head open and pour it in. Ephesians chapter 3, now notice, he said I bow my knee that He would grant you according to the anointing. He is going to grant you according to the anointing. Do you all see what I just did? He will grant you according to the anointing that's in you, to be (inaudible (00:26:37)) by His Spirit in the inner man, that the anointed one and his anointing may dwell in your hearts by faith. Now let me ask you something, how many of you believe that the anointed one and his anointing lives in your heart? Prove it to me. Well, you remember what He said, by faith, so what's the way you would prove it then? Which is? So by the word of God I prove to you that the anointed one is anointing me based on what the word of God has to say.

I know that He lives in the body of my heart by the word of God, that's how I know, that's what he says. To anoint by the word of God. See because in His last days emotions and feelings are going to be used to try and pull you away from it and to get you to doubt what the word of God says so you've got to know you're anointed by the word of God. I know I'm anointed by the word of God, Hallelujah, (inaudible (00:27:48)) I lay hands on the sick and the sick recover, by the word of God. Hallelujah. I minister the word and it gets into somebody’s heart and it changes them by the word of God. Not because I feel good tonight, by the word of God I'm anointed, I'm anointed by faith in what His word says about the anointing (inaudible (00:28:09)). I receive the indwelling of the anointed one and his anointing in me, which is my hope, of Glory. (Inaudible (00:28:27)) that anointing in you is your expectation of what's going to come on the outside of you. That anointing in you is what's going to determine the manifestation, manifestation according to the anointing in you by faith.

Don't be looking at what you did in the past, just by faith, I've got the Scripture, the Scripture says I'm anointed so by faith I command the anointing in me to bring healing on me, I command the anointing in me to bring promotion on me, I command the...do you understand what I'm saying? I receive it by faith. See, the Glory is based on the anointing that's in me, the Glory is the manifestation is going to be based on the power that (inaudible (00:29:10)), you follow me? It's by the word of God. I know by the word of God that I am anointed, I don't base my anointing based on how many folks that fall out when I lay my hands on them, I'm anointed before I lay my hands on them. Why, because I'm arrogant? No, because word says so. I find the Scripture one day that says I'm anointed and I am not going to let it go, if I lay hands on 50 folks and they just stand there and look at me I'm still anointed and if I won't let that go eventually that anointing going to keep me in and before (inaudible (00:29:48)), with some results. Do you understand what I'm saying? Don't take things out of religion and judge your anointing because He didn't say do it by those things, He said do it by faith or do it by the word of God. That Christ may dwell in your heart by faith, that you (inaudible (00:30:11)) and grounded in love, hot diggity dog.

Now the anointing has a part to (inaudible (00:30:22)) root it and ground it in love. Two ways, the first way, root it and ground it in the fact that you know God loves you, say it out loud, God loves me. Now what does that do, if I know God loves me I know he won't let me suffer. If I know God loves me I know He will do His word. Everybody knows God loves me, I know that but as I do what He says to do He is going to do what He's supposed to do. I mean, if I step on (inaudible (00:30:52)) and I know God loves me then God (inaudible (00:30:54)), get a revelation of God’s love. But not only that, the Bible says to love Him is to keep His command so to give your obedience is going to determine your degree of love for God. Your degree of love for God goes far, I mean it goes past you feeling like you love Him. Your degree of love towards God is always a demonstration of your obedience. And how obedient you are determines your love. Now here's what got me, that Christ, the anointed one, may dwell in your heart by the word of God (inaudible (00:31:35)), that you be rooted and grounded in love may be able, now here's what He says, if you've got the anointing in you by faith and you've got the love working in your life, that you are going to be able, listen to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth and the length and depth and the height and to know all of the love that the anointed one is anointing which passes knowledge. To know the love of the anointed one and his anointing which passes knowledge.

I need to do a little review here and show you something, go to 1 Corinthians chapter 4, let me finish reading this so you know what I'm after in Ephesians, let me finish reading that so you know what we're after here, what we're hunting. "And to know the love of Christ, the anointed one and his anoints which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God." Do you know how full that is? Do you know what he means when he says for you to be filled with all of the fullness of God? That means you take all of the anointing, all of the anointing and you fill with the (inaudible (00:33:20)), that's a lot, but that's the key to know the love of the anointed one and his anointing which passes (inaudible (00:33:38)) if I can know the love of the anointed one and his anointing I can be filled with the fullness of God. If I ever get a hold of the love of the anointed and his anointing I can be filled with the fullness of God. Alright, watch this, (inaudible (00:33:56)). 2 Corinthians 5:14 To know the love of Christ which passes all knowledge, that not only passes all knowledge but look at this, for the love of Christ was what? The love of the anointed one and his anointing does what? Remember that word is twofold, just to make it very simple to constrain means to push you to do what you're supposed to do and yet it means to stop you from doing what (inaudible (00:34:54)).

The love of the anointed one constraineth you, now check this out, there is a time in your life where certain things in the flesh dictated certain events that would happen in your life and you would get (inaudible (00:35:19)) to those things but now you've met the anointed one and his anointing, I don't know what you experienced that anointing, you can never be the same again. Whenever you experience the anointing of God, you can never be the same again. And you don't even know why you can't be the same again, just something happened. I will never forget when mama had that diagnosis with that blood thing (inaudible (00:35:56)) she hit the floor, she hasn’t been the same since, the anointing showed up and it changed her life. I don't know how you've experienced the anointing before, some of you've had hard times and you've experienced the anointing, you've found yourself on the floor just crying your eyes out, you never were the same again. You can't be the same once you've experienced the power of God (inaudible (00:36:27)). The constraining force comes over you and you don't even know why but once you've experienced the power of God that what you used to do you (inaudible (00:37:06)).

Now, the anointing, the anointed one, Jesus, the anointed one and his anointing, they have not increased in value. You didn't used to bow to Jesus and was anointed like you used to because you didn't know nothing about it. (inaudible (00:38:36)) It was the power of God (inaudible (00:38:56)) You should have been loony tunes by now. Some of you've forgot how pressurized those situations were that you went through, when you thought you was nothing, what everybody gave up for you and then you thought you were a failure and all that other stuff and you made it. God has given some of you all brand new lives, (inaudible (00:39:38)) a new beginning, the God of the second chance, the third chance, the fourth chance and you love God. I mean, you ought to give Him praise for His goodness and His love and His kindness. He gave you a new beginning, turned around what the devil was trying to put on you, took away what the (inaudible (00:40:17)), gave you what you thought you could never have, you've been infected by the power of the anointed one and his anointing, Glory to God. You know, nobody but Jesus picked you up when you were down, nobody but Jesus kept you in a house when you should have been kicked out, nobody but Jesus (inaudible (00:40:51)) The anointed one and his anointing, showed up when you didn't ask Him to show up, cast you when you didn't ask Him to cast you, blessed you when you know you didn't deserve a blessing, cured you when you know you were supposed to die. Nobody but the anointed one and his anointing and now (inaudible (00:41:39)). And what is that, that's the Law of Christ, constraining you, it won't let you do what you already got no business doing.

Now as that love begins to grow, as you begin to spend more time with Him and experience His power more often. Now the constraining force now no longer keeps you back from doing what you ought not be doing, so now the constraining force now pushed you to do what you're supposed to do. All of a sudden you can't stand (inaudible (00:42:49)). That's the love of Christ. That's the love of the anointed one. Now let me give you the real definition of what Grace is, it is God's unmerited favor and love, His willingness to involve His power in your situation, that's the (inaudible (00:43:55)), it's Gods willingness to favor you with His power, His willingness to get involved with your situation and use His power, the Grace of God, his willingness to get involved with my situation and to bring His power along to remove my burden (inaudible (00:44:20)), Gods Grace. And you just start going through all that and start counting your blessings instead of sitting there feeling sorry for yourself, you don't understand what I've been through and I don't understand why the Lord did this, you are sitting there letting that one thing you don't understand stop you from all the stuff you already did, it constrains me, I've got to do what I've got to do because He's been too good to me. Say Amen.

That liquor bottle has lost its value, you don't value it like you used to. Part of Gods coming in your life, you look at that liquor bottle and all of a sudden you turn your back on the liquor bottle because the liquor bottle can't heal you like Jesus. There's something I thought you never could, you know, stop having sexual intercourse but all of a sudden the anointing came in your life and you were able to keep your legs closed because you said I've got a new man in my life, you tried everything else and (inaudible (00:45:51)), I know somebody that even tried a psychiatrist, even tried the tranquilizers, tried the stress tablets, she tried all that stuff (inaudible (00:46:05)) and all of sudden I'm like man, I love the anointed one and his anointing. Now here's the part I don't understand, I have yet tell me to understand why God would show such mercy when we deserve so much judgment. It passes my knowledge, why in the world, how in the world can He love me, how can He love me like He love me. It almost seems like the time we ought to be judged the worst, that's when He's coming up loving (inaudible (00:46:51)) the love of Christ that passes all knowledge, you know what He said, just know the love of Christ, don't try to figure it out in your head, just know the love of Christ. That you don't have to have knowledge of why He loves you; just know the love of Christ. (Inaudible (00:47:32)), He loves me. I don't know why, all that I know He loves me, (inaudible (00:47:41)), I don't know why but I know He did it, (inaudible (00:47:47)) and the blind man said all I know is I once was burned and now I can see, he said all I know is what the man did for me, all I know is I couldn't see but I can see now (inaudible (00:48:12)) I can see. (Inaudible (00:48:30)), the Lord loves me, turn to your neighbor and say the Lord loves me. (Inaudible (00:48:49))

Go to Ephesians chapter 3 Glory be to God "And to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge that you might be filled with all the fullness of God." He says the love is going to have a lot to do (inaudible (00:49:31)), God can feel a person that has a revelation of his love, to be filled with all the fullness of God, do you know that means that whatever anointing you have on you right now in portions, God wants to give you  the fullness of that anointing, can you imagine what your life could be like if you walked in the fullness of the anointing instead of just portions of the anointing, (inaudible (00:49:59)) fullness of God, bringing everything to completion, bringing everything to perfection, that's what He's talking about when He's talking about the fullness of God, not just drips and trickles but bringing (inaudible (00:50:27)), not just healing the anointing that operates every now and then but it's all here, the fullness, can you imagine the fullness of God, I'm after that, I want the fullness, we might already be closer to the fullness than what we expect but not notice He's starting this thing, He says He's passing knowledge, what passes your knowledge, faith for what passes your knowledge, not just what is revealed to your knowledge but faith that's untainted and untouched, that hasn't had a chance to be ladled with pollution, untainted pure faith only comes towards those things that pass your knowledge. Follow me carefully here, now right after He said that, now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly, above all that we ask or think.

Now let me ask you something, is God able to do above what you think? He's got to go far because some of us don't think worth nothing, you still order small fries, small coke and hamburger with nothing on it, instead of getting up there and ordering the biggest. I want a number one with the biggest coke, the biggest sandwich and the biggest fries because I bigger increase on my bigger mind. (Inaudible (00:52:54)) dinner this week without somebody showing us faith and every time we saw it we said out loud, that's the faith of God. I wanted to go to (inaudible (00:53:22)), that's a serious Cajun restaurant, give you fish and dump all the seafood on top of it and give you some bed of rice, I don't know what bed of rice was, man asked me do you want some bed of rice, I said man, I don't want no (inaudible (00:53:38)). You know, we paid the bill and get up to leave, the lady came back and gave me my money back, I said what's wrong, she said there's a gentleman that took care of your bill and I looked at Tash and we said that's the favor of God, and I said would you mind letting me know who he is and she said the guy back there. We went over there and said man, thank you for sowing into our lives and thought he was a member of the Church and he said no, I just watch you on television and you've blessed me and this is my opportunity to kind of get the seed in the ground, (inaudible (00:54:24)).

And that's favor, you're welcome to favor God instead of going around here putting (inaudible (00:54:34)), what would you do with money if it's not an object? I will go get me a car, I will go get me a house but you haven’t got it yet that's why you haven’t got no money, you haven’t got it yet because you've got to understand what the purpose for money is. Money isn’t coming your way because you haven’t got the mystery and the mystery He says I've given unto you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God or to know the mysteries of seed time and harvest. You've got to start believing in God for money for somebody else, then watch the seed money start coming in. (inaudible (00:55:32)) money start coming from everywhere. When Peter needed his tax bills paid, money come in, Jesus (inaudible (00:55:49)). That's wet with the water, get the call of Abraham first which is blessed to be a blessing and all that stuff comes. You can spend your life blessing others and as you (inaudible (00:56:18)) God make sure that the wet come back on you, Tash and I spend our lives blessing others so the wet come back on us. (Inaudible (00:56:28)). Bless to be a blessing that He's given to us to know the mystery of seed time and harvest time. He says I've given unto you to know the mystery of what happens when a man sows the seed in the midst of a need. Now watch this, (inaudible (00:57:20)), now exceedingly, that means above your dreams, beyond your boundaries, beyond your set limits, what are the limits you've set. He says I am able to see past your limits, turn to your neighbor and say no more limits.

Above all that He ask or think according to the power that worketh in us, I'm able to do above what you can ask and above what you think and I'm going to do it according to the power that worketh in me. Now what's the power called that's working in you? That goes with Colossians 1 Christ in you (inaudible (00:58:20)) and he said he's able to do above (inaudible (00:58:25)) based on and according to the power that worketh in you, how much power is working in you? Now if He is going to do above what you ask and above what you think, that means you aren’t asking and you aren’t thinking it because He says I'm going to do what you didn't ask me, what you didn't think. Now listen, (inaudible (00:58:57)). He said that I'm going to give and I can do above your thinking and above your asking abilities, did you see that now? I go above your not so thinking and I go above your not so asking, I can do something above your thinking and above your asking, in other words, you haven’t got to think it and you haven’t got to ask it in your natural language and I can do above your asking ability and above your thinking ability, God Almighty. See, we used to label in God what we can ask and what we can think and God's trying to get us above what we can ask with our English language and above what we can think with what we know, according to the power that worketh in us.

(Inaudible (01:00:28)) I'm going to do according to the power, I'm going to do according to the power that worketh in us, I'm going to do above what you can think, I'm going to do above what you can ask and I'm going to do according to the power that worketh in you. Alright, now watch this, what power is in us again? Who had to come before you had the anointing? Do you know what it was? So do you have it in you? You have Holiness in you, don't you? (Inaudible (01:01:05)), isn't that the power that's working in you? So He says I'm going to do according to the power that's working in you, not according to what you ask, (inaudible (01:01:30)) but I'm going to do it according to the power that worketh in you, it's the Holy Ghost that's working in you, when you begin to speak in the Holy Ghost and speak in tongues, that's what He's going to do, He's going to do according to (inaudible (01:01:46)). Anybody following me here? According to the power that worketh in you, what can that mean? Holy Ghost is working in me and He's going to work up and He's going to work on my vocal chords and He said (inaudible (01:02:37)), look at it again just to get it in your head, some of you are looking at me thinking what that man say, well come on that, see what we can see.

1 Corinthians 14 "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God for no man understandeth him, howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries." Now watch this, let's get into this a little bit more. Verse 4 "He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself." Alright, watch this, verse 14 "For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays but my understanding is fruitful." Isn't that asking above what you can think? Your spirit pray but your mind is unfruitful. Now watch this, what is it then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the understanding also I sing with the spirit and I sing with the understanding also. Else when thy shall bless with the spirit, underline that word bless, what does the word bless mean? I can empower to prosper in the spirit, I can edify, empower, you can bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupy the room of the unlearned say amen at the giving of (inaudible (01:04:57)), he understandeth not what thy said. Now I've got to put this in balance but I've got to bring out something that we've not held onto because we've been so busy trying to put this in balance. He says a man when he prays in the spirit, blesses with the spirit. I empower to prosper with the spirit. (Inaudible (01:05:18)) I just blessed with the spirit. I don't know what I blessed him with but it's got to be good because (inaudible (01:05:31)). I blessed with the spirit.

Now watch this, verse 17 "For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified."Let me read 16 so you can get this. "Else when thou bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say amen at the giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not thou sayest? For thou verily givest thanks well." Well, when did you give thanks well? When you were praying in tongues. You give thanks well when you pray in tongues. Over my food, the best way for me to thank God. (inaudible (01:06:19)). Now the balance is, I don't necessarily want to do that around folks that don't understand because they might think I'm weird and take the turkey from me. But now wait a minute, I can give thanks in the spirit well. (Inaudible (01:06:34)) I've given perfect thanks with the spirit.  (Inaudible (01:06:43)) I've given perfect thanks and blessed him perfectly. Now look what your minds doing, your mind don't achieve nothing and so (inaudible (01:06:56)) and you thought having faith in what you wanted tells you about what you did. (Inaudible (01:07:09)). It's untouched by my carnal mind, untouched by my flesh, untouched by my spirit (inaudible (01:07:45)), in the name of Jesus I release my faith for something that would pass what I can ask or seek and yet the Bible says I bless in the spirit.

When you're in a hard place in the world and you've got to eat the food, you need to get rid of quietness, if you're looking at something that’s looking at you (inaudible (01:08:25)). Lord, I receive that this food right now is blessed and I give you perfect thanks giving for the nutrients of it somewhere in it, in Jesus name. Lord be something with it please. What? He says I do that better than when I say Lord, thank you for this food, He said I did better when I (inaudible (01:08:51)), Lord, I receive that food by my faith, what I just said I receive all that food and I made his. Now, can you see how your faith is untainted, I mean what else is your faith going to do, you are either going to have to release your faithfulness, you can't figure out what you did because you don't know what you did. What you going to do? How are you going to stop it from coming to path? (inaudible (01:09:15)) but here's what you do know, when I speak in tongues I speak mysteries, I speak answers, I bless perfectly, I give thanks perfectly and so now I've got to release my faith. (inaudible (01:09:39)), I will release my faith that when I speak in tongues it's the power that's working in me that's causing this thing and I'm having faith in the power that's working in me, not faith in what I understand or what I can comprehend. I spent years doing it but I did not understand it. I knew there was a reason, I knew I had to spend an enormous amount of time praying in tongues but I didn't understand why.

I tell you, the thing that really convinced me is when I read a book by brother Hagan and the book said that when a man speaks in tongues he prays the perfect prayer. Well I see that praying in tongues is a perfect prayer, why pray in English? And so I spent more time...(inaudible (01:10:34)) but I had to pray more in tongues because there was so much more I could accomplish in tongues than I could accomplish in my own understanding. You try it at home, you spend an hour praying in your language at home, your comprehended language, the ones you understand, the ones you speak, this is tongues. (inaudible (01:10:57)) praying like in English or Portuguese or whatever your language is, you come out feeling like you didn't quite accomplish anything, that you didn't quite finish anything, that you come out thinking that maybe there's something else I need to be praying for and the whole time your minds trying to think about what else do I need to be praying for, now wait a minute, I thought I was supposed to pray for somebody at Church, what was I supposed to be...and you never quite come out with the peace that says it is well and yet you go in praying in tongues for a whole hour and don't even know in your brain what you been praying and come out with peace that passes all understanding.

See, there's something to this that we hadn't tapped in on. See, we've got some of it in our English language as it had been declared the word. I mean, that was close because we begin to declare the word and the word was power, you see and then things begin to happen. When we have very little...here's the major key in operating this, we have very little trust in praying and having faith for the ministry and the only thing that's going to help you do this is trust. See, I trust God that when I speak in tongues and pray in tongues, man I'm praying some powerful things and then I release my faith and I trust, my faith is untainted. Now there are things that are beginning to happen in my life and my ministry and people begin to ask what in the world did you do to get that happen and I was like I don't know, I just believed for the mystery but I trust God so that when my mind tells me you are wasting your time, you aint did nothing, you ain't accomplished nothing, you'd better talk to the Lord where you will understand. I mean think about that, what if I'm in trouble, (inaudible (01:12:53)), do you know why you've got to take a breath while you're praying, so you can at least stop praying for a while and say Lord I receive that right now. (Inaudible (01:13:09))

Well, I mean you pray in tongues like that while you're in trouble but then all of a sudden now you want to start talking in English, Lord help me please, Lord you know I need your help, Lord Jesus please. You are accomplishing so much more when you're pointing the spirit. Why? Because you're praying for answers, you're praying for answers and our biggest enemy is our head, I call this your limit setter. This is a place that pollutes your faith, this is the place that tells you can't do it or that can't happen but by praying the mystery you go past this place, it can't touch your faith and yet you're releasing faith from mystery. Now, here's what we'll hopefully get into tomorrow, my time flies. (Inaudible (01:15:02)) Praise the Lord. I figure pray the mysteries then what? The next thing that happens is God begins to give you opportunities to pass the test of obedience. All of a sudden stuff come up and you know God told you to do it, what you doing? Your obedience is leading you to the manifestation of your Glory. Well, how did it get started? According to the power that you put in you.

See, no power works without this now, not in Gods system. Yet the life is in the power of the tongue and what we're going to look at is a mystery that occurred in (inaudible (01:16:10)) and yet it was the act of obedience to obey the prophet that won that battle on the line. Praying for the mystery and omitting obedience, you're just going to (inaudible (01:16:28)). Sit back and let me see is it worth it for anybody but I trust God and I trust His word and I'm going to start spending my time, all of my time praying and believing God for the message (inaudible (01:16:57)). Now I lay me down to sleep is just not going to work for your healing. (Inaudible (01:17:27)). You're going to have to finally have ultimate faith and trust in the power that God has put in you to get to that level of exceedingly, I don't know how we're going to do a lot of things but I know who knows and I put my faith in who knows. I know who knows and I know this work, I've done it but I didn't know what I was doing. I knew I had to pray hours in the spirit, I knew I had to pray hours in the spirit, what was I doing? I was praying the mysteries.

See, the Bible even said pray that you may interpret and I continue to pray that I may interpret but I don't wait until my comprehension before I release my faith to the man, it's faith, if the comprehension wants to come it will come on but I'm not going to wait to say Lord I believe I received that once I understand it. I say Lord I believe I received the mystery of what I don't understand for that particular situation and it happens, in the name of Jesus. See God will reveal certain things for you to do. We were at the meeting now, Lord told me not to do that, Praise the Lord, now that's an act of obedience, I mean I heard God clear, He came and spoke to me and even told Tash, I said the prayer of God just told me not to do that and not to say that anymore and it just came in my spirit. Now wait a minute, that act of obedience determines your manifestation. Amen. So now you've got to make a decision, I know there's Heaven, I've been trying to teach it as often as I can so I can get it in your spirit but this like the last day kind of revelation stuff that's going to be coming and this is the stuff that going to separate the sheep from the goat. The goats going to be still lying there trying to figure out bah, how do I do this, bah, what do goats sound like? But the sheep going to be (inaudible (01:19:52)). I receive that right now for my business Lord, hallelujah, Glory to God.

Creflo Dollars ministry World Changes Ministries International can be contacted in South Africa on international dialing code 002711 792 5562 or locally in South Africa 011 792 5562. In the United States, in Canada they can be contacted on 1 888 252 7788, their website is www.worldchanges.org, their address in South Africa is Creflo Dollar Ministries, Private Bag 3575, Cresta, 2118, Republic of South Africa and in the United States, PO Box 490124, College Park, Georgia, GA30349 in the United States. As mentioned before, this tape that has just been played is one of a set of six which go into a variety of aspects in greater detail. In order to complete this teaching I would like to, just very briefly, give you one or two comments and then share the steps to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The point that is so vital about this teaching is if we had to go into the realm of exceedingly abundantly in marriage, if we are to experience God's best Heaven on earth in marriage, we have to walk in the spirit, we need to be lead by the spirit, we need the gifts of the spirit in order to get  there and this teaching on prayer in the Holy Spirit is absolutely a vital.

Creflo Dollar gives, in his book, SOS: Help, my flesh needs discipline, the seven steps to receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. One, understand that the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost at 02:38. Two, the born again experience is the only qualification necessary for receiving the Holy Spirit baptism, Act 2:38. Three, the laying on of hands is Scriptural, Act 8:17. Four, know what to expect, Acts 19:6. Five, disregard all fears about receiving counterfeit for the Holy Spirit, Luke 11:11-13, there are counterfeits but we are charged to walk in faith. Six, open your mouth as an act of faith to receive the Holy Spirit, Ephesians 5:18&19. Seven, let all things be done decently and in order, 1 Corinthians 14:33.

In order to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as indicated, it is Scriptural for the impartation of the Holy Spirit come by the laying on of hands, except in exceptional circumstances. So unless you're clearly lead by the Lord to pray on your own, I would recommend that you find a charismatic Church or a Church in which the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the laying on of hands is an established practice and (inaudible (01:24:09)) for ministry. If you're unable to make contact with such people, I would suggest that you contact ministries such as this or Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland, Bennie Hinn, Rick Godwin, Casey Treat or other ministries around the world who will be able to help you, possibly even telephonically if you're in a remote area, certainly if necessary we will be happy to help you although our ministry is prophetic and teaching and not pastoral.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I bring this message before you and I ask that if there's anything contained herein which is not according to your word and not according to your will, that you will blow it away and that it will find no root in the hearts of the hearers but I pray that everything in this message which is according to your word and according to your will, will find deep root in the hearts of the hearers, that you will water it and nourish it by your spirit and that it will grow and produce abundant fruit in Jesus name. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Amen.

This message has been recorded by a Church without walls, a ministry of end time issue ministries, Po Box 898, Randpark Ridge, Randburg, 2156, Republic of South Africa. We can be contacted by email at james@endtimeissues.org.za. Our phone numbers international dialing code, normally 0027 but this may vary from country to country, the 27 is standard. Our landline 0027 11 791 2327 or in South Africa 011 791 2327. My number 0027 83 251 6644 and in South Africa 083 251 6644. Our fax number internationally 0027 11 791 5004 and locally 011 791 5004. All materials produced by this ministry are available at no cost to those who require them, irrespective of financial means. At the same time, donations and offerings are clearly welcome to support the word.

Please feel free to copy any of our materials in part or in full as the Lord leads you. Understanding that the manner in which you utilize those materials and the manner in which you cite them and quote them is for your account on the Day of Judgment. So we would ask you to use the materials widely, but please feel free to copy them however you see fit and to share these truths with anybody as the Lord leads. I would urge those of you who received copies of these tapes at no charge that once you've listened to them that you consider passing them on and blessing others with them. Our heart's desire is that they should not become an artifact sitting on a bookshelf and gathering dust but that the word of God contained in these teachings should be spread as far and as widely as possible. Should you be lead by the Lord to sow into this Ministry, our bank account is end time issue ministries, the account number is 042 752 7805, the branch is the Standard Bank of South Africa, Randburg branch and the branch code is 018 005.

You've been listening to these messages, you've realized that you do not have a personal saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and that if you were to die right now, you would not spend Eternity in Heaven with him. I would urge you to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and to pray the prayer of salvation. The steps to salvation are as follows. Firstly admit and recognize that you are a sinner. Romans 3 verse 23 says "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Secondly, accept and believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, that he came to Earth as a man, that he was crucified and died on the cross, that on the third day, he rose again and is now seated at the right hand of the Father and that by his death and resurrection he took your sons for Eternity. Romans 5:8 says, "but God demonstrates his own love towards us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Thirdly, confess your sins, repent of your sins and turn around. Repentance means turning around, it means ceasing to do what you now realize is wrong. 1 John 19 says, "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness for confess your faith that Jesus Christ is Lord, that you believe this and receive his salvation and invite him to dwell in your heart." Romans 10: 9 and 10 says, "if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved, for with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Give thanks to God for your salvation, pray and cry out to God and give thanks to him for saving you. Work out your salvation by the Spirit of God." Philippians 2:12 says, "therefore, my beloved, as you've always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

Salvation is a process. You are saved the moment you pray the sinner's prayer, the prayer of salvation and invite the Lord Jesus Christ to come into your heart and be Lord of your life. But Salvation is also a process whereby your mind is renewed and you come to have a personal and deep relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is your choice how far you go in that relationship. He desires a wonderful and a deep and intimate relationship with you, but it is your choice whether you will do what is necessary to come to that place through reading your Bible, praying, seeking counsel, seeking guidance. You should be water baptized at the first possible opportunity. Matthew 3:6 says "And were baptized by him in the Jordan confessing their sins." Encourage you to ask the Lord to lead you to somebody who has some knowledge of the basic ordinance of water baptism who can water baptize you, which leads you to a Church where they can water baptize you.

There's no reason why you cannot be water baptized today as a symbolic cleansing and washing of your sins. In fact, the minute you have prayed the sinners prayer it would be preferable for you to be water baptized. Choose to be obedient to the word of God, accept the Bible in its original Hebrew as given by the Spirit of God and choose to live your life according to that. 1John 5:3 says "For this is the love of God that we keep his Commandments and his Commandments are not burdensome." I encourage you to read the word of God daily and to put into practice everything that you encounter. As a principle which I believe will bear fruit in your life, I would encourage you to make an effort right now, after you've prayed this prayer, start reading your Bible from the book of John through to the book of Revelation.

And then make a discipline of reading the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation at least two, three, four times a year. And read the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi at least once a year. And I would encourage you to do that using different translations. Ask God to lead you to the Church where he wants you to be at this time where they will teach you, they will guide you, they will pray for you and they will help you to walk in the fullness of what God has called you to be. Be aware that God may move you from Church to Church over time to teach you new things. And you should not be reluctant to do this.

04 08 How to Discipline Your Flesh

Xxx this teaching is still to be transcribed – audio with Taryn

04 09 Renewing Your Mind

Xxx this teaching is still to be transcribed – audio with Taryn

04 10 The Power of the tongue

Xxx this teaching is still to be transcribed – audio with Taryn

04 11 The Anointing & the Four offices of Jesus

Xxx this teaching is still to be supplied to Taryn

04 12 Demonic Oppression of the Flesh and Deliverance

Xxx this teaching is still to be supplied to Taryn

04 13 Cleansing the Temple of the Holy Spirit – and Jezebel

Two of the teaching series, 'Understanding God's Way in Marriage,' Volume 2 being'Towards Heaven on Earth in Marriage,' and teaching number 13, 'Demons in the Temple of the Holy Spirit and Jezebel.' This teaching is a continuation of the previous teaching on the oppression of the flesh by Demons and deliverance. We saw very clearly in that teaching that Christians can have Demons. We see in Matthew 10:1, "And when He (Jesus) had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease." We read then subsequently in Luke 10:17-20, "Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the Demons are subject to us in Your name.'"

So, we see the seventy and the twelve both sent out two by two. We see that Jesus gave them authority over Demons, and we see that he also sent them to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Jesus himself said that He had come only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and even in the case of the Syrophoenician woman, the Canaanite woman who came to Him for deliverance for her daughter, He initially refused to minister to her because she was an unbeliever. So it is important that we understand that Jesus' whole ministry of deliverance was to the believers. It is virtually impossible to minister deliverance to an unbeliever, and an unbeliever is serving Satan. So how on Earth can one minister deliverance to them. They must first come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and then they can be delivered.

Deliverance

As we have seen also, deliverance is a process. It is not something that happens overnight. We need to become progressively more sanctified, we need to renew our minds progressively in the Word of God and come to a place where we have the level of understanding that is opposite and appropriate for a particular Demon to leave. We may be delivered of some Demons today and other Demons, but we may only be delivered in years' time provided we are diligent in progressively drawing closer to God. If we are not, if we backslide, those Demons may easily return and give us even more difficulty than before.

We read in 1 Corinthians 6:15-20, "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?" As we have seen in a previous teaching, Christ means the anointed one, Jesus and His anointing. To continue, "Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For 'the two,' He says, 'shall become one flesh.' But he who is joined to the Lord is one Spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s."

Temple of God

In 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 we read, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." We also know that this Spirit of Jesus comes to dwell in us when we make a decision that Jesus Christ is Lord and invite him into our lives. So, our bodies are the dwelling place of the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. And they are therefore a temple. We see very clearly in 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 that if a man joins his body to a harlot, he becomes one with her, one flesh with her; the Temple of God is joined to a harlot. By extension, when a man joins himself to his wife in marriage, and we have seen previously that marriage is the act of sexual intercourse, the two of them become one and therefore she becomes part of the Temple of the Holy Spirit, which is her husband. I am not saying that the Holy Spirit does not dwell in her also, but there is an anointing on the two of them, or in the husband and his wives. If there is more than one wife, there is an anointing on them which is very special. It has no parallel in any other area of life and it makes that marriage an entity in the Sight of God. It makes it a spiritual powerhouse and it brings about an anointing on that marriage and an anointing on that couple, provided that the wife is in submission.

If the wife is not in submission, if she is in rebellion, if she is striving and fighting with her husband, or if she is tearing her house down, then that spirit is anti-anointing. It is anti-Christ. It is attacking the anointing on her husband, and it is undermining the entire family. In the same way, a wife that is in submission and lifts her husband up is a pillar in the house of her husband, prays for him, intercedes for him, works with him and is enthusiastic about his ministry and his calling, and does everything she can to help him succeed, for his house, her house and for the family to succeed. She will help him to draw closer to God. She will help him to draw in the fullness of the anointing. As we have seen before, a woman has enormous responsibility in terms of her husband's walk and the walk of her family. She can break down or she can build up her family.

Demons

It is really important that we understand that in the context of this teaching on marriage, there is a very special anointing on marriage of a situation where a husband and wife walk in complete harmony and agreement. In understanding the issues around the Temple of the Holy Spirit and Demons, I would like to refer to 2 Chronicles Chapters 29 and 30, which give us a very interesting parallel. It is a parallel that the Lord had shown me repeatedly over the last few years. We see there that the Temple... Well, before we look at that, as I said, the body is the Temple of God. It is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. It is the Temple of Jesus. Demons on the other hand, as we have seen in the previous teachings, can oppress the flesh. We can have Demons of pride, lust, evil concupiscence, viciousness, and any number of different Demons oppressing our flesh. Those then become resident on and around, and to a point in the Temple of the Holy Spirit, which is our bodies. And before we can come to a place for holiness and sanctification, those Demons need to be cast out.

We also need to realise that in Old Testament times, and even today in areas of Africa, etc., where full-blown idolatry with carved idols is still practiced, frequently through that idolatry Demons gain a legal right to take residents around an idol and so supernatural events can happen around physical idols. Therefore, the idols that were transferred or taken into the Temple in Jerusalem and we are about to read about were effectively an included Demons.

It is also important to understand in this whole context that even though we have Demons oppressing our flesh, this does not mean that we cannot be anointed, that we cannot serve God. It is a deception to believe that unless you are completely free of Demons, you won't manifest the anointing of the Holy Spirit. That is not the case. Very few Christians today are completely free of Demons, but as we see in the Old Testament, it was only after massive apostasy, massive idolatry and massive defilement of the Temple compound, the Temple, and even the holy of holies where they eventually put an idol in there that the Holy Spirit eventually left the Temple of Jerusalem. That is described in some detail, I think, in Ezekiel. By the same token, when we come to salvation, we come to salvation bringing a whole bunch of Demons with us and we must understand it is not possible to minister deliverance to an unbeliever. They do not have any faith. They are serving Satan.

So, to suggest that deliverance is something that only applies to unbelievers is completely mistaken. By the same token, the day that we come to salvation, we come to salvation with a whole bunch of Demons and unless we are radically saved under a massive anointing, in which message massive deliverance takes place, generally deliverance will be a process. Apart from anything else, the day we come to salvation, we do not have enough knowledge of the Word of God, we are not living righteously enough, and we are not insufficiently sanctified to have the capacity to resist Demons that seek to return. And the Word of God says that when Demons are cast out, he will go and seek seven others to come and help take occupation of that house.

So, we have to cast the Demons out of ourselves a little at a time as we grow in Christ. If we do not grow in Christ, we will never get free of the Demons. Conversely when we have grown in Christ to a significant degree, we will eventually, God-willing, get free of most, if not all, of our Demons, but we need to understand the anointing of the Holy Spirit is available to us even while we are demonised. We cannot assume that the manifestation of the Holy Spirit through us even in significant miracles of healing, deliverance, words of knowledge, prophecy is any indication that we are free of Demons. If we believe that for a minute, we are falling into great deception and we are likely to start moving in counterfeit miracles, counterfeit tongues and other false demonic manifestations, the moment we cease to be aware of the fact that we can be demonised. It is my personal opinion that there is probably not a single human being on this Earth today who does not have some Demons and I say that with respect to all Christians.

I think it is highly unlikely that there are very many Christians today who have no Demons. If they were, I think we would be seeing the Spirit moving more powerfully, but I suppose that my comment is not totally true. I think that it is possible that there are a few Christians who are quite possibly very low profile, not known in the public eye, who have really laid down their lives and sanctified themselves and are free of Demons. But given the seemingly relatively limited knowledge in this field today, I would count that as a relatively improbable situation and say it is limited to very few people. That is not to say that in these last days as we are living leading into all truth, that we should not aspire to be free. I certainly aspire to reach a point where my flesh is completely free of Demons, but I know as I speak to you today that that is not the case. My faith is out to be set free, and I pray that it will happen shortly.

But again, I keep finding every time I think that I am free, there is a deeper level of manifestation that keeps coming. Also, we pick stuff up. If we backslide a bit, we are likely to have stuff come back and affect us. It is all interrelated and I think that is the point that I am seeking to make today. And that is what this teaching is about. It is going to be more of these issues around this subject. We turn to 2 Chronicles 29 and just read selected verses. Verses 1-2, "Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah, and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done."

Godly parents

It is important to note and it is something that I have not studied out in detail, but if you read through Kings and Chronicles and to a point, Samuel, you will find that in almost all cases where there is a good king, his mother was the daughter of a priest, or a daughter of a godly man, and that she raised him in the ways of the Lord. If you find there is an evil king or a wicked king, almost always you will find that his mother was of the house of Ahab or was an unbeliever, a Canaanite or an Egyptian, and there appears to be a very strong correlation. A godly mother will have godly children, and an ungodly mother will have ungodly children.

A man who marries an ungodly woman, brings a curse on his family. He opens his children up to being instructed in the wrong ways, and led astray and being affected by the Demons. A man who marries a godly woman will find that his children are taught the ways of God or instructed by his wife and they are likely to grow up as godly adults. It is a really important conclusion, and it again reinforces just how absolutely vital it is that a man marries a believing woman who is committed to serving God with all her heart, mind, soul and strength and obviously the reverse applies, but I have stressed that previously. Men do not make the mistake of marrying women because you are attracted to them, or for some other reason, and then discover that there are not committed to serving God. It is vital that you check out any prospective wife and make sure that she is willing to commit herself to serving God to at least the same, or greater extent that you are.

Continuing with verse 3 and before I do that, I just want to make this point. I would ask you to listen and read this particular verse of Scripture from the point of view of, this is a shadow and the type of what we need to do to our own bodies, to get them cleansed of demonic oppression. That is the context of this teaching today to see the principles that are contained and apply this also to marriage. It is part of the journey that is required to reach Heaven on Earth in marriage. Verse 3, "In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. Then he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them in the East Square, and said to them: 'Hear me, Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place. For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the Lord our God; they have forsaken Him, have turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the Lord, and turned their backs on Him."

Sanctification

If I could paraphrase the fifth verse at the end to say, hear me husbands, now sanctify yourself, sanctify the house of the Holy Spirit and carry out the rubbish from the holy place. I really believe that this is the Word of the Lord for all Christians today, but particularly to men who are married. Sanctify your house, carry out the rubbish, and get rid of all the squalid, carnal, worldly dirt, filth and false doctrine in yourself, in your wife, in your children, and sanctify yourself.  If you will sanctify yourself, we have seen that you will draw close to God, you will experience the anointing of God, you will experience the miracles of God and if you will do that with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, you will experience a marriage which is dynamic and actually a blessing to you.

Skipping to verse 9, "For indeed, because of this our fathers have fallen by the sword; and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity. Now it is in my heart to make a Covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us. My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense." And again, to paraphrase, verse 9 in particular, our sons, our daughters, our wives, and in fact ourselves are in captivity to Demons in this age. As I said before, I think virtually every Christians on this planet right now is demonised. If you are experiencing funny feelings, sensations that make you feel uncomfortable as I am giving you this message, I would encourage you to recognise that that is quite possibly demonic manifestation that is seeking you to draw you away from this teaching.

In fact, let’s just pray right now, "Father in the name of Jesus, I speak to every Demon and fallen Angel that can hear this message in the name of Jesus, I bind you now, I command you to go down and be silent until this message has been completed, in the name of Jesus. Father in the name of Jesus, I ask You to send your mighty warring Angels to blind and silence every Demon and fallen Angel that is within hearing distance of this message. Father, I ask You to instruct your Angels to close the eyes of those Demons and to close the ears of those Demons so they will be absolutely ignorant of what is being taught here, and I thank You that those Angels will bind those Demons from any way of tormenting, harassing, misleading, or distracting those people who are listening to this message in the name of Jesus. Father I ask You to cover myself, my wife, my family with the blood of Jesus from the top of our heads to the soles of our feet and to cover every one of the people listening to this message from the top of their heads to the soles of their feet, their husband, their wives, their children, their immediate family with the blood of Jesus that now harm or befall them. Father I thank You from ministering deliverance, I thank You for the revelation on the people who listen to this message in Jesus’ name."

Covenants

To return to the teaching, verse 10, I would encourage every man who listens to this teaching to take to heart this verse, "Now it is in my heart to make a Covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us." I would encourage you to make a formal Covenant with the Lord God of Israel to sanctify your family to the service of God. In fact, I would like to pray with you right now and if you feel able to agree with me, I would ask you and encourage you to pray with me right now in the name of Jesus. I ask you just to stand, every man listening to this tape, and raise your right hand before God and say, “Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus and before the Angels and all the witnesses of Heaven, I declare my intention to make a Covenant with You, I Covenant with You today, I give You my family, I give You my wife and my children and I declare before God today that we Covenant to do what you have called us to do. We Covenant to come into a place where our marriages are Heaven on Earth. We Covenant before You today Lord God to do what it takes to sanctify our families, to sanctify our houses in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we ask You right now Father, in the name of Jesus by your Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us into all the truth that we require in order to accomplish that which we have declared right now, and we thank You that You will open the doors that need to be opened, that no man may close, and close the doors that need to be closed, that no man may open them, that You will bring the people into our lives that You want in, and take the people that You do not want in our lives out, in such that we may walk in the Covenant that we have just made with You in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” I would encourage you to take communion over that vow after this teaching is over.

So again, "My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense." I would encourage you, as you listen to this, to realise this is a truth that is only now being revealed in the world. It has been hidden for hundreds of years as you see in the teaching on the history of marriage and the Church. God is calling you to step out and do something for Him in a mighty way. From verse 16-20, "Then the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it and brought out all the debris that they found in the temple of the Lord to the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it out and carried it to the Brook Kidron." Husbands are the priests of the family, go into the inner part of your house, seek out those things which are defilement in your heart and your wife's heart and the hearts of your children and carry them out that they may be utterly destroyed.

"Now they began to sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. So, they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, 'We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offerings with all its articles, and the table of the showbread with all its articles. Moreover, all the articles which King Ahaz in his reign had cast aside in his transgression we have prepared and sanctified; and there they are, before the altar of the Lord.' Then King Hezekiah rose early, gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the Lord."

Sacrifice, praise and worship

Verse 22, "So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar." So, we see that a sacrifice was brought. And Jesus is our sacrifice. We need to take communion over this. We need to really take this seriously. Going to verse 26-31, "The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. Then Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord also began, with the trumpets and with the instruments of David king of Israel. So, all the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. And when they had finished offering, the king and all who were present with him, bowed and worshiped. Moreover, King Hezekiah and the leaders commanded the Levites to sing praise to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So, they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.

Then Hezekiah answered and said, 'Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord, come near, and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the Lord.' So, the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings, and as many as were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings." We need to praise God in our families. We need to bring ourselves to a place where our families are pleasing, where the prayer that comes out of them is sweet incense. We need to see the lovemaking between husband and wife as a sacrifice of worship and praise between husband and wife. This is the most intimate, personal, and it is the most heavenly thing on Earth, and it must be treated accordingly. It must be treated with reverence, but it must be treated with exuberant joy the way the Scriptures tell us to praise and worship, and we should praise God in your lovemaking. Husbands and wives give your all to praising God in your lovemaking. Give all that you have to one another. Lovemaking is not about taking, it is about giving.

Verse 36, "Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the events took place so suddenly." Subsequently, Hezekiah invites all the people of Israel to attend, some come, some do not come, and they held a Passover feast. 2 Chronicles 30:25-27, "The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, also the priests and Levites, all the assembly that came from Israel, the sojourners who came from the land of Israel, and those who dwelt in Judah. So, there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard; and their prayer came up to His holy dwelling place, to Heaven."

We have seen previously that Jerusalem is a shadow and a type of the spiritual Spirit-filled obedient Church, the bride of Christ. So, I would suggest to you that there will be great joy in Jerusalem if they will sanctify themselves. I will also suggest to you that if we do not do what we have to do, to bring our marriages into that place of holiness and sanctification, we will be hard put to be in a place where we can serve God fully through the tribulation which is to come.

God’s form of marriage

We turn now to 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 and I just want to give you a few more principles in Scriptures before we go on with the more specific teaching. "And He (Jesus) said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."We must be weak to receive the anointing in our lives and our marriages. Our marriages must seem weak to the world. We are not called to compete with the world. Our women are not called to be brazen, outgoing and harlot-like in their dress and their conduct in the way of the world. They are called to be modest and discreet. They are called to submit to their husbands. Their husbands are not called to be arrogant, overweening and overbearing. They are called to be meek, gentle and humble, and to walk in the love of God.

That is something that the world does not understand, it does not find it attractive. So, if you are looking at the picture that I keep alluding to Heaven on Earth in marriage, you have to turn away from any frame of reference that you have out of the world today. I am not aware of anywhere where you can go right now today and see God's form of marriage in all its glory. I have seen glimpses of it in a few people. I have seen some of it in Malawi where the wives are still in gentle submission to their husbands, and where some of the pastors and apostles walk in considerable degree of humility. But overall, I cannot say to you go to such an address and meet such a man and his family, and you will see God's form of marriage. We have a way to go. I do not know what the duration of that is, but we have a way to go. It is a journey, but it is a time still before in my experience and my observation, in terms of what I believe that the Lord is saying to me, that I think that you will be able to see Heaven on Earth in marriage in anybody around you. That does not mean that you should not seek to get there. To love God is to seek to do what He has called us to do and the Word of God says that when the Church comes into unity, then the world will know that Jesus came from the Father.

Until we come into unity in marriage, we will not even begin to understand what is required to come into unity in the Body of Christ, even in the local congregation, let alone in a suburban area where there might be 5 or 10 different denominations. We are currently attending Church at a small congregation in North of Pretoria and within the ambit of a couple of city blocks, there must be somewhere between 6 and 12 different Churches, all of which meet on their own premises with her own building every Sunday morning.

One last Scripture, 2 Corinthians 10:3-7, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. Do you look at things according to the outward appearance? If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ’s, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ’s, even so we are Christ’s."

Heaven on Earth

Absolutely vital - we are told repeatedly in Scripture, do not look to the things that are seen. The picture that I see is powerful and it is a spiritual picture. I made the point repeatedly, sexual lovemaking in marriage is not a physical thing. It happens to have a physical dimension, but it is a powerful spiritual act. A man and a woman who give themselves totally to one another, who unite totally with one another, become totally one with one another, one flesh, one spirit, one heart, in complete unity and harmony, singing the same song, from the same song book, to the same tune, in the same key, in perfect harmony. That is not something you see with your natural eye, it is something that you see in the Spirit. You may ultimately see the manifestation with your natural eye, but you will not see what goes on in the privacy of the bedroom. That is where that One Flesh house is brought in the privacy of the bedroom, in the worship, and reverent, passionate and giving act of lovemaking between a husband and a wife, who are totally committed to one another, who are totally committed to serving God, who have no hang-ups and no religious views on their sexuality, but see it as a gift from God in which they can experience some dimensions of Heaven on Earth.

And please do not hear me say that the sexual act is the Heaven on Earth that I am talking about. It is very definitely a component of the Heaven on Earth. Without it, there will not be Heaven on Earth in your marriage, if you do not build a solid and robust spiritual house, a One Flesh house which can only come about through complete sexual union. You will not have Heaven on Earth in your marriage if you have a religious view of sex. If you think it is something carnal and dirty, then I have to say you, please think again. That is not what it is. It is a beautiful, sublime spiritual act. It is the melding together of the hearts of two people. It is the building of 1 Corinthians 13, love within the marriage, if you will hear me.

Casting down arguments in every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. We have had teachings about words. I would just suggest to you a very simple prayer to deal with vain imaginations and thoughts that keep troubling you. You can speak to your mind as you can speak to anything else in the name of Jesus, and it has to take note of what you say. The name of Jesus is the name above all names. At the end of the day, every knee you will bow, every tongue you will confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord. So, at the name of Jesus, every knee must bow, you can pray, and you can speak to those thoughts, and you can bind up the thoughts.

So, if you are being troubled by thoughts, you can pray a prayer along the following pattern: "Father I come to You in the name of Jesus and I thank You that Your Word says that the name of Jesus is the name above all names. And I speak to You in mind, in the name of Jesus. I speak to those thoughts about whatever the thought may be about. I speak to those thoughts now in the name of Jesus. I bind them in the name of Jesus. I speak to any Demon that is implanting those thoughts in me, I bind you and I command you listening now and go to The Pit for 1000 years in Jesus’ name. And I speak to you mind in the name of Jesus, I command you to bow your knee to the name of Jesus and I command you to cease and desist from thinking those thoughts." You are to give no attention to those thoughts in future in Jesus name. Bow your knee now to the name of Jesus. "Father I thank you by the Spirit of God that dwells in me by the Holy Spirit that dwells in me, those thoughts are brought captive and into subjection to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ."

You may find that you have to pray that prayer on a fairly regular basis to deal with thoughts in certain areas if you are troubled by for argument sake, carnal lust towards a woman who is not your wife, if you are a man, or to a man who is not your husband. It may take some time to bring your mind into full subjection to the Word of God, but you need to keep doing it. You need to keep praying that prayer. If there is demonic activity behind it, you may well not get free just with the simple prayer that I have just prayed with you. You may need to go further. In fact, you probably will need to go further.

We have gone through, in the previous teachings, various things roundabout the flesh, words, and so forth. I would encourage you to realise that is an ongoing process. Realistically, if you truly seek to experience Heaven on Earth in your marriage, you may well find that you need to cycle through this entire set of 40 tapes, maybe once a year with your spouse, over the next 2, 3, 4, 5 years, before you have dealt with all of those things. As I said before, I have been praying into the stuff for nearly 6 years now just to get to a point where I feel able to present, for the first time, a comprehensive teaching on the subject which I believe covers most, if not all, items of significance, but which I realise is still just the framework of the broad structural outline of the teaching which is extremely far-reaching and extremely deep and where every tape in the series can potentially be exploded into 10, 15, 20 further tapes going in-depth into that particular subject. So, I would encourage you to revisit many of the tapes in the series, particularly the more practical ones which deal with fundamental principles.

I am now going to go through some of the headlines out of manual on study of deliverance. I am not going to go into a lot of detail, but I just want to pick up just a few other thoughts and a few other things that come up. As I said, Carol can be contacted at Carol@netactive.co.za, Johannesburg 4761566. We have listened to the tape on the first lesson, “Can Christians have Demons?” The second lesson is entitled ‑'Doorways to Demonic Infiltration Inheritance' and it goes through things which are passed down through the generations. It is important to understand if your grandparents have sinned, those things can get passed on to you. We see that because of David's sin with regards to the murder of Uriah, the Hittite, there was violence passed down through his bloodline for many, many generations, and that is a demonic thing. Under the New Covenant, we have a basis to cut these things off. We need to be aware of that. Familial ancestral and familial spirits are passed from generation to generation. These relate to things like ancestor worship and so forth, but they occur just as much in Western society, and in Western Christians.

Freemasonry and witchcraft

Freemasonry a major issue, if you come from any of the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant countries, in particular, but also if you come from catholic background as well, freemasonry may be significant. Freemasonry in its more deep-seated, more secretive areas is closely allied with witchcraft and various other things. The oaths that are taken in freemasonry or blood oaths are against Scripture and they bring serious curses on the people who take them, on their families and down through the generations. All sorts of manifestations in your life may be attributable to freemasonry, not necessarily in your generation or your father's generation but going back to 5-10 generations and the same with witchcraft.

In the middle and in the dark ages, witchcraft was extremely prevalent. There are reports and an instance of a woman in her 20s who tried to throw herself off a bridge and commit suicide, and during the exorcism that followed, it was identified that 13 generations ago in a Satanic rite, the firstborn of the 13th generation had been dedicated to Satan at a particular age and she was that person. And this Demon had just walked down the bloodline following the firstborn child until it was her time and he tried to kill her, but because she was a born-again believer, certain things happened which prevented her from being killed, and she was subsequently delivered. We do not understand the magnitude of what can happen with curses and blessings. Words are extremely, extremely powerful. If you curse somebody, if you swear at somebody, if you tell somebody to go to hell, as we have heard in the teaching by Kenneth Copeland, those words have weight and they have authority. If you are born-again believer, they carry more authority. If you are an anointed man of God, they carry more authority. We dare not play games with words. We will be judged for every word that we speak that is an idle, unproductive or a destructive word.

Speak the truth in love, and no more and no less. Let your yes be yes, and your no be no. The world has such a loose attitude to words, and it is another area where Satan has us completely messed up. Recognise these things. Curses can be cut off, bloodline issues can be pronounced, ungodly vows that you may have taken before you knew what you are doing, may be renounced. There was a teaching earlier on some of the issues there. Curses may come on you from God because of sin. It is important to understand that. Understand that agents of Satan, which is and Satanists have lists of anointed people of God and curse them regularly. Those curses can be returned and under certain circumstances they can be returned a thousand-fold, or you can ask the Lord to return in a thousand-fold. There are different views on that, but it is possible.

Lesson 3 deals with doorways to demonic infiltration and occult infiltration

It relates to occult involvement and it may not be in your generation. The occult is that which is hidden, or the act of hiding something. It is not something that’s mystical. The occult gets into all sorts of mystical things. Idolatry - there are various branches of the occult, witchcraft, acupuncture, divination, homoeopathy, alchemy, astrology, kabala, sorcery, and all different forms of the occult. These bring about all sorts of things such as manifestations, violent tempers, anger, hatred, cursing, loose self restrain, nervous disorders, fears, recurring accidents, difficulty in receiving the Gospel, rebellion against all authorities, resistance towards God's word and can all have roots in occult involvement, not necessarily in yours, your parents, or your grandparents. Abnormal sexual behaviour in children, mental problems, and all sorts of things are dealt with in this manual.

Satan is going into the Church of Satan, and so forth. Organised, self-styled occultism, and all sorts of techniques are used. The use of symbols like the pentagram and so forth, inverted crosses, and the ankh, which looks like a T with a loop on the top of it, occurs widely in Egyptian symbology. Many people are administered once in a case where a family had been burgled and the born-again believers and the daughter had been given an Ankh on a chain, and the Lord said I cannot protect her as long as she is in possession of that Ankh. These seem to be trivial things, but they can play absolute havoc in your life. If you have ungodly jewellery which has ungodly signs, a peace sign, pentagrams, all sorts of things and ministered in the case of a family that were going through hell on Earth and they have been given just as little casual gifts, at a wedding celebration that was attended, it was not even their own wedding, two little carved Central African dolls and these were shown by the Holy Spirit to be demonically infested. They battled greatly to burn these things. Eventually they applied the blood that bound the Demons attached to them, bound them and told them to leave. Eventually these artefacts were burnt and immediately their lives turned around. These things are powerful. We do not understand how powerful they are.

Lesson 4 - Doorways to demonic infiltration, rebellion, and witchcraft

Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. We read in 1 Samuel 15:20, King Saul was rejected from being king over Israel because he listened to the people. He did not listen to God and rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and as we have seen rebellion, treachery is the basis for a man to divorce his wife - pornea, treachery, adultery, and betrayal. So, we see this ties into Jezebel, who is associated with witchcraft, women who betray their husbands, and break the marriages, in the same say that when we betray Jesus, in extreme case, we eventually lose our salvation. There are many things that relate to rebellion and can lead to addictions,  overeating, stubbornness, and manipulation. There are all sorts of forms of manipulation and many of those forms of manipulation are widely effectively taught and practised by women in the Western world today. Cages and lay lines it is possible for and witches to use symbology to put a family into bondage. Catholicism carries certain things with it. The crucifix is not a Christian symbol.

Wicker, the witches organisation, Jezebel

I just want to read a passage here with regards to Jezebel. The Jezebel spirit is a controlling, manipulative and seducing spirit. Being a power spirit, its aim is to destroy the Prophet of God, emasculate the priests of God and uproot the true worship of the Lord Jesus Christ. It also introduces idolatry in the home, Church, and the nation. The spirit of Jezebel enters a family situational wherever God's order of authority is not known or ignored.

God's order is simple. The authority of man is Christ, the authority of woman is man, and the authority of Christ is God.  1 Corinthians 11:3, Isaiah 3:12, is the result of a woman in control of a chaotic nation Jezebel on the family. Jezebel seeks to usurp the authority of the husband in the marriage and Christ in the family. And that is why these teachings are so important, and that is why the latter part of this teaching refers to Jezebel. Until Jezebel is dethroned in your family, you will not come close to God and you will not experience Heaven on Earth. You will experience Hell on Earth.

The abusive authority is to take authority by illegal means of manipulation or domination, or to function in the realm of authority that God did not delegate. It operates to confuse the proper roles of men and women. 1 Kings 16, Ahab abdicates authority and Jezebel usurps it. Again, the so-called helpless woman who cannot do anything for herself, who needs her husband to help her, and is constantly bristling into tears, that is manipulation, and that is control. Women are designed by God to be helpless to man. They are strong, they are capable of many of the things that men are capable of, and they are capable of things which men are not capable of. They are not second-rate citizens. They are not weak things to be put in a glass case and put on display. They are human beings with capacity to add value.

The Ahab spirit causes a man to forsake his responsibilities as the head of the household. He will refuse to take the spiritual leadership and often will not take responsibility for working to make a living for his wife and children. The man must provide both spiritual and material security for his family. He cannot or will not God be displeased. Men like this are drawn to Jezebel women because they appear tough and hard. When a woman is forced into headship of the family, she is put in a position for which God has not fitted her in body, soul, and Spirit. 1 Peter 3:7 clearly states that she is a weaker vessel. When you have a weak husband, an earthly and natural reaction is to take authority for necessity because she is not designed mentally, physically, or spiritually to wield authority. Her actions soon become sensual. A woman's limitations force her to connive and manipulate to control, so she resorts to tears, anger, parting, or illness. In the area of the disciplining of children, the Jezebel influence is often noticeable. Bribery, manipulation, and trickery are used to obtain obedience.

Proverbs 22:5, take the rod. Strong emotions, fits of rage, storms of weeping - the family comes under a controlled spirit. Days, weeks of cruel violence, , children will live in constant tension, stress, insecurity, frustration and fear. They will either become rebellious or turn inward and become nothings and nobodies without character. When their sons marry, they bring this into their hands and will try to suppress their wives personalities, where they develop an Ahab spirit which is passive with the rebellion. Jezebel builds an attitude of derision towards the father. Sons turn to homosexuality and daughters are inclined to take the same Jezebel spirit into their hands when they marry.

Businesses can also be invaded by the spirit of Jezebel. Manipulation, occultic practices, handwriting analysis, and ESP, etc. Entire Church congregations can come under the domination of the few families. They will try to dictate. There will be soul-less prophecies, charismatic fortune telling, and the teacher or pastor will be gaining followers for himself rather than pointing to centring on Jesus. So, Jezebel takes our eyes off Jesus. She takes perverts and upturns the whole godly order in marriage. The person driven by the Jezebel spirit can be recognised, motivated and driven by dominance controlling others with anger, hatred and violence, not meekness and wisdom. They have the inability to delegate responsibility. They interfere and hinder, often doing the work themselves, and successfully demonstrating incompetence in others. They are driven to control. They dominate and wrench the lives of all those close to them. Those around them are on edge and are nervous. She parades under a cover of good and religion. She usually has perversion of some kind and usually suffers from lustful thoughts or desires and passes her sexual oppresses on to her children.

If they cannot control, they will use their husbands as their mouthpiece. The woman does not have to be loud and rowdy. She can appear to be meek and mild, and totally helpless, but under that there is a fist of iron pushing, pulling, and manipulating. If all of this does not work, they fake illness which opens the door to spread of infirmity and they end up with long illnesses. A man who is not controlled by an Ahab spirit, who mistakenly marries a woman of Jezebel spirit, will either find himself being dominated and manipulated by her and eventually becoming a victim of an Ahab spirit, or there would just be ongoing strife and division in that marriage. A man will take whatever protective measures he can to protect himself, but eventually the marriage will fail. This is what happened in my own marriage. Eventually it was a case of an immovable object and the unstoppable force, or whatever is the correct example, is that eventually something has to give. Eventually the woman in this case turned and refused to obey the Lord Jesus Christ to a point where he eventually turned his back on her and walked away. At that point shortly after that, he told me to get out of the marriage.   It is a tragic thing to love a woman for 25 years and then see her come to a place where her rebellion causes the Lord Jesus to turn his back on her, and in the process, for the Lord to reveal the treachery beyond anything that you could have possibly thought was happening.

For those who are not married, take care in selecting your marriage partners. Only the Spirit of God knows what is in the heart. Do not choose your partners. Jezebel women are often fiery and they are attractive. The world system tells you that a Jezebel wife is a good wife to have. The effect of an attack by the spirit of a victim under Jezebel, will become crippled, will be dealt confusion, and tormented by fears, and will eventually become so indecisive that they will have difficulty making the simplest decision. They will display doubts and oppression which will keep them immature and weak. Children will need to be set free from the matriarchal spirit. When around these people, you will feel a heaviness and oppression especially in the mind. Discussions or arguments with Jezebel will drain you. Even if you win, you will find that you have lost because you end up empty, broken, and discouraged. The spirit affects men and women, but the worst extremes are found in women. If your husband is not taking his place, be and do rather than talk the way of God. It’s really important for wives who are married to men, who are not what they would like them to be.

Do not resort to the acts of Jezebel to try and control and compensate for your husband. You will open yourself to Jezebel. And Jezebel operates in men in opposition to Christian fellowship, belittles Christian things, derides them, prevents wife from attending Church meetings. Gives no freedom of choice to the wife. Breaks down the wife by she tells him. Belittles the intellectual, spiritual, and emotional capacity. When Jezebel operates over a leadership, unbalanced shepherding doctrine, demanding submission, unbalanced teaching, presenting palatable more present aspects, those to self, self images were important. Seduction, diversions from the full truth of the word. Isaiah 3:12 Jezebel kills the prophets. So, we go. I am not going to read more at this stage, but it is an enormous amount about Jezebel. I will come back to that, God-willing, in a few minutes.

Lesson 5 - Doorways to demonic infiltration and sexual sin

Just a brief extract from that. "Sexual intercourse is not an evil thing in the frame of reference intended by God. It becomes a spiritual and sexual experience and is meant to fulfil both man and woman to the highest degree. Procreation of children is a blessed by-product, but it is by no means the only reason for sex," 1 Corinthians 7:5. A marital act should be overshadowed by a sense of holiness, of wholesome refreshment and fulfilment. It should be a joyous sharing of touch and excitement. God created man and woman to enjoy each other intimately.

Proverbs 5:18, "Let your fountain be blessed." The problem occurs in marriage when one partner asks or demands more from the spouse, then wholesome cherish and love. This usually occurs more in men and women because of society's influences. Man will lust after his wife. This lust will express itself in a strong masculine sex drive with selfishness and a brutal indifference to his wife's . Marriage breaking spirits move in. A woman will sense this lust and be offended by it. She will feel that her husband to be exploited and used entirely for his pleasure. She is left wounded and unsatisfied, often feeling unclean and of no value to her spouse. Eventually, this will lead to a distaste towards any sexual contact with her husband. This in turns frustrates and angers the husband and who feels rejected by his wife's passive or active rejection to his advances.

We need to be aware of this problem. It is better to give than to receive. Lust is when we use another for self gratification. Love gives, lust takes. When a woman has been abused sexually, she can often carry a hatred for men into her marriage. She will be unable to share intimacy or be fulfilled, for fear of condemnation. An understanding husband is needed to bring her through this. Many people today are unaware of or are indifferent to the condemnation God's Word brings against all sexual perversion. It goes on and there is a whole section on the things that comes as a result of sexual sin, adultery, evil concupiscence, pornography, curses, soul ties, all sorts of things. Demonic soul ties, which come about through ungodly sexual intercourse, incubi and succubi spirits, Demons that have sexual intercourse with men and women, all things that affect in the demonic realm.

Rejection, the healing of bruises and wounds

Rejection is a major issue in the world today, and it can produce all sorts of unpredictable behaviour until the roots of rejection are dealt with in a person that have great difficulty walking in a whole and complete relationship. Rejection can come about at birth, it can come about through a child with a failed abortion, and it can come about through a child who is spoken about in certain ways by parents even when they are very young. Words carry enormous impact. Perfection may come out of a desire to avoid being rejected.

Seventh lesson

Fear, pride and mind control in other strong men, we see in Scripture. God has not given us a spirit of fear. Fear is sin. Fear is faith in Satan. We see this clearly in the case of Job. It was Job's fear of what could happen that opened the door for Satan to attack him. Fear is about the flesh. Fear and pride are closely associated. They are both to deal with fear of man, and it brings about pride. Pride is an awareness of what people think rather than what God thinks. This is why they drive people away from God. It was fear of man that lead Saul to disobey God. All of these demonic manifestations are closely allied. Things like yoga, etc., and karate all involve things which open the door to demonic infestation. As a counterpoint to this, we have already seen that Jesus gives his disciples authority to cast out Demons. We need to understand our authority, and we saw that very clearly in the teaching yesterday. To minister deliverance, we need to come into a place where we are close to God and we are doing what God shows us, not leaning to our own understanding.

We need to understand the power and the authority of the name of Jesus and use that effectively. We need to understand the blood of Jesus and use that effectively. We need to cover ourselves with that. We need to understand the power of the Word of God. The Word of God is sharper than the two-edged sword, and we must use it as the offensive aspect of spiritual warfare to cut down and tear down principalities and powers. Agreement brings boldness. Again, we see the context of agreement in every area. A husband and wife in agreement will be in a far better place to tear down principalities, powers and strongholds operating in their lives and demonic infestation.

Love

We keep coming back to that word. It’s so pivotal to marriage succeeding, and in fact, the Christian walk accomplishing what God has called us to do. Prayers are absolutely vital, praise and worship of God and praise within the family. The wife must adore, praise and esteem her husband. Fasting, from our own experience is an absolutely vital thing. Humbling the flesh, weeping before God, laughter and joy before God, music, prayer and intersession true faith, are all aspects of walking in the power and the anointing of God to set our families free, and to set other people free. It is incumbent on every person to seek the gifts to set our families free. We will not come into that high place that I keep referring to, that place of revelation of what God intended marriage to be unless we will lay down our lives, and unless we walk in the fullness of the gifts of the spirit.

Lesson 9 - Spiritual warfare

Note that Satan is extremely cruel and ruthless. He is a deceiver and has skills and a clever use of the lie. We get strategies out of Scripture, basic requirements, and we will need to know exactly where we stand in Christ and what we are called to do. We need to understand the principles. We need to understand that Jesus is interceding. We need to stand in the gap of those who are in bondage for them to be set free. An enormous amount and this is really just a sample as I said. Carol also has a set of 15 tapes on this manual and the manual to over 100 pages. She gives various prayers to deal with the renunciation of sexual sin, and so forth.

Prayer to untangle sexual bondages

I am going to share these prayers, just in case they have some relevance to some of the people listening to this tape. “Lord Jesus, I have been involved in sexual sin and I do now repent and confess to You that I have committed (you name specifically all of the sexual sins you can remember). I claim freedom from my body and mind from the bondage of sexual slavery and claim the promise that whosoever calls upon the Lord shall be delivered.”

Joel 2:32, “Lord you promised that if I confess my sin you will forgive my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I do now claim and accept your forgiveness and cleansing. Satan, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus Christ, my Saviour, and I am notifying you now that in His name, I am reclaiming every area of my mind and body, as formally given over to you and your hosts. Specifically, I claim freedom in cleansing in the areas of sexual sin and as a believer priest, I renounce you and your host and command that they leave me now in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.”

There is a lengthy prayer for the renunciation of sexual sin. Space does not permit me to include that on this tape, but I would encourage you, if you have realised and listening to this tape, that you are not fully informed in the area of deliverance, that you consider the possibility that you could, to some extent, have Demons oppressing you. Please understand, when I suggest that a Christian has Demons, I am not trying to be ugly or insulting to them. I have made the point previously in the set of teachings. I am an engineer and engineering is about designing for success by engineering and against failure. Engineers do not learn how to design successful buildings, they learn how to design buildings that do not fail and a building that does not fail, is a successful building. They learn how to design aeroplanes that do not fall out of the sky. An aeroplane that does not fall out of the sky, stays in the sky. In the same way, in applying the principles of Scripture to marriage, it achieves nothing by talking at length about how wonderful we want our marriages to be. We have to focus on the factors that prevent our marriages from getting there. Once we have dealt with all the diagnostics, once we have gotten to the bottom of the real issues and why our marriages are not the way God intended them to be, we will have the marriages God intended us to have, if we systematically eliminate the weak links in the chain length of marriage. We will walk in power and authority and joy in marriage.

Jezebel and Satan

I want to go now back to the subject of Jezebel because Jezebel I believe is the principality that is truly behind a lot of what we have been talking about. It is the most vicious principality. Just to hear a few thoughts, in the sense one could almost say it seems to me certainly that Jezebel is Satan's wife. It is a feminist spirit that, from all that I have experienced, read and heard from others, it is the most vicious and ruthless. Again, refer to Jezebel Ahab in terms of the manner in which Jezebel just ruthlessly secured for Ahab by arranging a false trial and having the . We see in Scripture that even Ahab repented at one stage at the preaching of Elijah, and Ahab stood by while the prophets of Baal were slain after the miracle that God performed on Mount Carmel, and Elijah called down fire from Heaven, and that consumed the sacrifice and the and the prophets of Baal were killed. Yet, the very next day, Jezebel was threatened to take Elijah's life. Jezebel has seemingly no fear for God, and is absolutely ruthless. It would almost seem that Jezebel is to turn and to put her husband, Satan, on the throne of the world and to rule through him.

It is not daunted even by major victory, by man of God, as we saw with Elijah. She seeks to destroy the prophets of God and what better way than attacking them through their wives, marriages and through unmarried women, and general confusion of marriage doctrine. Jezebel knows that if she can attack women, if she can attack marriage, marriage will not succeed, and it really does seem to me that Satan uses Jezebel in the most effective way in marriage. Jezebel hates God's form of marriage. She hates women in submission. She is the principality behind woman's liberation and woman's rights, etc. She responds viciously to anything which threatens her hold on a person. You will never experience Heaven on Earth in your marriage while Jezebel sits on the throne of the heart of either spouse or oppresses their flesh at all. Jezebel and Ahab must be bound and cast out of your marriage. Again, at certain times, I have experienced feelings of anger, revulsion, and other feelings which you realise are not scriptural. While you listen to these teachings, there is a strong likelihood that some were involved in that, and that may be a Jezebel spirit. 

Now, I want to turn to a book which is simply entitled Jezebel by . It is a book published by Sword Publications in South Africa, PO Box 735, , South Africa. It is written by a husband and wife team, but I think the actual book itself was written by Hendrina. Their phone numbers as of the publication of the book, which was published in 1994, South Africa 0116468001, fax 4861640. Those numbers were valid a year or so ago. I have to confess that I have not checked them now. Again, I just want to go through the headlines of the book in the brief time that I have left for this teaching. Introduction is entitled 'That Whore Jezebel.' And I would ask you to see the correlation between that title, 'That Whore Jezebel' and the whoredoms in marriage that had been exposed in these teachings.

The statement was made in one of the teachings before this, that the Church at the moment, is a sullied whore in the Sight of God. A lot of that is attributable to Jezebel. Let me just read a few paragraphs out of the introduction here. In the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ to John, the Holy Spirit addresses seven Churches pointing out the good and bad in each. Woman of judgement of the evil is not removed and promising rewards of obedience and faithfulness. These are not merely actual historical Churches, but spiritual representations of the state of the Church. That woman Jezebel is not an actual physical person. She represents the spirit of unfathomed viciousness. There is not an area of our present society and life that is untouched by Jezebel. Its influence is devastatingly subtle. It insinuates itself into our thoughts and actions with such cunningness that most people are unaware it even exists, even though they abate suggestions and become instruments in its hands.

Jezebel is a power spirit that lusts for positions of authority. It destroys the prophets and emasculates the priests of God in the home, the Church and the nation. It is preparing the way for the rule of anti-Christ, and its known weapons are control, manipulation and false doctrine brought in the wings of seduction. The fact that the Lord Jesus Christ mentions it by name should alert us. This is no ordinary little Demon. We find it active over the centuries, but in its end times it appears to be unleashed with unprecedented destructive ability. We see the direct correlation between the level to which divorce is prevalent in the Church today and adultery and fornication. Please do not be deceived into thinking that the devil has no power. Satan is the God of this world system. The Holy Spirit established that fact after Jesus had defeated him and had been resurrected by the glory and power of God. Jesus himself told us that he (Satan) has power.

In Luke 10:19 he gives us authority over the power of the enemy. In Matthew 28:18, he states that all authority is given to Him in Heaven and in Earth. Jesus has conquered Satan and that is why we, in His name and by His power and authority, can do the same. However, Satan is still very much of being a power correlates and Acts 26:18 says that the Lord is sending him to turn gentiles from the power of Satan and to God. In the word expressly tells us that in the last days, the anti-Christ will come after working with Satan with all power, signs and lying wonders.

Revelation 13:2 says that the dragon, Satan, gives him his power. If you are allowed into thinking that your enemy is powerless, Satan will destroy you. And then just to pick up a few paragraphs going through the book, if you think that Jezebel is just another Demon with no power and no intelligence, you offer its attack no resistance whatsoever. You will be taken in and overwhelmed by it. In some many cases, submitting to one of the spirit's players seem so innocent and so harmless. Once you are aware of how it operates, you will have to make decisions that will be very hard on your flesh and you will have to undergo crucifying of self that is no longer popular in Church circles. But the Holy Spirit is calling on individuals to commit completely, totally, without reservation of any kind to be part of His end time remnant. Those who do so will be purged in the find. This is never a pleasant and enjoyable experience.

Chapter 1, recognising Jezebel. Jezebel works at many levels. It is impossible to deal thoroughly with all its aspects in a book of this scope. Our lives are directly most affected in two main areas, at home or at work, or where children are concerned at school. And the Lord, first started opening my eyes to the spirit. He began to explain its operation in the family, and first I thought that was the whole scope of its activity. I believe that its purpose was to destroy the husband-wife relationship. This would stop the two from becoming one, as God has purposed and made sure that the man never walks in the fullness of his anointing, about the priest in his home, as well as in his calling to the Church. If the men are not experienced in the fullness of the anointing God intends them to have, the Church is . It is full of holes and breaches and can never fulfil, in the nation, the role God has appointed for it. While this is true, it is only part of the Jezebel strategy and it is by no means the only spirit of activity.

Since we started teaching about this spirit, the Lord has been revealing many more aspects of its operation, some of which I will touch on in this book. It has been said that mothers build the nation. How? Up until recently, women were supposed to dedicate their time to husbands, children and home. How then can they be builders of the nation? The women build the children, who will build and rule the nation. The values which the women instil in their children will permeate in the society. The principles ingrained in the children will dominate the laws and ethics of the nation. The faith and belief inculcated in the children, will guide their actions in politics, business, commerce, industry, sport, culture, education, and so on. What the children are being filled with today, are sedation, rebellion, materialism, self, moral laxity, immorality, and intolerance, which amounts to outright condemning and encouraging them to sin, and uncomfortable truths of comprised to removing inconvenience. The main principle being propagated today itself.

You will find that where selfishness is predominant, the scene is a welcoming one for Jezebel. The spirit will manipulate people in circumstances, in various ways to benefit the self, and self-gratification, self-comfort, self-exaltation, self-advantage everything and anything that panders to the self, the flesh, and emotions of the mind.  God's design for the family, when God created Adam, the first thing He did was to give him a calling. Genesis 2:15, he was to dress and keep the garden. Eve was created to be a helpmeet to Adam, that means suitable, appropriate, and adapted to. She was created to help Adam in the fulfilment of his calling. She is supposed to be so, and one with him in spirit, soul, and body that they become one flesh again, just as they were before Eve was taken out of Adam, and husband and wife can live and walk in this God-intended unity. The anointing of God will come upon them in its fullness. The home will be flooded with the presence of God. They will have a measure of God's power and the anointing and the calling such as never before. The Church will grow in strength and power. It will start to bring about the unity our Lord Jesus prayed for in John 17.

Husbands and wives

However, if the woman is not properly submitted first to the Lord, and then to her husband, and if the man is not the priest first, before the Lord, and then to his family that God intended him to be, then both the structure and purpose of the family are undermined. Neither spouse will be fulfilled or genuinely happy. The children will not be brought up according to the true principles of the word. The door is open for strife and we know from the God that that permits confusion and every evil work. Carrying on further in the book - the woman's role - it might seem unfair that Proverbs 31 gives a good insight into what is required from a wife and mother. Her first calling is to God. Above all she must put her daily time with Him. That is where she will draw strength, wisdom, ability, understanding and the anointing to cope with what God requires of her in the family and elsewhere.

She is required to love her husband, intercede for him, support, honour, and respect him and be submitted to his decisions. This does not mean that she cannot discuss issues with him. They can even disagree, but once a final decision has been taken on a matter, then she has to lay aside her disagreement and support his course of action wholeheartedly, not grudgingly, or with manipulative methods to try to make him change his mind. If she believes with all her heart that he has made a wrong decision, then she should go to God, not the neighbours, friends, family, or pastor. She must present the situation to God and ask God to work His will and His purpose in them both. Never is she to pray words to this effect, “God you know that he has made the wrong decision. Make him change his mind. Do not let this thing that he is doing succeed. Make him see that I am right.” That difference is witchcraft. It is a carnal, selfish prayer which the devil uses to great effect for his own interest. It will drive walls and barriers between husband and wife, or in their relationship with God and allow the devil to cause all kinds of disruption in the home.

Another section - the first battlefront. It often pays to consult Genesis as the book of beginning that provides much insight into the plan and purpose of God, as well as the tactics and counter strategy of the devil when he came against God's Creation. Satan attacked the woman first. He attacked with subtle and not so subtle suggestion and doubt. His aim was not to make her question the truth of God's authority and the truth of her husband's authority. The goal is to bring her out from obedience and submission to her husband and God and make her act against his instructions or decisions. Quite bluntly stated, that is rebellion. The word says that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as inequity and idolatry, even deeper insight into the subject we have been talking about with regards to submission. Tactics and strategies - Jezebel is a power spirit that uses control and manipulation to such an extent that it is being mistaken for a controlling and manipulating spirit. It will use emotions, actions, and words to manipulate people in circumstances in order to get its own will, and to get them to respond to its desires, in other words, to control them.

I used to think that Jezebel was by definition a controlling and manipulating spirit, however, I have come to realise that this is actually one of its best disguises. Jezebel is a power spirit. Its aim is to destroy the prophets of God, emasculate the priests of God, uproot the true worship of the Lord Jesus Christ and introduce idolatry in the home, the Church, and the nation. Under the mistaken impression that Jezebel is a controlling and manipulating spirit, people will deal only with that subservient Demon. Jezebel is left untouched and merely summons another controlling and manipulating spirit when it is ready. Alternatively, people deal only with Jezebel, leaving the controlling and manipulating spirit unhindered, which in turn will simply call for another Jezebel spirit when the time is right. So, the situation does not change and much confusion and anguish is caused in those involved in that particular case.

An important point that listeners should note is, if you are not familiar with the area of deliverance, Demons in a sense are like hyenas, they hunt in packs. So, casting one or two out and leaving some of the other there, achieves very little. They will just bring in others to back them up. Continuing later in the book, spirits of deceit and seduction use actions, words, and suggestions in blinding their target. They are past masters of the art of appearing totally innocent and charmingly sweet. They present their carriers as such nice people, they are so pleasant and easy to go on with. They are friendly, helpful, and have the knack of making others feel so sorry for them when they smile bravely under difficult circumstances. You will find incidentally that most homosexuals carry one or a number of these seducing spirits. They elicit your trust and affection and it is a relatively simple matter to enlist you on their side. A trusting person is easy to manipulate, controlled through submission. This is one of the tactics of a seducing spirit. It is particularly effective when the husband is influenced by a spirit of pride, needs, or desires, and constant eager based. His sweet and charming loving wife will drop seeds into his mind and this seductive spirit will water and cause to germinate by suggestion and flattery. As the husband responds to the flattery, he actually accepts the suggestions as his own ideas and puts them into action. He is being effectively controlled as the husband in the above examples and is blissfully and totally unaware that his wife is running him, the children, and the house by his sweet submission.

In case of failure, when the Jezebel spirit has somehow been caught out, or has blatantly failed in its attack, the person under its influence will make great manifestations of repentance but be warned that this is not true repentance. It is remorse at having been found out. It is not repentance for having sinned against God. I cannot stress this sufficiently. Repentance entails a deep and godly sorrow that causes that person to turn away from sin and evil. Repentance fills you with loathing for the sin committed and makes you change. Remorse is regret and disgust at having been discovered. The pain has been found out. It merely makes of sorrow but prepares to repeat the sin only next time with greater care to avoid discovering.

Chapter 3, rescuing those oppressed by Jezebel. The spirit of Jezebel aims to usurp the authority in the household, the Church, the community, organisations or the body in which it exerts influence. And it goes on in some detail. It will not always be easy to remember that you are dealing, not with a person, but with an evil spirit. It is difficult to be ruthless with a person who seems to be devastated and deeply hurt by your words, unless you realise that it is generally not the person's true reactions and feelings you are seeing, but the seductive and deceptive manipulations of a vicious spirit bent on the destruction of its victims. Here again, it is essential to understand and apply constantly the key of Hebrews 4:12: Do not stand alone. Jesus always sent his disciples out two by two to stand in faith with a mature person and the Lord, preferably one who was used in discerning your spirits, prays and intercedes much. Never discuss the matter with anyone unless you are completely and utterly assured of immaturity in Christ and of the understanding of the operation of spirits. Consider yourself in a deadly war, if you talk to people who are not informed, who are not holy, or dedicated to the Lord, and aware of what is at stake, or who do not really care about you. You could be bringing irreparable harm on yourself.

So, we see again, that division in the home has another dimension. As it is pointed out, Jesus sent the disciples out two by two. If a man and his wife are divided, they are much more vulnerable to Satan's attack here as well. You must learn to pull down carnal prayers on a daily basis. They create confusion and bondage in the spirit, and become weapons of Satan, and now curses and accusations spoken against you. Find unrighteous judgements spoken over you and speak the word to fill up those empty spaces. Speak those things of being not as though they were, basing them on the word of Covenant that the person currently under the influence of that spirit is free and stands fast in the liberty with which Christ has made him free. With the eyes of his understanding are enlightened that he is delivered from the power of darkness and any word which the Holy Spirit leaves you to speak, these prayers will depend on the person, the details of his circumstances is calling his character. Only the Holy Spirit can know which of the weapons you must use.

Next chapter - what about the men? It makes the point that men also can be oppressed by Jezebel. Jezebel is not a spirit that oppresses women. The next chapter deals with spiritual adultery. I have a few things against them because thou suffer that woman Jezebel which call herself a prophetess to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. I gave this space to repent of her fornication and she repented not. Behold, I will cast you into and then that committed adultery with her and to great tribulation, accept the repent of their deeds and I will kill her children with death and all the Churches shall know that I am he which the rains and hearts and I will give unto everyone according to your works, but unto I say and unto the rest and as many have not this doctrine and which have not known the depths of Satan as they speak, I will put upon you none other burden, but that which he has already hold fast to like helm. Revelation 2:20-25, the address of their Lord Jesus Christ to the seven Churches is vital to understanding of the power and influence of the Jezebel spirit in these End Times.

From the Churches , the Lord requires no repentance, both are persecuted by the synagogue of Satan and those who came to be Jews and are not. The word of the Lord to them is one of encouragement, strength and persecution, which has obviously refined the Church, so that he has no need to rebuke it and promise of reward. The Church receives no recommendation at all, neither in the short introduction where the Lord mentions the quote and works of the Church, nor anywhere else in the address. It still calls on the Church to repent. It shows the Church that it may still turn as a whole and it may still change. It still has the opportunity to go heart. The promises also given to the individual members who turn even if the Church as a whole refuses to.

Messages to the Church, that is there or are admonished to repent or are encouraged. . The theme from these Scriptures that once the spirit of Jezebel has taken root in a Church, it can no longer be asked that why. Part of the answer appears to lie in verse 20 of the Amplified that spirit teaches and seduces the bond servants. Jesus tells us in Matthew 24 that the very last day shall be shortened for the and that false Christ and prophets will show great signs and wonders in so much that if it would be possible, they shall deceive the very elite. The world tells us that many are called but few are chosen, Matthew 20:16, Matthew 22:14. The bond servants whom I believe to be the elect of those who are willingly and consciously giving up everything to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. The bond servant was a freed slave who chose to remain and serve his Master rather than to live a life for freedom. As a token of that decision, his fear was brought through with an awl and he was marked as a servant forever.

How then is it possible that these bond servants who have sacrificed everything to serve Christ, could be deceived. Jezebel seduces them. Do not let us ever underestimate the power of that seduction. We have already seen the effect that Delilah's seduction had on Samson, and the extent of that evil power cannot be denied. Remember that the seduction mentioned here does not refer to sexual seduction as such. The seduction entails a leading astray into doctrines that are not pure. The power of seduction comes from the fact that it presents the doctrines as pure. They come from a reputable and extremely convincing source. They appear filled with authority of the Word, until you take a very close look at the Scriptures which are quoted and connected. It is only then, and only with the action and guidance of the Holy Spirit that the subtle divergence has come to light. A wrong emphasis, a slightly different interpretation, a suggestion that when follows leaves along a road of ever-increasing error and deception, but the differences are so very slight, so very subtle that it is extremely difficult to perceive them at the beginning.

I would hope that as I read that passage, you would see the reality of that in the counter doctrines, and the false doctrines that have been dealt with in the earlier teachings in this series. The book continues a few pages later, yet seduction is not the only reason that the spirit of Jezebel gains control in the Church. God has set a specific order in the Church which is His house, just as much as we, the believers, are His temple. His house is body, God requires the woman to be submitted to the man at home first, and in the Church secondly. For too long people have refused to see how Satan has openly invited them into a Church when God's order is subverted or ignored. Why? Because it all looks so innocent. The ladies are so attractive, they are so nice, and they can be so charming. When the spirit of Jezebel is defeated in spiritual warfare, bound, torn down, and cast out, God's order must be restored. If not, His house has been left empty for Jezebel to return with reinforcements. It is totally useless to bind and cast out the spirits if the original structure of that particular fellowship is left in place.

With women not in their rightful God-ordained relationships to their husbands, children, family, and pastors, this is one of the reasons why it is so difficult, in fact, as it would appear from verses 24 and 25 of Revelation 2, impossible, for that spirit to be asked to leave, once it has taken hold. The next section deals with bed-hopping and fornication. Jezebel prays power. Jezebel's aims and actions - Jezebel aims at destroying the calling of God's people and destroys relationships and people to achieve this. We read in 1 Kings 18 that Jezebel destroyed the prophets of God, and that is her aim and intent. You will also see that she creates eunuchs who ironically are those used by God to cast her down from her high palace walls.

Chapter 6, Church and nation

Jezebel operates in the Church as we have read previously, and Jezebel is an extremely damaging spirit. I hope after these extracts that I have read, that you will see that Jezebel has an enormous role to play in all the false doctrines that have been exposed in this series on teachings on marriage. I will ask you to recognise that it is an extremely violent, vicious and absolutely ruthless spirit. If you start to discuss these truths with people who start to manifest in the most alarmingly violent way, gentlemen of God, who you thought were really Christ-like, suddenly can turn into really vicious and destructive individuals who will seek to destroy you at almost any cost. Be aware and be on your guard. Seek the guidance of God and do not allow Jezebel to intimidate or defeat you. She may well kill you but do not bow the knee to Jezebel.

May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

04 14 Covenant made by Blood -- Hesed - Agape

Xxx this teaching is still to be transcribed – audio with Taryn

04 15 Cutting the Marriage Covenant

James Robertson

Of the teaching series on marriage, 'Understanding God's Way in Marriage,' Volume 2,'Towards Heaven on Earth in Marriage,' and teaching number 15 is entitled 'Cutting the Marriage Covenant.' Before I start, I would like to pray over those who are listening to this and over this teaching that is an extremely critical teaching in this whole series, and a teaching that Satan would dearly like to interfere with. Please will you just close your eyes and agree with me and pray.

"Father, we come to You in the name of Jesus. We ask You Lord to guide us in this teaching around a very sensitive subject, the cutting of the marriage Covenant according to Your Word. I pray Lord that everything that is spoken that is according to Your Word will find deep root and produce much fruit in the hearts of the hearers, but that every word that is not according to Your will, will be blown away. I speak to every Demon and fallen Angel that is within hearing of this teaching, in the name of Jesus I bind you and I command you to go down now and be silent for the duration of this teaching. I command your ears to be closed that you will hear nothing of this teaching. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Father, I ask that You will send your mighty warring Angels to bind every fallen Angel and every Demon that is within hearing distance of this teaching, and that You will bind them that they will bind them and silence them and block their ears that they will not be able to interfere with somebody from receiving the truths contained in this teaching, in Jesus’ name. And Father, I thank You for revelation knowledge. I thank You that You open our eyes and open our ears and open our hearts to hear Your Word and close them to anything that is not of You, in the name of Yahooshua. Amen."

I would like to take this subject of cutting the marriage Covenant into a level of depth which goes beyond that which we have covered so far. We have heard in the preceding tape on the Covenant made by blood by Kenneth Copeland of the immense significance of Covenant. We have seen how the basic principles of Covenant go right to the heart of what we have been teaching with regards to marriage in this whole series. We see just how important it is that in bringing marriage to pass in the Body of Christ today, that we understand the form of, and practice, that God intended, and recognise that there are different social norms and practices today to those that we are enforcing in biblical times, and that some degree of adjustment may be required. It is vital that we seek to get to the heart of what really is important. What I am going to share with you in this teaching is truth that I believe that the Lord has been revealing to me over many years in which I have prayed over to some considerable extent, before concluding that this message should in fact be included in this tape series.

Taking account of that, I would ask that you give most careful consideration to what is contained here. There will almost certainly be elements which you may find jarring, you may find offensive, and you might even find highly offensive depending upon your perspective on some of the aspects of marriage that are going to be dealt with in this teaching. I would urge you to listen patiently and openly and, in the areas, where you do perhaps experience discomfort, ask yourself whether in fact this is your flesh, or something else rising up against something that you just choose not to receive, and to really seek to see what God is saying to us in this teaching.

That’s how Jesus loves me

I would like to refer you back to the first teaching of the first series where we had the transcript of the article 'Wow! So that's how Jesus loves me!' This is quoted at some length in part 1 of this series, and just a few headlines out of that, just to recap. "The Lord began speaking to us recently about marriage and giving us, some understand of why so many marriages are in a mess or out of order, and even why so few Christian marriages are what they could be. Something that God purposed to be one of His greatest sources of joy and blessing to people, often ends up as a curse and a misery. The Lord began to reveal that the reason why marriages are under such incredible attack is because of what He meant it to be. We see God purposed marriage to be a prophetic sign and wonder."

It goes on and describes in some length what marriage is intended to be. It goes into God's purpose for marriage. It stresses the importance of virginity. It makes the point, that if you look at the average wedding ceremonies today, much of what goes on has its roots in the occult. And in that statement we find the basis for why this teaching today is included in this series. If much of the average wedding ceremonies today has its roots in the occult, we need to find out what God intended marriage to be. They go on and they go through the process of betrothal, the speech that the bridegroom would make as he was leaving, after the betrothal have been finalised. “In My Father's house there are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me, that you will also be where I am.” Now, make the point that those words were used by Jesus in John 14:2-3, and they build a whole case for many of the terms used by Jesus coming straight out of the Jewish marriage practices at the time of Jesus.

We make the point, the bride must spend her time preparing to leave Israel the days of waiting for her wedding are spent in learning how to please her husband. Implication there is that her mother is instructing her in the art of marriage, and I would suggest you that that includes learning specifically and being instructed as to how to make love to her husband in a way that is pleasing to him. It goes on, Israel, the father had to be satisfied that every preparation had been made by his son before he gave him permission to go and get his bride. Jesus spoke these same words on his wedding day. And it goes through the whole wedding ritual as understood from Jewish rite. And that is potentially relevant to this teaching. I am not going to go into it in more detail. My objective in this teaching is not to start building a whole case for hypothetical rite and form. It is to establish a scriptural basis on which others can go further, and others can seek God and discern what God wants them to do, recognising there are very different marriages portrayed in Scripture. We have the case of Isaac and Rebecca, where the Scriptures indicate quite clearly that Rebecca and met Isaac and seemingly the marriage was consummated the same day without any particular celebration or any other ritual or whatever.

The other cases where Jacob worked seven years and was given Leah, and seven-day celebrations and consummation took place and then he was given Rachel for another seven days, followed by working seven years. So there is great diversity. Another comment out of this article, "God wants us to pull down and smash man-made myths and perceptions of marriage. He wants us to throw out all the and bold and beautiful junk and begin to come to a biblical understanding of what marriage is all about." And so we see a very strong teaching there around the idea that marriage is not what God intended it to be and the practice of marriage and the celebration should be something quite different. That particular teaching has formed a useful foundation for this entire series and I refer you back to that tape should you require further information. Or I would suggest that you perhaps get the entire article, God-willing, we might even include a reading of that article at the end of the series.

Cutting the Covenant

Right now, I want to come back to the specific issue of cutting Covenant. We have seen repeatedly that marriage is the act of sexual intercourse with a virgin bride, and we need to come back to understanding what is the absolute minimum requirement for marriage, and what are the basics of cutting Covenant as God intended it, in order to develop the full understanding. I bring you back to Hebrews 13:4, "Marriage is honourable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers, God will judge." We see that sexual intercourse between a husband and wife is honourable, and that nothing that they do in the marriage bed is unclean. The fornicators and adulteresses will be judged, in other words, women who have sexual intercourse with more than one man, and men who have sexual intercourse with women, who have already had sex with another man.

Remembering 1 Corinthians 12:23-24 stating "And those members of the body which we think to be less honourable, on these we bestow greater honour; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honour to that part which lacks it." And we saw very dramatically in the second teaching of the first series that this referred to the enormously significant role played by the male and female sexual organs in the cutting of Covenant. I think it is important to recap that in the light of the teaching that we have just had, by Kenneth Copeland, in the Covenant cutting blood, and I would like to take you back full circle through this teaching so you can just see exactly how this all ties together, and how absolutely crystal clear it is that the act of sexual intercourse with a virgin is the act of marriage Covenant. From there we can go back to some postulation of procedure and ritual around the cutting of Covenant. We can deal with some of the spiritual issues relating to consummation, and we can deal with a few of the challenges recognising that virginity is a scarce commodity in the world today.

So, just to run through some of the points that we have made in the second teaching of the first volume, under the heading virginity, what is marriage? We read, in order to define marriage, let us see what the Bible says. Deuteronomy 22:13-21 states "If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and detests her, and charges her with shameful conduct, and brings a bad name on her, and says, 'I took this woman, and when I came to her I found she was not a virgin,' then the father and mother of the young woman shall take and bring out the evidence of the young woman’s virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. And the young woman’s father shall say to the elders, 'I gave my daughter to this man as wife, and he detests her. Now he has charged her with shameful conduct, saying, 'I found your daughter was not a virgin,' and yet these are the evidences of my daughter’s virginity.' And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. Then the elders of that city shall take that man and punish him; and they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name on a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife; he cannot divorce her all his days. But if the thing is true, and evidences of virginity are not found for the young woman, then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel, to play the harlot in her father’s house. So you shall put away the evil from among you."

Deuteronomy 22:14 in translation states "And given occasion of speech against her, charging her with adultery and bring an evil name upon her and say 'I took this woman and when I lay with her I found her not a virgin.'" This translation clearly equates the lack of virginity with evidence of adultery. Deuteronomy 22:14 in the New International Version, "And slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, 'I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity." This translational more clearly indicates that the man approached the young woman to consummate the marriage, but presumably on inspection found her not to be a virgin.

Deuteronomy 22:19 states, "And they shall amerce him in a hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days."There are a couple of key things that come out of that passage of Scripture, the evidence of virginity, and a cloth collecting the blood when her virginity is taken. The implication of calling that evidence and implication of a court being able to sentence the young woman to death indicating a requirement that the evidence should have statutory or legal standing in court with the inference that perhaps there should be witnesses present to witness the shedding of blood in the consummation. Further supported by the remarks made in the previous teaching, to the effect that Covenant was typically cut in some sort of an amphitheatre where everybody could observe the cutting of the Covenant.

It has some significance if virginity is going to become a critical component of the way we view marriage.  It’s challenging in today's age and I will come back to that a bit later. From that teaching we concluded that virginity was a prerequisite for a godly marriage and that virginity was sacred, and that sexual intercourse with a virgin was marriage. We then went on to discuss what the answer of the question is - what is the marriage Covenant? This is particularly relevant in the context of the current teaching. We saw that the Covenant requires the shedding of blood. Hebrews 9:18-20 states, "Therefore not even the first Covenant was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, 'This is the blood of the Covenant which God has commanded you.'"

We saw very clearly that a Covenant could not be dedicated without blood. This was made very clear in the preceding teaching by Kenneth Copeland. We also saw that Covenant requires the splitting, cleaving or cutting of some living creature. We referred to Genesis 15:4-21, which was also referred to in the previous teaching where the animals were cleaved, or cut in half, and God walked through the halves of the animal. Also, we saw in Jeremiah 34:18, "And I will give the men who have transgressed My Covenant, who have not performed the words of the Covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it." And it was clear in that case that the Covenant made with God, by the princess of Judah and others, involve cutting a calf into two and passing between the parts of it. The same actions we see in Genesis 15:10-18 is described in depth by Kenneth Copeland.

The teaching went further, and we saw that the Living Torah, a modern Jewish translation by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, published by Moznaim Publishing Corporation in New York and Jerusalem, translated Genesis 15:10 as follows: "Abraham brought all these to Him (God), he split them in half and placed one half opposite the other." Here we saw that the word translated ‘cut’, in the New King James Version, is translated ‘split’. The footnote to Genesis 15:10 in the Living Torah states, split them, this was the way of making a Covenant, Covenant and Betha split appeared to be closely related. It symbolised that just as the two halves of the animal were really one, so were the two people making the Covenant. Moreover, just as one side cannot live without the other, so you cannot live without each other. It is also seen as a malediction, when one violating the oath will be torn asunder like the animals. In this one note, we began to see the deeper meaning in body in Deuteronomy 22:13-30, which had been discussed previously. We saw firstly that Covenant is made by splitting or cutting some living thing and shedding blood, that people who make a blood Covenant become one and cannot live without one another, and that a person who breaks Covenant is to be put to death. We went on and cited the teaching that was included in the previous tape.

We then went further and saw that the Oxford English dictionary defines split as break forcibly, be broken into parts, especially, longitudinally or with the grain or plane of cleavage. We should consider also the physical reality of the whereas something that cleaves will cut . We then saw that the marriage Covenant is cut when a man cleaves into his virgin wife, referring to Genesis 2:21-25 in the King James translation, "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore, shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be One Flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed."

Thus, we see the man cleaving, or splitting his wife, forcibly breaking apart her hymen on the plane of cleavage shedding blood. He then proceeds to walk or pass between the two halves completing the Covenant act. If you listen to that in the context of the previous teaching, you will see just how dramatic, forceful and how powerful that is. We went on previously and said the imagery is vivid and powerful, if we put aside our prudery for a moment, and wonder that the physical appearance of the external female sexual organ, we should be even further amazed that the imagery which our God has encapsulated in what superficially is an organ whose structure and design makes no earthly sense it is not intended to. It faithfully recreates the two halves of the Covenant animal, even to the hair covering the animal. Surely, we must conclude that God knew the end from the beginning, and designed women to be symbolic of His Covenant with man.

Sexual act

Taking it further, He symbolically recreates the cutting of the Covenant every time a wife who truly loves her husband and gives herself totally to him, and expresses sexual orgasm, coupled with the flood of blood into the labia minora. How can we conclude other than with the sexual act is the most sublimely holy representation of the act of Covenant? How can it be other than appalled at how this symbolism has been lost and distorted? The sexual act is an act of such enormous spiritual significance. Is it any wonder that Satan has expended the energy that he has to deceive us for so long? How can we for a moment suggest that there is another purpose for virginity? It went on and stated that the female sexual organ is the symbol of the marriage Covenant, and that every time a Covenant reminded man sees his wife's sexual organ, he is instinctively reminded of his Covenant with her. Clearly it is an abomination for any other man to have sight of the outward symbol of that Covenant, let alone to penetrate it, thus breaking the Covenant.

An important point to note, the immense power of the marriage Covenant in any other Covenant, the Covenant is cut once and that is the end of the ceremony. It remains in force in perpetuity. However, in marriage, every time the man and woman make love, the cutting of the Covenant is symbolically re-enacted and once one begins to understand just how important Covenant is, it is absolutely awesome that God has created man and woman in such a way that an act which is necessary for procreation, an act which is instinctively something that men and women in marriage seek to do on a regular basis, actually re-enacts the cutting of Covenant every time it is performed. So, the Covenant significance of sexual intercourse in marriage is phenomenal. It is absolutely beyond what the Western mindset can initially comprehend, and from this, we see how wonderfully powerful this symbolism of marriage is, and by implication how wonderfully powerful the bonds of marriage are intended to be.

We must ask ourselves whether it is possible that the harlot man seeks for this Covenant purity with women, and because of the wrong teaching of this age, turns to pornography and lust as the only substitute that offers a recognition of the deep desire for Covenant through the sexual act. That statement is a challenging one, but there is so much teaching in the world today which leads to a syndrome which might be turned. Close your eyes and think of England, which is epitomised by an attitude which is attributed to Victorian England, in which young women about to be married, were told by their mothers to grit their teeth and tolerate the sexual act as a necessary evil in marriage.

There is still a legacy of that in certainly the Western World today where prudery exists with regards to marriage and based on the information that certainly has come to my attention, it appears that the vast majority of Christians do not have a full understanding and revelation of the joy of sexual lovemaking. They very seldom experience the full potential of what God intended to be an absolutely sublime and heavenly act on Earth. Because of that, we end up with situations where women regard sexual lovemaking as a chore and make no effort to please their husbands. Their husbands get jaded and bored and seek release elsewhere, whether it be through an extramarital affair so-called, through pornography or fantasy, but whatever it is, it is wrong, and it breaks down the marriage further and we get into a vicious circle because of people's wrong understanding of what marriage is intended to be.

In the subsequent teaching in this series, we will address some of these aspects in more detail. We must also recognise that the symbolic portrayal of the female sexual organ aroused, and provocatively displayed in the form of the blood red heart used on Valentine's Day cards, and many other cards and other artefacts to say I love you, is a seemingly innocuous symbol of love throughout our society,  and represents one of the most effective devices that Satan has used to distract us totally from the true meaning of love. . I must stress that love in the world associated with that red heart, which is nothing more than a caricature of the female sexual organ, is lust. It is not love. It is dependent on the appearance and the behaviour of the object of that lust and is totally contrary to the Covenant love, the agape, the hesed that was discussed in detail by Kenneth Copeland.

Nudity

Remember that 1 Corinthians 12:23-24 states, "And those members of the body which we think to be less honourable, on these we bestow greater honour; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honour to that part which lacks it." We see very clearly that the male and female sexual organs have the greatest honour in the body. They have the honour of being the instruments whereby the Covenant is cut and celebrated and whereby the One Flesh Bond is formed, maintained, and built. They are not dirty, and they are not shameful. The only shame associated with the male and female sexual organs is if they are seen by others. The Word of God tells us in Genesis 2 that the man and the woman were naked and unashamed. We read a moment ago that Scripture says that the marriage is honourable and the bed undefiled. There is nothing wrong with a husband and wife being naked together, seeing each other naked together and touching one another intimately. The problem comes in when that happens outside of marriage and that is where the private parts of the man or the woman are seen publicly, and that is shame, because it is the shame of the harlot.

The awareness of nudity is the absolute essence of the realisation of the sinful nature and the carnality of mankind which came about as a result of Adam and Eve's sin. To guard the parts of the body which the Scriptures show to be most honourable, has been dirty and so forth, and is an absolute abomination in the Sight of God.  We saw also that there was a close correlation between the Christian Covenant and the marriage Covenant. Throughout the series, we referred repeatedly to Ephesians 5:22-33, "For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the Church; and He is the Savior of the body." Verse 31, "And shall be joined on to his wife, and they two shall be One Flesh." Verse 32, "This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church." So, the comment was made previously. We see here one of the most perfect examples of God's infinite attention to detail, His wonder and His majesty. We see the blood Covenant between Christ and his bride, the Church, neatly tied in to the blood Covenant between a man and his wife, both demonstrated symbolically by the Covenant cut, by walking between the halves of the animal that has been cleaved.

Marriage

All of this reinforces the teaching in tape 14 of this series and I really, really would urge you to pray into this until you get a real revelation of how the word marriage equates to sexual intercourse in marriage, and the marriage Covenant equates to the first act of sexual intercourse in marriage. Once you understand that, many, many things which do not make sense about marriage, fall into place. We saw in the last teaching on hesed, agape, Covenant love, a number of points, and I just want to lift out some key headlines out of that to lay a foundation for this teaching that we are now engaged in.

We saw that the blood Covenant equated with agape in the New Testament, the Greek hesed in the Old Testament. Those Scriptures relate to the charity in the King James for agape, and to love and kindness for hesed in the Hebrew Scriptures of the Old Testament. We saw that a true blood Covenant represented a commitment to absolutely unwavering loyalty, that to waiver was to die. We saw that the Covenant required a Covenant motion which we would never forget. It is apparent from the discussion of virginity a moment ago, that if a young woman gives her virginity as an act of sacrificial love to her new husband, there is pairing, there is shedding of blood, and she will never forget that moment, and if her husband goes out of his way to make that a beautiful and lovely experience, then so much more she will never forget it. Proverbs 30:18-19 says,"There are three things which are too wonderful for me, yes, four which I do not understand: The way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a virgin."

That is the consummation of marriage that has been talked about there. The consummation should be a beautiful event in the life of both husband and wife. In the case of a man who is marrying his first wife and taking account of the points raised in the teaching entitled 'Marriage Matters for Men,' if he is marrying at the appointed which he is sexually ready and she is sexually ready, there has been no messing around with dating and courting and petting, they are not being forced to endure years of sexual frustration. At the moment that they reach full ripeness sexually, they are brought into a place where they are married. They are married in the husband's father's house, they are not subject to many of the cares of the world at that stage and that marriage is consummated. It is a beautiful act in the full vibrancy of the dynamic youth of the marriage partners. It is something that they will never forget, it is beautiful, and it is an act of Covenant. In Covenant, both parties will tell exactly the same story. The Covenant cutting flesh has the effect to bring about remembrance, and that is absolutely vital. It is an experience which they will never forget, and because they will never forget it, they will never forget the obligations to one another and will never forget the Covenant.

Part of the Covenant is all that the man owns he gives to his wife. All his strength he gives to his wife. All that she owns she gives to her husband. And her body she gives to her husband. There is no holding back. Her body is for him, and his body is for her. Covenants are not based on what we have in common. You do not need a Covenant if you are the same. Covenants are based on differences and weaknesses. Men and women are both superior in different areas, and men and women are both inferior in different areas. Marriage is about covering one another's weaknesses. Marriage requires man and woman to pool strengths in marriage, and in Covenant, and to cover weaknesses. It is not about being the boss. It is about serving. There has to be direction, but that is a responsibility and a duty. It is not a right and a privilege of lordship and dictatorial behaviour. The point was made whether I like you or not, has no bearing on whether I keep the Covenant. The Covenant is in place. It does not matter if subsequently I decide I do not like you, I still have the Covenant, I still honour the Covenant, and I still walk according to the Covenant, so I might just as well decide that I am not going to get to a place where I do not like you.

Whether you keep your part of the Covenant or not, has no bearing on whether I keep my part of the Covenant. That gives rise to the continual scriptural cross-linking relating to Covenant. I would never leave you or forsake you. If you violate the blood of the Covenant, I am still in Covenant and you must die because the Covenant says you should die. Some extremely important points are coming out of that. We deduced from the ritual that there were some differences in marriage. The Scriptures clearly indicate that the husband is the head, and the wife is the body, and it was inferred from that, that rather than husband and wife exchanging quotes, the husband would in fact give his coat, or maybe not even give his coat but extend his coat, and take his wife under his coat under the covering of his cloak. The picture that I see is a man with a flung cloak, who puts his arm around his new bride and takes the cloak with his arm, and wraps it around her so that she is now under his covering. This ties back so beautifully to the teaching on covering in the first series of tapes. So the man extends his covering to his wife. There is a degree of very different approach in terms of what the man gives the wife, in terms of covering and she in turn gives the husband in terms of childbearing. All that I am, I give to you, and all of my authority I give to you. A statement from the husband to the wife that was just very evident out of the previous teaching that goes with the man, I am giving you my strength, your enemies and my enemies, even if I die, I will stand with you.

By giving the woman this man, she gives him his authority, and she is able to go in the name of her husband. She is no longer operating independently. She goes in the name of her husband. She has the full mandate and authority of her husband to transact business, to supervise employees, and to conduct the family business. She goes as the agent of her husband with full authority in his name. She is Mrs. James Robertson, and as Mrs. James Robertson, she carries all the contractual abilities and authority of James Robertson himself, in conducting the business of the family. The Covenant means, I will stand with you even if I must die. With that we see that the curse of the Covenant, even as this animal has died, as the general Covenant. I will stand with you even in the midst of death standing in the blood. I make promises I can never ever break. There is a symbolism there associated with the death of the woman's virginity, and that virginity can never be restored to life. It is a sacrifice that she has given willingly and lovingly to her husband. It is an absolute abomination to put her out, to put her away, to divorce her, unless she has been consistently treacherous over a sustained period as we have seen in previous teachings.

While standing in the blood, they should recite the terms of the Covenant. It is where the blessing and the promises by God are, making God the third party in witnesses. Now there is no particular scriptural basis for that, but it does seem that it is something that one could certainly consider in consummating a marriage, whether the woman is a virgin or not, to actually declare an oath of allegiance which picks out the key points of the terms of the Covenant that are being referred to. But again, I must make the point that has been made in previous teachings. There is absolutely no scriptural basis which says that any vows or oaths are necessary for marriage to come into effect. They are simply a reinforcement. I would suggest to you that it is perfectly arguable that simply by declaring by husband and wife, declaring that they are Bible-believing Christians, it is taken as a given that the implied terms of Covenant of the marriage Covenant contained in Scripture are applicable. It is not necessary to take any other vows. You can love according to 1 Corinthians 13 and the other Scriptures, which deal with the conduct of man and woman in marriage, in Ephesians 5 and so forth.

It is ipso facto applicable you do not need to take vows that the wife will submit. She understands according to the fact that the marriage was undertaken in terms of Scripture, that this applies. However, we need to recognise that today those are little understood and little practiced disciplines and therefore there is a case to be made out of what is being presented here to formulate a formal or semi-formal marriage ceremony, and marriage rite with some vows, etc., that are performed according to the scriptural basis which has been identified. Again, I make the point, it is tenuous in the sense that there is no clear definition from Scripture, but performing a rite in some pseudo-altar, in front of a congregation before an officiating official or priest, exchanging rings, throwing confetti and so forth, is entirely and completely pagan and contrary to Scripture. The marriage comes into effect when it is consummated. Everything else are just trappings.

Oaths, the cloth and the evidence of virginity

There are three major factors to consider with regards to this teaching. There are a number of procedural issues with regard to oaths, the cloth, and the evidence of virginity, etc. Secondly, there are a number of spiritual issues relating to consummation being an intimate sexual process, and thirdly, there are a number of challenges with regards to virginity. I would like to just touch on those first. We have a number of categories of virgin, and all categories of women who can potentially participate legitimately in the Sight of God, in some instances and others not legitimately, in an act of marriage. True virgins, virgins in their early teens, normally as we have seen somewhere about 12 and a half to 13, 14, 15, and in that age group according to the information at my disposal, the hymen is almost certain to rupture with a significance flow of blood. That is the context in which the Scriptures have been written. It was God's intention for women to marry at that ages we have seen before, and with that consummation, there will be a flow of blood.

However if a virgin marries in her late teens or early 20s, the indications are that in many cases the hymen has hardened and toughened to a point where even though considerable pain may be experienced, it may not tear or rupture, and it may not even be possible to penetrate without surgical intervention to actually nick the hymen with a scalpel, or scissors to cut it in order for penetration to take place. Because of the hardening, there may be little or no bloodshed and therefore we get to a place where virginity starts to look to be unimportant, because now there is no real blood and there is therefore on the face of it, no real blood Covenant.

We then have a further dilemma, and that is true virgins whose hymens have been ruptured in some legitimate way. There are indications that virgins who are athletically active can damage their hymens through their athletic activity. Obviously, any young girl or young woman who makes use of sanitary tampons inserted into the vagina has a potential to damage the hymen and rupture the hymen. So, we have a group of legitimate virgins, where the virginity may be obvious unprovable at the time of marriage, but where there may be no shedding of blood in terms of the Covenant. We have another group of true virgins whose hymens have been ruptured accidentally in some fashion, because they have not married at the appointed age, and where it becomes difficult for the man to know whether he is truly marrying a virgin or not, unless he has absolutely clear leading from the Spirit of God, and clearly there is no blood for the Covenant.

There are obviously false virgins. There are women who knowingly must represent their marital state for any number of reasons in order to get the man they want, and they are taking that man into adultery as we have seen in previous teachings. Again, it is absolute foolishness to consummate marriage with any woman unless you are absolutely sure that God has appointed her as your wife, specifically and particularly if she does not have evidence of virginity. Then there can be unknowing false virgins. I cited the case previously of a woman who was seduced and lost her virginity under hypnosis, and 30 years later discovered by process of revelation by the Holy Spirit, that this had happened, and she had in fact been living in adultery for 30 years.

There are admitted non-virgins, those who had been sexually abused, raped, etc., where there is an enormous dilemma given the magnitude of the ungodly sexual acts that take place in the world today. We have ministered in a number of occasions molested and their virginity taken by cousins and uncles in their father's houses, in places which should have been safe, and who are emotionally and severely damaged. There is no real comprehension amongst many Christians of the magnitude of the sexual molestation of young girls roundabout the age of 14 that takes place by fathers, stepfathers, uncles, cousins, brothers in the world today. A substantial proportion of the world's women lose they virginity involuntarily, or semi-voluntarily to close male relatives. It is an abomination in the Sight of God, and it is a by-product of the false doctrines that we are talking about.

We then have the case of self-acknowledged harlots, women who have been sleeping around, either in prostitution or just through loose living. Some of those may just have come to salvation and repented. Others may have done it after salvation, because they did not really understand the full magnitude of how wrong it was. They need to come to repentance. They need to be spiritually cleansed of the ungodly One Flesh Bonds and before they can be married, God must show very clearly that it is His will. Women who have been divorced, put away, or who have deserted their husbands, all may profess to be available to marry. Again, the same challenge applies. Then finally widows, and again, a woman who purports to be a widow, is not necessarily always telling the truth. So, the minute one moves into the realms where there is not a physical seal of virginity on a woman, a man marrying her requires great discernment of the Will of God in this situation, and also considerable spiritual knowledge in order to set that woman free to the extent that is necessary.

In terms of cutting Covenant, this leaves us with an apparent problem in the sense that it is no blood that can be shared through the act of the first sexual intercourse. Now, the easy answer to that, is to take communion, one, and to apply that liberally to the place of union at the time of the first union, and to declare over it that it is the blood of Jesus. That blood sanctifies and consecrates the Covenant, and is the blood of the Covenant. Clearly it is not the same significance in the eyes of the participants as the shedding of the young woman's blood. It is important to understand that, as indicated a few minutes ago, the marriage Covenant is replicated every time sexual intercourse takes place. So it is perhaps more or less correct to suggest that God accommodates such situation to a point in which the woman becomes highly aroused sexually, there is a flood of blood into her sexual organs, and when the first ejaculation takes place, and a One Flesh Bond is formed, the marriage is consummated spiritually. It can be inferred from Scripture that that is a viable and valid form of consummation, but it is not first prize. First prize is the consummation in marriage with a virgin, with the right age structure, etc., as taught previously.

Unfortunately, as indicated in this day and age, it is going to be pretty seldom that that happens to the majority of people. We should seek to return to that standard of morality, ethics, integrity and Covenant mindedness. There is no reason why the daughters of the present generation cannot move towards being married in that fashion. In such a situation, the taking of an oath becomes more important, but I think it is really important that both parties understand what they are doing. The oath is still, I believe, before God simply, a confirmation of the act of Covenant of sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse with a woman who is available to marry, whether a widow, or someone that God has released to marry as a consequence of releasing her from past debt and obligations, through a previous fornication or whatever, is sexual intercourse. The consummation is marriage. Even in the cases where there is a seal of virginity, but it is hardened and there is no blood, then the only basis in which that has some real significance, is in terms of evidence of virginity, which requires close inspection to see that it is there which again is scriptural. I have taught, some time back, on the situation in Judges 19 to 21. Clearly several groups of women were inspected to confirm their virginity when the men took them as wives.

If we look at some of the procedural issues raised by the previous teachings, this issue of evidence is challenging. The point I made in the previous teaching is that families watch the cutting of Covenant. This comment has been made in several instances that there books and other records, which indicate that even as recently as the 18th century, it was not uncommon for wedding guests to watch the consummation of a marriage and see the evidence of virginity firsthand. It is not something that could be done very easily in present society, but it does suggest that some measures are required, at the very least, where there is evidence of virginity. It would seemingly be appropriate for the cloth to be placed under the young woman at the appropriate location on the bed before penetration, and immediately after penetration and the shedding of blood, for that blood to be mopped up perhaps immediately for the friends of the bridegroom referred to in the article, 'So that's how Jesus loves me', might be summoned and with both bride and groom under the bed close handed to them with a declaration before witnesses that this was the evidence of virginity and the young girl had been found to be a virgin on the basis that as long as the groom beforehand, satisfies himself before penetration of the young woman's virginity and then penetrates her, that is sufficient evidence that she was a virgin.

If he inspects and finds that she is not a virgin, then he would need to call witnesses and possibly call the young woman's mother and father to cancel the wedding, if she had purported to be a virgin and he could find no evidence.  So, these are needs for some contemplation. It seems to me that there is no really significant basis for consummation in front of witnesses. Consummation will take place in any way before God, the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. So, there are in fact witnesses before God. If the parties have been led by the Spirit and are committed Christians, that should be sufficient. It’s certainly not a case anyway of legal standing before courts. It is a question of standing before the Court of Heaven and before the judgement seat.

The piece then needs to be discussed and resolved between the parties beforehand, so that there are no surprises. A reference was also made to taking vows of the oath while standing in the blood of the Covenant animal. It is not unreasonable for a man and woman to pertain an oath over it in marriage after the initial act of consummation, while their bodies are joined together, and the blood is flowing around them. And this can apply equally well in a situation where there is no hymen and no bleeding, simply by the application of generous quantity of communion wine to the point of intercourse, and taking oaths before God with the appropriate prayers, obviously done reverently. This is not done in some sort of carnal... I cannot think of words to describe it, but I see this as a highly significant holy act of dedication and consecration. I would urge anybody who hears it, as being something different to consider in their hearts. We are talking about the things of God, and we are talking about things of holiness. We are not talking about things of the unclean world.

Other marriage ceremonies

So those are a couple of key procedural issues. Other things round about marriage ceremonies, there really does not appear to be any particular scriptural basis to lay anything down. I will come to one or two other points in a moment. The main issue is the spiritual dimension of cutting the Covenant, and we must not get into Pharisaism in terms of the overall right. The main thing is that the Covenant must be cut through consummation of marriage. All the rest of that is essentially incidental. Once that has been established, that the bride is free to marry in the Sight of God, that is really the point that I hope to get to in a minute. So, if we can go on to the spiritual issues in terms of consummation, which to me are the most significant factors in terms of this particular subject, we read in Scripture in various places of the sound of the voice of the bride and groom, and the inference that there is the sound of a joyous outcry in some fashion.

I want to stress, in my own experience, and in terms of much prayer, contemplation and pondering this whole subject over many years, I am profoundly convinced that the act of consummation in marriage can have, in modern worldly carnal terms, a make or break influence on the marriage. If that first episode of lovemaking is powerful, is dramatic, and if a strong One Flesh Bond is formed by the completion of that first period of lovemaking, the marriage has a much higher probability of success than others. It is necessary that we talk about these things. Church people as a whole, seem reluctant to speak of sex, but the whole Bible speaks of sex. Words like virgin, marry, adultery, circumcision, etc., all speak of sexual imagery, imagery which relates to specific physical conditions, relating to man and woman's most holy organs. If we are to consider all aspects of what makes godly marriage so wonderful, we must speak of sex, else we fall into the devil's trap of regarding that which is holy is unclean.

We have read previously that those parts are the most honourable, and we have read that marriage is honourable and the bed undefiled, and by implication nothing that happens between husband and wife in the marriage bed is unclean in the Sight of God. It does not matter how they touch one another, and it does not matter what they do to one other. I am clearly not talking about some of the perversions of sadomasochisms, whips and bondage, etc. which the world purports to be sexually stimulating. I am talking about gentle, tender making love between a man and his wife where each gives themselves totally to the other, seeks to please the other, and gives no thought to their own needs and their own desires. Lovemaking in marriage is indeed intended to be Heaven on Earth. It is a significant component of bringing Heaven to Earth in marriage. If the ultimate scriptural act in marriage, sexual lovemaking is not fulfilled to the extent that God intended it to be, none of the rest of the marriage will be fulfilled.

I would like to describe in a moment of what I think might be a godly form of cutting the marriage Covenant in a practical sense of the generation in which we live. But before I do that, let me just bring this back into modern context. Let me talk for a moment about the way marriages are typically consummated. If you can use that word in the context where 60% of people who get married are not virgins on the wedding night, typically marriages associated with... and this is not peculiar just to the world. It happens to a greater or lesser extent to people in the Church, as well where the things may be a little bit less excessive, but that pattern on the world. Typically, there will be a stag party of some sort for the man where jokes may be made, all sorts of pranks, doctored drinks, doctored cars, and even doctored cars after the wedding, are thought to be cool in those hunting. Wild parties with too much drink that go on  late into the night, at Church service, and ultimately the bride and groom fall into bed late at night, absolutely exhausted.

If they were indeed not sexually experienced before that event, that first occasion of lovemaking is unlikely to be fulfilling. They are too tired, they are not focused on it, and they have had a wild party and it is likely to hurt. He is likely to be in a hurry and generally it is just going to be, if you forgive me for being blunt, a mess. They are not going to have much release. It is going to end up as a carnal lustful act. It is not going to be a godly celebration of the act of marriage because they think they got married in front of the priest at 11 o'clock that morning, and they have been partying and drinking, and she has been dancing with half the men at the wedding celebration, and he has been dancing with half the women. They have been lusting after all these other people and their desire is not even for each other at the time that they fall into bed and normally consummate the marriage.

In many other cases, they are just consummating adultery if they are not just carrying on with the adultery that they have been practising for months or years. Even if they are married in the Sight of God, they have probably got married months or years ago when they first had sex.  All of this is designed by Satan to make marriage fail. I cannot stress that enough - this messed up, muddled up typical consummation of marriage that characterises the world today and much of the Church. Even if they do not get drunk, even if they do not serve alcohol, they go on until late and they are not geared up to enjoy that first act of lovemaking. That is not an absolute generality that applies in all cases, but certainly in my life of nearly 50 years, I am not aware of any instance of a marriage which has not followed that pattern.

I want to go on and talk a little bit about what seems to me, after considerable prayer, consideration and pondering to be an appropriate form of marriage. I need to stress that it is based on my own experience. I believe it is fundamentally found, and I believe that it can work, but I will also need to say to you that if you have hang-ups about what I have said so far, in terms of being moderately to the point regarding sexual terminology, what follows will be a little bit more so. If you are feeling offended at this point, perhaps you should refrain from listening to the rest of this tape. I would also say to you that at this point, if you have not listened to the preceding 34 odd tapes before listening to this tape, I would encourage you to go back and fill in the gaps. You need to see what I am about to say in a very broad context. You need to understand the kingdom context. You need to understand the Demonic Satanic attacks that have been happening on marriages to some reasonably significant degree, and to understand why what I am about to say is appropriate and godly in the context of marriage.

Consummation of marriage

Let me just go ahead and outline just a brief process as it occurred to me, as I have been praying about it. It seems to me that the marriage ceremony would involve a feast of some sort. Very early on in the feast, the bride and groom would leave the guests to go and consummate the marriage. In other words, the consummation of the marriage is the heart of the whole celebration. Therefore, it is something that takes place very early on in the event. The bride and groom are anticipating the consummation and they have been prepared. In particular, the bride and groom have been prepared for some time beforehand and have been educated. The father instructs his son to be gentle and give love. This is a spirit-to-spirit communication .Take the lead but you can do nothing if she does not desire you and does not give herself to you, so be sensitive. Touch, stroke, kiss, caress. They need to talk about every aspect of the sensitivities of woman's body, the various types of caress, the various types of kissing, the various types of stroking of all areas of her body, and building up her arousal to a point where she is ready to be penetrated and ready to give everything. Opening his spirit to give her everything, focusing on her pleasure, not thinking of self, and if she does the same, she will do what the man desires. Guide her gently and instruct her what to do and when to do it.

She will come to a place of high arousal. When she comes to that place of high arousal, the penetration will be much easier. The pain would be much more bearable and the whole moment of consummation through the cleaving of the hymen, will be much more ecstatic. She will be able to take it. It will not be something that is so totally uncomfortable and painful that it will discourage her, and that she will be unable to press through it. She will experience the joy of consummating marriage with her husband. In the same time, leading up to the marriage, the mother instructs her daughter, your desire must be for your husband that is scriptural. Think about him and anticipate making love to him. Your whole function in lovemaking is to bring pleasure to him, and to give yourself to him totally to meet his needs, and so forth. With that type of instruction, so that the expectations are high, their willingness to give this is at an absolute peak and they go into the bridal chamber expecting to give totally and expecting to experience. They are being dressed accordingly. The bride is dressed in satin, silky garments, not necessarily designed the way modern marriage garments are designed, to prepare her spiritually and emotionally, just to be absolutely desirable and attractive to her new husband.

Once they are alone in the bridal chamber, they make love in a gentle slow manner in which the husband leads her and guides her, even if this is his first experience which is generally should be in the context of current society, until they reach the point where they both agree that it is time for that first penetration. I would suggest that they could then put the linen cloth under the appropriate area when the young woman lies down on the bed and then as they go forward, the penetration takes place, and assuming that she was a virgin young enough for blood to flow, blood flows and it is collected on the cloth. It does seem to me that the mucous emissions from both man and woman with high arousal, constitute water, and so we have water and blood collected with regards to the consummation of the marriage. The semen of the first ejaculation containing as it does, all the vital elements to create another human being when merged with the cell of the woman, arguably contains the elements of blood. The life is in that semen as it is in the blood, and therefore we get the mingling of the metaphorically, the blood of both partners.

At that moment, with the covers over them they can call the witnesses who have been waiting at the door, the friends of the bridegroom, the parents of bride and groom or whoever, and hand over the cloth, and declare that the blood is the blood of her virginity. At that time, they could declare the Covenant vows, exchange their weaknesses and strengths and so on and so forth, in line with the points we were making earlier.

Prior to that, possibly before going into the marriage chamber, they could have a little ceremony in which the husband takes his cloak and extends it over his new wife. Or alternatively, once the consummation has taken place, a similar ceremony could take place that they come out before the guests, he extends his cloak over and he declares the Covenant vows in front of the people giving her strength, protection, and giving his name, giving his authority and extending his covering. The finer points are things that individual people need to resolve but does not have to become some sort of a traditional rite, but I believe the principles are there.

There needs to be the acknowledgement that the Covenant carries the penalty of death for breaking it, according to Scripture. There are various other elements of Scripture which might be introduced to it, but we are departing in this completely from any form of officiating priest. We are departing from any form of written contract. If you want to write the vows down of the oath, for your own frame of reference, well and good, but those vows are simple vows. They are scriptural vows, and they are an exchange of strengths, protection, name and so forth. There is no need for rings. If you want to wear rings because you are bound by tradition, that is your prerogative. Understand that it is simply to make your conformance with the norms of the present society more comfortable. It has no significance before God. Realise that rings can become a sign of bondage. If you get into a situation where a husband or wife forgets to put their ring on one morning, the next thing is a drama, where the other partner thinks they are trying to tell them that they want a divorce, as they do not love them anymore, then you have missed the point of the ring. Destroy it become an idol in your life.

One Flesh Bond

Coming back to the celebration, once consummation has taken place, the bride and groom could come out. There could be a celebration, there could be a toast, and there could be a few speeches, but then they should withdraw again. The way I read Scripture, the bride and groom, for the seven days, spent seven days in the marriage chamber. It is really important to understand why that is. Sexual lovemaking is a process of raising both parties to ever increasing levels of ecstatic experience in the sexual act. The first time they climax it is a relatively mundane experience, even if it is the first time in a virgin state. As they spend time together, as they make love and are touched in more detail in the teaching, God willing, on building the One Flesh Bond on some specific points here, but as they make love, as they spend time together, they need to spend time together.

They need to spend at least half a day, immediately following the consummation just making love, caressing, talking, stroking, focusing totally on each other and each time they take the act of marriage further, each time there is a further orgasmic climax, this One Flesh Bond will be strengthened. In an ideal situation, they should spend a day, or at least half a day making love to a point where they have made love and climaxed together three, four, five, six times during the course of the afternoon, where they have both been well instructed, are sensitive and are giving themselves to one another by the time that afternoon is finished. The final plateau that is reached and the final orgasm that is experienced by both partners will be of such magnitude that the wife will look back and say that that is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to her. She will look at her husband with new eyes. She will be filled with love and she will have an absolute conviction that he is her head and that she adores him. The husband will come out of that, able to make a declaration that he is a man. He will know that he has satisfied his wife. He will know that he is one with her and that is taken to the full power that God intended it to be.

By the end of that day, there will be a substantial One Flesh Bond. They will look at each other with new eyes, and they will know things have changed. People who see them will know they are changed. They do not need a wedding ring for people to see that they are married. People will be able to see that they are married simply by virtue of the unity and the harmony between these two people. I share this with you in confidence, in the hope that it will help you to understand what I am saying. Part of what I have shared with you, I have personally experienced, sadly, and in an ungodly and adulterous situation. But at the end of one afternoon, our lives have been changed forever and of dismembering and cutting out the One Flesh Bond, and the love that resulted and grew out of that first afternoon.

I have to say to you that unless we understand what that entails, the Word of God says all things work together for the good of those that love God and are called according to His purpose. I have to look back on the method I made in my life when I had backslid and went away from God and dallied in adultery. The one good thing that came out of that, is that I experienced a level and a dimension of sexuality that is generally not available to those who rely on the Church for their instruction. As much as everything else that came out of that was evil and bad, and that the whole situation is sinful, I saw with dramatic effect the power of the One Flesh Bond after one day, and how that built and built and built over the ensuing two years to something that was virtually indestructible except by the mercy and the grace of God.

So I would urge you to take very seriously what I have said in the last few minutes. It is extremely important. Gentle, giving, sensitive lovemaking with no holds barred over a period of half a day, or a day, as the first sexual experience for a couple who have not been messing around with petting, dating, courting and all the other stuff that the devil would have us believe is acceptable today, who have not spread their souls and hearts around each other in dissolute and unfocused ways in an extremely, extremely powerful spiritual force. It will change your life. It will bring you to a place where you will say without even thinking, I will never leave you or forsake you, I will stand by you no matter what comes, and I will die rather than leave you.

It was that very reality that brought me back to Christ, having walked for two years in a relationship where not once was the word ‘love’ used, where all the criteria of agape, hesed in 1 Corinthians 13, was lived out simply because that was the way it worked out. At the end of that time, I spent the night in a hotel determining how best I could kill myself, because I had lost the woman that I had become one with over two years. I have to tell you, it nearly destroyed me, and 18 months later after the Church had failed in any demonstrable fashion to assist me to deal with that One Flesh Bond, it nearly destroyed me again. That was how I came to a revelation of the One Flesh Bond and the prayer that was necessary to break it. I spent three hours arguing with a pastor to get him to come into agreement with me and to pray the prayer that I knew had to be prayed to break that One Flesh Bond, on the basis that if I left him, I would blow my brains out. Eventually when we prayed and that One Flesh Bond was broken, I smacked back together in a way that you will never understand if you have never experienced it.

The One Flesh Bond is the power of God in marriage. It is absolutely phenomenal, and it is absolutely beautiful in the right context, and it is totally destructive in the wrong context. With that, it builds agape, it builds hesed, it builds Covenant every time that Covenant act is repeated in a fashion without holding back, total giving, total loving. Without the word ‘love’ having been used once in two years, seven years later, I still found myself with a substantial part of my heart doing somersaults when I saw that woman in a shop again. God has created marriage to work. If you receive nothing else out of this teaching, nothing else out of this entire series of 40 something tapes, please hear me, God has created marriage to work if you will do it His way. Put aside all the other baggage that you been taught and turn to the Word of God. It is more blessed to give than receive. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church, lay down your life. Wives desire your husbands, wives submit to your husbands. They are very simple rules, but they are powerful beyond the comprehension of the natural mind.

To return to the context of the cutting of the Covenant the marriage ceremony, we have a number of scriptural references to a seven-day period, starting on the day of the marriage ceremony as being the total marriage ceremony. We see it with Jacob, Leah and Rachel. We see it even with Samson and his first wife, the Timnah woman. The point there, is that if a man and his wife spend seven days in the bridal chamber, and they spend most of their time in each other's company talking, touching, kissing, caressing, making love with appropriate light food and just from time to time joining the party with rejoicing and goodwill, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind, at the end of seven days of focused attention on one another, there will be an absolutely phenomenal marital bond. The One Flesh Bond at the end of seven days will be enormously strong.

If they again apply the provision in Scripture that in the first year after marriage, a man should not go out to war and so forth, and the husband and wife devote substantial attention to one another, if they are living in the father's house, and therefore the man is not preoccupied with career and everything else to the extent that it distracts him unduly from his wife, if he is working for his father, if he is working in the father's businesses, he has been groomed to that over many years, he can cope with it easily. He is not stressed, and he gives great attention to his new wife.

At the end of the year that One Flesh Bond will be so strong that nothing will rock that marriage. The gates of hell will not prevail against that marriage. That man and that woman will be welded together in the Spirit. They will be talking to each other in that fashion spirit to spirit. I have experienced a small degree of that. I have experienced a situation of being 1000 miles away from the other party and being able to communicate to a small degree, picking up the phone and both parties saying almost exactly the same words at almost the same moment. Picking up the phone and saying ABC and the other party says I was about to say that to you. That is the power of the One Flesh Bond, and that is why the cutting of the marriage Covenant as an act of profound intimacy between husband and wife in the first few hours, the first seven days, and the first year is of absolute immense importance. A marriage built on that foundation, together with the Lord Jesus Christ as the absolute core and focus of that marriage, will be a marriage that nothing will break. It will be a marriage of power and unity and harmony. It will be a marriage where prayers are answered, and it will be a light to the world.

"Father in the name of Jesus I pray that anything that I have uttered that is not according to Your Word and Your will, that it will be blown away and find no root in the heart of the hearers. Likewise I pray Father in the name of Jesus that all that has been spoken that is according to Your Word and Your will, will be planted and engrafted in the hearts of the hearers that will be watered by your Spirit, that will grow and flourish and produce abundant fruit in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, amen."

This message has been recorded by a Church Without Walls, a ministry of End Time Issue Ministries, PO Box 898, Randpark Ridge, Randburg 2156, Republic of South Africa. We can be contacted by email at james@endtimeissues.org.za. Our phone numbers, international dialling code, normally 0027, but this may vary from country to country, the 27 is standard. Our landline is 0027117912327 or when in South Africa 0117912327. My mobile number is 0027832516644 and in South Africa 0832516644. Our fax number internationally 0027117915004 and locally 0117915004. All materials produced by this ministry are available at no cost to those who require them, irrespective of financial means. At the same time, donations and offerings are clearly welcome to support the work.

04 16 Faith and Implementing Change

Xxx this teaching is still to be transcribed – audio with Taryn

04 17 The Power of Negativity -- Preventing Change

Xxx this teaching is still to be supplied to Taryn

04 18 Building the House - the One Flesh Bond

Volume 2 of the teaching, 'Understanding God's Way in Marriage.' Volume 2 deals with the subject 'Towards Heaven on Earth in Marriage' and teaching 18 is entitled 'Building the House ‑ the One Flesh Bond.' Proverbs 14:1 states "The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands." We need to understand more about how the house is built. We have touched on this in previous teachings. We have said that the wife builds the house through her support and her love for her husband, in submission for her husband and through the spiritual dimension. We have seen that the physical body builds the physical house for the head, and we therefore deduce that the spiritual body also builds the spiritual house. Therefore, the wife builds the spiritual house. So, we see again with the parallel of the Body of Christ and the body of the husband, that the Body of Christ builds physical buildings for the worship of the Lord, and the wife who is in the spiritual sense builds the spiritual house.

We see in Hebrews 13:4 "Marriage is honourable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge." So, we see the clear distinction that any form of sexual intercourse outside of marriage will be judged. Within marriage, marriage which we see as sexual intercourse with a virgin and the relationship that is honourable among all, and the marriage bed is undefiled indicating that bonding takes place between a husband and wife in the sexual realm or effectively in all other realms is between them and whatever they do sexually together is acceptable in the Sight of God. There is no defilement within marriage. The defilement comes by going out of marriage.

We saw also in 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 "Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control." So, we see that again in lovemaking, it is the wife's prerogative to experience her husband's body as she chooses, and in the same way for the husband to experience his wife's body as she chooses. Clearly, we are talking about godly loving and considerate, giving sexual contact. We are not talking about the perversions practised in the world today and practiced in the days of Moses. We have referred to, in some depth the repeated references to One Flesh.

Genesis 2:24 states "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." The King James says, "shall cleave to his wife." And we studied that out, and we have seen that that is the basis of the marriage Covenant, the cutting of Covenant in the virgin flesh of the bride with the shedding of blood. We have seen that the female sexual organ is a shadow and a type of the Covenant animal, and that everything to do with the act of sexual lovemaking in marriage is holy and has a deep Covenant significance. We have referred previously to the Scriptures which indicate that the sexual organs of the male and the female have the greatest honour, and we have referred to them as the most holy parts of the man and the woman respectively.

A Spiritual act

So, we understand clearly that the act of sexual intercourse is a spiritual act which happens to have a related physical manifestation. It is not the carnal, dirty, unnecessary act that many have believed it to be. The reference to One Flesh in Genesis 2:24 goes into Matthew 19:5-6, Mark 10:8, 1 Corinthians 6:16, which refers to a person becoming One Flesh with a harlot. It demonstrates clearly that sexual intercourse produces One Flesh Bonds and then the pivotal Scriptures used in this series, Ephesians 5:31 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." And the next verse gives us the broader context. If we read through from Ephesians 5:29-33: "For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the Church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 'For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined (cleaved) to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."

This Scripture has given us great insight into the whole subject of marriage. It resolves around the question as to why there is so little ambiguous and explicit guidance with regards to marriage in the holy Scriptures, simply because the entire Bible is preparing the Bride of Christ for the marriage supper of the lamb. Therefore, throughout the Bible we find references to a relationship between God and man, which give us a shadow and a type of the Covenant between man and woman, and the marriage Covenant.  Conversely what we are told about marriage in the Scriptures reinforces our understanding of the relationship between man and God. By virtue of this very explicit and very clear parallel which is stated absolutely categorically in Ephesians 5:32 "This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church" and yet the preceding verse which refers is "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." And that is exactly the same verses of Genesis 2:24 as quoted by Jesus himself in Matthew 5, Matthew 19, and Mark 10, in the context of marriage. So, there can be absolutely no doubt that there is a direct parallel. Therefore, we can learn an enormous amount about marriage from the relationship that is set out concerning Christ and the Church, and we have used that throughout the series of teachings.

We also see in the context of building the house that 1 Peter 2:4-5 says "Coming to Him (Jesus) as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." So, basing our interpretation on Ephesians 5:30-32 that we just quoted, we see that the wives of a man are living stones in his spiritual house, just as we the Body of Christ are living stones in the spiritual house of the Lord Jesus Christ. In that, we have travelled a long road in these teachings to get to this point, in fact, approximately 38 tapes. I urge any listener who has come directly to this tape and has not travelled the whole journey with us to consider undertaking all the steps in the journey. We are close to a wonderful destination, a destination that has been defiled by Satan with false teachings for hundreds, if not thousands of years. If you have not beheld the ever-increasing revelation of the beauty of godly marriage that has been unfolding as we have climbed the mountain of truth and cut our way through the jungles of deception and false doctrine, it is quite possible that you will not behold the beauty that is being progressively unfolded in this tape with an uninvolved face. If that happens, you may well see an ugliness that is not present, but which is an illusion created by Satan over thousands of years.

Spirit of Truth

We touched on in the last teaching John 16:13-15 which says, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you."We see the intimate revelations here that all things that the Father has, Jesus and the Holy Spirit will declare all things, but our Jesus and declare it to us and marriage is a vital and intimate part of who Jesus is to us. We cannot understand fully Jesus and our relationship to Jesus without understanding marriage. To the extent that we do not understand marriage, we will not understand Jesus, and to extent that we do not understand Jesus, we will not understand marriage. So again, we see a close loop of revelation being revealed in wonderful iterations. But the important point here is that the Spirit of truth will come and guide us into all truth. It is really important to understand, as was said in the previous teaching, this teaching on building the One Flesh Bond which deals with some extremely sensitive issues, is part of the process of the Holy Spirit leading us into all truths.

So the Holy Spirit is leading us towards all truth in the area of marriage. He has rolled back much wrong teaching by revealing enormous truths in the series. It is incumbent on all who have taken this journey with me to press on towards the goal and not to think to go weary. All will be offended at this point in the journey. Accordingly, please agree with me now in prayer.

“Father I come to You in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the name of Jesus I speak to any Demon or fallen Angel or cohort to Satan that is hearing this teaching, in the name of Jesus I bind you now in Jesus’ name. I command you to go down and be silent in Jesus’ name. I command your ears to be closed in Jesus name until completion of this teaching. Father I ask in the name of Jesus that You will send your mighty warring Angels to bind and silence every Demon that is within hearing distance of this message and to block the ears of every Demon that is within hearing distance of this message. Father I pray that You will assist those listening to this tape to hear clearly what is being said by your Spirit and not to be distracted by any other influence. I ask You to open their eyes to see what You would have them see and close the eyes that they do not see what You do not want them to see. I ask You to open their ears to hear that You would have them hear and close the ears that they do not hear what You do not want them to hear. I ask You Father in the name of Jesus to give them revelation of the truths in these teachings and whatsoever might be in this teaching that is not of You. Father, I ask You will blow it away so that it never existed, that it will find no root in the hearts of the hearers, but all in this teaching Father, which is of You, which is according to Your Word and Your will and by Your Spirit, I ask Father that it will take root in the hearts of the hearers that You will nurture it by Your Spirit and that it will produce abundant fruit to the glory of God. We ask You Father, in the name of Jesus to speak to us by Your Spirit as we continue with this teaching. Amen.”

One Flesh House

As we commence the next stage of our journey and discuss building the One Flesh house and the one flesh bond, allow me to remind you of the previous teaching on negativity and the Word of the Lord that was received at the end of that teaching. I would just like to revisit that. It is really important that we understand what the Lord is saying regarding the subject of this particular teaching. The Lord said to me at the end of the teaching on negativity by Brian Houston, which was a tape that I had for years and not listened to for years. I was impressed by the Spirit to introduce it into this series immediately prior to the teaching on the One Flesh Bond, and at the end of that tape in which the Lord clearly showed us a number of issues which needed to be taken account, the Lord gave me the following word for all who would listen to this message with an open heart. He said negativity towards sexual lovemaking is one of the most serious cancers in marriage in the Body of Christ today. He said that this was why this message in this series was so vital and also it was why so few Christians would be willing to receive the message, unless they took the message regarding negativity to heart.

I would really urge you, if you have not listened to that message of Brian Houston on negativity, please turn this tape off now and put in the preceding tape in this series and listen to it. If you do not have access to it, please contact this Ministry. If you do go ahead without listening to that tape, please accept your accountability before God for how you respond to what follows. There are a number of key points which came out of that teaching and I would just like to pick those up for the sake of completeness and recap. If you see weakness in your marriage partner, it is only to strengthen and overcome, compensate for and cover. It is not a source of derision or criticism. We have just seen this whole concept of Covenant and what Covenant is truly about, coming through in the last few teachings very strongly.

There would be statements and words in the next message or in this message, which have the potential to offend. If so, I apologise, but I ask you to listen to the heart of this message and seek not to be offended. The message is vital, and it is of God. A further point from the previous tape, negativity pollutes your environment, including your family, your home, and your children. Negativity limits the present and sabotages the future. A statement was made on that tape, as long as I believe I could not do it, it limited me. I would really implore anybody listening to this tape, there is a strong possibility in that which follows in this tape, your mind will tell you I cannot do that. If you are negative, it will limit you. If you say, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, I see clearly that the Word of God says that marriage is honourable, and the marriage bed is undefiled. Therefore, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can be the wife that my husband needs me to be according to Scripture. I can be the husband that my wife needs me to be according to Scripture.

Further comment quotes out of that teaching, get your eyes on your destiny. We need to look to this vision of Heaven on Earth in marriage, and we need to seek to come there. Negativity always blames. A comment I deduced from that teaching is we must accept accountability to seek all truth guided by the Holy Spirit. I would really urge you if you have got so far in this series. I truly believe you are seeking all truth, otherwise you would not have hung in with an extremely long teaching series. We are coming into the potentially most challenging tapes in this entire series. They are built on an enormous foundation that is being laid, but they are going to challenge you almost certainly more than you have been challenged already. Please, for your sake and for the sake of the millions and the billions out there who are in bondage, do not faint, do not go weary, do not be offended, and do not give up. Press on to the end. We are nearing the crest of the mountain. It is our accountability before God to go on, to press on, to reach the top for the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Taking accountability

Each of us needs to be accountable to inspire. The husband is accountable to inspire his wife. The leadership is positive even when confronted with obstacles. We must build around the truth of God's Word, not the facts as we see them. The facts, being the facts of the world. We must become overcomers. A last point out of that tape on negativity, which for me was a very important confirmation of message that we are believers now. We cited the example of David and his wife, and I would just like to read the relative passage out of 2 Samuel 6:15-23. I will read selected verses. "So, David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. So they brought the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal, the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, 'How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!'" So, we see that David's dancing before God was totally uninhibited. So much so, that it would appear that his robes were flying in the air, flying around his head and even his nakedness beneath his robes was seen by those around him. "So, David said to Michal, 'It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honour.' Therefore Michal, the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death."

Spiritual bond

Coming to his maid, in the tape on negativity that we should be free to worship the way David worshipped. It truly is my understanding of Scripture that that passage of the manner in which David worshipped God with all his heart, all his mind, all his soul and all his strength with absolutely no regard for what people thought of him. Here we see the King of Israel dancing in such an uninhibited fashion that even his nakedness is exposed before the servants of his servants, and yet he is completely unperturbed. The only thing that’s of relevance to David as he danced, was that he pleased God and that he worshipped God. I believe this is a profoundly important Scripture in understanding the message that follows. We have to understand that a wife should adore and make love to her husband with absolutely no inhibition, and with no holding back. The parallel between praise and worship is absolutely clear as you pray into it, as you see what God is showing us about the ecstatic experience of true worship which brings us into the very presence of God, which brings us into the fullness of the anointing, in the same way, the absolutely uninhibited lovemaking of a wife towards her husband brings her into the fullness of her husband, of his present and into the fullness of the One Flesh Bond. If she is dry and inhibited and gives nothing to him, she will never build her house.

By making love in a dynamic and a powerful way to her husband, the strength of the spiritual bond is reinforced. To digress for a moment, the point that has to be stressed, is, some people, when discussing the subject, have asserted to me that what I have just said is unscriptural on the basis that they cannot find any Scripture to prove them that I am right, but they cannot find any Scripture to prove that I am wrong. If you put together everything that has been taught so far and what will be taught in this lesson, you will see that this is truth. But the bottom line is I have been there. I have had an extremely powerful relationship over a period of two years in adultery. I give myself no glory for that. I was backslidden and I was innocent. For two years I experienced the potential, or something close to the potential of what sexual lovemaking could be. Then it ended, and it nearly destroyed me. Ultimately it was only the Grace of God that delivered me, and it was only a profound revelation of the truths that I am sharing in these tapes with regards to the One Flesh Bond, that prevented me coming to a place where it finally did utterly destroy me.

I have experienced the One Flesh Bond of a magnitude, not certainly the fullness of what is available to us, but certainly greater than most people I know have experienced. So, I urge you to accept the message that is here, from the basis of somebody who has been there. It is wonderful. It is powerful and yet there is much more when Jesus Christ is at the head of the family. It is not taking place in the circumstances that it happened in my life. My desire is to come to a place where I experience that fullness again, but I have also discovered that it was a remarkable quote of circumstances that permitted me to experience it when I did. There is so much in this world that Satan has put in place to hinder you the minute you become married. It is possible to experience the fullness of what God created sex to be, in certain respects, in adultery and fornication, because then the devil is not worried about you. He knows you are going to hell. But the day you turn around and seek God and seek that fulfilment, that same fulfilment in godly marriage, all the forces of hell are unleashed to stop you getting there because the devil knows that when a man and a woman get to that level of unity and harmony within the Body of Christ, in right standing with God, then Satan's days on this Earth truly will be numbered.

Building the house

So, we have seen that the wife builds the house and we see that sexual lovemaking is a key component of that, perhaps the key component. The wife must build her home, her business, and her husband's ministry. This is exemplified in Proverbs 31, which we have looked at before, but it is apposite to revisit those Scriptures today. Proverbs 31 from verse 10 to 31, "Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So, he will have no lack of gain." Here immediately we see the house being built. "She does him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands. She is like the merchant ships, she brings her food from afar. She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household, and a portion for her maidservants. She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard." So she engages in commerce."She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms. She perceives that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out by night. She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hand holds the spindle. She extends her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy."

So, she is involved in community service. "She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed with scarlet. She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land." So her husband is esteemed and plays key role in the government of the community. "She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies sashes for the merchants. Strength and honour are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her. So she builds her family, she raises her children. Husband praises her. Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all. Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised." So we see the key verse that she fears God. So she does everything that is required of her. She submits to her husband. She adores her husband, she supports her husband. She builds her husband up. She perceives no doubt for her husband. "Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates."

So we see that she is praised in the gate which is where her husband is by her works and as we continue with this teaching, it just becomes more and more apparent. She is her husband's, and her husband in a sense, is hers. He has taken her under his wing. She has his full authority to conduct every aspect of the family business. So I do not think that this is saying that she engages in her own commerce independent of her husband. She is engaged in the commerce, which is the business of the family. She is one with her husband and therefore she is his most trusted agent in the conduct of the family business, in the management of the family estate, in the management of the raising of the children, and in every aspect of their day-to-day life while he devotes himself to the ministry to which he is called, and to the leadership of the family.

A godly woman is a strong woman, a woman who is imbued with talent, and a willingness to serve with her husband. By submission and adoration, she provides a pillar in the house of her husband, and therefore lifts her husband towards Heaven. She lifts him towards a position of leadership in the community and she lifts him towards Heaven. By encouraging, honouring, treating gently, loving, etc. his wife, the husband draws her to him and together they draw near to Jesus. There is much to be learnt about husband and wife working together to build their dwelling, their business, their family, their children, and especially their Ministry. All involves submission, harmony, and agreement.  All are primarily activities in the natural realm. There is considerable experiential precedent which it currently seems to me can be readily adapted in the light of our lessons today, and a point that I would make there is that I have repeatedly observed that a woman who is of the right spirit in a work situation will submit to her employer in ways that are similar to the way she should be submitting to her husband if she was working for him.  This produces a number of aspects that produces attention in the sense, that if she conducts herself in a godly way as an employee, she will automatically become attractive to her employer, because she will be behaving towards him as a helpmate in the role that God intended, as that man's wife to play.

It is therefore no wonder that many secretaries and personal assistants end up having relationships with their employers. They were not intended to be there. God intended that man have his wife working, but through these experiences and through careful observation, I have seen that it is possible to gain a good insight as to what is required in the crux there, for a wife working in the family business is simply to say how would you conduct yourself towards another man who was your employer and then in the professional context of running the family business, conduct yourself towards your husband in a similar fashion to the same or higher standards of respect, integrity, submission, and so forth.

One Flesh Bond

There is possibly a need for further teachings on that, but I do not feel impressed to do that in this series. However, all of this is underpinned by the spiritual dimension. First and foremost, we are spirit. And we see again referring back to Genesis 2:24 "For this reason, a man shall cleave onto his wife and they shall become one flesh." And again, we see that the "Woman is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh," paraphrasing Genesis 2:23. We have seen repeatedly in this series that One Flesh is an unbreakable spiritual link between any two human beings who have sexual intercourse. It is intended by Yahweh, the Lord God, clearly for marriage, and it is sacred and holy. I have briefly shared my own, very painful personal experience of the true strength of the bond, and I urge you to recognise the validity of this testimony.

It is an abomination for women to form such bonds with more than one man and for a man to form such a bond with a woman, who is already joined to another man. That is adultery and fornication. It is an abomination in the sight of a holy God, of our holy God, which will prevent the offender from inheriting the Kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." Such people will be insured a part in the lake of fire of brimstone unless there is sincere repentance and turning around in this life. Revelation 21:8 says that the sexually immoral and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

The One Flesh Bond comes about through sexual lovemaking. It produces a link which, in full strength, gives rise to what in modern computer terms would be described as an online real-time spirit-to-spirit bond, which in its full manifestation permits husband and wife to communicate across thousands of miles, as though they were in the same room. At this level of strength, it effectively guarantees unity and harmony when it is fully developed. A fully developed One Flesh Bond brings about perfect unity, perfect agreement, perfect harmony as two hearts resonate in perfect synchrony, in praise and worship, in ministry to the Saviour, in intercession and prayer, in heart-to-heart communication with Jesus Christ, in the work of the ministry and calling, in the raising of their children, in the management and operation of the household, in the family business, in recreation, and in fact, in all things.

How is it attained? Firstly, by mutual respect, esteem, and hesed, agape, Covenant love according to 1 Corinthians 13, as discussed in the previous teaching, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of Angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will fail; where there are tongues, they will cease; where there is knowledge, it will vanish away." The love spoken of this, the agape hesed, love of God, Covenant love, as we heard in the teaching a few tapes back.

My experience tells me that if a man and woman walk in that love, amazing things will happen. That is the way God intended it to be. In fact, love brings about respect, esteem and giving. It puts the other party first. It seeks to please, not to be pleased. The second factor in obtaining the vision that was set out a moment ago, is by totally unreserved giving of the husband to his wife, and by the wife to her husband. No holding back, no strings, and no conditions. They give because God has told them to give. They give because they love. They give love because they have been commanded by God to give love. The wife gives submission willingly, because she desires to give it. This marriage is about choice. The woman has a choice to submit to her husband, or not to submit to her husband and to break her house down. It is not for her husband to force her. We have gone through a number of teachings around the spiritual principles in terms of how husbands deal with a rebellious and treacherous wife. But the party who chooses to break Covenant must do so knowing that there is certain death associated with it, not necessarily death in this life, but death in the life to come. We see that again and again.

Heaven on Earth

True divorce in Sight of God, is something that happens when one party is hell-bent on going to hell. The third component of how this perfect unity and harmony is accomplished, and how this house is built is by passionate desire and uninhibited lovemaking in the marriage bed, that is the most important focus of the balance of this particular teaching. We have dealt in length with 1 Corinthians 13, agape, hesed love, and I pray that by now you are seeking to walk in agape, hesed love with your spouse. With regards to the second point, we have touched on giving in the relationship. It flows from agape, hesed, Covenant love. It is the essence of Covenant as we have already seen. There is certainly much more that could be said, but that is not the objective of this particular teaching. And thirdly, we have repeatedly alluded to the sexual lovemaking aspect, but have repeatedly, consciously skirted the issue in recognition of its extreme sensitivity.

However, we are now required by Yahweh to confront head-on, that most precious gift that He has given, to distinguish marriage from every other form of human relationship, that gift which creates and builds the One Flesh Bond, that gift which is central to the statement that is being repeatedly made that Yahweh created marriage to work, and which is the vital cornerstone of marriage. It is a cornerstone which is required to bring Heaven to Earth in every facet of marriage. I am speaking of sexual lovemaking in marriage, or as it is referred to in the carnal, secular world and the Church alike, sex. That word, sex, has no use in Scripture. It is raw and crude. It does not glorify that which is so holy. That is why the term sexual lovemaking has been used for much of the series of teachings. At this point, I need to make an appeal. If you have not listened to all the preceding tapes, which is about 38 tapes at this point, please go back to the first tape you skipped and take the full journey to this point. If you are resolved not to do this, I urge you to, at the very least listen to tapes 2 and 3 in Volume 1, tape 2 "How the Scripture defines the marriage Covenant" and tape 3 "The One Flesh Bond and submission" and I also urge you to listen to tapes 13, 14, 15 and 17 in Volume 2. Tape 13, "Cleansing the Temple of the Holy Spirit and Jezebel," tape 14 "Covenant made by blood: Hesed, agape," tape 15 "Cutting the marriage Covenant," and tape 17 "The power of negativity ‑ preventing change."

If even that is not acceptable to you, please at the very least, I urge you to listen to tape 17 on negativity in Volume 2, the tape immediately preceding this. Irrespective of which route you followed to this point, please accept that I have a profound assurance that what follows is right, acceptable, and pleasing in the sight of Father God Yahweh, our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit of God. Accordingly, should you find yourself becoming offended or negative, rather turn the tape off than continue, and put the matter before the throne of the living God and request His guidance before you take action. Remember that since I claim that this message is from God, if you reject it and I am correct, you will be subject to a stricter judgement because you say that you see. Remember also that if I am telling you the truth and this message is from God, and you reject it, then you reject the one who sent me, the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

I urge you again, if you have not listened to all the preceding tapes, to have the full spiritual context of that which follows, please go back. If you do go on and you are offended, please take time to go before God before you take any action. And by action, I mean words, I mean judgements. Please, with utmost sincerity, the tape on judgement in this life provides insight into why it is so important that we cease and desist from speaking out about the things of God and speaking out against the things of God and things that are in His Word, just because we are offended, and  just because they are contrary to our paradigms.

Let us consider what Scripture has to say directly about lovemaking in marriage and the related topics. Proverbs 5:15-20, "Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well. Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be only your own, and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth. As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love. For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, and be embraced in the arms of a seductress?"

The last verse gives us the key to this passage. We see that it is dealing with sexual lovemaking. The cistern and well are a reference to the female sexual organ, and the fountains are reference to the male sexual organs, the male ejaculation. Song of Solomon 1:13, "A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, that lies all night between my breasts."  Song of Solomon 4:5, "Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, which feed among the lilies." Chapter 7:3 "Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle."

Song of Solomon 7:4-10 "Your neck is like an ivory tower, your eyes like the pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon which looks toward Damascus. Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, and the hair of your head is like purple; A king is held captive by your tresses." Referring to Solomon who is in love with her. "How fair and how pleasant you are, O love, with your delights! This stature of yours is like a palm tree, And your breasts like its clusters. I said, 'I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of its branches.' Let now your breasts be like clusters of the vine, The fragrance of your breath like apples, and the roof of your mouth like the best wine.

The Shulamite says, the wine goes down smoothly for my beloved, moving gently the lips of sleepers. I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me." The imagery is quite graphic and it certainly involves the man making love to the woman, caressing her breasts and touching her intimately and all over her body. Song of Songs 8:5-8, "Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I awakened you under the apple tree. There your mother brought you forth; There she who bore you, brought you forth. The Shulamite to her Beloved Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; For love is as strong as death, jealousy as cruel as the grave; Its flames are flames of fire, a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised. The Shulamite’s Brothers - we have a little sister, and she has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister in the day when she is spoken for?"

The last verse clearly speaks of a young girl who is late to puberty and yet is ready for marriage and deals with the state of her breasts. Clearly that is something that was viewed as being important. Verses 6-7 are very passionate, for love is as strong as death, jealousy is cruel as the grave, its flames are flames of fire almost vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house it would be utterly despised. Love is intensely passionate. When a man and woman are truly passionately in love and have given all to one another, nothing can stop it. Wealth is of nothing compared to that love. Floods cannot drown it, waters cannot quench it. It is like a vehement flame. That is the love that God intended a husband and wife to have for one another. It is not a dirty foul thing. It is a beautiful thing. By the same token, we are expected to be passionately in love with Jesus. We are expected to have a fire burning in our hearts for the Lord Jesus Christ, instead of this insipid half-hearted worship that we generally offer to Him.

The beginning of verse 6: "Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm."We have discussed previously that, what I term the most holy organs of a man and woman, are the doorways to their hearts. They become united heart-to-heart through the act of sexual lovemaking, through the spiritual emission which takes place with orgasm between the two of them. So to speak of a seal upon her husband's heart, it would seem that she is referring to a very direct reference to being implanted upon him and upon his heart. When she speaks of being the seal upon his arm, she is referring to being part of his strength.

Ezekiel 16:7-14: "I made you thrive like a plant in the field," and this is the Lord God speaking through Ezekiel, "And you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare. 'When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so, I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a Covenant with you, and you became Mine,' says the Lord God. 'Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil. I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists, and a chain on your neck. And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty. Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendour which I had bestowed on you,' says the Lord God."

Harlotry

And this is dealing with Israel pleasant girl found destitute without clothing and brought in to the house of the king and made a queen. And from there God goes on to speak of Israel's unfaithfulness and fornication. It carries a marriage metaphor. He took her in, he made a Covenant with her, she became his wife. He gave her beautiful gifts for her to be beautiful and appealing in the sight. And again, it is explicit. It talks about breasts. Ezekiel 23:2-5: "Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother. They committed harlotry in Egypt, they committed harlotry in their youth; Their breasts were there embraced, their virgin bosom was there pressed. Their names: Oholah, the elder and Oholibah, her sister; They were Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah. The Older Sister, Samaria Oholah played the harlot even though she was Mine; And she lusted for her lovers, the neighbouring Assyrians,"

Again harlotry. Their breasts were embraced, their bosoms were pressed. It is explicit. The imagery is clear. It is sexual. Ezekiel 23:20-21: "For she lusted for her paramours, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys, and whose issue is like the issue of horses. Thus, you called to remembrance the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians pressed your bosom because of your youthful breasts." Ezekiel 23:19-21, in NIV the same passage is even more explicit, "There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. So, you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed, and your young breasts fondled."

Ezekiel 23:20 in the Revised Standard Version, "And doted upon her paramours there, whose members were like those of asses, and whose issue was like that of horses."There can be no doubt, God is referring to very sexual metaphors here of spiritual adultery on the part of His people. Song of Songs 2:4-7: "He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Sustain me with cakes of raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am lovesick. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the doe’s of the field, do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases."

"His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me", speaks of a man and woman lying, embracing in bed. Song of Songs 8:1-4: "Oh, that you were like my brother, who nursed at my mother’s breasts! If I should find you outside, I would kiss you; I would not be despised." We see clearly here this young woman is taking the initiative in kissing her husband and going to seek her husband. "I would lead you and bring you into the house of my mother." In other words, she would bring her inside. The implication is that they would make love. "She, who used to instruct me," and we have talked previously to the effect that the mother should instruct the daughter in detail with regard to sexual lovemaking in marriage, and to prepare her for the wedding day. It continues, "I would cause you to drink of spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranate."It is unclear what the reference is to the juice of her pomegranate, but one can speculate it seems to be consistent with the rest of this discussion "To the Daughters of Jerusalem, His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me." Again, we see a man and a woman lying in bed almost certainly making love in the context of this passage of Scripture. "I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases."

Consummation

In a slightly different context, if we turn to Deuteronomy 22:15-17, which we have looked at in some depth in previous teachings, "Then the father and mother of the young woman shall take and bring out the evidence of the young woman’s virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. And the young woman’s father shall say to the elders, 'I gave my daughter to this man as wife, and he detests her. Now he has charged her with shameful conduct, saying, 'I found your daughter was not a virgin,' and yet these are the evidences of my daughter’s virginity.' And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city." We have touched on this in a number of teachings, but the reality is if that evidence is not acceptable, that young woman will be put to death as a harlot. The Word of God requires that no person is put to death, except on the evidences of two or three witnesses.

Consequently, there needed to be two or three witnesses with regards to that evidence and producing a bloodstained cloth, without the evidence of witnesses to certify where that blood came from, cannot have any sort of legal basis. So, one has to conclude that two or three witnesses were present when the defloration or consummation took place and they witnessed that. They witnessed that the girl was a virgin and they witnessed where the blood came from.

I have indicated previously that there is quite a large body of evidence which indicates that at one period in Jewish history, up to four Friends of the bridegroom were present in the bridal chamber as witnesses when the consummation took place to certify that the girl was a virgin. In other words, they looked. There are other secular evidences which indicate that up to the middle of the 18th century, it was commonplace for consummation to take place in front of the wedding guests to certify that the girl was a virgin. I am not mentioning these things in order to offend you. It just happens that there is a lot of evidence which supports the view that witnesses were present at the consummation of marriage.

Now the point in raising that again, is not to be offensive. If that is the way God intended it to be, if that is what God has appointed, and the inference from Deuteronomy 22:15-17 seems to be that it must be what He had in mind with those Scriptures, and if that is the case, it is not nearly as offensive to God as we would like to think today, for there to be witnesses present at the consummation of a marriage. If that is the case, then God has a different view on some of these things than we have, and at the same time, we have to recognise, as we have seen repeatedly in these teachings, the Church has winked, and has closed its eyes quite frankly at adultery and fornication in the world and the Church today.

Another passage of Scripture which we have looked at previously also, Judges 21:6-13, with regards to finding wives for the children of Benjamin. Verse 6: "And the children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, 'One tribe is cut off from Israel today. What shall we do for wives for those who remain.”? And so, they go to Jabesh-Gilead because they did not come up and they kill the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead except for the virgins. Verse 12: "So they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known a man intimately; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. Then the whole congregation sent word to the children of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon, and announced peace to them." In order to find those four hundred young girls, somebody had to check. Somebody had to inspect. Again, as offensive as that may be today, that is what the Word of God says and we need to revisit our attitude and our opinion to these things. I am not advocating that things like this should be done in this age. I am just saying these are things that have happened in the past. Please consider the possibility that there is a whole lot of stuff that the Church today regards differently to the way God regards it, and if we are going to talk about these things, we need to focus our attention on the way God sees it, not the way man sees it.

Circumcision

Another example, Joshua 5:1-5, when the Israelites crossed over to Jordan and come into the Promised Land, verse 2: "At that time the Lord said to Joshua, 'Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.' So, Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins."The imagery again, is important to understand. Six hundred thousand men were circumcised, and had their foreskins cut off their most holy organ. This is a very specifically focused act. Acts 16:1-3: "Then he (Paul) came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek. He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek." So we see even in so-called New Testament times with Paul, he circumcised Timothy because of the Jews. Now the point we need to notice is that by that stage, Paul knew it was not necessary for Timothy to be circumcised in order to have a Covenant with God. He needed to be born again and accept Jesus Christ as Lord in order to have a Covenant with God. Circumcision of the flesh was no longer required by God.

Accordingly, Paul was circumcising Timothy, because he expected men to see Timothy's sexual organ in a fashion which would enable them to determine he was not circumcised. Song of Songs 5:2-6: "I sleep, but my heart is awake; It is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, 'open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one; For my head is covered with dew, my locks with the drops of the night.' I have taken off my robe; How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; How can I defile them? My beloved put his hand by the latch of the door, and my heart yearned for him. I arose to open for my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the lock. I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had turned away and was gone. My heart leaped up when he spoke. I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer."

There are Christian books which analysed this passage and conclude that myrrh refers to the shiny viscous liquid which is excreted by woman's genitals when she is highly aroused. The implication is that she was so aroused, that when she went to the door, her hands had been touching her genitals, and this lubricant was placed on the door handle. That is not my interpretation; it is an interpretation that I presented in a published Christian book on the subject of love. It is very difficult to figure out what else is meant by myrrh in the context of her heart yearning for him.

The Word of God

So, we see that the Bible is a very sexually explicit book and there is no reason why we should not in a sensitive fashion and to the extent it is necessary for this message also be reasonably sexually explicit. God says His people perish for lack of knowledge and therefore knowledge must be shared and imparted in this area. Refer to Hosea 4:6. In this case, after decades of bondage of the world system and undertaking far-reaching research and surveys of writings on the subject of sex and lovemaking, and widespread reading of the publications of those who regard themselves as sexually liberated in so-called men's magazines, followed by several years of practical experience, all of which happen when I was backslidden and away from God, I found myself with knowledge and experience which Yahweh has refined and structured through His word and by His Spirit over the past 7-1/2 years which He now requires that I share with you. The Word of God says all things work together for the good for those that love God and are called according to His purpose. Certainly in my youth, I did have a love of God. It was certainly not the love that I would desire to have, but it was a love of God that saw me urgently attending Church, seeking His presence and serving Him in the ways that were available to me in those days.

Lessons to be learned

I then backslid for some decades. I turned my back on God even though I was praying every night. I was in deception and I fell into adultery. I fell at an early stage of my life, bondage to pornography. I married out of the faith to a woman who used sex as a manipulative weapon. I went to enormous lengths to seek to please her and to find out how to woo her and to bring her to a place where there could be something meaningful in our marriage. I never succeeded, because she was deliberately betraying me, but in the process, I read extremely widely into the subject that we are discussing right now. And then as I shared previously, an event happened, in actual fact, machinated by my ex-wife, in which I found myself in an adulterous relationship with my secretary for two years. Out of all that, when God brought me back to Him, when I was at the very point of taking my life because of what the One Flesh Bond was doing to me after the relationship was ended, He has been restoring me, He has been healing me. In the processes, He has been teaching me and He has been showing me that the lessons that I learnt in those years are not to be wasted.

I have debated with Him long and hard ever since I started a series of teachings, as to whether the subject that I am now covering should be dealt with in something public, as a set of teaching tapes, and subsequently transcripts and a book. I am absolutely clear that He requires this of me and He requires that of me for your sake, and for the sake of all those who will hear these tapes.

There are wonderful truths that God has preserved amongst those who are in bondage to sexual sin. There was nobody else to preserve them because the Church was certainly not going to preserve them. He is now seeking to restore those truths to the Church, and because until we have those truths restored to the Church, marriage will not be what God appointed it to be. The bride will not be spotless, and the Lord Jesus Christ is not going to return for the current sullied whore of adulteress, spiritually insensitive and generally disobedient Christians that we are. I put myself in that same category. I have shared several times in these teachings. I have been on the carpet before God a number of occasions in the last couple of months, for failing to do the things that He has called me to do.

We do not understand the ministry of the message of the Christian walk. Very, very few of us are laying down our lives. We need to return to the truth of the Gospel and we need to return to the truth of what the Word of God says concerning marriage, sexual lovemaking and so forth. So, some of what I have learnt and what the Lord has refined has been contained in the teaching on cutting the Covenant, and also in the teaching on the One Flesh Bond in tape 3 of the first series. Some more is contained in this tape and God-willing, more will be presented in the tape reaching for the heights, and the pinnacles of marriage. It is also possible that a further teaching may follow as a sequel to this, which will go into more specific detail. It is not my intention to be more specific and more explicit than seemed absolutely necessary for the purpose of this message. So, having said that, let us consider the practical steps that are necessary to build the house, to develop the One Flesh Bond.

Esther

If we turn to the book of Esther 2:12-18: "Each young woman’s turn came to go in to King Ahasuerus after she had completed twelve months’ preparation, according to the regulations for the women, for thus were the days of their preparation apportioned: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women. Thus prepared, each young woman went to the king, and she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the women’s quarters to the king’s palace. In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who kept the concubines. She would not go in to the king again unless the king delighted in her and called for her by name. Now when the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his daughter, to go in to the king, she requested nothing but what Hegai the king’s eunuch, the custodian of the women, advised. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all who saw her. So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. Then the king made a great feast, the Feast of Esther, for all his officials and servants; and he proclaimed a holiday in the provinces and gave gifts according to the generosity of a king."

So, we see quite clearly that this young woman prepared, and in fact all those who went before her, prepared for their marriage night with the king. They sought to establish what would be pleasing to the king and they took it with them. One must assume that they were instructed in the art of sexual lovemaking, so they would be ready to do what was pleasing to the king. It is really vital that we understand that Esther got to be Queen of Assyria because of the manner in which she made love to Ahasuerus was exceptionally pleasing to him, and the manner in which she presented herself to him in terms of her dress, her submission, and everything else about her, was pleasing to him. But at the end of the day, she went to his palace for him to make love to her, and God used Esther.

We read that she came to the kingdom for that time. God put her there. God arranged the events which lead to her being in that place. It was not some strange quirky coincidence that she just happened to be in that place. God had His hand on Esther. He put her there very deliberately, and He used means which was acceptable in His sight to get her there. We need to understand that God thinks differently about these things. So, we see some symbology in that particular story in terms of which it is the woman who goes to the man, not the man who goes looking for the woman.

Serving God

If we read a few verses of Scripture on the parallel, we see that there is a parallel between praise and worship of God, and lovemaking of the husband and wife. Psalm 95:1-2 says: "Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with Psalms." Psalm 95:6: "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." Psalm 96:8: "Give to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering and come into His courts." Psalm 100:2: "Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing." Psalm 119:170: "Let my supplication come before You; Deliver me according to Your Word."

Anybody who has been serving the Lord Jesus Christ for any period of time, will not agree with me that Jesus does not come looking for us in the area of praise and worship. Yes, the Lord God brings us to salvation, He leads us to salvation, but once we have made that decision, Jesus is not running around saying to us, please worship me. It is a free choice on our part. The more intimately that we worship, the less inhibited we are, the more we focus on him and give our praise to him, the more we will experience his presence and the presence of the anointing in praise and worship. If we do not do any of that, we experience nothing in praise and worship except a song singing fashion. So, we see very clearly that it is up to us, the bride, to determine how intimate we are with Jesus, and how lovingly we praise him. It is not His job, it is our job. The more I read the Scriptures, the more I pray about this.  I have to say to you, it is the wife's responsibility to stir up love, to initiate lovemaking, to be uninhibited in lovemaking. It is not the husband's job to come courting and to try and get his wife to be aroused. She is not created that way. It is a perversion the way things are done in the world today.

If we contract this with Proverbs 7:18-19, we read regarding the harlot who seduces the young man, "Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; Let us delight ourselves with love. For my husband is not at home; He has gone on a long journey." Here we see the woman taking the lead with the wrong man. So, she is saying to the man, come, instead of coming to the man who is her husband. There is another dynamic to this. We have seen clearly that the female sexual organ, the pubic mound, the mons pubis, the inner and the outer labia of the vulva, provide a very graphic representation of the Covenant animal, cleaved into half with the blood flowing, with the husband's sexual organ walking in that blood, cutting the Covenant of marriage. We have seen very clearly that every time a man and woman have sexual intercourse, they re-enact the Covenant act, particularly when the wife is aroused and blood flows into her labia minora. Symbolically the Covenant is cut again every time, or not cut again, but it is re-enacted, it is re-visited. Therefore, when the husband looks at his wife's most holy part, he sees a reminder of the Covenant. When she is aroused, that reminder is even more graphic.

The Covenant

By the same token, when she looks at her husband and he is aroused, she sees a reminder of the organ that walked in the blood and cut the Covenant. So, the act of lovemaking is sublimely holy, sublimely symbolic of Covenant, and not to be defiled in any way. By recognising that the woman's genitals are a shadow and a type of the Covenant animal, it takes on a new significance because the Covenant animal is sacrificed. So, in essence, the woman sacrifices her virginity and she is a living sacrifice in the act of Covenant with her husband.

So, if we read Romans 12:1 speaking of the Body of Christ, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." By the extension of Ephesians 5, that we have referred to earlier, the wife is required to present her body to her husband as a living sacrifice, holding acceptable to him, which is her reasonable service to him. In Genesis 3:16: "To the woman He said: 'I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." We have seen previously that the "your desire shall" is a Commandment. It is a statement of fact. A woman will desire her husband. She will not desire another man. If she desires another man, there is something seriously wrong. It is sin. She is told to desire her husband.

We are told in Ezekiel and elsewhere that the husband desires his wife, but he is not commanded to desire her. So, the whole modern view that men must court women, that men must go out of their way to prepare their wives for lovemaking, is completely false. The wife is required to take the initiative there. She is required to adore her husband and to praise him and to bring both of them into a place where lovemaking is possible.

The principle that I have just shared with you is graphically evident for those who would look in the world. So-called men's magazines, Penthouse, Playboy, etc. all report primarily letters and incidents in which the woman takes the initiative in seeking to make love or have sex with a man. The fact that it is defiled, or it is adulterous, that it is fornication, and that everything else is wrong with it, does not alter the fact that millions of people around the world are spending millions, if not billions of dollars every year purchasing magazines, which contain pictures, stories, and letters, the vast majority of which relates to women who, without inhibition, without prompting, initiate sexual intercourse with men. By the same token, strip clubs, and so forth offer the same picture as do prostitutes. Women who give themselves to men, who initiate sexual intercourse without the men having to go through some ungodly courting ritual, the net effect to that is that the Church is driving men away from godly sex in marriage. The Church is telling them that they have to behave towards their wives in ways that bring about arousal in their wives, court their wives, wine and dine their wives and generally bribe their wives to have sex with them. At least in that small point, those who are in bondage to pornography and so forth, have some truth, and that piece of truth is a math truth to drag millions and millions of men around the world into bondage or pornography. I speak from my own experience. We have to understand the truth about these things. We cannot keep denying what Scripture says. A series of Scriptures have just being read which clearly show that the woman shall desire her husband, not the other way around.

I would like to move on and consider more specifically some factors here. There are a number of very important dynamics in sexual relationship between the husband and his wife. And again, these have a very clear scriptural parallel. The husband is always ready and willing to make love to his wife. In the world today, that is seen as something terrible. Men are slated for always wanting sex. But that is not the point. The point is that whenever the woman desires to show her love and appreciation for her husband, and to join herself to him, he can respond. She on the other hand, needs to do some emotional and spiritual work before she can make love. When she comes to him, he will give her his attention. He will utilise his skill. He will guide her, and he will make love to her and he will bring her to a place of ecstatic pleasure, if she will permit that, and if he is experienced enough and skilled enough to do it.

In the same way, Jesus is always ready for us to worship Him. It does not matter what time of the day or night. If we suddenly wake up and decide to worship Him, He will receive us. He will never send us away. But we have to decide to worship Him. We need to do the work to get to a place where we can offer Him some small token of reverence and worship, in order to experience His presence. It is not to bribe, it is just a reality. Until we bring ourselves into a place to receive from Him, it does not matter how much love He has got from us, we cannot receive it. In the same way, that if a man loves his wife and is seeking to pour out love to her, but she closes all the doors, she would not receive the love, even though the love is there for the taking.

Submissive wives

So, we see that the wife is responsible for desiring her husband and for initiating lovemaking. So contrary to the Jezebel world view, which requires the husbands to seduce and court the wife, the wife is required to do that, but not in a brash, brazen prostitute type of way; just by gentle submission. We read in 1 Peter 3: "Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the Word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror."

We see there not just outward adornment, but the hidden person of the heart with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the Sight of God. I am not saying that there is a sexual undertone to that. I am just saying that the wife is commanded to be of a gentle and a quiet spirit, and that her beauty should be in her heart. And that it certainly must be something that every man desires, a woman who has beautiful inside, not just outside with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. So when I say that a wife should initiate sexual lovemaking with her husband, I am not suggesting she should behave like a tart; I am just saying that she should have desire, a godly desire and love for her husband, and she should gently come to him when she perceives that he has a need, but it should not work that way. It is not a case of sex being a meeting of carnal needs. It is a desire to be united and to be one with one another, and as the One Flesh Bond gets strong, and as one experiences the fullness of the joy and the pleasure that can be present in lovemaking, then the lead aspect goes away. It is replaced with just a passionate desire to be united to the one you love.

It is important that we recognise that the husband cannot arouse his wife. Only she can choose to become aroused by desiring her husband. Her desire will then arouse her husband by her desire in the arousal. Also by the way she dresses, by her make-up, by dancing and by other actions. If she is skilled in the art of being a wife to her husband without any extravagant conduct, she will be able to offer her love to her husband in way that will be profoundly moving to him. Men need to be desired by their wives. God created them to be desired by their wives. And when their wives do not desire them and seek to manipulate them and use sex as some sordid bargaining tool in the game of Jezebel manipulation, it is no wonder that men turn to pornography and prostitution. I am not trying to justify it. I am just saying we need to understand why it happens because if we do not understand why it happens, we cannot fix it.

The key, or one of the keys to dealing with prostitution, adultery and fornication is for wives to change the way they respond sexually to their husbands, the way they look at their husbands, the way they make love to their husbands, and the way they submit to their husbands. A wife who loves, desires and submits to her husband more frequently, and possibly even always is aroused in the presence of her husband, or when speaking to him telephonically, or when thinking of him, is important. Once the One Flesh Bond has reached a reasonable strength, they are able to make love spirit-to-spirit over any distance with manual stimulation if they so choose. And they will experience a release that is not otherwise possible simply by virtue of the fact that they are focusing their love on one another through time and space, because they are truly one body.

The wife should always care for and prepare her body for her husband, trimming or shaving her pubic hair and armpits according to his preference, using or avoiding perfumes as he prefers. There are some men who really do not like perfumes. It is important to understand that when a woman is aroused, she gives off her own perfume which can be wonderful and highly stimulating, in which case the wearing of deodorants and man-made perfumes is absolutely counter-productive. She should cut her hair and dress according to his preference, really understanding that dress should be modest in accordance with Scripture. She should not dress as a man. In other words, she should preferably wear loose flowing dresses which do not reveal her body to other men, but which leave her with freedom to move underneath it, and to be the woman God created her to be, and to be available to her husband when the opportunity presents itself, not in some carnal lustful thing, but just because she wants to demonstrate her love to her husband.

When she knows that she will be constantly in his presence, she should wear underwear which is especially chosen for him. Or in some instances, she might choose to wear no underwear where that can be managed without sacrificing modesty or causing her to become unduly aroused in situations where this might be discerned by the men. There are instances where a woman wearing a loose flowing dress can go without underwear with her husband's knowledge and both of them would be highly aroused by that and it opens opportunities for lovemaking in situations which might not otherwise be possible. We read of Isaac and Rebecca coveting in a public place where Abimelech saw it and realised that they were not brother and sister, but husband and wife. I am not saying they were making love, but they were caressing, they were kissing as the inference of that passage of Scripture. There is nothing wrong with a husband and wife wanting to make love to each other when an opportunity presents itself. This message continues on the next tape.

04 19 Building the House Continued

Continuation of the message ‑ 'Building the House, the One Flesh Bond,' which is tape 18 of Volume 2 of this series ‑ 'Understanding God's Way in Marriage,' Volume 2 being'Towards Heaven on Earth in Marriage.' This tape is about two-thirds of the way through the message, and therefore I would encourage you to listen to the first tape before picking up here. We are talking about the building of the One Flesh Bond.

Wife and Husband

A wife should be totally open and responsive to her husband and constantly seeking opportunities to express her love and desire to him with touches, looks, notes, etc. Clearly, he should be open to expressing his love and desire to her with looks, touches, and notes, and so forth. The conclusion that I have reached over the years and praying about it, is that primarily it is the woman who sets the tone. She creates the climate. All of this should happen while the husband and wife are getting on with the routine of their day. I am not talking here about overt, brazen, whorish, Jezebel-like sexual action, but gentle love and submission, combined with adoration and desire. She is going about her day-to-day tasks in a responsible and professional fashion as we have seen in Proverbs 31, but while she is doing that, she desires her husband. She lives to desire her husband. It does not occur to her not to desire her husband. She wakes in the morning and she desires her husband and when she goes to bed at night, she still desires her husband. When she decides what to wear in the morning, she does it taking account of her desire for her husband and what will appeal to him.

When she is alone with her husband, she comes boldly to seize the opportunity, to kiss him, to caress him, even if the opportunity presents itself to make love, wherever that may be. God created us to be natural and uninhibited with one another, not to be hung up with a list of do's and don’ts as long as our arms. The husband must be attentive and responsive to her overtures. It is her responsibility to build the emotional, psychological and sexual environment for lovemaking. It is his responsibility to respond by gently leading and guiding her through the acts of foreplay and intercourse, guided by and responding to her arousal and the peaks, valleys, and plateaus of her orgasmic climaxes, gently bringing her to the place of total release and union with him. A woman is capable of much more diverse sexual response than man. She is capable of far more intense orgasms. She is capable of far more orgasms of much longer duration. A woman in love is a fine instrument to be played tenderly and delicately by the man who loves her and who is loved by her.

Sexual lovemaking is not some coarse, clumsy, carnal act. It is the most amazing act of spiritual praise and worship. It is beautiful beyond my ability to describe that in words. It is something that God has created for us to better understand Him, and the beauty of our relationship with Him, and the love that He has for us. I appeal to you to hear what I am saying. Please discard anything that causes you to question and challenge what I am saying to you. God has given us a beautiful gift and it has been so terribly defiled. It really is time that we restore the truth.

Orgasm in lovemaking, both male and female, is a physical and spiritual release and discharge in both the man and the woman. In the man, there is a discharge of semen, which is a routine and generally known event. I have talked at length previously about the spiritual discharge which takes place at the same time. In the woman, wherein she is really aroused, there is a discharge of fluid which can be copious when a woman is highly aroused, and there is also a spiritual discharge. So when a woman experiences a full blown orgasm, her spirit is emitted in some fashion towards her husband in the same way that his spirit is emitted towards her, just in a much stronger fashion. His spirit is embedded and implanted in her spirit and draws her close to him. His spirit reaches out in orgasm to draw him into her.

Lovemaking

Let's talk now about the various aspects of lovemaking. We are talking now about an act of the most profound beauty. I used the parallel a moment ago of musical instruments. The husband is also a musical instrument to be played, but perhaps a less sensitive, less responsive and more predictable instrument than the wife. There is a great responsibility on the husband to learn how to minister to his wife in lovemaking, but it is an equally important responsibility that the wife be open and receptive. People need to understand the full dimensions of the erogenous zones. The nape of the neck, the throat, the ears, the lips, every piece of skin from the top of the head to the toes, the navel and the fingers are all sensitive to various degrees in different people. They are all sensitive to stroking, kissing, ticking, gentle blowing, sucking, even gentle biting certain areas of the body, not designed to hurt, just to stimulate. The breasts and nipples in both men and women are sensitive. In many women, stimulation of the breasts and nipples alone can bring them to orgasm, certainly if they are highly aroused. This is over and above the genitals.

The genitals are actually a relatively small component of the total erotic surface area of both the male and the female body. The sights, the sounds, and the smells are all vital components. A woman who prepares herself to make love by washing and appropriate gently perfuming herself to ensure that she is ready and aroused for her husband at the time that they come together, gives her husband the most wonderful gift, and he will respond accordingly. We have read previously that no part is unclean or to be withheld or avoided. Each couple must find their own repertoire, but it requires a process of learning. I have absolutely no doubt that if we were able to go back in time to the days of the early believers, Moses’ day or to Adam and Eve's day, or maybe a bit after Adam and Eve, we would find that the father would sit down with his son at some length over a fairly lengthy period of time before marriage, and instruct him on the skills of making love to his wife. In the same way, the mother would sit down with her girl and instruct her. She would explain to her the elements of her body and how to make love to her husband, so that by the time the marriage came to be consummated, both of them would be well instructed in the theory of lovemaking. Both of them would be prepared to go through the necessary learning process to become skilled in it in practice. We have gone through, in the series of discussions of facilitating change, preparing for change, and implementing change. All of those things apply.

The first time a man makes love to a woman, he is not going to be competent at the level of a concert violinist, but over time if he is committed and if she is responsive, they will come to a place where they can play sweet music together in the area of lovemaking. During the process of lovemaking, there should be continuous stroking, caressing, and stimulating. Kissing, deep giving of the tongue of the wife to the husband and the husband to the wife, nibbling of lips, kissing all over the body, kissing and sucking of nipples and fingers, etc. The Lord has imparted to us an absolutely awesome variety of erotic sensations distributed all over our bodies, if we will just learn to use them. Depending on the level of arousal, they will each respond in different ways. This is more pronounced in the wife. If she is not aroused at all, her vulva will be dry, her nipples and clitoris will be limp, she will not respond to any form of stimulation and she may find stimulation to be very uncomfortable or even painful. If she chooses not to be aroused, it does not matter what her husband does to her, he is not going to get her around because she is the one that Scripture commands to desire her husband, not the other way around. He will respond, but he will not get her to respond. She may enjoy it, but she will not get what she would get if she chose to desire her husband.

If she is highly aroused, she will lubricate strongly with a lubricant that is viscous and capable of accommodating all stimulation. Her nipples and clitoris will be firm and rigid, and she will enjoy a firm stimulation and will be highly sexually sensitive, but will not experience discomfort, even after sustained stimulation in many cases with many women. That is only going to happen if she really is desiring her husband, and if she is really aroused. This requires that she moves from a mindset which says that it is her husband's job to get her to that place. Once she accepts, she has a choice, that she has a free will choice to become aroused or not to become aroused to desire her husband, or not to desire her husband, to experience sexual pleasure or not to experience sexual pleasure, she must do with that information what she will. But she must understand that if she does not use it productively to build her house, then the house is falling down.

Coming back to the question of arousal. At the time of penetration, if the wife is not open and aroused and spiritually receptive to her husband, he will climax quickly. He will not be fulfilled. He will feel as though he is making love to and through a wall and there will be no spiritual release because her spirit and her heart is closed to him. He will then become very sensitive and generally be unable to manage a further reaction. At that point, we are dealing with plain old, dirty, carnal sex. We are no longer talking about intimate spiritual lovemaking in marriage the way God intended it to be.

It might occur to you to recognise that for as long as women think their husbands have to get them aroused, their husbands are going to fail, and so sex is going to be dirty because there is no giving and receiving. God's laws are not being applied in the marriage relationship. The moment the wife's spirit is open and receptive to her husband, and she is aroused, then lovemaking will be varied and exciting. The husband will take time to his first climax and will be ready for further lovemaking as long as his wife is open to him, as long as circumstances permit or until they both reach the crescendo of their mutual climaxes and are now completely fulfilled. At no time will either become too sensitive in any part of their bodies in the sense of oneness, harmony, and completeness will build and build and build in steps with relaxed decline to a plateau of gentle companionship and intimacy after each orgasm followed after a period of a return to full arousal and urgency for giving a pleasure, giving rise to another cycle of kissing, caressing, manual and other stimulation and intercourse culminating in another climax.

One Flesh Bond

Progressively if they take four, five or six hours a day to make love, they will move to higher planes of intimacy, love and harmony, and the One Flesh Bond will get stronger and stronger. That is why it seems so profoundly important to me in the context of cutting the marriage Covenant, the marriage ceremony, that the wedding feast should probably be fairly early in the day. Young couples should go off no later than about 12, 1 o'clock at lunchtime to consummate the marriage. If there is a need to have some sort of celebration once the marriage is officially consummated, they might even start that a little bit earlier.

Typically, the time that a marriage ceremony is held, is at 10 o'clock in the morning, in the present dispensation, but they should spend the rest of the day making love. They should spend the next seven days making love. If they do that and they have four, five, six or seven simultaneous orgasms every day for seven days, they will have an awesome One Flesh Bond at the end of the seven days. They will be truly married in the Sight of God. They will be truly joined to one another, but the current dispensation in terms of which they party until 11, 12, 1, 2 o'clock in the morning, they then have to often drive a car on which people have played practical jokes on, and go to a hotel. They fall into bed, probably having too much celebration and possibly too much to drink, because even though they are believers, and don’t normally drink, they have had champagne. Early in the morning they get up and travel off on some sightseeing tour that they call a honeymoon. They do not have much of a One Flesh Bond at the end of that. All the initial desire and excitement that could have and should have been there will have been dissipated and wasted, and that is unlikely ever to be regained. There is something very special about those first few days. It is not something that can be easily regained. So, the stronger the One Flesh Bond can be built immediately after the consummation of marriage, the stronger, more robust and sustainable that marriage will be.

This discussion brings us to the question of what forms of stimulation are permitted. We have seen that Hebrews 13:4 states that the marriage bed is undefiled. In other words, there are no restrictions on love and stimulation. Truly, a list does not extend to the sorts of sadomasochistic things which are advocated and reported by some in the world. We are not talking about that. We are talking about godly sensitive lovemaking in marriage. 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 states that the husband's body is the preserve of the wife and vice versa. In other words, anything the wife desires to do to her husband, she is free to do. And anything the husband desires to do to his wife, he is free to do. Clearly if it causes pain or discomfort, they should be sensitive, and it is not a legal thing, it is just a statement of what it is about. If we give totally to one another and do not hold anything back, that is God's way of doing things.

Logically, this includes oral and manual stimulation of the husband's penis by his wife and manual and oral stimulation of the wife's vulva, clitoris, and vagina, including the so-called G spot, the highly sensitive zone on the inside front wall of the vagina. By logical extension, the wife is at liberty to stimulate and if desired, bring her husband to climax with her hands or with her mouth, and many men and women find fellatio a particularly fulfilling experience. There is a level of intimacy and adoration associated with fellatio, the oral stimulation of the man, which is not experienced in any other form of lovemaking and stimulation. Likewise, the husband is at liberty to stimulate and if desired, bring his wife to a climax by manual or oral stimulation of her clitoris, vulva, and vagina Many find cunnilingus a very intimate form of expressing love and desire, and giving pleasure. The act of both partners simultaneously stimulating one another's sexual organs manual or orally is regarded as a vital part of the sexual repertoire amongst most experienced and uninhibited couples and affords a particular intimacy.

With this repertoire and any other act of caring, touching, or stimulation directed at bringing the person receiving it towards the fullest possible climax, the outcome will be a series of erotic experiences leading to a progression of orgasmic climaxes, each of which is accompanied with the emission of semen and spirit by the man, and orgasmic secretion and spirit by the woman. The first orgasm of the marriage is outlined in the teaching on cutting Covenant. It gives rise to what I understand to be a form of spiritual emission which I see in the spirit as a sort of infinitely elastic thread which joins spirit to spirit. Every subsequent orgasm enlarges and strengthens the capacity of this living conduit. If the receiving party is closed towards the party climaxing, and this occurs particularly in a woman towards her man, lest so the other way around, the bond will be weak and will go very little, if at all.

At the same time, I must say, if the man is making love to his wife and thinking of another woman, then the level of spiritual release will be very limited, and the same comment applies. If there is treachery and betrayal, over time the bond will be dissipated and grow weak, but that is the only basis in which the bond will grow weak, if there is pornea, adultery, and fornication, either sexual or spiritual. If lovemaking is passionate, intense, and totally giving with complete openness to receive on the part of both parties, and is accompanied by climatic simultaneous orgasm, an enormous amount of spiritual energy is released. Both parties experience enormous spiritual, emotional, and physical release, and there is a quantum jump in the strengthen and capacity of the conduit joining them, the One Flesh Bond.

If this experience is regularly repeated, the strength and size of the One Flesh Bond will increase to a point where from a spiritual perspective they are no longer two spirits joined by fine and fragile, the two spirits joined by massive spiritual duct as large as they are and through which husband and wife communicate openly and transparently. Reviewed from any perspective in the spirit realm, they will be seen as one, and not two. And that is what Genesis 2:24 is saying. They are no longer two, but one flesh. In other words, their spirits are so intimately and tightly bound together that they cease to operate as two independent entities. They operate as one house.

At this point, the house that is the man and his wife, is complete. This takes place in a framework of 1 Corinthians 13, agape, chesed, Covenant love, then truly they are making, if you like, building Covenant love and building their house. It seems to me it will probably take any man and woman their entire lives to reach a point where the One Flesh Bond has reached its absolute ultimate maximum capacity, but at the same time, I am confident that they can reach a significant capacity in a short space of time. A very strong One Flesh Bond can be formed the day that the marriage is consummated, if they have half a day, or a day, and are properly educated, prepared and oriented. Remember that every time they make love, they re-enact the act of Covenant, and with the arousal of the labia minora, even blood flows. So, they are building the Covenant, they are building love, they are building the One Flesh Bond, it will get stronger and stronger, and it will become more and more difficult for them to separate.

If a woman commits adultery, her husband's love and spirit is poured out through the conduit of the One Flesh Bond into the heart of another man, which is an abomination in the Sight of God. At the same time, it causes enormous spiritual trauma to the husband which manifests as biblical #5, jealousy. I need to make a point there, that a woman who has a strong One Flesh Bond with her husband is highly unlikely to even think of committing adultery. She is so tightly bound to him and so close to him, that she probably cannot even think of doing it without him knowing about it. She would not want to do it because the intimacy and the love that she had that has brought her to that point would be too precious to her.

That begins to give us a deeper dimension into what the Lord said to us after the teaching on negativity in which He said negativity towards sexual lovemaking is one of the most serious cancers in marriage in the Body of Christ today. So we see that insipid half-hearted, hard, unresponsive, ungiving, unreceiving lovemaking gives rise to a situation in which it is easy for a woman to be unfaithful to her husband and it is easy for the marriage to break up. The sort of lovemaking we have been talking about so far in this teaching on the other hand, brings about a state where a phenomenally powerful bond comes into existence, and that bond itself is almost the guarantee against adultery and fornication, and if the one party, nevertheless with a bond like that, commits adultery, one has to say that then surely the level of treachery does warrant what Scripture imposes in a case like that, which is the death penalty. It is just to the husband or it is just to the party that has been betrayed.

More than one wife

It is important to understand there that there is nothing in Scripture which prevents a man from taking more than one wife. Therefore this whole thing of men cheating on their wives has very little scriptural basis. We will talk about that a bit more in a latter teaching, but just in the context of this point, a man taking another wife is not a scriptural sin. He promised his wife he would not do it or he took traditional monogamous vows which said forsake all others and keeping myself only to you or words to that effect, if he breaks the vow, he has broken the vow. That needs to be dealt with as a breaking of a vow. It is not breaking of the Covenant, because the Covenant is laid out in Scripture and it does not provide for a woman to limit her husband to one wife. Therefore, this sin of cheating on one's wife has no scriptural basis. Adultery is a woman having sex with more than one man. If a man has sex with a woman who is a virgin, he marries her. If he has sex with a woman who is already married, he is committing adultery. Both of them should die according to the Word of God, unless they repent, turn around, and stop doing it.

Persistent treachery on the part of the wife will progressively attack and weaken the One Flesh Bond. In extreme cases, she murders the One Flesh Bond, and the spiritual state known as divorce comes to pass. We have read in 1 Corinthians 13 that agape love never dies. We have read elsewhere in Mark 10, that which God has joined together, which is the One Flesh Bond, let not man put asunder, which can also be interpreted as saying man is incapable of putting asunder. It does not matter what he does, once he has got that One Flesh Bond, he will be drawn back to that person. It does seem to me, from my own experience and much prayer around these things, that the One Flesh Bond can be murdered if the wife is persistently, utterly treacherous. Eventually the One Flesh Bond will die and that brings about, in true terms, the state known as divorce.

Divorce

Divorce is the death of the One Flesh Bond, where the level of treachery has become so great that there is no longer any scriptural basis on which the One Flesh Bond can be maintained. It dies. They are then divorced. They are cut off from one another. It is not putting away, because he does not like the way she does something. She has cut herself off from him. And so, we see that, as with adultery and fornication, divorce is first and foremost a spiritual state, not a legal state. It is a reality. It is either there, or it is not. You do not have to get legalistic over determining how you determine how you get divorced. It is either there or it is not there. If it is just there, it is still there.

From consideration of all the above, it is apparent that men cannot respond to women who are cold, hard, brazen and demanding, or who are reticent and expect to be rude. There is no scriptural basis for this sort of fairy-tale. It is important to note that fairies are Demons, such as fairy-tale courtships portrayed in romantic novels and fairy stories. The most notable man in Scripture, who went courting and pursuing women in lust, was Samson, who was destroyed by Delilah.

Consider a few passages of Scripture, Judges 14:1-2: "Now Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. So he went up and told his father and mother, saying, 'I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.'" Judges 16:1-2:"Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her." Samson went looking for a woman. Again, Judges 16:4: "Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah." So again, Samson went looking for women. That is not the way it is meant to be. A woman should come to the man. She needs the covering of the man.

Marriage is not about trophy hunting. It is about accepting the responsibility of the man to provide a covering to those women who need it. Another example, 2 Samuel 11:3-4, this is after David has seen Bathsheba bathing. "So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, 'Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?' Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house." So every time a man goes looking for a woman, courting a woman if you like, he gets into trouble. He does the wrong thing. He sins, and he jeopardises his life. In contrast, if we read in Genesis 29:22-23: "And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast. Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her." We see the father bringing the daughter to the husband. Genesis 29:27-28: "'Fulfil her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years.'"This is Laban to Jacob with regards to Rachel. "Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also."

Women to seek husbands

Also, Genesis 24:64-67: "Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from her camel; for she had said to the servant, 'Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?' The servant said, 'It is my master.' So, she took a veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So, Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death." We see again, the woman comes to the man and if we relate that back to the Psalm, etc., that we read a few minutes ago, where we are told to come to God, we go to God in praise and worship, we take ourselves, and we move to Him. The woman should move to the man, the man should not go pursuing the woman. God did not create man to go trophy hunting. He did not create man to have to go looking for wives. He created woman to need a covering and for their fathers to seek that covering for them.

The Scriptures say it is a shame for a woman to be without a husband. So, reproach, Isaiah 4:1 says. So again, we see another instance where Satan has corrupted the Word of God. We have generally believed in the world today that it is men's job to go looking for women. It is not. Contrast also with Esther going to the King. So, we see the pagan in this case, Jezebel roots, of modern courtship practice and we see that the man is seeking to draw close to Jesus, worshipping and reverencing Jesus, while the woman seeks to draw close to him, and adores and reverences her husband, and lifts him up in prayer towards the Lord Jesus. We see the man taking his eyes off Jesus to worship his wife. That is a widely, widely taught philosophy if you like, in the modern Church. Men are told to idolise their wives. I have even heard it significantly widely distributed and read it, where the teaching says that because women are the weaker vessels, they must be put up on something like a China display cabinet, and treated very gently, and esteemed, and so forth. The teaching which was widely distributed was effectively turning men to worship their wives. It is not an isolated thing. I have heard it in several instances.

A wife is told to adore and reverence her husband, which is similar words to the way we are told to conduct ourselves towards the Lord Jesus Christ. The husband is told to love the wife as Christ so loved the Church and gave His life for her. Once we understand that it is the husband's job to draw close to God, and it is the wife's job to draw close to her husband, and as the husband draws closer to Jesus and becomes more Christ-like, it becomes that much more easy for the wife to submit and become more like her husband. At the end of the day, whatever her husband does, we have seen that she is instructed by Scripture to submit to him in everything. Once we understand this principle that man was created for woman to draw close to him, and not the other way around, it is easy to appreciate why pornography, strip shows, and prostitutes are so common in the world today. Men are seeking women who will give themselves to their men and seek to please them.

Building the house

This is in stark contrast to the widespread teaching and the demands that the husband is responsible to arouse and please his wife. It is not possible. Either she desires him as a matter of personal choice and obedience to Scripture. Genesis 3:16, she manipulates and controls them and becomes aroused through her desire to be worshipped, which is inspired by Satan and is quite likely to be demonic. This is the tendency of the world today. Even a God-fearing woman who comes into marriage with the understanding that it is his husband's job to minister to her, and bring her to a state of arousal, is going to find herself potentially open to demonic infestation and potentially the Jezebel spirit. In conclusion, sexual lovemaking is the act of marriage. It is the act of building the spiritual house. It is the act of building agape, hesed, Covenant love. It is the most wonderful, most sublime, most Heavenly gift that God has given to mankind in this life after the born-again experience. We must treasure it, nurture it, and seek God with a holy desire to teach us to walk in the fullness of it. Notice also that with a strong and a well-established One Flesh Bond or conduit, as the husband draws closer to Jesus, the anointing is poured out on the husband. It will pour through to his wife as well. Truly we serve an awesome God.

We have covered an enormous amount of ground in these two tapes with regards to the One Flesh Bond and building the house, and we have covered a lot of things which are very contrary to the teachings of the world today. But I ask you to pray about this, to meditate on it and to think about it in the light of your own life experiences. We see the validity of what the Lord has shown us in this teaching. He has given us the most awesome and wonderful gift in the One Flesh Bond in its fullness of development. It is at the very heart of making marriage succeed. It is at the very heart of making adultery something which is absolutely beyond the bounds of conscience and reason. It is a gift which makes the fulfilment of Covenant agape love absolutely achievable. It is the gift which gives us the guarantee that every marriage will work provided that both husband and wife give all to themselves in lovemaking. The other things will follow.

The closer they come to each other, the more like-minded they will become, and the easier it will be for the wife to do things that she perhaps might not have been able to do otherwise, because she is strengthened by her husband. We need to see that Scriptures, like “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens”, me have a parallel in marriage. A wife can legitimately say, I can do all things through my husband who strengthens me. So we can come boldly before the Throne of Grace. The wife must be able to come boldly before her husband.

There are numerous other Scriptures with similar input. We say that we have the mind of Christ. Surely we can say that with a fully developed One Flesh Bond, a wife has the mind of her husband. She has a spiritual hotline to him, and therefore she has access to what he is thinking to a greater or lesser extent, depending on how strong the bond is, depending on how adept they have become and how sensitive they have become to hearing the spirit between one another.

Father I ask in the name of Jesus that anything that has been uttered on these two tapes that is not according to Your Word or according to Your will, or by Your Spirit, that You will blow it away and it will find no roots in the hearts of the hearers. Father in the name of Jesus, I ask that everything on these tapes that is of You, will find deep root in the hearts of the hearers, that You will nurture and water and nourish it by Your Spirit, and that it will grow up and produce abundant fruit for the work of Your kingdom, for the deliverance of those who are in bondage, that they might speak and spread the good news regarding Your plan for marriage, that marriage can be Heaven on Earth to those around them in Jesus name. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, Saviour of the world, amen.

This message has been recorded by a Church without Walls and Ministry of End Time Issue Ministries, P.O. Box 898, Randpark Ridge, Randburg 2156, Republic of South Africa. We can be contacted by email at James@End-Time-Issues.org.za. Our phone numbers, international dialling code normally 0027 but this may vary from country to country, the 27 is standard. Our landline 0027-117912327 or in South Africa 011-7912327. My mobile number 0027-832516644 and in South Africa, 0832516644. Our fax number internationally 0027-117915004 and locally 011-7915004. All materials produced by this Ministry are available at no cost to those who require them, irrespective of financial means. At the same time, donations and offerings are clearly welcome to support the work.

Please feel free to copy any of our materials in part, or in full as the Lord leads you, understanding that the manner in which you utilise these materials, and the manner in which you cite them and quote them, is for your account on the Day of Judgement. So, we would ask you to use the materials widely, but please feel free to copy them however you see fit and to share these truths with anybody as the Lord leads. I would urge those of you who receive copies of these tapes at no charge, that once you have listened to them, that you consider passing them on and blessing others with them. Our hearts' desire is that they should not become artefacts sitting on a bookshelf and gathering dust, but the Word of God contained in these teachings should be spread as far and as widely as possible.

Should you be led by the Lord to sow into this Ministry, our bank account is End Time Issue Ministries. The account number is 0427527805. The branch is the Standard Bank of South Africa, Randburg Branch, and the branch code is and that if you were to die right now would not spend Eternity in Heaven with Him, I would urge you to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and to pray the prayer of salvation. These steps to salvation are as follows. Firstly, admit and recognise that you are a sinner. Romans 3:23 says: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."Secondly, accept and believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He came to Earth as a Man, that He was crucified and died on the Cross, that on the third day He rose again. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father and that by His death and resurrection, He took your sins for eternity.

Romans 5:8 says: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Thirdly, confess your sins, repent of your sins, and turn around. Repentance means turning around. It remains ceasing to do what you now realise is wrong. 1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Four, confess your faith, that Jesus Christ is Lord, that you believe this and receive His salvation and invite Him to dwell in your heart. Romans 10:9-10 says: "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Give thanks to God for your salvation. Pray and cry out to God and give thanks to Him for saving you. Sixthly, work out your salvation by the Spirit of God. Philippians 2:12 says: "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in My presence only, but now much more in My absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

Salvation

Salvation is a process. You are saved the moment you pray the sinner's prayer, the prayer of salvation and invite the Lord Jesus Christ to come into your heart and be Lord of your life. That salvation is also a process whereby your mind is renewed and you come to have a personal and deep relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is your choice how far you go in that relationship. He desires a wonderful and a deep and an intimate relationship with you, but it is your choice whether you will do what is necessary to come to that place through reading your Bible, praying, seeking counsel, and seeking guidance. You should be water baptised at the first possible opportunity. Matthew 3:6 says: "And were baptized by Him in the Jordan, confessing their sins." I encourage you to ask the Lord to lead you to somebody who has some knowledge of the basic ordinance of water baptism, who can water baptise you, or to lead you to a Church where they can water baptise you.

There is no reason why you cannot be water baptised today as a symbolic cleansing and washing of your sins. In fact, the minute you pray the sinner's prayer, it would be preferable for you to be water baptised. Choose to be obedient to the Word of God, accept the Bible in its original Hebrew as given by the Spirit of God and choose to live your life according to that. 1 John 5:3 says: "For this is the love of God, that we keep His Commandments. And His Commandments are not burdensome." I encourage you to read the Word of God daily, and to put into practice everything that you encounter as a principle which I believe will bear fruit in your life. I would encourage you to make an effort to write now after you have prayed this prayer. Start reading your Bible, from the Book of John through to the Book of Revelation and then make a discipline of reading the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation at least two, three, four times a year. Read the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi at least once a year, and I would encourage you to do that using different translations.

Ask God to lead you to the Church where He wants you to be at this time where they will teach you, they will guide you, they will pray for you, and they will help you to walk in the fullness of what God has called you to be. Be aware that He may move you. God may move you from Church to Church over time to teach you new things, and you should not be reluctant to do this. The service of God is a personal choice. It is a wonderful choice and if you will step out by faith today and pray the sinner's prayer and follow Him, you will reap a rich harvest, if that is your desire to be found faithful on the Day of Judgement. Should you have listened to this and have decided that you are now ready to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, I would ask you to pray the following prayer with me, in Jesus’ name.

Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus and I confess that I am a sinner. I confess that I do not have a personal knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and I recognise that without Jesus, if I were to die right now, I will spend Eternity in hell and not with You. I confess that I have sinned and I repent of those sins and I turn around. I choose to turn my back on sin and to serve God. I confess that Jesus Christ came to Earth as a man, that He was crucified, that He died, and was buried, and that He was resurrected on the third day. He sits on the right-hand of the Father. I confess by faith that He died to take all of my sins. I thank You Jesus for taking my sin and I give You my sin right now in Jesus’ name.

I confess by faith that Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and I choose now, Lord Jesus, to make You the Lord of my life. I invite You to come and dwell in my heart. I invite You to take charge of my life. I invite You to start leading and guiding me and directing me, and I give You my life and everything that I have, and I commit myself to serving You now, Lord Jesus. I thank You that You have heard me and I thank You that You have now come to live in me, and I thank you for saving me. I thank You that I am now a child of the most high God. I thank You that I am now a servant of the most high God, and that You will lead me and guide me into the paths that You want me to walk. I ask You Lord to lead me to the Church where You want me to be. I ask You in the name of Jesus to bring the people that You want in my life into my life by Your Spirit and to remove the people that You do not want in my life by Your Spirit, in Jesus’ name. I ask You to close all doors in my life that You do not want open, that no man may open, and I ask You to open every door in my life that You want opened, that no man may close it, in Jesus’ name.

Father I ask You to teach me to be led by Your Spirit. I ask You to open my eyes to have a revelation of the Word of God. I ask You to give me a hunger for the Word of God and for Your Spirit, and I ask You to teach me to pray, in Jesus’ name. I thank You Father and I thank You Jesus for saving me. I declare that I am now a child of God and I praise You and I worship You and I glorify Your holy name. I thank You for changing me and saving me and delivering me, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now that you have prayed that prayer and you are born again into the Body of Christ, realise that the Christian walk is a journey. The apostle Paul likens it to a marathon race. You need guidance, and you need assistance. If you have no one to help you, pray and ask the Holy Spirit of God to come into your life and to help you. If you need to contact somebody, contact any of the major ministries. If you are not sure who to contact, contact this Ministry through the address and telephone and email, details that were supplied earlier. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, amen.

04_20 The World -- the Church and Marriage from 4000 BC to 2000 AD

Tape #19, in the series 'Understanding God's Way in Marriage,' Volume 2 'Towards Heaven on Earth in Marriage.' This teaching is entitled the 'The World -- the Church and Marriage from 4000 BC to 2000 AD.'

As I was preparing this message, I felt impressed to lead into it with a track of song from an album by Don Francisco entitled 'High Praise' published by Star Song. The track is entitled 'I will praise you.'

As I was listening to that track, I felt impressed to introduce this teaching with verses from Revelation 2:4-5: "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent." In many respects, the content of the teaching that follows relates to perhaps not remembering since generally we do not know to remember in our generation, but it is to make you aware of how far mankind has fallen from the creation because until we understand that mankind is not today at the pinnacle of its "evolution," but in fact is at the lowest ebb in many respects of an ongoing decline from creation with perhaps a slight turning around relative to where mankind was at the end of the dark ages 500 years ago, but not as dramatic as certainly I believed until very recently. And it is my prayer that out of the teachings that have preceded this, the revelation will be dawning that the church is in a far worse state than generally is expected and understood.

When reading the Bible, if one has come to a real quality decision that the Bible is the living word of God in its original Hebrew or Aramaic, it was absolutely accurate and is without error, then one encounters a variety of passages and verses of Scripture which are challenging. I just want to lift out a couple of them. I have not by any means sought to be comprehensive, Genesis 6:15: "And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits." In other words, the length is 150 metres which is more than the length of a rugby field. It is about one and a half to two times the length of a rugby field. This is a very substantial boat and just from a technology point of view, to build a boat of that magnitude, supposedly a man and his three sons and three daughters and one his wife represents a number of dilemmas. I doubt there are many men today who could build a boat of that magnitude even in a space of hundred years, which is what Noah apparently had. Perhaps in a hundred years it could be done. It is a very substantial boat. Noah's ark has been discovered on Ararat in Turkey and the limited excavation that has been permitted so far has revealed a fairly sophisticated structure. They have undertaken ground radar surveys and various other things. There are large water storage vessels, three decks, everything according to what the Bible says and the length is precisely 300 cubits, 150 metres. The timbers are formed, laminated timbers using techniques which have only been known supposedly for the last few decades. The bolts or rivets which hold the timbers together at the joints have been found to be a sophisticated alloy of aluminium and aluminium can only be produced to the knowledge of modern man with a substantial quantities of high-voltage and high current electricity. The implication there is that Noah had access to high-voltage high-current electricity or somebody did in those days to fabricate the metal alloy that is used in bolting the Ark together.

1 Kings 7:15-16: "And he (Solomon and Solomon's servants) cast two pillars of bronze, each one eighteen cubits high, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of each. Then he made two capitals of cast bronze, to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits."Now cubit is about half a metre, so this columns were about nine metres tall and about four metres in circumference which means that they were about 1.2 metres in diameter. I think you would be hard-pressed today to find a bronze foundry capable of casting in one piece, hollow bronze columns 9 metres high and 1.2 metres in diameter. I am not saying that it cannot be done, I am simply stating that even today not many people have the capability of casting bronze columns of that magnitude. It certainly seems unlikely that in those days with the simplistic technology that we are inclined to believe that they had that would be possible. Furthermore, bronze column of that magnitude weighs a substantial amount and would be extremely difficult to manoeuvre without the sort of cranes, etc., that we have today.

Daniel 3:1: "Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon." We are looking at an image of 30 metres high and 3 metres across made out of gold. Now whether that was fabricated gold or cast gold is not particular material but it is a very, very substantial piece of work. And again, we would be hard-pressed today to find people who could fabricate an image of gold 30 metres high and we would have some difficulty given that gold is amongst the densest of metals, lifting such a structure into the vertical position. Implication is that some fairly substantial equipment was available. Consider a few other scriptures, Job 26:7-10: "He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing. He binds up the water in His thick clouds, Yet the clouds are not broken under it. He covers the face of His throne, And spreads His cloud over it. He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, At the boundary of light and darkness." Firstly in Job's day according to our current understanding, there was absolutely no way that Job knew that the Earth hang on nothing, but it stood free in space. He might have been making that statement by divine inspiration, but anybody who has any experience of the prophetic will know that it is very, very difficult to hear God say anything to one when one cannot conceive that it is possible. If we are to believe that Job was a primitive man living in relatively basic surroundings by today's standards, there is something here. And also supposedly until relatively recently men did not know that the Earth was a sphere, and therefore verse 10 which refers to a circular horizon is also challenging. Supposedly, somebody living in the area of Israel or the surrounding territories, Babylon or wherever which is presumably where Job lived would not have had the opportunity to see the horizon, and infinity and discern that it was circular. Even if we can look at the horizon over the sea, and see that there is slight curvature, there is no basis there for any human being to discern that the Earth is a sphere unless by divine revelation again. It is very difficult for one in the prophetic to hear God on something which one's entire intellect and experience base says it is impossible. It is more readily possible for us to hear God if He speaks of something which is totally beyond the realms of our experience. But if we are firmly convinced that the Earth is flat and this word of God refers to a circular horizon, there are not many who will actually hear that and communicate it accurately.

In Daniel 3:19-26, just picking out a few verses relating to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego who refused to bow to the gold idol we read about a moment ago, in verse 19: "Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. And he commanded certain mighty men of valour who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego." And so it goes on. So we see this is a really hot furnace. Now if you think about it, if this was a relatively primitive furnace that was heated by the burning of coals or whatever, it is technically almost impossible to raise the temperature of such a furnace by a factor of 7. Seven fold increase in the heat of the furnace is a technically significant increase in heat, assuming that in the first place, it was just not a little coal fire burning in a brasier and that the implication is that they could have been slowly incinerated in the fire before it was heated seven fold.

One has to consider the possibility that in modern experience, the only way that one could heat a furnace seven fold is if one was using an electric blast furnace of the type that is used for smelting iron and similar, in which case, one is again looking at consuming massive quantities of electricity. There is really to my knowledge no other way that a furnace could be heated seven times hotter than normal. And to reach a point where the temperature is so hot that men are killed, one is looking at a furnace which potentially is running at the temperature of a blast furnace. The furnace has got to be extremely hot indeed before one is going to be killed at the mouth of the furnace. If one looks at the fires, the coal fires that are used to heat boilers in ships and in power stations in the early part of the 20th century, those boilers were stoked by men shovelling coal into those furnaces and today you can go into an electric power station and stand in front of the burners and you will get extremely uncomfortable, but you certainly would not be killed. If you go and stand right at the mouth of an electric arc furnace, when it is being charged or discharged smelting iron that is a different matter. It is conceivable that if that furnace was heated to absolute runaway temperatures, you will get killed standing in the mouth of the furnace or coming close enough to throw people into the furnace.

So again, we have a paragon dilemma in terms of the mindset which tells us that the people of Babylon were relatively primitive by our standards and we are not technologically capable of producing a furnace of that capability, let alone the idol. There are many other dilemmas and I do not propose to go into all of them, but they raise innumerable questions roundabout our understanding of where the world, the church and therefore by implication, marriages come from. We have already seen that the church's current teachings with regard to marriage leave much to be desired in terms of what Scripture clearly indicates and it raises the questions to how did we get there and how do we interpret our current dispensation in terms of the age of the world and so forth.

The objective of this teaching is to raise some extremely challenging issues which have really only come to my attention in the last few months, but which put a whole new perspective on the interpretation of Scripture and understanding the realities regarding where we find ourselves in the world today in terms of where we have come from. To address first of all the developments of the world from 4000 BC to 2000 AD and to make the point that time selected on the basis that there seemed to be solid scriptural reasons to believe that the creation of Adam and Eve took place 4000 BC, and we know we are at 2000 AD today. So really the 6000-year period, I believe, corresponds to the six days of man's activity on the Earth with the seventh day being the seventh millennium, which has just dawned or is about to dawn or may have dawned a few years ago depending on the eras and calendars, etc., but that is a discussion which is not pertinent right now.

In discussing the picture in the world, my thinking has been significantly informed by the work of Jonathan Gray, a professional archaeologist who has reported the discoveries of Ron Wyatt, an amateur archaeologist in the United States who has discovered Noah's ark. He has discovered the Ark of the Covenant and the Temple Furniture. He has discovered the Red Sea crossing with the chariot wheels on the floor of the ocean in the eastern arm of the Red Sea near . He has discovered the true Mount Sinai and the split rock at Horeb where the water flowed out. He has discovered Sodom and Gomorrah with the whole town turned to ash and impregnated with sulphur balls which are brimstone; some dramatic discoveries which prove very convincingly that the Bible is accurate and can be relied on. Jonathan Gray has gone further. He has done further research and identified that the entire gospel story is told in the stars and discovered the ground pits in Egypt and other things which confirm the biblical story of Joseph in Egypt. They presented all sorts of information confirming the fulfilment of biblical prophecy over Egypt. Jonathan Gray has gone a lot further, challenged by the apparent nonconformities in Scripture that I have pointed out and many others and challenged by many archaeological findings, which he has been involved in which have come to his notice and which have been suppressed in many other quarters. He has written a book entitled 'Dead Men's Secrets' by Jonathan Gray, which is published by Jonathan Gray, PO Box 3370, Rundle Mall, South Australia, postal code 5000. It can be obtained from and also can be obtained from Ministries in the United States and End Time Issue Ministries also distribute both the book and the videos of the Ark of the Covenant, the Noah's Ark, the Red Sea Crossing and so on and so forth.

But the book 'Dead Men's Secrets' presents a thousand items of information, all of which are underpinned by documentary evidence regarding findings around the world which are not generally known and we need to see this in the context of God created the Heavens and the Earth and God created man as we see in Genesis 1. If you are a Bible believing Christian, you take creation as an absolute nonnegotiable given. But we have grown up in a world which teaches evolution everywhere. I would venture to suggest that there is not a person who will listen to this tape unless they have been educated at home by Christian parents or not to some extent have been taught evolution, be it in biology, be it in geomorphology, be it in geography, be it in history. We make the assumption in the world, or the assumption is made in the world that man has evolved from apes and that over time he has become more sophisticated and more competent. When we apply or certainly from my own experience, when one applies the thinking about creation to the world today, it is filtered through this model of evolution, because we do not take a long enough and hard enough look at the anomaly of applying some of the teachings if I may call that of evolution to creation. So we assume that cavemen really existed in the way as it is portrayed thousands of years ago and we kind of uncomfortably ignore the fact that supposedly cavemen existed 20,000 years ago but we understand the Bible to indicate that man was only created 6000 years ago. The only other intellectual compromises that we make roundabout our belief in creation but our coexistence of evolution. In what I have come to realise in the last few months is that we cannot afford that compromise as Christians. If we make that compromise with Christians we go in fundamentally wrong directions in a number of areas. I will seek to share with you without going into great detail what has happened as best I can determine it from the sources that I have at my disposal which I believe the Lord has brought to my hand, the journey that the world, the church, and marriage have gone through from creation to the present, which has been a progressive distraction, reduction in quality, reduction in learning, reduction in knowledge of God, reduction in spirituality, reduction in technical competence, reduction in true social skills. And as you go through this, I believe that you will not have too much difficulty in seeing this truth. It is what I have termed in the business world blinding glimpse of the obvious when you actually consider the facts.

Let us start out with some of the absolutely fundamental principles. Genesis 1:26-27 says: "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." God created man in His own image. Now, if we stop and just consider that one statement for a moment, then we have to ask ourselves how we can believe that 6000 years ago man was relatively primitive, had been created over an evolutionary process and was not much beyond wearing animal skins in a very primitive fashion. Surely, that does not sound like the image of God. If we consider that man was created in the image of God and we postulate that man was of significant stature, Jonathan Gray and Wyatt have both found archaeological evidence which indicates that Adam and Eve were of the order of 15 feet high and that even Noah was of the order of 15 feet high, in other words, a giant, 15 feet, that is 5 metres, nearly 2.5 times the height of the average man today with this stature to match, that man had an amazing intellect that man had enormous intellectual knowledge imparted to him by God that man had the ability to solve problems. Had a knowledge of mathematics and science and engineering, which far surpasses anything we know today. That had an intimate personal knowledge with God at the beginning and imbedded in their spirits a full revelation of the knowledge of God and the love of God.

As you think about it, it becomes very, very plausible, God was not confused when He says in Genesis 1:26-27 that God created man in God's own image. If we carry on, we have looked at the Ark, but let's consider it a little bit more. We have talked about the size, we have talked about the sophisticated technology, the laminated wood, the aluminium alloy which required electricity to manufacture. There were folk tales in just about every culture in the world of every society concerning a flood and eight people who came out of a large boat. Then let's consider the flood itself. Genesis 7:10-12 states: "And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights." If we go and stop and think rationally about those three verses of Scripture, in 40 days and 40 nights the entire Earth was covered to a depth of 50 cubits, that is 7.5 metres above the highest point on the Earth's surface. Even assuming that the Earth was much flatter in those days, which Jonathan Gray postulates that is a phenomenal amount of water to be poured out on the Earth in 40 days. Even when we have massive downpours on the Earth today, the days at the end, all we see is localised flooding on the floodplains of major rivers.

This is an absolute tidal wave if you like, it is a wrong word, but an absolute tidal wave of water engulfing the Earth. It has to be associated with cataclysmic Earth-shattering opening of the fountains of the great deep. It has to be associated with downpours of water from the sky such as we cannot even imagine and associated with that there will be massive destruction. Apparently, major fossil reserves have been found where skeletons are piled up hundreds of feet deep indicating that waves engulfed valleys and swept everything alive into a dead end or whatever. Trees were found embedded vertically through coal seams indicating that the coal seams were not, as we are told, created over hundreds of thousands of years but the massive quantities of vegetation were jumbled together and dumped in multiple layers in a very short space of time.

That Earth was truly in the flood and the shape and the form of the surface of the Earth was dramatically changed, Gray postulates volcanic and other events associated with it. If I can just read a passage out of Dead Men's Secrets,"Something like this was occurring on that final night of the antediluvian era. If we are to believe later traditions, that is. As for the worldwide greenhouse environment, geology would one day attest to it-as well as to its sudden demise. Traditions would later describe survivors of the Deluge who were like gods-that is, they were members of a superior civilization, which ceased to exist after the Great Flood. Egyptian records would contend that the reign of the 'gods' before the First Dynasty was one of superior and miraculous powers. After the Deluge, the Popol Vuh (the sacred book of the Quiche Indians of Guatemala) would record: 'The first race of men before the Flood possessed all knowledge; they studied the four quarters of heaven and the round surface of the earth.' Understood in this light, even Greek mythology begins to make some sense. We see it as the recollection by a degenerate race, of a vast, mighty and highly civilized empire, which in a remote past covered the world. Pause for reflection. Can we possibly imagine that all of the peoples of all continents independently invented such a story? Did they all speak of an original Golden Age by chance, without any foundation? Indeed, I am tempted to ask, if man evolved from beasts, then why is it that there existed a long tradition of a Golden Age instead of that of a savage past? Will anyone explain that? Even where there was lack of writing in conditions of savagery imposed by catastrophe, the same memory of the Golden Age was passed from mouth to ear. You may want to ask at this point, can we really place much credence in ancient legends? Surprisingly, a great deal. Too often, I’m afraid, we have been prone to dismiss folklore and mythology out of hand. But is this not unscientific, especially since traditions have often led us to discover physical remains?" An interesting and challenging set of statements.

Another passage of Scripture which is challenging, Genesis 10:25: "To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan." What does that mean that the Earth was divided? We understand the Earth to be in its present geographical form for millions of years. However, Gray and his colleagues have recently uncovered considerable evidence which suggests that sometime after the flood, the density of the core of the Earth changed and that the Earth expanded by factor which means that the original Earth was only about 60% of its current diameter and as it expanded the Earth was divided. The continents were put apart. They have done some fairly apparently precise calculations which show that prior to that, all the continents were one mass of land on a planet of about 60% of the current diameter and the Earth expanded. The boundaries between the continents, nation fit perfectly and everything gels. So it seems quite possible that in the time of Peleg, the Earth was literally physically divided, and men who had all been on one contiguous continental mass was separated. There are great challenges for us all in terms of these facts and if it interests you, I would encourage you to read the book'Dead Men's Secrets.'

They have also identified evidence of a worldwide nuclear holocaust roundabout 2000 to 2300 BC. In other words, shortly before the time of Abram, there were radioactive remains of cities on just about every continent and the indication seems to be that there was a massive world war in which nuclear armaments were used, in which all the major seats of civilisation were utterly destroyed, and in which the survivors resorted temporarily to living in caves and living in other primitive surroundings while they re-establish themselves in an agricultural environment whereas previously they had lived in a much more sophisticated technological environment, more akin to the environment that we know today than the more basic lifestyle that seemingly may have existed after this nuclear event. It appears that Abram lived at more or less this time. That is some period of time shortly after the nuclear event. But there is quite a lot of uncertainty from what I can see here and these are fairly tentative dates and correlations.

The important point is that from creation all the way down the line, the level of sophistication and civilisation was steadily deteriorating as man became more corrupt as his intellectual and physical capacity was diminished through ever-increasing sinfulness. Since then it would seem that there was some degree of social recovery and that the Greek and Roman civilisations and later Egyptian civilisations were probably a lot more technologically sophisticated than we have given them credit for. If one applies this thinking to the old Roman empire to the Colosseum and other ancient structures, one begins to understand that they took place in a significantly different context to that which we have understood previously. It is also interesting to note, Gray has identified a number of locations around the world where there were massive stone structures, in one case, in Carnic with a series of stone blocks, which had been machined into precise rectangular shape where the stone had come from Corrie's considerable distance as an hundreds of miles away the nearest source of that stone and where the size of the stone is such a magnitude that if that stone was to be placed on any known transport piece of machinery on the Earth today, it would be utterly crushed, and we have absolutely no way of possibly lifting a stone of that magnitude. It speaks of sophisticated powerful technology, A, to corrie the rock and cut it that precisely and B, to transport it and C, to place it on the structure. And there were many of these instances around the world if we apply our minds to it.

What is also relevant to that is to recognise that there is a fundamental law in physics referred to the Law of Entropy or I think it is the Third Law of Thermodynamics, which basically says that everything will deteriorate to the state of least energy. It takes energy to maintain civilisation. It takes energy to maintain a house. If you just leave it, it will decay over a period of time. We see that contrary to the theory of evolution, which would have us believe that when we leave things alone, they actually magically move towards states of higher and higher order, the progression that has been outlined here is more consistent with our experience. It says very simply, if you leave a house and you do not maintain it, and you do not look after the garden, it will eventually deteriorate and degenerate until in a few hundred years time the place will be completely wrecked, probably not even a few hundred years.

There are a few other points there. We see with the world today, increasing lawlessness and a few Scriptures, Matthew 24:37-39: "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." And we read in 2 Peter 2:4-6: "For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly."

We see that we are coming to a place of judgement and that Noah is a type and a shadow of that. It is interesting to note Ezekiel 14:20: "Even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, 'they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.'" Implication being that Noah, Daniel, and Job were men of remarkable righteousness. And we need to see the parallel between Noah and the flood and what is going on in the world today and for that which is about to come. There are scriptures which speak of the increasing lawlessness at the end of the age and certainly lawlessness is something which is endemic in the world today. So over the past 6000 years. If we look at the church and I am not giving precise dates, my objective is just to give you a thumbnail sketch. I have a large collection of books and reference documents if those are of interest, but it is not really central to this whole discussion to know the finer points. What is relevant is to consider a very different perspective of how the world, the church, and therefore marriage have been conducted over the last 6000 years.

We have seen that we are created in the image of God and trained in God's laws. We see in Genesis that God fellowshipped with Adam on a very personal, very intimate basis. We see through Scripture a steady decline with man being less and less willing to speak to God. There was a steady decline to the flood and it seems that Noah preserved God's truths and other people did not. We see the decline to the nuclear holocaust and some truths retained and some righteousness retained by Abram. We see Israel raised up by Moses by which stage the level of the knowledge of the things of God had deteriorated to such an extent that it was now necessary for God to formally record His laws in the Torah, the Books of Moses, which had largely been forgotten by that stage. But with the understanding that we have obtained so far, this is not a case that God was now coming to these primitive savages who would have no knowledge of Him and giving them a sudden, dramatic revelation of His law, it is a case of that knowing the Lord that walked in the law that the world was so degenerate by the time that He brought Israel out of Egypt that His law was to all intents and purposes forgotten and He had to send Moses to re-establish the basic principles of covenant law and God's laws of conduct and marriage, etc.

We see that in the church, Israel the decline continues and it is necessary for God to constantly send prophets to seek to arrest the decline but with very limited success. There are small outbreaks of revival, small returns to righteousness, but overall through the centuries Israel degenerates more and more into the ways of Satan. After the exile to Babylon, they returned to Israel. They have a revelation of the fact that they have to observe Torah, but they do not have a revelation of the Spirit, so in a very legalistic pharisaic basis they attempt to live the Torah but without the spirit of Torah. And again, this is just a case that they are going further and further away from the knowledge of God. It is not a case of they are slowly being raised up in some fashion. Finally, it becomes necessary for God to come to Earth as a man to restore the Spirit of Torah and to provide a new sacrifice to provide the animal sacrifices that men had failed to make with the right spirit as we saw in Malachi. So again, in the area of Jesus ministry and the Ministry of the Apostles, there is a momentary revival of perhaps 50 or 100 years, but by the year 100 AD, 67 years or so after Jesus' death, we find in history books that the decline had resumed. The church was just declining along with everything else. By about 315 AD the Council of Trent, the Roman Church took active steps to cut its Jewish heritage and cut ties that changed the Sabbath from Saturday to the day of the Sun, Sunday. They introduced many other deviations from Torah law and from Jesus and the apostles teaching and they introduced a doctrine of convert or die. It became acceptable to kill a person who refuse to convert to Christianity. That was regarded as a legitimate approach to spreading the gospel. It gave rise to the crusades. It gave rise ultimately to the Holocaust in the Second World War where many of the people involved actually considered themselves to be Christians and used that label.

It is important also to understand that the vast majority of what Jesus taught was not new principles. He was restating Torah and he was correcting the perversions of Torah that were being practised by the Pharisees. We have seen that in the series of teachings that Jesus was not introducing new laws with regard to divorce and putting away. He was simply confirming what had been said all along. He did not introduce anything new. He just pointed out to them that there was very little basis for a man to put away his wife or divorce her and that was pornea, fornication, which was exactly the same as uncleanness and if we did not have the added complication of people believing that the New Testament had been written in Greek when it was written in Aramaic, it seems likely that the word pornea is translated from in the New Testament is probably the same word as used in Deuteronomy. If we understand that, we will see a lot of these distinctions going away. The whole sermon on the mount as we know it, can be found in various places in Torah. The principles were there. It is just that because we do not understand that because we think that Jesus was bringing some higher revelation to supersede some jaded and inadequate and second rate revelation, we completely miss the point.

Mankind have slipped so far from the knowledge of God by the time Jesus came to Earth that he had to re-introduce and re-instruct the people in the absolute basic principles of God's covenant law and man had generated to such an extent that they were no longer able or willing in the right spirit to keep the covenant their side of the covenant. It became necessary for God to bring to an end the animal sacrifices, etc., because man was no longer able to maintain them.

As we move closer to the present age from 300 AD, we see that the church moved further and further away from both Torah and from Jesus and the apostles teaching. Ultimately the Crusades where enormous numbers of people were murdered because they refused to accept that Jesus Christ is Lord and the absolute abominations performed in the name of Jesus. So we see that the church going from the relative passivity with which Israel went into bondage and certainly not going around killing people to convert to Judaism to a point where the church becomes aggressive and offensive in a militaristic sense but also in a spiritual sense, murdering people who won't accept the gospel of Jesus Christ which is fundamentally that God is love. And we wonder why there is so little revelation of love from the church today. So that lead into the dark ages where certainly by the 1500s it would appear that the social structure on the Earth had degenerated to a primitive feudal structure. The technology had degenerated perhaps to the lowest point that it ever attained. And the church was in such apostasy that it would seem that very, very few people were serving God in any meaningful way and those who did were doing so to a very limited extent. Then in early 1500s we see Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and others bringing about Reformation giving rise to the Protestant Churches and breaking away from the Catholic Church. We also see that first translations of Scripture to languages other than Latin meeting with great opposition and many like William Tyndale were burned at the stake as heretics for daring to translate the Bible into a language which the common people could read.

Since then there has been a progressive restoration of truth with regards like the Saturday Sabbath, water baptism, tongues, and healing following through to the present age, where most believe that this is the most advanced civilisation that has ever existed on the Earth that the church is now in some sort of or approaching some sort of Golden Age where there is enormous revelation and experience and that the church is bigger and greater than it has ever been. We also have the same view with regard to our science, technology, government, etc., and with regard to our knowledge of God. We have really seen if one observes and pays attention to what is being said that we regard ourselves today or mankind today and the church today regard themselves for the most part as being really superior being the ultimate progression of mankind. Sadly, it is far from that. Yes, there has been restoration of truth, but again it seems that if one considers a lot of what has been taught in this series, one has to draw the conclusion that at the time of Jesus first coming, there was an increased awareness of the need to return to God but that return to God had taken place with serious distortion of Scripture and with the Spirit of Torah, Spirit of Jesus teaching is completely absent.

If we take this teaching on marriage as a reasonable indicator of the state of the church, please seriously consider that that is the case. We are in a pharisaic condition today not far removed from the pharisaic condition that prevailed when Jesus walked the Earth. That also tends to support a view which says the second coming of Christ must be close at hand and certainly the great tribulation must be close at hand. We also saw in mid 20th century World War II and other events which included massive destruction of the Jews by people who claim the name of Christ. Martin Luther is alleged to have said that the only good Jew was a dead Jew and that is allegedly an underpinning principle that was behind the Holocaust of the Second World War. People felt that they were doing God a favour by destroying the Jews. The reality of the church today is that we are spiritually destitute, trapped in Pharisaism and with a very limited understanding of Torah as evidenced by the scriptural analysis presented in this teaching series. So we see that we think we see, but we are blind.

Just a couple of scriptures on that subject: John 9:39-41: "And Jesus said, 'For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.' Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, 'Are we blind also?' Jesus said to them, 'If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains." So we see the alarming prospect that many of the people, men and women of God around the world who say that they see today and yet they do not see certainly in the areas that have been covered in this teaching must ask themselves what about the coming judgement. This is not something to be proud about. It is not something to judge people about. It is something for us to cry out to God for compassionately for people's eyes to be opened and to turn from sin that they do not even realise their sin, but they will find a sin on the Day of Judgement if they are not correctly informed. The same applies to adulterers not inheriting the Kingdom of God. There are millions, probably billions of people on the planet today who are scripturally adulterers and do not know because nobody is telling them the truth about adultery.

Revelation 3:17-18: "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see." Surely that passage addressed to the loudest in church must have direct relevance to most of the Western Christian Church and perhaps most of the church on this planet right now.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 says: "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition." We certainly have a massive falling away. 2 Peter 2:1-6: "But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction." The wrong teaching with regard to virginity, adultery, and divorce alone of what has been covered in this series must be seen to be destructive heresies. Many will follow the destructive ways because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. Again, we see today that many of the truths that are shared in this series of teachings are rejected by the majority of people in the Body of Christ. Verse 3: "By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly." We have to see the close correlation of the first few verses of this passage in describing the situation which has been dealt with in these teachings.

2 Timothy 4:3-4: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables." We have recently seen that many people have been turned aside to the fable of fairy tale of monogamous marriages. We have certainly seen that people do not want to hear or certainly from my experience, the majority of people do not want to hear the true definition of adultery, the true role of virginity and the church is telling people they may get divorced and remarry. They are telling people that one night stands are things that happen. 1 Timothy 4:1-3: "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry." We have seen that repeatedly in the series of teachings.

Ephesians 5:25-28: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself." Again we see there is a correlation between a spotless church and marriage and the church today as we see is anything but spotless. In one of the visions that Joyner reports in the book 'The Final Quest' it was said to him that the hordes of hell have been released on the Earth and he also saw in his visions massive demonic oppression on the world and particularly on the believers and as we have seen in the teaching on deliverance, the indications are that most if not all the human race and most Christians are demonised to some extent.

There is a group prevailing or operating in the Earth today called the Illuminati. Nobody knows too much about them or says they know too much about them, but in a book called 'Masonry: Beyond the Light' by William Schnoebelen who was a mason and also involved in witchcraft and who went through the process of illumination to close to the final stage. Illumination involves people committing their lives to Satan and inviting Demons to come and dwell in their bodies and take control of their bodies and hading their lives over to Satan. And Schnoebelen alleges that the Nazi SS and others responsible for the most heinous atrocities in the world over the last few centuries have been illuminati, people who have given their lives, their bodies over to the possession of Demons.

So overall we have seen in this discussion of the church that the church is desperately far removed from being a spotless bride, a miracle is required and the church must understand the miracle of marriage and walk in the miracle of marriage before she can come into unity. The Word of God says that by this the world will know that Jesus says he is when the believers come into unity. The church has to come to a place of being a spotless bride before Jesus can return and there is an enormous amount of work that has to be done in the spirit realm before the church will be a spotless bride based on what we have seen in these teachings. This set of tapes is a stepping stone to this objective of cleansing the church and preparing the bride of Christ. We also need to recognise speaking of this age that Isaiah 4:1-6 gives us something to really think about. Reading backwards as before because it gives us a better understanding of what is being spoken about: "And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain." Verse 5: "Then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering." Verse 4: "When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning." Again, we see judgment coming on the church, Zion, and Jerusalem. "And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem." So this is after the tribulation and the judgement on this Earth before the Day of Judgement. In that day, the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious and the fruit of the Earth should be excellent and appealing for those of Israel who has escaped.

This is speaking of the second coming of the Lord of the messiah of the branch and in that day, the same day, seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, we will eat our own food and wear our own apparel and let us be called by your name to take away our reproach. So we see very clearly that in the days that are coming, there will be seven times as many women in the Body of Christ in the true church, the spiritual church, as there are men. This ties in to this whole teaching on marriage and the whole subject of this spotless bride. We need to recognise that and we need to adjust our thinking accordingly, because to the extent that we do not many, many women will continue to suffer unnecessary because of the false doctrine, the heresy of monogamy.

Let's look at the progression through marriage and I just want to walk through basically the same thread in terms of the historical analysis, the information that is available to me. Again, I am not going to cite all the references that are available, should you need them, but that it is really not the point. It is just to see in broad brush strokes how the developments and the degradation of mankind, the world, and the church has a bearing on what we are talking about the subject of marriage, Heaven on Earth. We need to see the parallel. The healing of marriage is necessary to bring Heaven to Earth in marriage for Heaven comes to Earth in the wedding supper of the land before the church is caught up into the air to meet with the Lord Jesus and before the new Jerusalem comes down out of Heaven as a bride prepared. They are absolutely intimately and indivisibly linked.

So again to recap with regard to marriage, man was created in the likeness and image of God. He knew God's laws and he was deeply covenant-minded, highly spiritual and his marriage worked. In those days, it would seem that a man with one wife was quite strong enough spiritually to stand against the onslaught of Satan, and there was not all the distraction taking place and the fallen away, so there was no need for a man to have more than one wife. There was sufficient men to go around. Then Satan began to realise the power of the One Flesh Bond and of marriage, and started to make a concerted effort to destroy it. Satan also realised that the messiah had to be born of a pure woman and therefore he sent his angels to defy woman. We read in Genesis 6:1-5: "Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And the Lord said, 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.' There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

So we see that before the flood, Satan's Angels were consummating marriage with women and they were bearing them children. 2 Peter 2:4-5: "For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly." We see reference of this also in Jude 1:5-8. So perhaps Noah was the last pure man before the flood. He has survived the flood with one wife each possibly because they were still spiritually strong enough to only require one wife or because they were the only moderately pure women remaining after the majority of women have been defiled through inbreeding, etc., with the progeny of Satan's fallen angels. After the flood, plural marriage became increasingly commonplace, until we see at about 1000 BC. David as king who is repeatedly referred to as a man after God's own heart in 1 Samuel 13:14 and again in Acts 13:22 and where we are repeatedly told that he did right in the Sight of God in all matters except regarding Uriah the Hittite who had about 11 wives and 10 concubines. So plural marriage, polygyny was well established as a practise amongst man of God, man that God speaks of very highly and says that he was a man after God's own heart.

Subsequently, Solomon went too far and married many foreign wives and that was the cause of his downfall. About 440 BC, Malachi was speaking against putting away as marriage was declining, people were no longer practising God's standards in marriage and it was becoming degenerate even within the people of Israel. At about the same time, the exiles have returned in Israel speaks against marriage to pagans and forces a number of men to put away their pagan wives. As this was all happening and these things were developing in Israel about 100 years before Christ, the Greeks have moved into a fairly generally accepted social practice where man would have a wife who was locked away at home to make sure that she only bore his children. He would have a mistress who was sort of consort who went with him to social functions and what have you and who was a source of sexual intimacy and in many cases, the Greek men would also have a young boy for homosexual sex as well. That was a measure of the absolute dissolute and immoral behaviour in Greece at that time. Round about the same time, monogamy was first practised in Rome. The indications seem to be that monogamy as a formal legislative style of life first came into existence in Rome about 100 BC. By about AD 37, Caligula was emperor in Rome and by that stage, you may have heard of the movie Caligula, which was popular overseas and advertised with most garish and explicit posters in London and elsewhere about 20-30 years ago. By that stage, divorce, mistresses, murder, prostitution, adultery, etc., were rife in Rome. Caligula went through four wives, in some cases, murdering as I recall because he decided he wanted to marry them. During that period in AD 30-33 or in fact, probably AD 27 to 30, because there is an error in the calendar, Jesus Christ was teaching against putting away in Matthew 5:31-32, Matthew 19:3-10, Mark 10:2-12, and yet putting away was exactly what was happening in the Roman world and in fact why it is dealt with so repeatedly appears to be that the Roman practice of monogamy was creeping in to the people of Israel and those form of serial polygamy, men marrying or getting tired of their wives, putting them away and marrying another one instead of keeping all the wives that they had taken and looking after them was becoming prevalent.

So there is an upsurge by Jesus time of dissolute morals that was pervading the Roman Empire in association with monogamy. Roundabout that time and certainly starting in the centuries immediately following Jesus death, within the church and within the world, virginity was idolised through the idolisation of the so-called Virgin Mary, which ignored the fact that Mary had at least five children over and above Jesus. In Matthew 13:55 we read "Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us?" So we see that he had four brothers seemingly all by Mary and sisters more than one, applying at least six siblings. So the whole cult of the Virgin Mary revolves around the female idols that is spoken about against throughout the Old Testament. Spiritual marriage became something that that was in vogue over many centuries, the form of marriage in which a man and woman were married in a contractual form but never had sexual intercourse. Nuns and monks found favour and association with religious vows of chastity associated with stringent lifestyles.

And sex came to be regarded as dirty, unclean, and second rate and something for the peasants and those ungodly people who could not contain their lust. And so the whole aspect of marriage, the sexuality of marriage, the spirituality of sexual act that we have talked about were utterly and completely lost and destroyed during this period. About 600 after Christ, the Roman emperor and at that time, head of the church, Justinian married Theodora, a reformed prostitute. Justinian is reported in historical accounts and alleged to have been a weak man whereas Theodora was alleged to have been quite strong and consistent and what we see there is that Jezebel was gaining legislative control over the church. I should mention that that information came to me after the Lord had spoken to me when in London, told me to visit a particular bookshop to go to a particular section and led me to take a particular book off the shelf and when I opened it I came across this information that I have just shared with you. So I have absolute certainty that this is what the Lord is saying, took place at that stage. There had been Jezebelic influences all over the situation that Jezebel at that point married. We read of that whole Jezebel. So Jezebel is associated with harlotry and Jezebel in a very real sense married the head of the church at that point, the Emperor Justinian and Justinian legislated monogamy for the first time in the Christian faith in the Roman church and around the Roman world, which was a large portion of Europe and so forth.

This is a fact that is overlooked by those in the church who argue that monogamy is scriptural. If monogamy is scriptural, why was it necessary for Justinian to legislate monogamy? We then discover that subsequently, in about 900 AD, a rabbi by the name of Gershom who lived between 965 and 1029 AD instituted or legislated within the Jewish faith a 1000-year ban on a man taking more than one wife. And it was reported that this ban which expired in 1950 and which is known as the Rabbeinu Gershom was renewed subsequently and remains in force over the Jewish faith today. It is interesting that if one finds footnotes for example in the Living Torah Jewish translation which makes this point, one finds it in Jewish books on marriage and you will find that most Jews if you engage with them in conversation roundabout the subject of marriage are quite well-informed that polygyny is scriptural, that there is no prohibition in Torah on it and the will also tell you that this is one of the reasons why they cannot accept that Christianity could possibly be from God and that Jesus Christ can be the Isaiah because we totally destroy the basic principles of Torah with regard to marriage, with regard to the Sunday Sabbath instead of the Saturday and so many other things, not to mention the persecution of the Jews.

Roundabout the time of Christ and that the exact timing is unclear to me, rings became common as a pagan symbol of marriage, I am not saying in the Jewish faith, but that just generally the pagans were using rings as symbols of marriage because virginity was of so little value that they had to have some other contractual device to indicate whether a woman was married or not because she was highly unlikely to be a virgin. By about the 1500s, ecclesiastical marriage was introduced in the Christian church that is contractual marriage in the presence of an ordained church official or priest as we know it today. By the late 1900s, the church was increasingly condemning divorce and ceasing to stress the importance of virginity and even suggesting things like so-called one night stands, casual sex, and premarital sex were unfortunate consequences of man's fallen state and therefore had to be tolerated. By the year 2000, there was more divorce, which is actually putting away in the church than in the world and statistics indicate that over two-thirds of marriages in the church are ending in divorce. These statistics are widely reported and they are never disputed and they are supported by casual observation. The vast majority of people in the world today have experienced divorce. I can remember even when I was a child and that is going back 40 odd years, divorce was a very exceptional thing.

Today, the vast majority of people that we know are divorced and remarried. The church has completely ceased to take a stand on divorce in the last few decades. We find it is even mentioned in the previous teaching that even internationally prominent Christian leaders are getting divorced and seem to have no shame at having their picture published on the front page of major newspapers. Yet we know that God hates putting away, and that most of those who remarry are committing adultery and therefore cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.

We also saw that nearly all Christians who are sexually joined to a person who is not resident with him and who in turn is similarly joined to another, not resident with them are in all probability, spiritually joined to every prostitute, witch and Satanist on the planet. The Body of Christ is defiled and the spiritual carnage is of catastrophic proportions where return to godly marriage in a miraculous turnaround in marriage are desperately required. We have to understand that viewed from God's perspective, the church is in the most terrible mess that it is the most appalling level of spiritual union between the Body of Christ and harlots, Satanists, witches, etc., etc. as a result of the total or near total disregard for the holiness of sexuality and the holiness and sanctity of marriage. I urge you to examine yourself in the Word of God, to examine what you have been teaching, examine what you have been doing in the living of your life and to where necessary repent, turn around, and seek the guidance of God to restore your life and the lives of those around you. Millions if not billions of people's lives are in utter spiritual turmoil and distraction as a consequence of the failure of the church to do what it is required to do.

The fundamental driving force behind that is our mistaken belief that today we represent the pinnacle of civilisation, the pinnacle of spirituality, where in fact, we do not realise how far we have fallen. We do not realise that man created in the likeness of an image of God 6000 years ago was enormously superior to us in terms of physical stature, physical capability, longevity, intellectual ability, knowledge and spirituality and knowledge of God. We do not know how far we have fallen and Satan has blinded our eyes with pride and through the false doctrine and teachings of evolution led us to believe that we are superior beings to any that have gone before us. We have to see the reality with regard to where we are today and seek to turn it around. And I have great in a certainty that at the absolute heart of this issue lies the truth regarding marriage that are being taught in this series of teachings. There can be no doubt that if Christian men and women can put into practice the corrections and adjustments that have been identified in this series of teachings, if they can come to the place where they have been healed and set free of their wrong beliefs and where their marriages are the way God intended them to be, we will come to the place where we will experience Heaven on Earth in our marriages and as we experience Heaven on Earth in our marriages, we will start to see Heaven on Earth in the church and the Body of Christ. We will see the Body of Christ coming into unity. We will see the lessons learnt in bringing marriage into harmony applied to bringing the church into harmony. We will see the denomination walls falling down. We will see the church coming to a place where truly it is a church with no walls. A universal church where people are free to come and go wherever the places of assembly may be, where there are no dictatorial rules of membership and partnership and where the church is approaching all truth. But there is a long period of restoration and healing required before God can return the church to anything that approximates the potential that she had at the time of the creation of Adam and Eve.

Please pray deeply about these points and consider your ways and the direction the Lord wants you to take going on from today, having listened to this teaching. Father in the name of Jesus I ask you to blow away anything that has been uttered in this teaching that is not according to your word, according to your will, or according to the true historical facts and in the name of Jesus, I ask you to take every truth that has been spoken, everything that is factually correct, everything that is according to your word, according to your will, and cause it to be implanted in the hearts of the hearers to water it by your spirit and to bring forth an abundant harvest to a glory of your name. And father, we just come to you now in the name of Jesus and we ask you to move mightily on this Earth today to restore the truths of your Scriptures, of your Torah, of your word to your church and to the world. Lead us Father by your spirit into holiness and sanctification, into all truth to deal with the deception and the error that exists in our lives today in Jesus name.

Father in the name of Jesus, share us the level of our present deception, convict us of our sin and turn us around from all that is wrong and not pleasing to you in our lives that we may become faithful servants. Pour out your spirit upon this Earth, Lord and upon your people. Judge us in this life that we may not be judged in the life to come. Father I ask you right now in the name of Jesus to judge all who call themselves by the name of Christ severely and correct them harshly that they may serve you more perfectly in this life that they may store up treasure in Heaven and not on Earth and that they may be found faithful servants on the Day of Judgement and not find themselves cast into outer darkness with weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth and classed as workers of inequity or people that never knew Jesus and Jesus never knew them or foolish virgins or goats. Father restore the truth to your church. Humble us we pray. And bring us to a place where we are in right standing with you in revelation of our desperate need with your guiding hand in our lives, in Jesus name. Amen.

04_21 Responsibility of Married Christian Women towards Single Christian Women

Number 20, in the second volume of the series 'Understanding God's Way in Marriage,'Volume 2 being 'Towards Heaven on Earth in Marriage,' and this teaching is entitled'The Responsibility of Married Christian Women Towards Single Christian Women.' This is another message, which seriously challenges our 21st century paradigm. If you have not travelled the whole road with us to this point, listen to all the preceding tapes I would really urge you to go back and listen to all the tapes that you have missed. If you do not, you will likely to have significant difficulty with this teaching. If you go the whole road, I really believe you will see that this is a logical extension of all that we have discussed so far.

I would ask you to pray with me now. "Father in the name of Jesus I bring before you all those listening to this message, I ask you open their ears to hear what you would have them hear and to close their ears to that which you do not want them to hear. I speak to any Demon or Fallen Angel that is within hearing of this message and in the name of Jesus I bind you now, and I command you to go down till this message is complete. I ask you Father to send your mighty warring Angels to bind, silence, and block the ears of any Demon that is within hearing distance of this message. And bind everything that would inhibit, any listener from discerning the truth according to your word, in Jesus name."

In the lead up to this particular teaching, there are a number of Scriptures which are particularly relevant and which I would just like to draw your attention to. Matthew 7:12:"Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." Leviticus 19:18: "Love your neighbour as yourself." Matthew 22:39: "You shall love your neighbour as yourself." The second commandment mentioned a total of 11 times in the Bible and throughout the New Testament. Jesus repeatedly mentioned, love your neighbour as yourself. Acts 20:35: "It is more blessed to give than to receive."It is really important that you see this message in the context of giving, loving, and doing onto others. 1 Corinthians 7:2 states: "Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband." However, the word in the Greek and the Hebrew translated wife has no singular or plural as we have seen previously.

1 Timothy 5:9 says: "Do not let a widow under sixty years old be taken into the number,"and continues in verse 14, "Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some have already turned aside after Satan." So clearly, Scripture requires younger women to be married except in exceptional circumstances where they truly have been called by God to live a life of celibacy and that is not many as I read Scripture. And if they are not married, they will give the adversary Satan an opportunity to speak reproachfully and some of them will turn aside and follow Satan. In other words, this is a matter of spiritual life and death. We are talking about a situation here with a believing woman is unable to find a husband, she will find herself potentially falling away and not spending eternity with Christ in the extreme event. Accordingly, if we love our neighbour as ourselves, we have to establish how the situation is to be dealt with. We cannot continue to tolerate a situation which we have in the church today of an enormous proportion of women being unable to find husbands or ending up ultimately marrying unbelievers because there are not sufficient Christian husbands to go around. And depending on where you look, you will find in congregations anything from two times as many women to of the order of ten times as many women in just about any Christian congregation around the world.

Professor Christine, of the University of South Africa, a theology professor who has been speaking in favour of polygyny for some years now reports that the indications are that there are 200 women to every 70 men in South Africa. That sounds like a startling statistic, imagine in the light of AIDS and the violence over the last few decades, it could perhaps be correct but certainly that is challenging. But the bottom line is God intended every woman to be married and as we have seen in previous teachings, there is no prohibition on the number of wives that a man may take. Matthew 11:6 says: "And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." That is because of Jesus because of the Word of God and he who receives you, i.e. Jesus' disciples receives me and he who receives me receives Him who sent me. So we are told not to be offended by anything that we find in the Word of God and we are told not to reject those who are sent in the name of God.

Matthew 10:27: "Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops." In other words, the truths we have encountered in this series of teachings, we are required to preach wherever we get the opportunity. Matthew 10:28: "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him (God) who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Many people will find the subject of this teaching very, very difficult to accept and a major factor in that will be a question of what other people think, what will other people say. We are told that that is not a consideration. Ezekiel 33:4-6: "Then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand."

The critical implication of that passage is that every person who has heard some or all of these teachings and who may find themselves on the Day of Judgement convicted of sin in areas covered by these teachings, your blood, so to speak, will be on their own hands because they heard the truth and they failed to act on it. By the same token, have failed to produce this series of teaching tapes and to distribute them to the extent that I am negligent there or failed, the blood will be on my hands and since you have now heard this message, if you fail to take the message further to others, it is important to understand that the blood of those that you neglect to share the message with will be upon your hands. One of the things that has prompted me to really apply myself diligently to this sort of tapes over the last month or so was a blinding revelation about a month ago but because I had been less diligent in putting together these teachings and doing various other things around this subject that the Lord had called me to do, many people will potentially in hell or on their way to hell as a consequence of my negligence and their blood is all on my hands and I will be subject to a severe judgement on the Day of Judgement if I did not repent, turn around, and bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. And I would certainly say to everybody who is listening to this tape or this series of tapes, please understand that.

This is not a subject that can be listened to and put on one side. It is a subject of vital importance in the Kingdom of God. Each one of us will be judged according to what we do with this truth. And then the key verse that has attracted a lot of attention leading up to this teaching and is a critical element of this teaching is Isaiah 4:1: "And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, 'We will eat our own food and wear our own apparel; Only let us be called by your name, To take away our reproach." And we have seen specifically in the teaching on the anointing. That seven is the number of completeness. It is the number of perfection. It is the number of covenant. So the perfect number of women necessary to complete that man and to bring about a complete covenant will actively seek marriage with that man. That bears repeating in that day the perfect number of women to complete that man resulting in a complete covenant will approach him for his covering. This is not about men collecting wives as trophies. The counterpoint to that is that clearly the existing wife or wives of any Christian man finds herself in this situation and clearly has responsibility to walk with her husband according to this principle.

So there is a great onus on women who are already married to reach out and to help those women who are seeking a husband. This particular realisation came to me a couple of years ago. It is a realisation that initially I was rather reluctant or a revelation though as I was rather reluctant to accept in the same way that I argued with the Lord for many months over whether the Bible permitted a man to have more than one wife. I read in fact from Genesis to Revelation praying before as I read each book of the Bible, Lord in this book, please show me where you prohibit the man having more than one wife. And all I found was that every book in the Bible clearly by example or by explicit statement permits a man to have more than one wife. More recently I have come to the realisation that it is not so much...the teaching that follows makes it quite clear it is not about the issue of a man taking more than one wife. It is a case of the women needing that man. So it is a case of offering. It is a case of giving, not taking. A man should be looking at taking more than one wife, not because he is looking to take because he is giving. In other words, he should be looking to give his covering not take a wife. The semantic there is all important. By the same token, married women should be looking to give or share their husband to own married women. In 1998, I was impressed to write a document, which is entitled "A preliminary discourse on the scriptural responsibility of Christian men towards unmarried Christian women in the church of Jesus Christ." And I am just going to go through and give you some headlines out of that to elaborate on the point.

At that time I had been agonising over certain situations and I have been accused of various things because I had endeavoured to share the truth about marriage with a number of Christian leaders and others. So I was very reluctant to stick my neck out on the subject and as I was debating with the Holy Spirit as to whether I should write the document that I am referring to and in fact more publicly state of things that had been taught in this series, I became increasingly aware of the vast number of people who would not inherit the Kingdom of God or who would be judged severely and have a part in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone. I then in a last desperate attempt to back my responsibility, I asked the Lord for confirmation. He gave me Mark 7:7-9 in the Amplified: "In vain (fruitlessly and without profit) do they worship Me, ordering and teaching [to be obeyed] as doctrines the commandments and precepts of men. You disregard and give up and ask to depart from you the commandment of God and cling to the tradition of men [keeping it carefully and faithfully]. And He said to them, You have a fine way of rejecting [thus thwarting and nullifying and doing away with] the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition (your own human regulations)!"

That passage of Scripture carries an enormous punch for me and I hope, for you, so much of what has been dealt with in this series relates to just that. The Commandments of men being set up in opposition to the Word of God! Since writing this document I have been in contact around the world on a regular basis with a number of apostles some of whom who have put purer marriage into practice, others of whom are being prepared by the Lord. And in the discussions that revolve around a whole diversity of issues, one of the things that has cropped up repeatedly is that the world at large and many Christian wives seemed to see polygyny as some second-rate thing which involves depriving the first wife of something significant, and is often associated with very unacceptable, unchristian behaviour of the part of such wives. So we see that Jezebel principality manifesting in the Body of Christ as we have discussed previously. But out of ways discussions one thing has become absolutely apparent. Because a woman is one with her husband and is part of his house, she is accountable before God as he is with regard to responsibility to extend their covering to additional women who need it.

I just want to go in more detail to establish the fact that Christian men have a God-given nonnegotiable responsibility to provide covering to Christian women who do not have husbands and women who are already married to such men have a God-given and nonnegotiable responsibility to assist their husbands to extend that covering. That means that they should actively identify women who they believe are potential wives that God has brought across their paths. They should pray, they should intercede, and they should walk with their husbands down what is potentially a very difficult road in this day and age. The target situation here is any mature sincere committed Christian man who truly fears God and desires to do His will towards similarly mature devout and committed Christian women who do not have a husband and have been crying out for a husband and whose lives have been destroyed as a consequence of their difficulty of coping with their situation and the resultant attacks that Satan is making on them. That same comment applies to the Christian wives of such men.

The key Scriptures as far as this is concerned and these have all been touched on to a greater or lesser extent in previous teachings Ruth 3:9 in the Amplified: "And she answered, I am Ruth your maidservant. Spread your wing [of protection] over your maidservant, for you are a next of kin," i.e. please marry me. So we see from that firstly that Ruth was entitled to ask for covering. She took the initiative in asking for covering. Boaz did not decline to provide her with a covering and at no point there was a discussion as to whether is existing wives would permit it and the fact that Boaz was a respected senior member of the community as evidenced from other parts of the Book of Ruth, indicates that it is absolutely beyond the bounds of probability that he was a single man and a bachelor at that age.

Secondly Isaiah 4:1: "And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread and provide our own apparel; only let us be called by your name to take away our reproach [of being unmarried]." That is, there will be seven women saying please marry us for every man in the church with true believers as we have just said. And thirdly, Exodus 21:10: "If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marriage rights." This refers to the rights of an existing man when a man takes an additional wife, even if the existing wife is a slave, a maidservant, or a concubine. So the net effect of all of this is that it is scriptural for any woman who is a Christian and asks for his covering and that man has no or little scriptural basis to refuse her. The only basis for refusal will be to pray and if the man was absolutely certain that it was God's speaking to him and telling him not to marry her then he should not marry her. But the underlying assumption in this is that if the woman is truly free to marry, and that is likely be the biggest single reason why the answer to prayer would be no because there are enormous number of women who are likely to ask for a covering or need a covering who are not contractually married in the sight of the word but who are not virgins.

So we have seen in a previous teaching the whole subject of covering and why the covering is so important and we have seen the reference in Genesis to the Fallen Angels, Genesis 6:2-5, which was cited in the previous teaching, again the sons of God, the Fallen Angels who had sex with and married the daughters of men gave rise to children, the apparent situation developing before the flood where virtually all men and women on the planet were part of a defiled bloodline with angelic genes, and this has come about because Satan was potentially seeking to pollute the bloodlines so that a woman could not give birth to an undefiled child which was necessary for the fulfilment of the prophesy in the garden of Eden that the seed of a woman would trample Satan's head. We also saw from that that the probability was that a large number of Satan's fallen angels are now confined in jail that is indicated in Titus and elsewhere and Jude 6 and 2 Peter 2:4 and as a consequence Satan cannot afford to do that particular thing again but that towards the end of the age or in the very last days as he sees the time of his 1000-year imprisonment in the pit living rapidly he might in desperation resort to that and therefore it is absolutely vital that women are provided with a covering.

We ministered some months ago to a woman who is a mature Christian believer been serving the Lord for years without a husband, desperate for a husband, had an affair with an unbelieving man some years ago, dabbled in witchcraft, etc., before she came to salvation and apparently fairly regularly visited by incubi or succubi demonic spirit that made love to her, and she actually thought that this was coming from God. That is a measure of the deception, that is a measure of what Satan can do to a woman without a husband. There are enormous challenges around this. In the story of Ruth, we find that in the case of a widow, a man is honour bound in terms of Deuteronomy 23:3-4 to extend his covering to the widow of his brother. It seems a reasonable inference that one of the things that has changed in the New Covenant era is that we have moved from a physical bloodline through and Jacob Israel to a spiritual bloodline by faith through Abraham and therefore, we know that all of us who are born-again believers are Abraham's seed and therefore every woman in Christ is a sister in Christ and every man is a brother and therefore the dimension of this seems to change in the sense that it is arguable that every Christian man has a responsibility to any Christian woman who needs a covering.

We see in 1 Corinthians 7:39 that women are free to marry who she will, only provided that he too is in the Lord. In other words, she can marry any man that appears to her that is willing to marry her, irrespective of how many wives he already has provided he is a Christian. So very distinct requirements there in terms of marrying in the faith. No requirements in terms of the existing marital state. Coming back to Isaiah 4:1, we just keep coming back to this fact that there were far more women in the church than men and they are entitled to a covering. An interesting thing about Isaiah 4:1 is that it represents an amendment to the terms of Exodus 21:10. Isaiah 4:1 says: "And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, 'We will eat our own food and wear our own apparel; Only let us be called by your name, To take away our reproach of being unmarried." I refer you specifically to one, "Eat our own bread," two, "Wear our own apparel, only let us be called by your name." And the "calling by your name" comes about as a result of the consummation of marriage. The counterpoint to that is Exodus 21:10, if he takes himself another woman or another wife, he may not reduce the first wife's food one, clothing, two, or conjugal right. So we see that Isaiah 4:1 says that in these last days, a woman will waive any claim to the terms of Exodus 21:10 those first two items. She will provide her own food and provide her own clothing. Or if she will ask for is conjugal rights, the husband's name to take away her reproach.

So what she is looking for is the right herself wife and to take his name and it is interesting that in South Africa at least the new constitution does permit so-called customary marriage where appear to still be some legal technicalities to those married with civil marriages. It provides her with fellowship, companionship, and related privileges and allows her to fulfil her role of a homemaker, wife, and mother, sharing with the other wives. It permits wives to go out two by two as Jesus sent out his disciples and if we take the parallel between Jesus and his church and husband and his wives, it seems that there are many instances where it would be prudent for a wife to go out or wives to go out two by two for protection for companionship and so on and so forth. It is notable that a lot of women build up very close friendships with another woman and they tend to do everything with them at school and sometimes in later life and the realisation of the truth of a man having more than one wife permits best friends to marry the same man instead of ending up in a situation of vicious competition to see who gets him. Conversely it permits a situation to arise where a fellow wife becomes best friends.

Given the previous teaching on the strong One Flesh Bond, it is possible to imagine that one man and several women or seven women who are one flesh and in perfect unity and harmony would be a formidable spiritual unit on Earth, something against which the enemy would truly not be able to stand and undoubtedly a major factor why Satan has so ruthlessly lied about and opposed plural marriage since the days of Justinian in about 600 AD, if not before. It is also important to recognise that in Revelation 1 to 3, references are made to seven churches, apparently Jesus is married to a bride with seven major components, each of which has distinct strengths and weaknesses, each of them he reproves and corrects and to each of them he offers eternal life and victory with particular rewards if they overcome and endure to the end. It seems quite possible with Isaiah 4:1 for shadows is parallel on Earth and in error when men will truly learn to live together in unity and the church will come into unity. Many of the lessons which are necessary for a man to live in unity and harmony with seven wives in this generation are probably similar to the lessons of the church must learn to live together in unity. Rick Joyner makes it clear that it is only once the church comes into unity that victory over the enemy is gained.

Clearly, God did not provide the intimate parallel and in fact Ephesians 5:31-33 which has been the cornerstone of this series and I think marriage is an of our relationship with Christ. If we cannot live in marriages, he will have us live, we cannot begin to understand how to achieve the fullness of what is possible in our relationship with him. The harmonious seven wife marriage may turn out to be single most significant prerequisite to the church operating in godly works than Jesus did. It is also interesting to note that people all exhibit very different gifting, emotional, physical and other responses. It is therefore possible to envisage a situation where a group of women who have been brought to one husband by the Holy Spirit will find that they complement one another in such a wonderful way that the whole is truly great than some of them apart. This comes back to the teachings on covenant, covering one another's weaknesses, and we see from that with the diversity of skills and ministry gifting and intellectual and psychological and sociological skills and gifts that exists in humankind, one man and one woman cannot possibly cover all the weaknesses that exists in one another and larger team of people is called for.

Few other remarks, some people would say this is a carnal thing. I sincerely pray that by now, listeners have realised that this is not a carnal thing, it is a scriptural thing. It is about bringing wives under a spiritual covenant, providing them with spiritual safety. It is about building a spiritual house to serve God in spirit and in truth. People are concerned about AIDS when it comes to taking more than one wife. I have great difficulty understanding why when it comes to a man taking second wife, people would become more concerned about AIDS when it comes to taking a first wife. If the Lord brings him the wife, AIDS is not an issue. If you go out and start recruiting wives in the flesh, then AIDS becomes a problem, but it is just a symptom of a preceded problem of carnality. One flesh bloodline and other factors, we have talked at some length about the issues associated with marrying a divorced woman and given that many of the women who would potentially fall into category of prospective second wife or second, third, and subsequent wives, will not be virgins. There are enormous challenges around this, and again, the only safe route is to be absolutely certain that God has brought that woman in.

There are bunch of other issues which will need to be dealt with and God willing, there will be a wrap up tape in Volume 3 of this series which will deal specifically with ministry to people who have come out of adultery and come out of divorce. One thing that is very clear is that before a man takes a second wife or more than second wife, she and the first wife must be absolutely clear on the issues of submission, unity, and the fact that a divided house will fall. In this regard, I see increasingly that any man who is seeking to serve God will not even think of taking a second wife until he has got to a place where he is walking in real unity and harmony with his first wife and she is able to go with him into plural marriage. So there is an enormous, coming back to the subject of this teaching, there is an enormous responsibility on Christian women today to make an all-out effort to get there marriages on a sound fitting to come to a place of deep and sincere revelation of the truth of what has been taught in these messages and active intent to put it into practice and a devout realisation of their responsibility to encourage their husbands to extend their covering to women who need it. That is the bottom line. If the existing wife or wives will not support her husband to take another wife, the house will be seriously jeopardised. So we must conclude that these women are required by God to reach out to their unmarried sisters and if she does not do that, the blood of those who are unable to marry a godly man because of her refusal to share her husband will be on the hands of the woman who refuses to share her husband. Equally, a husband who refuses to take more than one wife, because he cannot handle a wife he has got and he is not prepared to do the work that is necessary to bring his marriage to this state that God requires it to be in order to take another wife will find the blood of those wives who are unable to obtain a covering because of his disobedience and carnality on his hands.

It is really important to recognise that wives do not own their husbands. One gets to a place where one has to conclude that the Western world teaches women that they own their husbands. We hear far more about husbands cheating on their wives and it is acceptable for woman to have a fling on the side and even to have a long-term lover. The reaction to a man having a second woman is generally far more violent. At the same time, it must be stressed that for a man who has a revelation of this to go and take a second wife without consulting his first wife, and without bringing unity and harmony and agreement with his first wife is asking for trouble. The prospect of his first wife coming into unity with him on this subject is extremely remote and a divided house will fall. So the minute he has joined himself to a second wife and the two are fighting amongst each other or fighting with him and will not come into harmony. Instead of getting Heaven on Earth, that man has lined himself up for hell on Earth. So there is absolutely no way that a man should sink of taking a second wife until his first wife is in agreement with him and he certainly should not do it clandestinely or illicitly. If he has done it, he needs to deal with the consequences. He cannot put her away, he needs to work through it, and the wife who finds herself in that situation and is walking in true submission, should be willing and able to make adjustment that is necessary, even though she will undoubtedly experience distress of the fact that her husband has not dealt openly and honestly with her. But as we have seen, divorce is not an option unless one partner is irrevocably headed for hell, however there is some other extreme sort of criteria which leads to the Lord permitting a divorce and remarriage.

We have referred on a number of occasions to Hebrews 13:4: "Marriage is honourable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge." The word bed refers to sexual lovemaking in a sense and we see clearly, anything that is done within marriage and within the marriage bed is undefiled. Fornication and adultery is what God regards as being defiled. There are endless debates about what a husband and wife can do. Is oral stimulation permitted? Is an oral intercourse permitted? Is anal stimulation permitted? Is this permitted, is that permitted, is the rest permitted? The answer to that is that marriage is honourable among all and the bed is undefiled. That is a simple Scripture which answers a lot of the debate.

Consider that once a man and wife are joined to each other, they are no longer two but one flesh and therefore what they do within the confines of that marriage is nobody else's business, unless starts getting into some of the perversities of the world in terms of sadomasochism, bondage and so forth, in which case it is a perversion, it is not what God intended and something needs to be done by that man to change or by his wife to pray and ask God to change him.

This discussion now raises another challenge. If the husband is united to two or more women in the same way, then they are all one. Where do you draw the line in terms of joined sexual intimacy? The simple answer to that is the one I have just given you. Hebrews 13:4 says: "Marriage is honourable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge." Therefore if a man is one flesh with two or three women, two or three wives, then that is marriage. That is his marriage with all of those women. It is honourable and the bed in terms of what goes on between him and those women is undefiled. Consequently, the basic conclusion that has to be reached is that there is no scriptural inhibitor to a man making love to more than one wife in the same room at the same time to those wives assisting in lovemaking either to the husband or to the other wives, or to those wives making love or being sexually intimate with one another.

Understand that that is probably a rather startling conclusion in the context of what you have probably believed up till now. But that is the conclusion that one has to come to from consideration of that Scripture. This is an issue that I am agonised over a bit like the other one of a man having more than one wife, which at the time was startling and very challenging, even though years earlier I reached the same conclusion that when I was backslidden and when I came back to the Lord, I had it rammed into me that God appointed monogamy. So when I realised that the spread of God was in fact saying something else to me I had a great struggle with it. The same applies to sexual intimacy between wives. It was something that at a fairly early age I saw as being beautiful and attractive and when I came back to the Lord, I concluded that this was something that was defiled and dirty and certainly not something that a Christian man should want to practice with his wife or wives. Over the years, I prayed about it. The Lord gave me various confirmations and brought me to a place where I increasingly saw that is the way things were and eventually I read a document, which is entitled "Some thoughts on is sexual intimacy between wife is scriptural," which was produced in February 2000 in response to a heated debate that I encountered on a website bulletin board debated to the subject of Christian polygyny.

The bottom line was that one group said that it was completely scriptural for the wives of one man to be sexually intimate with one another whether their husband was present or not. And the others argued that it was completely unscriptural and in fact an abomination. The time I had exposure to it, people were trading insults and the thing had become quite unpleasant and very heated and I then sat down to seek to satisfy myself one way or another to what the Word of God said on the subject from a solid scriptural basis. The document itself is about 45 pages long and I do not propose to take you through. The entire document is available if that is something that seems important to you but I just like to go through the headlines. The first point, why should we consider the interpretation of 1 John 5:3, "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome." Proverbs 30:5-6 states "Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar." Revelation 21:8 states: "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." So by adding to the Word of God, you may be found to be a liar on the Day of Judgement

So if the Word of God shows us clearly that it is acceptable for the wives of one man to be sexually intimate in his presence or absence, then it is not for us to state otherwise that we may choose as with many of the other points of these teachings to elect not to put it into practice in our own lives, but it is not for us to judge those who do and to speak against it. As I start to analyse it on the tracks of the debate and the bulletin board revolved around the Scripture, Romans 1:26 and the verses immediately decided that where God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lust of their own hearts to dishonour their own bodies between themselves who changed the truth of God into a lie and worship and said the creature more than the Creator who has blessed forever our men. For this cause, God gave them up to vile affections for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. Likewise and receiving in themselves that recompense of the error which was meat.

Now, it is quite clear that this is dealing with ungodly sexual conduct, men with men, for example. That is outside the One Flesh Bond. We are dealing with extramarital situations here. More in-depth consideration of the context suggests quite clearly that the sins that have been talked about and the sexual sins which are dealt with in great detail in both Leviticus 18 and Leviticus 20 which lists a whole catalogue of sexual sins, all of which relate to intercourse between certain categories of relative and other parties, for example, adultery, bestiality, sexual intercourse between male-male penetration and so forth. It is not dealing in any shape or form with sex within the marital bed. It is not dealing with lovemaking between a man and the women that are part of his house. They are all One Flesh and they are under a completely different covenant and the set of rules within that marriage bed relative to outside the marriage bed. All of the rules in Leviticus 18 and 20 deal with spiritual conditions that are unacceptable. It is unacceptable for a man to marry a woman and her daughter because if he does so then he is One Flesh with the mother, One Flesh with the daughter who is already in the bloodline of the mother and there is a spiritual short-circuit because now you have a path from the mother to the daughter down the bloodline, which is a spiritual path I might add, and you have a second spiritual path from the mother to the husband to the daughter, so you have a spiritual short-circuit which would cause all sorts of problems as we have seen in the discussion on love.

In the same way, if a man has sex with his father's wife, you get the same sort of scriptural short-circuit. If a man has sex with near relatives, it creates the same short-circuit because the bloodline is still strong in addition to the One Flesh Bond. If two men have sexual intercourse with one another and form a One Flesh Bond, then the two houses are joined together and this produces an absolutely catastrophic spiritual short-circuit between two bloodlines and something which is intended by God to be a hierarchical diverging tree of family growth through the male bloodline, suddenly turns itself into something which is absolutely appalling with two men joined to each other and joining their bloodline together and bringing about all sorts of spiritual carnage, added to which there is a spirit to spirit communication to a greater or lesser extent, although generally speaking it would not be well developed between those two men and I think you get the picture. It is an absolutely appalling situation.

And certainly in that context, the wrath of God against all ungodliness and unrighteousness is clearly apparent. But to argue then, when there is no Scripture which in any sense even tentatively suggests that the wives of one man should not be sexually intimate is an equally serious pharisaic abomination. So conclusion is that Romans 1:24-27 actually has nothing to say about women within marriage being sexually intimate with one another.

In the document that I referred to there is a much more in-depth analysis of individual words, natural and so forth. I do not believe it is appropriate and relevant to this particular teaching. So the conclusion is there is no prohibition associated with that. The conclusion that I reached is thus we might construct an interpretation to the effect that a form of relationship in which two women live together as they were husband and wife and one place the role of husband is not acceptable, this might be the correct application of the word lesbianism, we cannot determine categorically that this conduct is unacceptable in the sight of Yahweh and if we cannot determine that it is unacceptable, surely it is adding to the Word of God to suggest that it is unacceptable. So the suggestion was made there that even two women living in a sexual relationship together is not strictly prohibited by Scripture. However, it is apparent from all the teaching thus far in this series that is not what God intended and certainly it is not something that should be seriously considered, but at the end of the day it is between those individuals and God which was over many years of reading and praying into the subject, I have yet to find a single Scripture which expressly and explicitly gives guidance on that. I could be mistaken, it is not something that has been of a high priority in my life, but given that I have been researching the subject of marriage and divorce and what the Bible has to say about sexual lovemaking within marriage for the last seven years and certainly the last five and a half years, I say with some confidence there is no Scripture there. Leviticus 18 and 20 clearly do not prohibit any sexual intimacy between women or wives as I have just discussed. They deal purely with extramarital sexual intercourse and sexual intercourse with specific family members and adultery and idolatry and male homosexuality.

So the conclusion that was reached in discussion of that was that if the Lord considers sexual intimacy between women and wives in particularly to be unacceptable, then it is almost certainly would have stated it in the Leviticus 18 and 20 which are basically shadows of one another and both very, very definite about what it is prohibiting. So again, there is no prohibition there. How do we respond if Scripture is silent? When Scripture is silent, we will not be found to be unrighteous on the Day of Judgement if we have done something which is not expressly prohibited by Scripture. It may not have been the best thing to do. It may have been a foolish thing to do, but it will not be something that will lead to judgement. Whereas sexual intercourse with a woman who is another man's wife will prevent that person inheriting the Kingdom of God. That is serious stuff and yet somehow, one can have a more heated debate with many people in the Body of Christ today about a man having more than one wife, and even sexual intimacy between wives. And with regard to adultery and one night stand, etc. complacently accepting. So again, no basis for prohibition. If marriage bed is undefiled, we have looked at that in depth. Once the two are One Flesh, they are one. There is no basis for separation and there is no basis for dealing or even having a discussion around the subject as we come to understand the One Flesh Bond.

Argument on the bulletin board that sex is for procreation, we have certainly seen in the teaching up till now that while children are a by-product of sexual lovemaking, the main reason for sexual lovemaking is to build a One Flesh Bond. And I have some tentative information which suggests to me that when lovemaking is deeply spiritual, the energy of that lovemaking will go into building the One Flesh Bond and when it is carnal and without passion and without the building of the One Flesh Bond, it will go into making children. That may sound like a rather harsh thing to say, but there are very distinct physiological differences between the act of sexual lovemaking between a man and a woman who are giving themselves to one another totally, whose spirits are totally open to one another who are going out of their way to please one another who are both highly aroused and both experiencing dramatic orgasms, the whole physiology of the act is completely different in that case versus a case where there is no desire, there is no arousal and it is a straightforward mechanical act on the part of the husband or the wife to release sexual tension, which incidentally is unlikely to be released very effectively in that situation. So it becomes a vicious circle. The husband cannot get released because his wife is not open to him. He starts turning to fantasy because she is not doing anything to help him. The fantasy starts turning to pornography, the pornography turns to adultery, and the marriage completely disintegrates.

In the process because they are not aroused and because they are not building One Flesh Bonds and because only the physical ejaculation is of material substance, it seems to me that the prospect of children is far higher than in passionate building. And perhaps that would explain to some point why Sarah did not have children. We see with Isaac and Rachel that Rachel had fewer children than Leah and she was the more loved wife. We see with Elkanah And Hannah that the loved wife was less likely to bear children than the unloved wife. Partly a compensation it seems that the Lord puts in place to balance this. This goes, if you like, in favour of the wife who is perhaps given less love. But there does seem to be a strong spiritual dimension to it because if we are walking in the spirit, we are not necessarily desirous of having a large family, but that is very tentative and rather tenuous suggestion.

Another aspect which has been touched on repeatedly, we read in the previous teaching a whole series of passages which say that we should come and worship God. Considering that lovemaking is beautiful and that Yahweh created it as a type and shadow of praise and worship as a combination of the beauty of marriage. To suggest otherwise is surely an abomination in the Sight of God. If Yahweh intended wives to enjoy sexual intimacy with one another as well as with the husband, who are we to deny this if we cannot find legitimate Scripture to support our prejudice? Equally since we are all one body in Christ and Ephesians 5 clearly demonstrates this, we must carefully consider what this implies. We are regarded as a fundamental requirement that members of the Body of Christ should join in praise and worship together. We are told that we should not forsake the assembling together with the brethren. Therefore surely, the wives of one man should engage in lovemaking to him together. We regard it as normal practice for members of a congregation to minister to each other in prayer, counselling, fellowship, and laying of hand. Surely by extension the wives and one man should minister to each other in prayer, counselling, fellowship, and sexual intimacy. To suggest otherwise, when there is ample evidence to indicate that many women and men practices form of sexual intimacy simply another form of the monogamous live, exclusivity and separateness. As a South African I have to ask those who are opposing this doctrine whether they are certain that they are not exposing a form of sexual apartheid within marriage.

It really is a case that if one researches these things and I have shared briefly, elements of my testament previously and in that period of being backslidden and addicted to pornography and obsessed with many things, this whole subject of sexual intimacy of man with more than one wife is very prevalent in the section of the world that embraces wholeheartedly the act of sexual intercourse generally in an extramarital, adulteress, fornicating fence, but in terms of the actual practice of the art and the skill of sexual lovemaking. Those parties have considerable knowledge and experience and have explored the fullness of what is available and it is commonplace to find reports of a man with two or three women experiencing ecstasy and release enjoying climax beyond anything that one man and one woman report. Any man who reports on an event like that almost invariably comments that his sexual capacity was unexpectedly and dramatically increased when he find himself in a situation with two women. And the women also report challenges. There are equally many reports of sexual intimacy between women in the absence of a man which show that where there is real desire and where the women really concentrate on giving to one another, simultaneous orgasm is possible which results in a state which is referred to in reports on this condition that they feel as though they are one. So we see the limited projection of the spiritual thread of orgasm in a case like that bringing about some degree of unity. I do not know whether a One Flesh Bond is possible between two women who are not joined to the same man, but certainly I have encountered a number of instances where it has been reported that women in that situation find themselves or describe themselves as becoming one.

We have seen already that Exodus 21:10 presents a challenge in terms of the aspects of food and clothing, but it also presents a challenge in terms of the conjugal rights. If a man has been living with a wife and sharing a double bed and they have spent every night since they were married in the same bed together, cuddling, making love, and sleeping together holding hands whatever, as things have unfolded from day-to-day, if he takes a second wife, and he is not permitted to make love to her in the presence of the first wife and if the wives are not permitted to be sexually intimate, them that man cannot hope to take a second wife without breaching the requirement of Exodus 21:10 which requires him not to diminish the conjugal rights of his first wife. However, if what I have shared with you a minute ago in terms of secular experience in this area is the way God intended it to be, then it is quite possible for that man to take a second wife, to take her into the same bed with the first wife and to be sexually intimate with both wives consecutively together with the wives being intimate with one another and he will then be able to honour the requirement of Exodus 21:10 and it will not diminish the conjugal privileges of the first wife.

If he practices some form of rotational monogamy, which is currently, to the best of my knowledge, the generally practised form of plural marriage amongst most of those Christians around the world who have already moved into the area of polygyny. There is a significant number of families have corresponded with a number of families and individuals in a situation in the United States in particular, I have met with a few of them in various cities of the United States while travelling on business and also when in Singapore, and having contact with others, another in London who is expecting to go into that situation. But most of them are advocating what I term rotational monogamy. In other words, the husband sleeps with one wife one night, another wife the next, according to some roster and when he is not with his first wife or with any of the wives and he is with one of the others, then they sleep alone. They do not have the warmth and the comfort and the Word of God says, they shall lie together for warmth. So there are many practical scriptural principles which tell us that it has to be logical and reasonable for the wives of one man to be together in bed with him, to be sexually intimate with him concurrently and to be sexually intimate with one another whether in his presence or not.

It is also important to understand Yahweh is the God of unity and not division. And Jesus said just before he was crucified, when he lifted up his eyes to Heaven and said,"Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You," in John 17:1-26. In verse 11, "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are." Verse 21: "That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me." So we see again, the world will believe that God sent Jesus when they see complete harmony and unity in the Body of Christ. By the same token, they will believe that plural marriage with a man with more than one wife is from God when they see perfect unity and harmony. And how can one reconcile complete oneness and unity and harmony with the theology or doctrine which says each woman sleeps in her own room and the husband spends time with each of them individually but there is no sexual intercourse with one wife in the presence of the others, and there is no sexual intimacy between the wives. That is a divisive situation. It is not complete unity and harmony.

Given what we have learnt so far in this series regarding marriage, it cannot be the Will of God that there should be the least bit of separation or division in the marriage bed. Also understand that Satan does not create. He counterfeits. It has been said that there are no counterfeit $3 bank note because there is no real $3 bank note. Isaiah 40:28 makes it quite clear that God has created everything; Satan creates nothing. He only copies counterfeits and distorts and perverts. So given that there is substantial secular evidence to the effect that women can be sexually intimate with one another and find the experience highly fulfilling and highly pleasurable and even experience sensational of becoming one, given that there is also considerable secular information which indicates that a man making love to more than one woman will have greater sexual capacity than if he is making love to only one woman and that both the man and the woman will all experience greater orgasmic release and climax and satisfaction and fulfilment, then we have to conclude that that has come from God. Satan is not able to counterfeit something which cannot be done. It is one thing for him to counterfeit and pervert sexual intercourse between men and women by bringing about sexual intercourse by anal penetration, male to male, but that is not the same as women being stimulated by one another and it is not the same as a man having greater sexual capacity when he is in the presence of more than one wife.

So again, the fact that there is considerable demand for pornography depicting men having sex with more than one woman and women together and that is viewed in large measure by men and women equally. It is a myth to suggest that pornography is essentially a male sin. The indications are that there are as many and some statistics even seem to suggest that there are more women that read so-called men's magazines depicting naked women or to an extent one man with several women. The men read them and this is because women are highly aroused seeing one another naked and making love to one another and watching a man making love to another woman. There is not nearly the same demand for pictures of Satan's perversions of men with men and multiple men with one woman and so forth. And that statistics can be gleaned very readily if one is concerned about becoming detail oriented with regard to these things. But these are realities that are easily verified and I do not recommend that you should try and verify them in a carnal fashion and they are easily verified and the things that are depicted there, the level of sexual fulfilment and arousal, etc. are not things which are vile counterfeits of something that God created. They are part of what created.

On the other side, there is a subculture of lesbianism in which women live together as a husband and wife pseudo-situation where one woman cut her hair, dresses her in so-called butch fashion and fulfils the role of husband. While it is not explicitly prohibited by Scripture, except possibly that passage in Romans 1:26, it seems quite clear to me that there cannot be a scriptural basis for that. God created man to be the head of the wife and there are plenty of scriptures which indicate that and that women should be married and married involves the taking of virginity with the male sex organ. I do not think we need to go into a great amount of detail there.

Coming to another practical factor, in terms of Scripture and we have seen this in an earlier teaching, the Bible clearly says that we should work six days and rest the seventh. And there are examples and a parable given by Jesus which indicates that it was typical for people to work from sun up to sun down, in other words 12 hours. So we have scripturally a 72-hour working week, which does not leave a man an enormous amount of time to spend in prayer, reading the word with his family, children, etc., etc. And on that basis for him to try and distribute himself, if he has three or four wives on a sequential basis between those wives, it is not going to work. Whereas if they are together, it becomes more practical. Equally, there is a constraint that it is not necessarily always economically affordable in a plural marriage setting for ever woman to have all her own facilities. And if there is some degree of sharing of facilities, it makes the situation more practical. It is also important to note as we have seen before, there is no word for wife and wives, woman and woman, it is all word in the Greek and one word in the Hebrew. Again, the net effect of that is that in order for the Word of God to prohibit sexual intimacy between wives, very explicit and specific wording would be necessary to make that visible. It is not something that can be lost in translation. It would have to be dealt with very, very specifically.

We have seen previously that the wife in every sense is one with her husband. So again, we have no basis for division. Looking at it from a slightly different angle, there is a logical construct in mathematics called reductio ad absurdum and that basically says assume a hypothesis, work through it, and if it can be proved, if it works through to conclusion and it is valid, if it does not, it is invalid. As a first step to that, one can work towards the proposition is it acceptable for the wives of one man to be sexually intimate and one another through the following steps. The first question is "Is it acceptable for a man to be present in the same room with two women who are not married to him?"Answer clearly is yes. Scripture, Luke 10:38-42 shows us that is acceptable. "Is it acceptable for two wives to be present in the same room with a husband at the same time without touching?" If they are not married to him and they are sitting on a seat one next to the other, there would not be a problem. They could not help touching each other. So practically it cannot be a problem for him to have contact with two wives in one another's presence. This is kind of an absurd argument but the point is to demonstrate some principles here. "Is it acceptable for him to hold the hands of both wives at the same time?" There is no Scripture to prohibit it and it would be socially acceptable in any community which accepted the probability to have two wives. He can certainly walk in the streets and hold the hands of his wife and one of his children. "Is it acceptable for him to kiss on the cheek of one wife while holding the hand of the other?" Again, presumably yes, of both his wives. There is no scriptural prohibition. We see in Genesis 26:8 in the Revised Standard Version, we read of Isaac fondling Rebecca, his wife in a place where Abimelech can see her. So to kiss one chastely certainly cannot be a problem.

"Is it acceptable for him for him to kiss one wife passionately while holding the hand of the other?" Again, we do not find a Scripture and what we are looking for here is a transition point from the clearly socially acceptable point of a man being in the same room with two women, bringing them closer and closer and more intimately and looking for the Scripture which says so far and so far we have not find anything which says you can go no further. "Is it acceptable for him to fondle both wives intimately at the same time and for him to both caress and fondle him intimately at the same time?" We do not find a break point from the other point. So it must be as a logical natural progression. "Is it acceptable for all three to be naked together?" Again, we find nothing to indicate that two women cannot be naked in one another's presence. In fact Genesis 35:16-18 refers to a midwife and clearly a midwife sees the woman giving birth most private part. Little bit of an obscure argument but there are no direct Scripture and we are coming from a point of view Scripture is silent, how do we derive a conclusion?

"Is it acceptable for the man to make love to one wife in the presence of the other without the second wife in any way being involved?" By extension of the previous points, there cannot be anything. There is no Scripture which prohibits it, so we must conclude that it is permissible. If we read Genesis 38:11-19 the story of Judah and Tamar, it would seem that when he went to her as a prostitute, she did not go back to her house, otherwise he would have known it was his daughter-in-law and it would seem that they had intercourse in the countryside possibly within sight of the companion who was travelling with Judah. The next step, "Is it acceptable for the two wives to share a bed with their husband without being intimate with one another?" By extension of the previous points, there is no Scripture which introduces a break in that flow of logic. Ecclesiastes 4:11: "Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken." The inference there is that if a man has two wives, it would be reasonable for the three of them to sleep together and be entwined and share warmth, otherwise one of the three is not going to have warmth.

So Scripture supports the contention that it would be perfectly acceptable from them to share one bed, and quite possibly perfectly logical viewed from a different sociological perspective today. The perspective we have today which we have seen to be seriously corrupted by the enemy. "Is it acceptable for the second wife to caress her husband while he makes love to the first wife?" By extension there is no breakpoint. "Is it acceptable for the second wife to caress the first wife while the husband makes love to the first wife?" Again, no Scripture which tells us otherwise. So if we are just following a logical progression of increasing intimacy from a man being in the same room with his two wives, and starting to touch, kiss, fondle, caress, undressing, and moving to lovemaking, we do not have something which says at this point, God has said one wife must leave the room or she must stand back. We have no guidance and God is not unjust. He is not going to judge us. He is not going to penalise us for action for which we have no Scripture to tell us that it is not acceptable.

The next step, "Is it acceptable for the two wives to touch one another intimately while the husband makes love to the one wife?" Again, there is no breakpoint. There is no Scripture to prevent it. "Is it acceptable for the two wives to be sexually intimate with one another while the husband watches it?" Again, a natural next step in the process and one which is not in any way contraindicated by Scripture, so we must accept and assume that it is valid. "Is it acceptable for the two wives to be sexually intimate with each other when the husband is not there or the husband gets up and leaves the room?" Is there any Scripture which says at that point they may stop and the answer to that is no. So the conclusion we have to draw coming from this perspective and I am going into this detail simply because this is a matter which is widely regarded as controversial and because it is a significant bearing on very vital part of the relationship between a man and his wives, it is incumbent on us to exercise due diligence to satisfy ourselves as to what the Word of God says, so that we are not acting and adding to the Word of God or subtracting from the Word of God and thereby sinning in a pharisaic attempt to avoid a sin which is in the sin.

So the conclusion again, there is no prohibition. If we take it from a different angle, if we accept that Isaiah 4:1 is speaking about the present age and is speaking about marriage and that seven is the number of perfection, the number of completeness, the number of covenant and therefore the ideal state at the end of the age is a man with seven wives, not because men are being carnal, because that is the way God has ordained it for the end of the age. Then we have to look at a situation where a man has seven wives and if he is only able to make love to any one of them in the absence of the other wives and not to have them share a bed, then he only gets to spend a night with each wife every seven nights. And the other six wives spends the night alone, so the wives spend six nights out of seven alone. They do not keep warm and they are not able to build the marriage and they are not able to build the One Flesh Bond and here we see perhaps a nub of the issue. We saw in one of the preceding teachings how vital and we have seen it repeatedly in fact, how vital the One Flesh Bond is. We have seen that with really deep sensitive passionate giving, loving, uninhibited lovemaking on a regular basis between husband and wife, a formidable One Flesh Bond can be built which brings about a spirit-to-spirit communication over distance, a unity and harmony and a capacity to work together, which in our current society is almost unimaginable. That is not going to happen.

If a man has several wives and he cannot be intimate with them together, they will never spend enough time making love for the One Flesh Bond to reach its full potential. Whereas if they are all in the same room together, the wives who are not directly intimately engaged with her husband at any moment in time are becoming aroused by watching and participating on the side and by caressing one another. The One Flesh Bond will be built between all of them and if it is in fact the case, that a degree of One Flesh Bond unity comes about if two women simultaneously climax in an intimate fashion. Then we see an absolutely formidable spiritual picture of unity and harmony over a period of time and we can understand why Satan really will not want that to come to pass and why he will so strenuously and so vehemently resist this particular truth.

So the bottom line there is that a marital arrangement which favours the husband and his wife sharing a bed except when an individual wife is during her period of menstruation and must be separated according to Scripture is clearly the ideal. I referred a moments ago to the concept of reducing to the observed and I just want to take that as one further argument in this case. If we assume that Scripture prevents two wives of one husband from being sexually intimate with one another in the presence of the husband or absent from it, we then need to walk back to the conclusion the consequences of that. If that is the case, by definition, none of the seven wives may be sexually intimate with one another in the absence of the husband since our assumption prevents wives being sexually intimate in the absence of the husband and there is no definitive Scripture or breakpoint of course which suggests that it is acceptable for them to be sexually intimate when the husband is present, then the wives may not be sexually intimate in the presence of the husband. The next step in our logical construct since our assumption prevents wives being sexually intimate in the presence of the husband and there is no definitive Scripture which suggests that it is acceptable for them to touch one another when the husband is present and they are naked and the wives may not touch one another in the presence of the husband when they are naked. Since the assumption prevents wives touching one another while naked and in the presence of the husband and there is no definitive Scripture which suggests that it is acceptable for them to be naked together in the presence of their husband, then the wives may not be naked together in the presence of their husband, since the assumption prevents wives being naked together in the presence of their husband and there is no definitive Scripture which suggests that it is acceptable for them to touch or kiss him or one another while fully clothed then the husband may not touch or kiss one wife in the presence of the others.

By extension of the same arguments used to determine that two wives may not be sexually intimate together, we must assume for the purpose of this analysis that Genesis 26:8 with regard to Isaac sporting with Rebecca does not provide definitive proof that it is acceptable for a man to fondle or caress his wife in the presence of others even in the presence of other wives, since our assumption prevents the husband in any way touching more than one wife at the same time and there is no definitive Scripture which suggests that it is acceptable for them to be present in the same room without touching even while fully clothed and it must be concluded that only one wife is permitted to be present in the same room as her husband at any time. By extension, a man may not be present in a room with more than one woman at any time nor may any woman be present in any room with any other woman at any time and this conclusion is clearly observed. It does not agree with the passage in Luke 10:38-42 quoted previously and so far this clearly indicates that since Jesus was present in the same room as two women who were not his wives. We know that Jesus was spotless who knew no sin. 2 Corinthians 5:21 states: "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." So there really cannot be any basis for any rational person who is unable to provide a rigorous and definitive Scripture along any of these constructs to argue that two women married to the same man cannot be sexually intimate with one another whether in the presence or absence of their husband.

One last input on this, when I first became aware of this, I have been praying about it. I had asked the Lord about certain Scriptures and eventually I said, "Lord, please show me clearly what the situation is." I happened to be travelling overseas at the time, walking under a strong anointing and as I was praying I had a vision. In that vision, I walked out of my hotel, I followed a particular route down streets that I had never travelled before in an area of a city that was completely unfamiliar to me and in this vision I turned left out of the hotel, I went down a number of blocks, I turned left into a manger where I had walked about 100 metres, I turned right, walked into a shop. On the right as I went into the shop was a magazine stand. In the middle and the top row of the magazine stand was a magazine with a picture of two women and the Lord said the answer in that. I went and bought it. I was very reluctant to buy it. I bought it, took it back to the hotel and the Lord showed me two instances there, one involving two women with a man in a long-term sexual relationship and the other was a long-term sexual relationship between two women. In both cases, the descriptions were one of beautiful intimacy and the conclusion that I had to draw was that God was showing me and saying to me quite categorically that this form of conduct was acceptable and pleasing in His sight. Then he told me to dispose of the magazine.

So I say to you today with absolute certainty, the Word of God does not in any way prohibit a man being sexually intimate with however many wives he has at the same time in the same bed and it does not prohibit those wives from being sexually intimate with one another in the absence of their husband. God's objective is to build a completely united harmonious One Flesh house. A massive and forceful spiritual structure which is capable of withstanding anything and everything that comes against it. His concern is extramarital sex adultery, fornication and all the other abominations that is spoken against in Scripture. He has never appointed for there to be any inhibition or holding back between a man and his wives. And it is an abomination in His sight to suggest otherwise. And in so far as the world at large, the Christian world at large would want to suggest that there is a prohibition. We have seen definitively in this study that there is a robust case to be made for it to be scriptural for a man to make love in the presence of as many of his wives as he choose to be there at any particular point in time and for there to be mutual stimulation and intimacy. It is extremely challenging, profoundly important. If we are seeking to experience Heaven on Earth in marriage, it us not to put any pharisaic restrictions on what is acceptable in the Sight of God.

"Father in the name of Jesus I ask that anything that has been uttered on this tape that is contrary to your will or your word will be blown away and find no root in the hearts of the hearers. And I ask you Father in the name of Jesus that everything that has been spoken that is according to your word and according to your will and your purpose will be engrafted and implanted in the hearts of the hearers, watered by your spirit and grow and produce abundant fruit to the glory of your kingdom, in Jesus name. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, saviour of the world. Amen."

04_22 Living in Excellence - Reaching for the Heights of Marriage

This is teaching #21 in the series ‑ 'Understanding God's Way in Marriage,' Volume 2'Towards Heaven on Earth in Marriage' and teaching #21 'Living in Excellence.' As the picture was unfolding that has been painted for us by the Holy Spirit in the last few days, I was impressed to include this teaching by Casey Treat entitled 'Living in Excellence.' It is a tape that while I was organising facilities, etc. for preparing this series, I came across and just kept coming across until I reached the point where I felt that the Lord was saying to me that this now needed to be included in this series at this particular location. The message was recorded at Celebration in South Africa on March 12, 1995. It is entitled ‑ 'Living in Excellence' by Casey Treat. I have not heard the message since I listened to the tape probably a month or two or within a month or two of that. So it is five years ago. I have absolutely no idea what is on this tape in the same way that I had no recollection of the content of the tape by Kenneth Hegan on'faith' and also the tape on Brian Houston on 'negativity.' So the Lord is just weaving together the picture and I am very excited and interested to see exactly what is contained in this message.

Preaching by Casey Treat: In Ephesians 2:10, the apostle said we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to barely get thy. Created in Christ Jesus to suffer and struggle and try to make it through life. Created in Christ Jesus to hang on till Jesus returns. He said created in Christ Jesus for God works. Everybody say amen. I know this is the first service but just as act like real life. Created in Christ Jesus for good words which God prepared beforehand. God prepared ahead of time that we should walk in them. Is not that great. Listen to the Amplified Bible, you might get a little bit more out of it if make it louder. "For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]." Wow. Go ahead and say it backwards. Wow. God prepared not a mediocre life, not a 'barely get by' life, not a 'hang in there hope you can make it' life, not a 'run around and find some kind of life,' but a good life. Ahead of time! Before the time!. chapter 1 said, before He created a planning for you to live on. He created a destiny for you to enjoy. Come on. Now we are taking paths, which He prearranged and made ready for us to take. A life which God has predestined, prepared ahead of time for us. You know where the best place to be in the world is? You know where is the safest place today right now, 1995? Do you know where the safest place in the world is? Think now. According to recent studies and all the data that we can gather, 1995, do you know where the most prosperous place is? Take the research all over the world, any nation you want. Do you know where the safest, best, highest standard of living, most prosperity, greatest opportunity on the whole planet? Do you know where it is? Wherever God wants you! Come on. Wherever God prepared a life for you. Wherever God predestined you to be.

You can be in a lovely suburb of the United States of America and if you are out of God's will, die that quick in a car accident, cancer, heart attack, food poisoning, drive by shooting, no matter what, you can die anywhere when you are not in the will of God. And yet if you are taking path which He prepared ahead of time, a thousand might be falling at your side and pass out that at your right hand, but it is not coming at you. Only with your eyes you behold and see every words of the wicked. If you are taking the passage that God prepared for you, you are safe and secure, because He has prearranged a good life for you. Do not try to run some place for you will feel secure. Find God's purpose for your life. And that is security. Come on! Say amen. Sometime ago a very rich commissioned a painting to be done. He said I want this painting to illustrate peace. I wanted to depict ultimate peace. Peace of God and peace of mind. And so artists began to draw. Some artists drew lovely water scenes, lakes, oceans. Some artists drew lovely field with the wind blowing across the wheat. Some artists drew various depictions gentle, peaceful settings. But one artist painted a picture of a terrible raging storm, dark clouds, raging winds, trees being uprooted, mountains being blasted with the force of the storm and one section of the painting, the little cleft, a little hole in a rock on the mountain side and in that cleft of the rock was a little sparrow snug, safe, watching the storm go by. That is peace. In the midst of the storm. We had the presence and the will, the plan, the purpose of God.

Now that God has prepared such a life for us, and promised it is a good life, and I listened to Pastor Ray's television programme this morning, he preached be happy and running my hotel room, yelling at the TV, I hope I did not wake anybody next door. You probably I was talking to Demon and casting out the devil and not putting up with it. Go watch the TV show. How come if these things were true, that so many Christians struggle? How come so many Christians are running around trying to find some kind of happiness, success, fulfilment and they go from place to place, church to church, city to city, nation to nation, job to job, life to life, husband to husband. Trying to find something. If God prepared ahead of time this good life, and we have paths which God prearranged and made ready for us to take, how come so many Christians are struggling spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically, financially? Why? We know that when you come to Christ or spirit to save, you are recreated and become a new creature in Christ. We also know that when you come to Christ your mind is saved. Your soul is not changed by the new birth. Neither is your body. That is quite obvious. When you come to the Lord, your spirit is changed. Spirit born again, recreated, made brand new, old things passed well, they become new. They just told he had a funky attitude before you got changed, you still got a funky attitude.

Do you get mad and kicked the cat before you got you are still kicking that cat. Cat turned and step back to you, you say get out of here cat. Because your soul did not get saved. That is why the Bible says that we are being saved. 1 Corinthians 1:18, we are being saved. Spirits live in us soulishly and not physically. Physically you will be when Jesus returns, you will be changed in the twinkling of an eye, this bottle will put on immortality, this corruptible will put on incorruption and we will receive glorify bodies. So we were saved spiritually, we are being saved soulishly and somebody we will be saved physically. Salvation is that only instantaneous but it is a process and it is a future event. You already knew that, right? Okay, just reminding you about all that you already know. You know what, one of the reasons and probably the main reason why so many Christians struggle, not because they are not saved, but because they do not know how to grow in the process of being saved. The spirit is saved, but their soul has not been changed. Their mind is not being renewed. And therefore they are not taking the paths which God prepared for them. They are doing their own things their way, not God's way. They are being seeing with . And your way is not near as good as God's way.

But when your mind isn’t renewed, you try to do it your way. And you do silly things and you do funny things and people go how come that guy is so stupid. Well, because he is living with an unrenewed soul. He is doing things his way rather than walking the paths that God prearranged and made ready for him to live. Are you out there? Now, there is one area of our mind that I believe is the major issue when it comes to walking out this Christian life, living this life, fulfilling our destiny, being all God called us to be, fulfilling the potential that God put in us, I believe there is one area of thought that is the critical issue that must be renewed if we are going to move in to those paths and those good works which God predestined for us. And that is this, how you think about yourself.

Your self esteem, your self image, how you think about you. Now, I know some of you would say, oh no, it's not that, it's how we think about God. And that certainly is the major issue, but most people think right about God. You have been in a church like this, you figure out what God says and who God is and you believe it. You know He is the Father of son. You know that He came to save the world. You know that He poured out his spirit, you know that he loves you that he wants to heal you, that he wants to bless you and you believe everything about God. But then when it comes to receiving for yourself, you say I can't. I am not worthy. I know it will work for them, I don’t it will work for me. There is something hindering. There is something not working for me. I don’t know what it is, I was just born to be this way, or my parents told me I was always going to be average or the school teacher said I would never amount to a hill of beans. And so those thoughts about ourselves hinder us from receiving what we believe about God. We read in Genesis 1:26, Ray preached on the TV show this morning where the Lord said He created us at His likeness and at His image and we are to dominate, we are to take dominion and yet so many Christians, most Christians in the world today do not do that. They do not dominate their circumstances. They do not take dominion in their world. They run from their world. They are afraid of their problems. They are trembling under their circumstances rather than trampling on their circumstances. Come on, say amen.

God said I gave you dominion over the . I think it is at every creeping thing. How can you have not taken dominion, not because you do not believe in God but because you do not think you can do it. Look over Psalm 8. Just turn in your Bible to Psalm 8. Psalm 8:1: "O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!" Look down to verse 4: "What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honour. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet." Under the circumstances I do not think I am going to be able to make it to church. What are you doing under the circumstances? What are you doing under that? The Bible says all things are under your feet. Ray said this morning on the television that you got everything to stay together, look down he is under you. Somebody said if you want to write the devil a message, put it on the bottom of your soul as the only part of your feet that he can see. God has put all things under our feet and yet we are tossed about by circumstances, we are worrying about the economy, we are troubled about the company, we are nervous with the problems of the children, we are upset about things going on in the world around us because we do not believe what God said about us. We believe in God. We know God is able. We know God give me life. We know He is great. We know He is good. Oh Lord, our Lord. What about you? Well, I am just hoping and praying. I hope everything works out as though it does not look good. What about you. Why do not you believe what God said about you? You are crowned with glory and honour.

Was it wrong to believe the Bible? Well, no. Is it wrong to believe whatever God said? Well, no. Well, God said that He crowned man, woman, people with glory and honour. See what happened. The devil has beaten our self worth and pushed down our self esteem and filled our lives with such beliefs that we cannot accept what God says about us. We ignore it, we deny it, we avoid it. We say yeah I know that works for somebody else, but it does not work for me. You know, it is a number one fear of mankind that is on the Earth today but it is a natural study, psychologists, researchers, talking to people all over the world today, I am not sure how many thousands of people that went into the study, but one of the questions was, what is the number one fear? Years ago, the number one fear was death. And life after death that what was going to happen after death was the number fear. That is why you can give an and say you are going to die, you better get saved now and everybody start running about. But that is not the number one fear anymore. That is why if you give an , you are going to die, everybody says I hope I do, man, this world is miserable. The preacher you are going to die, you better come to the Lord, and the guy set up and said, I am not worried about dying, I am worried about living. What is going to happen if I do die? That's why we teach people how to live for God, not just get ready to die.

So the number one fear is no longer death and life after death, but number one fear in the world today is having to speak before a group of people. Is not that weird? I cannot relate to that. You know what else? I could not understand why anybody would be afraid of other people, except for this thought, we are so worried about what you think about me. And our biggest fear is standing in front of other people and somehow being exposed, being known, being embarrassed. Our self esteem and our self image is more important than anything else in the world today. Guarding and protecting our image and our self worth is more important than anything else in the world today. It is motivating so much of our actions how we think and how we feel about ourselves. Wives get frustrated because your husband does not say I love you, does not communicate compassionately, is not time, warm and doing the things you want a husband to do. And you get mad and you get frustrated. You know why he does not do it? Because he is nervous. He is embarrassed. He is uptight. He is afraid. He was never taught how to be a man. How to give, how to love, how to communicate, how to share. He was taught how to drink beer, watch cricket, play rugby, be a real man. Man how to communicate. How is your day honey? Huh. What you want to do now? Huh. Are you hungry? Unhuh. He is insecure. How come the average person out there in the world today is going to have a cigarette and a beer or a cocktail or a tranquiliser or some Coke or some pot, how come?

I am telling you now the same reason that the little baby has to have the little gummy, we call it a pacifier. The little dummy. Why do you smoke? It is your dummy. What happens when you get nervous? I do not want to talk to you. So it is a pacifier. It is a tranquiliser. Why in the world where billions of people are hungry and thousands are dying of starvation, do we still have massive obesity and in America where we spend billions on exercise machines and diet, we are increasing in the number of people who are overweight. Why? Because food is their tranquiliser. They get nervous, they eat, and they eat the wrong things and they get fat. Why? They feel that pain. They feel bad, they feel insecure. So we smoke, we drink, we use drugs. As Christians we eat. Cannot smoke, cannot drink, cannot chew tobacco, so let's go out to eat. The problems in our society mostly manifest our insecurities with ourselves. The communication breaks down in the marriage, manifests our insecurities with ourselves. We do not talk honestly and openly. We guard, we protect, we defend. We know God is able, we do not feel we are. We know God is good, but we feel bad about ourselves. And yet God said he crowns you with glory and honour and He put out things under your feet and you can dominate and have dominion in your world. Listen to me, as long as you doubt yourself and you doubt what God said about you, you will never fulfil the will of God in your life. Because when God says you can do all things but you say, not me, you have limited God because you have limited yourself. You doubt God when you doubt what God said about you. Get in as hiding in the winepress, he is trying to make us little loaf of bread, feed his family and in other words, all he is trying to do is survive.

He is just trying to make a living. He is not thinking about destiny. He is not thinking about prosperity, he is not thinking about abundance, he is just trying to make a living by some of you. Where in the Bible you are told to make a living? God gave you the life and say go live a destiny. But we have lowered ourselves to the survivalist, animalistic mentality, which is just make a living. So he is just trying to make a living, just get enough bread, feed his family. He is hiding in the winepress so the enemy would not get him. Hiding now from the devil and his circumstances and his problems and there he has the Lord shows up, remember Judges 6 and he said, hail the mighty man of and his head pops up out of the winepress, uh? Where, who? What are you talking about? And the ends of the Lord says, the Lord is with you. said you have been listening to man. Kideon says, no way, you got to be kidding me. And begins to argue with the angel and the Lord. angel pops up . He said no not me, I am not Almighty. my father's house and my father's house is the lowest of the whole tribe and we came from the worst tribe. What kind of a tribe is ? They did not even cross the river. That is a flaky tribe. But I am the least that my father's house and my father's house is the weakest in the whole country and we came from . God says you mighty man of valour and Gideon says well done all God's miracles. I have not seen a miracle. I heard about it but I have never seen one. I have never seen nobody get healed. God you have done nothing for me. how to make a living. Is that how you and I are responding to the word of God? Same way Gideon did. And so they went to the process of proving in all these times the wonders of which is Old Testament, now we get the Holy Ghost, .

But finally Gideon accepted what God said about him and Gideon began to rally the troops and he held up the sword, he said, the sword of the Lord at Gideon. See he believed in himself. He began to take control. Still hiding in your lifestyle just trying to make a living, because though you know about God and you believe in God, you do not believe in yourself. You do not believe what God said about you and you do not climb out of your winepress and say, you know what, come let's start take dominion. I am going to start making a difference. I am going to get involved with the youth ministry, with the home ministry, with the outreach ministry, with the ushers, with whatever I can get involved with and I am going to start making a difference in this nation. I am going to rise up in my business. I am going to get involved with the educational process. I am going to be in the government whatever you feel God has called you to and begin to say I am a mighty man, a mighty woman of valour and I will start dominating, taking dominion in my nation. And see even thinking that way some of you say uhhu. You cannot be talking to me and you know very well whom I am talking to. You are the Gideon, have to climb out of your hiding places. You are the Gideons that have to get out of your fears and worries and trembling and start being what God said you are.

Come on, turn to your neighbours that he saw can be you now, just turn and tell him. I am talking to you. Look at Jeremiah 29:11 "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." God says I am not thinking about you as some weak defeated, negative, miserable, barely get by, make a living bunch. I am thinking about good things. Peace always carries with it prosperity. You need your Hebrew dictionary or your Greek dictionary every time the word peace in the Bible is mentioned, it carries the connotation of prosperity. God said I have thoughts of peace and prosperity about you. Signs of hope and to give you a future, a destiny, a great life, and abundant life, not barely get by, hanging in there, trying to make a living. Come on, charge, let's begin to believe what God says about us so we can fulfil the plans of God for our life. Joseph was raised in a dysfunctional home. He had a dad who favoured him over his other sons and that always sets up the child from misery and pain. He had a mother who schemed and lied and connived. He had brothers who fought and hated one another. The brothers sold them in the slavery and that was only because it had a sudden mercy they had planned on killing him. You go up in a home with a mom that is lying and scheming and conniving, a dad that favours and does not deal honestly and fairly and a bunch of brothers who want to kill you and instead just sell you, I suppose you would not feel real good about yourself. You will probably think, you know, my life is dooming for misery, failure. I am definitely born on the wrong side of the tracks. What a bummer. This is a totally dysfunctional home.

But Joseph had one thing ‑ a dream. He believes God has a good plan for his life. He believed that he has paths that he can take that were prearranged, predestined, a good life with good works given to him by God. He hangs on to his dream even while he is in the cage on the way to slavery. And he begins to rise up in father for his house and realises his dream and he begins to rule and reign over his circumstances. And then a woman lies about it because he would not submit to her seduction and refused to bow and compromise his moral standards. She has him thrown in jail. He is lied about it. He is misused, he is abused again. Right now he could have done what many of us would do because enough is enough. Is it stop my mother or my father or my brothers. Now is the boss' wife. It is obvious, my life is doomed for despair. It is obvious I was born at the wrong place at the wrong time. It is obvious I will never get ahead and be successful. But no, in prison. Joseph believes in himself. Clings on to his dream. Rises up and begins to dominate his circumstances and soon he is running to prison. Hey wherever you are, run it. Wherever you are, dominate it. Wherever you are, be what God created you to be. Some of you are waiting to get somewhere else and then you go and really do something. You better do right where you are or you will never do it anywhere else. Come on. And so he is running to prison.

Well, then the baker and butler have dreams. A break, I will get now. It is going to help me. You know what, forget about it. The saved the neck of that butler and got him out of there was it the baker, forget about it. We will do here. A long time to forget about God had helped you. Again, Joseph could have said, well, look at this, three strikes, you are out. First my family, then the boss' wife, now my own friends who I helped, who I gave to, who I served, interpreted their dreams and helped them to get out of prison. Forget about me. I am telling you, it is not bad. I cannot believe it whatever I do nothing ever works. Come on.

He keeps his confidence. He knows God has a plan for his life and he is rising up. Two years pharaoh has a dream. Butler says I remember a guy who interprets him, he helped me, I forgot about it. He is in prison. Joseph comes walking in. He is ready. You see what happens with many people when their big opportunity comes? Their attitude is so bad, they are so hurt, they are so frustrated, they are so upset with all that they have been through and they feel so bad about themselves that they sabotage their opportunities. Pharaoh called Joseph, he comes walking in, he could have said, first of all let me tell you few things. I had a crazy mom, a stupid dad, and a bunch of hateful brothers, they still . You got a guy working for you who has got a messed up wife. She lied about me. I have been rotting in your prison ever since and that over there, I helped him out and he forgot about me. So why in the world shall I help you? Pharaoh sick and tired of helping people. Trying to do the right thing. Trying to be positive. Does anybody care know? I cleaned this up, I have served his family, I go to work and every day. I am trying to do good, but what difference does it make? Oh you sorry thing. Come and let me just smack you upside ahead. You see the attitude, the hurts, the frustrations and the bitterness only set you up to sabotage your opportunities. Pharaoh says I had a dream, I will tell you what it was. And he interprets the dream. And he says now here is how you have to prepare for the future. The pharaoh says who are you going to get to handle that kind of preparation? Joe says no man. He is ready, he is positive, he is up, he is prepared after sitting in prison for years. Because he believed in himself. He believed in his future. He believed in his dream. He believed in his destiny. And one day he goes from the pit, the prison, to the palace. He is the head of the whole nation. From a dysfunctional family to running the greatest country of the world at that time.

You are raised with all kinds of problems, dysfunctions, divorces, diseases, disasters, political, emotional, religious troubles, so many things I do not even know about, but none of them are big enough or bad enough to stop you from taking paths which God prepared ahead of time. None of them can stop you from rising up, taking dominion, being the man, being the woman that God created you to be. There is only thing, big enough, bad enough, or strong enough to keep you from being what God created you to be, and that is what you think about you. Because the main ticket, as the woman think it, so is she. What do you think about you, that is the controlling factor. It is not the devil. We tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy. He cannot stop you. Only you can stop you. Let me close with these thoughts. When I believe in myself and see myself as God sees me, I know I am a new person and my paths cannot affect me. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says I am a new preacher in Christ. All things have passed away and all things have become new. When I see myself as God sees me, I know I have a destiny and an exciting future. Ephesians 2:10 I have already read it, what I believe in myself I feel confident and bold and free. 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound disciplined mind."When I believe in myself, number 4, I feel strong and I feel disciplined. Philippians 2:13 God energises me creating in me the power and the desire to do His will. When I believe in myself, number 5, I am able to love every person. Matthew 22:40, I love my neighbour as my family. When I believe in myself, number 6, I am not afraid or consoled by what others think. Proverbs 29:25, the fear of man brings a snare. Lastly, when I believe in myself and I see myself as God sees me, I press for the prize of the high calling of God and Christ Jesus and I know I will finish my course of destiny. Philippians 3:14, 2 Timothy 4:7, charge, let's believe we are conscious we are. It does not matter what mama told you about you. It does not matter what daddy said about you. It does not matter what the school teacher said or the religious preacher said or what the political party said or what the world said, what matters is what God said. He said I prepared a good life, a good path, a good future, a destiny for you. We are not here to make a living, we are here to live our destiny.

Let's believe we are who God says we are. Say amen. HalleluYah. Take the hand of your neighbour, take your neighbour's hands and say this out loud today, Lord, I hear your word, I receive it into my soul, I am renewing my mind in Jesus name. I am what you say I am and will fulfil your plans for my life in Jesus name.

Casey Treat is the pastor of Christian Faith Centre in Seattle, Washington. I do not have contact details for that Ministry. He can be contacted through ministry, South Africa, private bank, X3062, Randburg 2125, South Africa or 011-792-3815 for contact details.

The message that God had given me to follow on from this is entitled 'Reaching for the Heights, the Pinnacles of Marriage.' And the Lord has just given us a really solid base to build that teaching on. As I said to you at the outset of the second volume, I have had a picture of where this is going but it has been incomplete and the Lord has been filling in all sorts of pieces as we have gone along in this collection of tapes which I found on a bookshelf which had been lying there for years and which has suddenly come together to fill in some of the gaps. It has been a real blessing to me.

God is taking us to a place of excellence. He is taking us to a place where we can experience the pinnacles of what He intended marriage to be. He is taking us to a place where we can experience Heaven on Earth in marriage and in doing so, we can learn to walk in harmony and unity and we can take those lessons and apply them to the church and come to a place where the church works in harmony and unity and in doing that, we can come to a place by the Spirit of God where truly there is a spotless bride for our saviour. We have a long way to go but we have started on the journey and the Lord is with us and if God is for us, who can be against us?

Just some headlines out of this. Best place to be is wherever God wants you. We need to be in the perfect Will of God and if the perfect Will of God is within the context of what has been taught in these messages, which I have absolute conviction it is every person who has hung in there and listened to this entire series of tapes, no matter what the cost and no matter how much our paradigms and our prejudices are challenged. The point was made how do you think about yourself. Do we see ourselves as created in the likeness and image of God? Do we see ourselves as commanded to take dominion? Do we see ourselves crowned with glory and honour? Do we see ourselves that God has put all things under our feet that He has crowned us with glory and honour? Or are we in bondage to the lies of Satan to such an extent that we cannot believe what Jesus says about us? Are we so in bondage to our fear of men and what they think of us that we have lost the fear of God? We have to learn how to live for God and in learning how to live for God, we will put Him first, we will put His commandments first, we will love him with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength in the fullness of the love that we have learnt about during this series.

If we doubt ourselves, we limit God. We need to take dominion in whatever God has called us to do. It is very apparent in listening to this teaching and seeing where the Lord has brought this in right at the culmination of this series of over 40 teachings around the area of marriage. He has brought us into the context of the fullness of the blessings and the promises of God as overcomers. And it is very apparent to me that in order to get to that place we have to deal with the other issues that have been raised earlier in this series. We have to bring our mouths into subjection. We need to tear down the vain imaginations. We need to control the words. We need to be delivered from anything that is oppressing us. We need to discipline our flesh. We need to walk in love. We need to become holy and sanctified. We need to observe the true Sabbath. We need to walk in the ordinances and the commandments of God. We need to come to the place where we are serving God with all our hearts, souls, mind, and strength. We need to deal with our hindrances. We need to cut off the ungodly One Flesh Bonds. We need to renounce the ungodly vows and promises.

We need to make restitution. We need to make right with God. We need to deal with everything that is keeping us away from Him. We need to make sure that we are clear that our occupations are tent making and that our real purpose on Earth is to serve Him and do whatever He has called us to do. We need to rethink our position with God and we need to rethink where we are going and we need to say "Lord, wherever you send me, I will go for wherever you will send will be a place of blessing that I store a treasure in Heaven, if not necessarily treasure on Earth." And we need to recognise that there are times of abundance on Earth and times of disciplining and chastening that He can send us in many different ways, to do many different things and we will meet oppression and persecution before walking in the fullness of the anointing if we are close to Him, if we sanctify ourselves and then we will walk in the midst of the fiery furnace. We will be thrown into the den of lions and their mouths will be stopped but only if we lay down our lives to serve God. If we do not count the cost, if we do not hold back, if we seek to save our lives we are loser, so we must seek to lose our lives for His sake, not actively seeking to be put to death but seeking not to count the cost and not to be concerned if we are put to death. And if we do that, He will carry us through. He will provide for us in great abundance.

We have to be what God has created us to be by doing it right where we are. He will move us when He wants to move us when it is the right thing. He will bring in the people that we need to help us do it when it is right, but we must move now. We must believe we are what God said we are and we are who God says we are. The men in the Body of Christ need to learn how to be a man, they need to learn how to give, they need to learn how to share, they need to learn how to communicate. It is interesting that those four points raised by Casey Treat were at the very heart of what I stated with regard to building the house, the One Flesh Bond, and the consummation of marriage. The man will give and share to this wife totally in lovemaking. The union will be wonderful, it will be harmonious and at the end, he will be able to say "I am a man." We need to be the men that God has called us to be, which means we need to provide the covering and the shelter to the women God has called us to cover. And if we are seeking to be in the perfect Will of God and we have seen in this series that it is the Heart of God for man to have more than one wife, we saw that repeatedly with regard to David being a man after God's own heart. We have seen that Isaiah 4:1 speaks of seven wives in this age. That seven is the number of perfection, completion, and covenant and that God is seeing something that we have not necessarily understood.

We have seen the God intended marriage to be wonderful and good. We have seen that He created the One Flesh Bond to be a powerhouse of spiritual unity and harmony, that He created sexual lovemaking to grant to a man and his wives the ecstatic experience which will draw them close and build the One Flesh Bond. We saw that He created us to walk in agape, hesed, covenant love and to come to a place where husband and wives are in near telepathic communication with one another. And as a listener, whether you are a man or a woman, if God has called you into that form of marriage that is the best place to be. I am not saying that He has called every single man and woman in the Body of Christ to go into that form of marriage but there is certainly an enormous number of single women out there who desperately need a covering and we all certainly have many, many weaknesses that will only be compensated by a team of carefully matched people, each with their own strengths covering others' weaknesses.

It is remarkable that there are eight major personality stars identified in psychometric instruments and that each of those personality stars is identified with very distinct strengths and weaknesses with regard to the conduct of business and interpersonal relationships and the ability to get particular tasks done. There is a personality profile that is suited to a bookkeeper which is completely inappropriate to the sales executive and that in turn is different to the profile of an analyst and that it is different to a process control specialist and that in turn is different to a support specialist. If we consider the various gifts and callings within the Body of Christ, we find that the teacher, the pastor, the evangelist, and the prophet have very distinctly different attributes. The pastor is an outward focused shepherding sort of person. The evangelist is an extrovert, a communicator. The teacher is somebody who can take concepts and turn them into a fashion and present them in a manner that is easy for others to understand. The prophet is somebody who is quite and not oriented to relationships with other people. He is oriented to seeking God and hearing from God. The apostle is developed out of one of those four schools with a focus in one of those areas but with knowledge and experience across all of them to reach out and bring direction and correction to the church as the senior officers of the Body of Christ.

If we look at the secular area again, we see that there is a wide diversity of knowledge and experience sets. It takes years to train an engineer or a doctor or a teacher or a lawyer and each one of those disciplines has a role to play. If we come back to the marital team, one potentially has a situation where there are a diversity of spiritual gifting, some prophetic, some pastoral, some teaching in different areas. In the home environment, one can reasonably expect those that are more oriented to career and business, others who are more oriented to homemaking, running the home, raising children, teaching children, caring for elderly parents. There is a diversity of skills required which cannot possibly all be accommodated in one individual wife and if they are demanded put that wife under such enormous pressure that she is assured of feeling inadequate, God has a much better picture. God has a vision, a destiny for every man and every woman in the Body of Christ that they should be in the appropriate marriage with the appropriate partners that they should experience Heaven on Earth that their strengths should be fully utilised to the benefit of their family, but their weaknesses should be contained and covered by the others in the family unit.

God has a vision of men and women in complete unity and harmony of making an impact on our hurting world of drawing together to a place where they experience Heaven on Earth in marriage, where they come to a place with the One Flesh Bond between all of them. They are so strong and so harmonious that they are able to do great exploits for their God in prayer and intercession and in ministry, where they are able to move mountains with eight hearts, praying in perfect synchrony and harmony, tearing down the gates of hell and raising at the church. A family unit that can go anywhere and do anything that God calls us to do where the anointing and the power of God through love and that family's life is so powerful that it is unstoppable. That the dead is raised, the blind see, the lame walk, and Demons are cast out and the walls between the denominations and the divisions in the Body of Christ are torn down with a learning experience and the anointing gained in that family, those families around the world can be brought to bear in bringing the church into unity and harmony, that the day surely will come when the church will walk in unity which is unknown in the realms of the world and then and only then will mankind say "Now we believe that God, the Father, sent Jesus." And when that happens, when people see Jesus on us and in us and we do the works that Jesus did and greater works, then the God of Christ will be ready for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is an enormous amount to do. There is an enormous challenge. If you have learnt nothing else through this series of teachings, I pray that you have realised that there is an enormous amount you do not know about the things of God, and there is an enormous amount of error in what the church teaches around marriage and many other things today. I do not say that to put you down. One of the things that I increasingly realised is that the more one learns about the things of God, the more one knows how little one knows and the more one learns the more one realises how little one knows. It is good for us to realise we know very little but then it is better for us to focus on Jesus and know that he knows all things and that he can do all things and that by his anointing and his spirit on us, he will work through us and he can and we can do all things through Christ. The anointed one and his anointing that strengthens us but his strength is made perfect in our weakness. So we must die to serve. We must seek the death of the cross daily. We must seek to be crucified with Christ and we must seek to come to the place where there is no flesh to sin and that which obstructs the will of God.

If we can come to that place where our flesh is crucified with and to Christ and where there is perfect harmony and unity in our bodies and in the bodies which are marital homes and if the One Flesh Bond has reached its full potential between husband and wives, then we will communicate with the Lord God spirit to spirit without the interference of our flesh. And that will be an awesome sight on this Earth. Will you step out in faith and accept the challenge that God is giving us today? To seize these truths and this vision and run with them and put them into practice in your own marriage and to take them and share them with everyone you know. To set the captives free, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord to open blind eyes, and to serve the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the saviour of the world with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul and all you strengths that you may overcome to the end in Jesus name. Amen.

Father I thank you that all that is contained in this teaching that is of you, according to your word, according to your will, and by your spirit, will be engrafted in the hearts of the hearers that it will grow and produce abundant fruit, watered and nurtured by your spirit and I thank you Father that anything in this teaching, which is not of you, which is not according to your will or your word will be blown away that it will take no root in the hearts of the hearers and it will be completely forgotten, in Jesus name.

May the Lord bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, amen.

This message has been recorded by a church without walls, a ministry of End Time Issue Ministries, PO Box 898, Randpark Ridge, Randburg, 2156, Republic of South Africa. We can be contacted by email at James@end-time-issues.org.za. Our phone numbers, international dialling code normally 0027 but this may vary from country to country, the 27 is standard. Our landline 0027-11791-2327 or when in South Africa, 011-791-2327. My mobile number 0027-83251-6644 and in South Africa 083-251-6644. Our fax number internationally 0027-11791-5004 and locally, 011-791-5004. All materials produced by this ministry are available at no cost to those who require them, irrespective of financial means. At the same time, donations and offerings are clearly welcome to support the work. Please feel free to copy any of our materials in part or in full as the Lord leads you, understanding that the manner in which you utilise those materials and the manner in which you cite them and quote them is for your account on the Day of Judgement. So we would ask you to use the materials widely, but please feel free to copy them however you see fit and to share these truths with anybody as the Lord leads.

I would urge those of you who received copies of these tapes at no charge that once you have listened to them that you consider passing them on and blessing others with them. Our hearts' desire is that they should not become artefacts sitting on a bookshelf and gathering dust but the Word of God contained in these teaching should be spread as far and as widely as possible.

Should you be led by the Lord to sow into this ministry, our bank account is End Time Issue Ministries, the account number is 0427527805. The branch is the Standard Bank of South Africa, Randburg Branch, and the branch code is 018005. If in listening to these messages you have realised that you do not have a personal serving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and that if you were to die right now, you would not spend eternity in Heaven with him, I would urge you to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and to pray the prayer of salvation. The steps to salvation are as follows. Firstly, admit and recognise that you are a sinner. Romans 3:23 says: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Secondly, accept and believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, that he came to Earth as a man, that he was crucified and died on the cross, that on the third day he rose again, he is now seated at the right-hand of the Father. By his death and resurrection, he took your sins for eternity. Romans 5:8 says: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Thirdly, confess your sins, repent of your sins, and turn around. Repentance means turning around. It means ceasing to do what you now realise is wrong. 1 John 1:9 says:"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Four, confess your faith that Jesus Christ is Lord that you believe this and receive his salvation and invite him to dwell in your heart. Romans 10:9-10 says: "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Give thanks to God for your salvation. Pray and cry out to God and give thanks to Him for saving you. Sixthly, work out your salvation by the Spirit of God. Philippians 2:12 says: "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Salvation is a process. You are saved the moment you pray the sinner's prayer, the prayer of salvation and invite the Lord Jesus Christ to come into your heart and be Lord of your life. That salvation is also a process whereby your mind is renewed and you come to have a personal and deep relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is your choice how far you go in that relationship. He desires a wonderful and a deep and an intimate relationship with you, but it is your choice whether you will do what is necessary to come to that place through reading your Bible, praying, seeking counsel, seeking guidance.

You should be water baptised at the first possible opportunity. Matthew 3:6 says: "And were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins." I encourage you to ask the Lord to lead you to somebody who has some knowledge of the basic ordinance of water baptism who can water baptise you or to lead you to a church where they can water baptise you. There is no reason why you cannot be water baptised today as a symbolic cleansing and washing of your sins. In fact, the minute you pray the sinner's prayer, it would be preferable for you to be water baptised. Choose to be obedient to the Word of God, accept the Bible in its original Hebrew as given by the spirit of God and choose to live your life according to that. 1 John 5:3 says: "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome."

I encourage you to read the Word of God daily and to put into practice everything that you encounter as a principle which I believe will bear fruit in your life. I would encourage you to make an effort right now after you prayed this prayer, start reading your Bible from the Book of John through to the Book of Revelation and then make a discipline of reading the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation at least two, three, four times a year and read the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi at least once a year and I would encourage you to do that using different translations. Ask God to lead you to the church where he wants you to be at this time, where they will teach you, they will guide you, they will pray for you and they will help you to walk in the fullness of what God has called you to be. Be aware that He may move you. God may move you from church to church over time to teach you new things and you should not be reluctant to do this.

The service of God is a personal choice. It is a wonderful choice and if you will step out by faith today and pray the sinner's prayer and follow Him, you will reap a rich harvest if that is your desire to be found faithful on the Day of Judgement. Should you have listened to this and have decided that you are now ready to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, I would ask you to pray the following prayer with me, in Jesus name.

Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus and I confess that I am a sinner. I confess that I don’t have a personal knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and I recognise that without Jesus if I were to die right now, I would spend eternity in hell and not with you. I confess that I have sinned and I repent of those sins and I turn around, I choose to turn my back on sin and to serve God. I confess that Jesus Christ came to Earth as a man that he was crucified that he died and was buried and that he was resurrected on the third day, and that he sits on the right hand of the Father. I confess by faith that he died to take all of my sins, and I thank you Jesus for taking my sin and I give you my sin right now in Jesus name.

I confess by faith that Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and I choose now Lord Jesus to make you the Lord of my life. I invite you to come and dwell in my heart. I invite you to take charge of my life. I invite you to start leading and guiding me and directing me and I give you my life and everything that I have and I commit myself to serving you now, Lord Jesus. I thank you that you have heard me and I thank you that you have now come to live in me, and I thank you for saving me. I thank you that I am now child of the most High God. I thank you that I am now servant of the most High God and that you will lead me and guide me into the paths that you want me to walk. I ask you Lord to lead me to the church where you want me to be. I ask you in the name of Jesus to bring the people that you want in my life into my life by your spirit and to remove the people that you don’t want in my life by your spirit, in Jesus name.

I ask you to close all doors in my life that you do not want opened that no man may open and I ask you to open every door in my life that you want opened that no man may close it, in Jesus name. Father, I ask you to teach me to be lead by your spirit. I ask you to open my eyes to have a revelation of the Word of God. I ask you to give me a hunger for the Word of God and for your spirit and I ask you to teach me to pray, in Jesus name. I thank you Father and I thank you Jesus for saving me and I declare that I am now a child of God and I praise you and I worship you and I glorify your holy name and I thank you for changing me and saving me and delivering me, in Jesus name. Amen.

Now that you have prayed that prayer and you are born again into the body of Christ, realise that the Christian walk is a journey, which Apostle Paul likens it to a marathon race. You need guidance, you need assistance. If you have no one to help you, pray and ask the Holy Spirit of God to come into your life and to help you. If you need to contact somebody, contact any of the major ministries. If you are not sure who to contact, contact this ministry through the address and telephone and email, details that was supplied earlier. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.

Sort by: Newest First Oldest First Most Popular Most unliked