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The Political Jesus! By Pastor Bill Taylor A publication of My Father's House, inc. Volume 6//Issue 5 Prophecy: I’m your God who puts down or lifts up every ruler. I’m the God My people come to for every need: Why is the church who calls itself by My name looking to political leaders instead of Me? For as I’ve rebuked those in the old covenant who wanted a king, so I’ll reject the church that doesn’t look to Christ to be their Head. I’ve a Kingdom that will never fall. I’ve a Kingdom that has no unrighteousness in it. I’ve a Kingdom that’s eternal and a King who’s eternal. So why look to the beggarly elements? I tell you no one in this earth is anything compared to My King, My Son. He’s the One you must look to. He’s the One who’s to rule you. And My church will be ruled by Him and delight themselves in Him because they know My Kingdom is their home, not this world. My Kingdom is where their heart is. My Kingdom is where their desires are, because they know this world is temporary. This world is no place to set your hearts upon. Your hearts are to be set on that true home which I’ve founded for you, where My Son has gone to prepare a place for you, thus saith the Lord. (Prophecy delivered at “My Father’s House”) He won’t cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. (Is42:2) And Paul says, “I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I’ve betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that’s in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus...” (2Cor11:2-4) So because of the craftiness of satan it’s possible to receive a different Jesus than the one who won’t cause His voice to be heard in the streets. And you’ll never see Christ enter into politics in the scriptures, yet many who think they’re the body of Christ today also think they’re called to be a political church in spite of “As Christ is so are we in this world.” (1Jn4:17b) and if Christ is non-political the true body of Christ can’t be political either. A recent editorial reported, “There are more that 650,000 born again “christians” serving in public education.” To which we reply, “It’s doubtful there are 650,000 born again “christians” in the whole United States because so many contemporary churches have misinterpreted the definition of being born again and while they claim to be born again they aren’t. Whoever’s been born of God doesn’t sin, for His seed remains in him; and he can’t sin, because he’s born of God. (1Jn3:9) If anyone who claims to be born again is still in sin, he’s not born again. If he’s in the flesh he’s serving the devil because sin is in the flesh and such a one isn’t a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ – not living the born again life – not a son of God. When statisticians come up with numbers like there are 650,000 born again believers in public education, these numbers are used for political purposes. They give false “christians” a sense of political power as in, “We’ve such a great army of ‘christians’ out there. We ‘christians’ have such great strength in our numbers.” Yet the numbers are usually fictitious and even “numbering” believers is sin! So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.” And Joab said to the king, “Now may the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?” (2Sam24:2-3) David brought a plague upon the people because he sinned in numbering them. (v10-15) God forbid the numbering of His people unless there was a need for a census in which they then had to take an offering for the Lord. And what God’s concerned with is that His people might trust in the strength of their numbers instead of Him. Does God trust in numbers? With Gideon He actually reduced the army from many thousands down to 300. (Jdg7:6,7) And Isaiah says, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they’re many, and in horsemen because they’re very strong, but who don’t look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD!” (Is31:1) God is never concerned with numbers and as His people we shouldn’t be either. So when you see so called “christians” expressing hope because of their great numbers, their hope is erroneous because first of all it’s sin for them to trust in numbers. We’re commanded to trust in the Lord. It doesn’t matter if we’ve a million Christians or just one. We’re still to do what Jesus says to do and go where Jesus says to go, to preach in season and out of season. (2Tim4:2) We’re to trust in Him and obey Him in everything no matter what our number. So numbering is irrelevant. Except for the purpose of providing seating or something like that, there’s no reason for it, no meaning to it. The person who counts numbers for encouragement isn’t in faith, he’s not in the Spirit; he’s not trusting in Jesus! If he’s looking to the strength of numbers, he’s into politics. He’s not looking to God because God by Himself is a majority. We don’t need any numbers plus God; God is enough! God by Himself is all we need! Paul says, As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. (Gal 6:12,13) They want to count how many people they’ve “circumcised.” True men of God won’t do that. We’re glad to see people come to the Lord but only Jesus knows who are really being saved. It takes time to see how they behave over the long run and even then they must run their race to the finish. (Heb3:14) We can’t count the fruit until we get to heaven. But the political “church” is counting their fruit here because they want to glory here. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (Rom8:5) If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (Col 3:1,2) The true church is the Jerusalem above and her/our interests are on the things above. But the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. (Gal 4:26) The true church must stand for those eternal truths which pertain to godly righteousness and must never seek to achieve political or worldly goals by the use of unrighteous power, force of numbers and other such carnal influences. Usually the numbers game has to do with Nimrod and Babel. Who’s Nimrod? He was a mighty warrior before the Lord. (Gen10:8,9) The word before can also be translated “against.” What does it mean to be a mighty warrior against the Lord? It means you’re able to twist and pervert the things of God and oppose His will. A lot of that is going on in much of professing Christianity today. Much of it is political and it’s like unto what Nimrod was doing! Nimrod began to be a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before (against) the LORD; therefore it’s said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before (against) the LORD.” And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel. (Gen10:8-10) And the spirit of Babel was “Let’s make a name for ourselves.” (Gen11:4) Likewise the spirit of most things political is let’s make a name for ourselves. And do you know how many people in the “churches” are trying to make a name for themselves. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. (Jn7:18) Seeking your own glory is seeking to make a name for yourself. For we don’t preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves bondservants for Jesus’ sake. (2Cor4:5) It’s the nature of a politician to discern the winds of public opinion, then sail those winds for his own benefit to make a name for himself. Concerning politics, if you’re the one who discerns what the most popular cause is, you’ll probably be elected. If you become a champion of what the people want then you can ride that wave of public opinion. That’s why polls are so important to politicians. The Word of God isn’t important. They aren’t concerned with what God says. They’re concerned with the public supporting them. So are they leaders or followers? They’re actually followers, not leaders! They’re followers who use the public’s opinion to lift themselves up as if to say, “I’ll be the one who’ll take you where you want to go.” Instead of, “I’ll lead you where God wants to take you.” So the public becomes master over the “leader.” The servant becomes the head, whereas God appoints leaders who lead men in the way of God. Godly leaders must first be followers of God before they can be leaders of the people. (1Cor11:1) That’s the way things work in the true church. Leaders in the church follow God and lead the people to follow God as Moses, for example. Moses isn’t following public opinion. He’s not taking people where they want to go but where God wants them to go. And in fact, Moses was often in trouble with the people because he wasn’t doing what they wanted; often they wanted to go back to Egypt. So “let’s make a name for ourselves,” is something that not only occurs outside the church but too often it occurs in the church. And how do people make a name for themselves in the church? They discern what the popular “church” cause is and they ride the wave of (the church’s) popular opinion. Paul before his conversion when he was persecuting the church was very quickly rising in rank among the Pharisees because of his zeal for the things that were popular with them. Likewise “church” men today who are good representatives of what their people, their denominations, or the worldly “churches” feel is important may ride that wave of public opinion and become seemingly successful in their “churches” because they give the people what they want, even though they aren’t leading the people to what God wants. To be a true Christian you can’t be led by opinions of the people around you. You must be led by God. When people are making a name for themselves, they’re being led by the opinions of the masses, the popular cause, so they’ll expound on the very thing everybody in their party already is for and build their reputation by proclaiming what everyone already knows. Such people aren’t martyrs and they won’t stand against the majority for what God stands for which means they won’t preach the Truth that’s out of season. Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. (2Tim4:2) They love to preach what’s in season because by doing so they can ride the waves of popularity but they won’t preach what’s out of season. Nimrod the mighty warrior against the Lord said, “Let’s make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. (Gen11:4b,8,9) Notice that Nimrod’s will was for the people to be gathered together. Why? Power! He wants them to be his power base. God doesn’t want them to be a power base to anyone who’s against God. Do you know the very essence of Babel is what’s going to bring the antichrist to power? Antichrist will gather everything together under one government so he has a huge power base. That kind of political unity movement is an antichrist movement. And much of the “christian” unity movement today is an antichrist movement because whenever “christian” unity isn’t aligned with the Word of God it serves antichrist. In this passage God’s will was to scatter the people, Nimrod’s will was to gather them. And what we see going on again in many “churches” is a movement that considers unity with men to be more important than obedience to the Word of God, and considers the “love” which associates “christians” together to be more important than the love which keeps the commandments of God. (Jn14:15) I recently read a report about a covenant made by the Christians (so called) who gathered for DC 2000. There’s a part to this which seems like they’re doing good and are in agreement with the Word of God but I pray you’ll have the discernment to understand they’ve lost their first love. (Rev2:4) They’ve lost sight of the main purposes of God. So in spite of all the seeming good they do or even the things that seem scriptural, Jesus would rebuke them. Jesus rebuked the Ephesian church for losing their first love and He threatened them with a dissolution (which is like a scattering) if they didn’t repent. Remember therefore from where you’ve fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I’ll come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place-- unless you repent. (Rev2:5) He says, “I’ll remove your lampstand.” Which means, “I’ll close down your church and scatter you.” Yet there are a lot of things they were doing right. I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you can’t bear those who are evil. And you’ve tested those who say they’re apostles and aren’t, and have found them liars; and you’ve persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and haven’t become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you’ve left your first love. Remember therefore from where you’ve fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I’ll come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place-- unless you repent. (Rev2:2-5) He says they’re fallen! Most “churches” today don’t take the Word of God seriously. They’re like Saul saying to Samuel, “I’ve performed the Word of the Lord” and Samuel says, “What’s this bleating of sheep that I hear?” (1Sam15:13,14) You don’t fulfill God’s will by doing part of His will. You fulfill it by doing all His will and He still expects that. Because Saul didn’t do all God asked of him, Samuel says “You’ve rejected the Word of the Lord.” (1Sam15:23) If you were to compare most so called “churches” today to the Revelation church of Ephesus, (Rev2) you’d be hard pressed to find any contemporary “church” that measures up to them and yet Jesus says they’ve fallen. So where are today’s churches? Their love for this world and the things of this world shows they don’t have a real love for the Kingdom of God and Jesus! (1Jn2:15) If the Ephesians have fallen with all their good things how does your church measure up? At the DC 2000 gathering the “believers” made a “new covenant” with God. But concerning “covenants” If that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. (Heb8:7) God repealed the Old Covenant because it wasn’t perfect, and replaced it with the New Covenant which is perfect and won’t be replaced, yet here we have “christians” saying God’s New Covenant isn’t good enough and we need to make another “new covenant” with God? We already have a New Covenant – what we need to do is keep God’s New Covenant and not make new “new covenants.” But let’s ask why another covenant seems needful? Isn’t it because, They’ve spoken words, swearing falsely in making a (the first) covenant. (Hos10:4) Most contemporary “christians” have failed to keep their New Covenant vows of baptism to live for God and not this world, to be crucified with Christ, to walk in the Spirit, etc. So having failed to keep their first promises concerning God’s New Covenant they wish to make another covenant – but I ask you, if they couldn’t keep their first New Covenant vows to God in Christ – how do they expect to keep their new promises? If your “Yes” isn’t “Yes” and your “No” isn’t “No” – how can you be believed to keep any promises? Early in God’s working with us at “My Father’s House” – after much fasting and prayer and the recognition that as Christians even in our church we weren’t living up to God’s Word – we repented and made a “commitment” to God that we’d obey everything His Word required of us. We didn’t make a new covenant but we repented and returned to fully keep God’s New Covenant. Our commitment to honor His Word was more than sufficient to cover everything He required of us. Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD, to follow the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. (2Chr34:31) One of the first tests of that was when He showed us 1st Corinthians 11 and the covering required on Christian women when they’re involved in public worship. Many of our people left over that but those who remained – obeyed – and God took us from faith to faith and obedience to obedience. As He did this it seemed like the church was growing smaller and smaller. “Believers” in our community would say, “We’ll never go to your church because you wear the covering in church, etc. Your church expects too much.” But all we expected was what God expected! Then a young man from Ohio was led to us with this testimony. He said he’d prayed and asked the Lord to show him a church where the people actually obeyed God and worshipped the way the bible said. God supernaturally led him to us and he left after his visit rejoicing that he’d actually seen a true scriptural and Spiritual church and saying he wanted to bring back his entire congregation to see us actually having church God’s way. When I was young in the Lord I too had asked God to lead me to a church where the believers truly obeyed God and had church in a scriptural and Spiritual way, but God couldn’t show me one. Instead He called me to build such a church for Him. While doing so, we often found the so called “christians” who were acquainted with us were offended with the way God wanted us to have church. But now – though for a time it seemed we were getting smaller and smaller – we’re growing – and the ones God is bringing to us are His people who are praying, “God, show me a church where the believers are really obeying You and having church Your way! Now in us He has such a church to show His children who really want to know Him. And this isn’t happening because we made a new “new covenant” – but because we repented and returned to God’s original New Covenant in Christ Jesus. Here’s the first paragraph of the DC 2000 Covenant. We covenant to love You with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, forsaking materialism, sexual immorality, entertainment, religiosity, other idols that would detract from extravagant love for You and humility and being led by Your Holy Spirit. We’ll keep communion with You “and others” in love, worship, prayer and the scriptures. In “My Father’s House” our first and only commitment was to obey the scriptures which of course requires us to love and walk in the Spirit and all these other things. But in the DC 2000 covenant the last thing mentioned is the scriptures. The scriptures ought to be near or at the top of the list because everything required of us begins with them including “loving God.” Also although to “keep communion with God is scriptural” it’s not scriptural to keep communion “with others” unless they keep communion with God. And that’s one of the problems with the “churches” today; they want to have “Babel” communion with everyone whereas it’s actually a departure from God and His Word to do that. Look at how many anti-unity scriptures there are in the New Testament. Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you’ve gained your brother. But if he’ll not hear, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. (Mt18:15-17) For I know this, after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I didn’t cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. (Act20:29-31) Watch so you don’t let them in. Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such don’t serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. (Rom16:17,18) For many walk, of whom I’ve told you often, and now tell you even weeping, they’re enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame who set their mind on earthly things. (Phil 3:18,19) Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly didn’t mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you’d need to go out of the world. But now I’ve written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who’s sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner-- not even to eat with such a person. (1Cor5:7,9-11) Don’t be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you’re the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I’ll dwell in them and walk among them. I’ll be their God, and they’ll be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate. Don’t touch what’s unclean, and I’ll receive you. I’ll be a Father to you, and you’ll be My sons and daughters,” says the Lord Almighty. (2Cor6:14-18) But as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” (Gal 4:29,30) But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. (2Th3:6) If anyone teaches otherwise and doesn’t consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he’s proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. (1Tim6:3-5) Reject a divisive man (heretic) after the first and second admonition. (Tit3:10) We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let’s go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. (Heb13:10-13) If anyone comes to you and doesn’t bring this doctrine, don’t receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. (2Jn1:10,11) And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and receive of her plagues.” (Rev18:4) The scriptures require us to separate from unbelievers and false believers. You can’t claim to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength if in your “love” you ignore the commands of God. If you won’t obey all God commands then you’re a liar to say you love God and that’s proven by the scriptures. If you love Me, keep My commandments. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it’s he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I’ll love him and manifest Myself to him. He who doesn’t love Me doesn’t keep My words; and the word which you hear isn’t Mine but the Father’s who sent Me (Jn14:15,21,24) By this we know we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments aren’t burdensome. (1Jn5:2,3) In this DC 2000 covenant they seem to be emphasizing “love” and de-emphasizing the scriptures when Christ actually teaches us that keeping the scriptures is Christian “love.” If the “churches” are to return to Christian love, they need to repent and return to the Word of God! There’ll be no revival unless the “churches” repent of the sin of ignoring, belittling, diluting, and only partially keeping God’s Word. Remember Samuel and Saul. God says partial obedience is rejecting God’s Word. (1Sam15:23) Christians must return to God’s Word. They must love God’s Word. They must unite around His Word. You don’t unite around love. You unite around the Word and that is love because the scripture says it’s so. He who keeps My commandments is the one who loves Me. Our unity is in the love that keeps God’s Word. It’s not in a love separate from the Word. But too many “churches” want unity in a “love” that doesn’t keep the fullness of God’s Word. Later they say, “We covenant to boldly stand and act on the absolute truths revealed in Your word” (which would be nice if it stopped there) “but we reject a critical, judgmental spirit.” But what do you consider to be an absolute Truth and what do you consider critical and judgmental. Do you consider “shunning” critical and judgmental? Shunning is an absolute truth. Do you consider rejecting a heretic after the first and second admonition an absolute truth? God does. It’s in His word. Many “churches” today are holding hands with heretics and they consider us judgmental because we don’t. But anyone who says, “You’re saved by grace in such a way that you don’t need to obey the commands of Jesus” is a heretic, and they’re terribly antagonistic to the Word of God. They’re arguing with the Word of God. Anyone who says you can’t lose your salvation is a heretic. It can be lost if you don’t uphold what the Word tells you to do. So many “churches” are holding hands with heretics and yet they imply if someone holds to the Word of God and rejects the heretic that’s judgmental. No it isn’t. Holding to the Word of God is love. Whoever believes Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who’s begotten of Him. By this we know we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. (1Jn5:1,2) So we have a covenant that says we’re to love God and other people, then you’d better keep God’s commandments or God says you don’t love Him or other people. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. (v3) Many people are claiming to love God while they ignore His commandments because they think the commandments are divisive. The Word of God is what we’re born by. We are born again by the incorruptible Word of God. (1Pt1:23) The Word of God is what we’re to live by, and the Word of God is divisive. It’s supposed to be. It divides flesh from Spirit. Do you know God doesn’t want us to have unity with everybody? He doesn’t want His church to include every different opinion. He’s purposely designed the church to be the pillar and ground of the Truth so the Word of God would separate out the people who aren’t worthy to enter His Kingdom from those who are. That’s why the Word divides? For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Heb4:12) Therefore when you know the Word of God you can see whether people are soulish (carnal) or Spiritual by whether or not they keep the Word of God. What does it mean to be soulish? The soul is the mind area and when it reigns that’s carnality. This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, (unbelievers are soulish because they walk by their own opinions.) (Eph4:17) Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he’s not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind. (Col 2:18) That’s soul again. So the true Christian is obedient not to his own understanding (Pr3:5) but he’s obedient to Christ and that makes him Spiritual. He’s obeying the Word of God and the Spirit. Obeying the Spirit makes you Spiritual, not soulish. The Spirit and the Word agree. (1Jn5:7,8) The Word of God discerns whether you’re Spiritual or soulish. We can tell by what you do whether you’re obeying your mind or the Word that divides the soulish from the Spiritual. It divides so you can see what you need to repent of. It divides right from wrong so the church can see who needs to be admonished or rebuked and who’s fit to fellowship with. And there’s no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. (Heb4:13) God knows whether we’re His and obeying His Spirit, or whether we’re still following the flesh and acting as our own head. If we’re our own head then Christ isn’t our head. Jesus said, “Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.” He didn’t come to bring everybody into unity. He came to divide. “For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” (Lk12:51-53) We’ll be divided along the lines of whether we’re obedient or disobedient to God’s Word. Don’t think that I came to bring peace on earth. I didn’t come to bring peace but a sword. For I’ve come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than Me isn’t worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me isn’t worthy of Me. (Mt10:34-37) Always the Word divides. By the Word we can see who’s worthy of God; who follows man, who follows their own understanding versus who really follows God. Great multitudes went with Him. And He said to them, “If anyone comes to Me and doesn’t hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can’t be My disciple.” (Lk14:25,26) If you’re a true Christian you can’t love your life in this world. The worldly life is detestable even at its best. If you must hate your own life as a disciple how can you love the worldly lives that others, even your family members live? You must hate the kind of lives they live and try to save them from their ungodly lives. A holy people can’t be satisfied to live among or participate in the corruptions of this wicked world. (2Pt2:7,8) True Christians aren’t praying to have a “comfortable” life here though that seems to be what most of the contemporary “churches” are after. For example, in all the covenanting of DC 2000 do you know what was totally absent? No mention whatsoever of the coming of the Lord. No mention of the perfecting of the body of Christ. They seem to believe everyone who claims to be a Christian is one. And they act like the greatest purpose of the church is to “reform” the United States. The nation of the United States is mentioned 8 times and the nation of Israel a couple of times in their article. And many statements are made as that we have a “political purpose” towards Israel, or we have a political purpose to reform the United States. Such “christians” see themselves as citizens of this world and they set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, (Phil 3:19,20) Politics is an earthly thing. The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things entering in will cause you to be unfruitful. (Mt13:22) Politics is of the cares of this world. Using the political arena and being involved in politics is attempting to use the beggarly elements of this world (Gal 4:9) to accomplish temporal as opposed to eternal purposes; to make your life more comfortable or more in agreement with what you like in this world. Such interests distract away from the purposes of the Lord. Jesus said, “Let the dead bury the dead.” (Lk9:60) He means there are enough unsaved (spiritually dead) people to take care of politics and funerals. The church has a different mission. The true church is already raised and seated in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus and reigns from there. (Eph2:6) Because Jesus is the one and only potentate, the Lord of lords and King of kings, He already reigns over the kings of this earth. As the true church the body of Christ has a mission to perfect the souls of the saints, not the governments of this world. God judges those who are outside (1Cor5:13) but the true church is preparing those who are inside for Heaven. And we don’t effect political change by marching in the streets; we pray about political change by ruling and reigning with Christ in prayer. And when “christians” stop praying and start marching in the streets they lose their power. In the Spirit we’ve greater power than the world and the devil for the weapons of our warfare aren’t 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. (2Cor10:4,5) We have the greatest power only when we use our spiritual weapons. But what the political “church” is doing is an attempt by the devil to get us to use carnal weapons. If we use carnal weapons we lose. The world and the devil’s weapons are stronger than “our” carnal weapons. For The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God. For we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Eph6:12) The political “church” is trying to wrestle against flesh and blood, (Eph6:12) to war with public opinion, to use votes, to use things that cause men’s flesh to react instead of things that come from the Spiritual realm to convict the conscience and move upon the heart. Can you see the political “church” is a worldly “church?” It operates for the purpose of trying to make a better environment but not better people? It’s a fallen “church.” It isn’t seated in the heavenlies but lives for this world. Its end purpose is to try to improve life in this world. The Truth is God often improves life in this world. When a Spiritual church has its end purpose properly aligned with God’s purposes the secondary attribute of that church is it becomes salt and light and it becomes an influence to improve the life in this world. But the church’s end purpose isn’t to improve life in this world; the end purpose is to obey God and to please God, to glorify God and to perfect men’s souls. When the church sets its purposes correctly and it follows the Spirit and obeys the Lord, it does improve life in this world, but that isn’t what we’re aiming for. We’re aiming to please the Lord and because of that we become the kind of people that end up improving life in this world while we aren’t even citizens of this world. Nowhere in the bible does Jesus ever refer to politics except when He looks at the coin and says, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Mt22:21) Jesus refused to let them make Him king. (Jn6:15) His Kingdom isn’t of this world – it’s not political. It doesn’t operate through the manipulations of the motives of men. Jesus’ source of life and authority is God not man! Pay your taxes. The bible says that! Obey those who rule over you. The bible says that! But He also says, “Let the dead bury the dead.” (Lk9:60) Reforming the society won’t save it. The society is doomed. The nations are doomed and the world is doomed. God isn’t going to reform them. He’s going to destroy them. The purpose of the church isn’t to reform the world because the world is to be destroyed. The purpose of the church is to give people a way of escape from this doomed world. No matter how much we try to improve this world it will never be good enough that God won’t destroy it. Do you know why? Because there’s sin in the world just like there’s sin in the flesh. (Rom7:17,18,23) Because of sin in the flesh God will destroy our flesh. Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. (1Cor6:13a) But if our souls are perfected He’ll give us a new body in which sin doesn’t dwell. And when He’s done with this world He’ll give us a new heaven and a new earth in which sin doesn’t dwell. (2Pt3:13) We’ll never be able to fix this wicked world by just trying to restrain some of the sin to make things a little better. We need a new world where there isn’t any sin at all. And that’s what the church’s purpose is, to prepare the believer for a world where there’s no sin. Our purpose isn’t to improve this world. But to pray for our leaders and trust God to give us a peaceable environment in which we can lead lost souls to Christ (1Tim2:1-4) so they can be made ready for the world to come. Similarly, too many “christians” today are trying to reform the old man instead of getting him born again. To be saved we must become a new creation. (2Cor5:17) Do you see the error in political “christianity?” God is going to give us a new creation; but instead of preparing to receive the new Heaven and earth, these people are trying to reform the old heaven and earth. Such people are of the spirit of Nimrod. God’s will was to scatter the people in the time of Nimrod and His will is not to gather people together today to reform the world. It’s the antichrist who’ll gather the people. He’ll start to gather them by ignoring differences. But Jesus won’t have people in His church who are ignoring their differences. We must correct everything that’s in disagreement to His Word. The early churches worked out their differences and came to a Spiritual and doctrinal agreement. (Act15) Everyone in Christ’s true church will be in agreement because the foundation of unity in Christ’s church is Christ Himself and His Word. Anyone who doesn’t value His Word isn’t worthy to be in Christ’s church and be in unity with those who are. Jesus says, “I haven’t come to bring peace but division” (Lk12:51) He’s actually creating unity amongst the true brethren but He’s dividing us from those who aren’t obedient to God and His Word. So dividing the true believers from those who are in disunity with the Truth produces unity with those who are. It produces a Spiritual church in one accord because we’re separated from everyone who’s separated from God. It’s because we’re holding on to unity to God’s whole Truth that we’re in unity with all who do the same. Whereas the purpose of people who ignore God’s Word or parts of His Word (Mt4:4) to have unity, is they’re trying to gain political power. They want to control votes. They want to be able to influence congress by impressing them with a political group they can use as a power base. This is the very thing that’s corrupted “christian” TV! They’re promoting unity between all the denominations because they want donations from people of all denominations. So they won’t preach the Truth because they don’t want to offend anybody. Because they don’t wish to offend anybody they won’t stand up for anything unpopular. They won’t stand up for what’s true but out of season. (2Tim4:2) So on “christian” TV anybody can call themselves a “christian” and teach almost anything they want and get by with it. The love of money is the root of all evil. (1Tim6:10) Power is very near to money and when people decide they want unity because they want political power they’ll ignore anything that would detract from unity in order to build their political power base. They’ll use everything in God’s Word that aids them but reject any part of God’s Word that interferes with their purposes. For that reason they subvert God’s will which is to bring about obedience to His Word. Anything that causes division is contrary to these people’s goals. Their god isn’t the God of the bible. Their god is unity. Thus they become enemies to God and His purposes. God is holy and He requires purity in His unity. But political “christians” reject purity because it’s divisive. They’ll reject and oppose anything they think may reduce their power base and interfere with their true purposes. If they really wanted to please God they wouldn’t be so concerned about having unity with everyone. If they wanted to please God they’d be concerned with having unity with God. For many walk, of whom I’ve told you often, and now tell you even weeping, they’re enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame-- who set their mind on earthly things. (Phil 3:18,19) They’ll use the Word of God only as it suits their own ends. They’re in the church but not of the church. But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there’ll be false teachers among you, who’ll secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of Truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they’ll exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment hasn’t been idle, and their destruction doesn’t slumber. (2Pt2:1-3) They may use God’s Word to accomplish personal agendas but they aren’t interested in God’s will. And they can use scripture upon scripture in pursuing their own will and look like they’re doing a lot for God when in fact they’re still doing it all for themselves. What has to be discerned in true Christianity is what’s God’s purpose. If you don’t know what God’s purpose is you can join one of these false churches and think you’re serving God in all their political rallies, religious festivities and such when actually you’re being tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. (Eph4:14) They’re trying to deceive you into becoming a part of their political organization that they may make a name for themselves. And what they’re doing is trying to make a better life down here. Which you might ask, “Is that wrong?” It’s wrong if it becomes the main purpose of your life. As a disciple of Jesus the main purpose of your life isn’t to have a better life down here. That’s not the crucified life. That’s the opposite of the crucified life. That’s trying to save your life instead of losing your life. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Gal 5:24) For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Phil 3:20) Yes, I think it’s right, as long as I’m in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. (2Pt1:13,14) Peter is a man who knows he’s about to die and he’s reminding the church of how they need to behave after he’s gone. He sure isn’t interested in who’s going to be elected president, is he? It doesn’t make much difference to him whether or not we have a republican congress. What makes a difference to Peter is whether the church stays steadfast in the things that pertain to God. Paul says, “I’ve fought the good fight, I’ve finished the race, I’ve kept the faith. Finally, there’s laid up for me the crown of righteousness…” (2Tim4:7,8) He’s about to be martyred and what is he telling Timothy to do? He’s telling Timothy to hold on. He’s telling him to be diligent to be approved by God. “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you’ve heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” (2Tim1:13) He’s telling Timothy to keep the church in good shape because there’ll be people who’ll try to lead them astray. True Christian leaders who know they’re about to die sure aren’t living for this world and they aren’t preparing you to live for this world. They’re preparing you to be able to get thru this world. Jesus from the beginning of His ministry knew He was going to the cross. He wasn’t teaching His disciples to improve the living conditions in this world. The Word says, “Be content with what you have.” (Heb13:5) “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” (1Tim6:8) Jesus says God will take care of you. (Mt6:30-34) God has taken care of His saints thru all forms of governments: kingdoms, dictatorships, and communism. He’s taken care of His saints under the most adverse conditions because His Word is true. God takes care of the sparrows and He’ll surely take care of you. (Mt6:26) But often men feel they have to reform this world because they don’t trust God to take care of them. They need some kind of visible earthly guarantee. They need to have Social Security and such. One day it’s certain Social Security won’t be there anymore. But God will always be there. He’s the one to trust. God will always have a way to take care of you if you trust in Him. I can’t trust in Social Security. I can’t trust in things of this world. We’ve no guarantee how long such things will go on. It’s an utter certainty they won’t last. (Heb12:27) But this we know, God will last. His Word will last. That’s why we’re teaching God’s people the things concerning His Word, the things that will endure forever. It’s the calling of the church to get God’s people into the permanent and the eternal, not into politics. Remember when the Jews came to Samuel asking for a king? God was grieved because he knew the people didn’t want Him to rule over them which is why they were asking for a king. God gave them a king anyway. He gave them a king in His anger and took him away in His wrath! (Hos13:11) But He also sent a thunderstorm on their harvest to judge their sin in asking for a king. (1Sam12:17) What do you think concerning the events of election 2000? Was God pleased with the “church?” Is that why the nation went through such a debacle? Or was the political struggle rather an evidence of God’s displeasure with the political “church,” that He didn’t give a sweeping victory, but a reluctant victory. And then there was 911. He’s given the “church” their will, but not in the way that was His will, because He doesn’t like the ways of the political “church.” Remember God gave Balaam his way then tried to kill him. (Num22:1-33) He gave the Jews the meat they craved until it choked them and slew the stoutest of them. (Num11:4,31,33) The fact that you get your way with God isn’t always an evidence of His blessing. “Beware you foolish “christians!” You aren’t the people of God’s pleasure. He sees your great iniquity.” Do you know why the people wanted a king; why they want a president? Because flesh can petition a man, but only faith can come to God. So a faithless and perverse generation wants to present their petitions and apply carnal pressures on a man rather than attaining to the holiness and faith that allows a saint to bring his petition successfully before God. Men who refuse to become holy want to be led by unholy men and not a holy God! There’s a parable in which the trees go looking for a leader and they ask the fig tree, the olive tree and the vine to rule over them but each refuses to leave their calling and their fruit bearing, in order to rule over others. “Should I cease my new wine, which cheers both God and men, and go to sway over trees?” (Jdg9:13) says the vine. These things are symbolic of the true church which should be so busy bearing Spiritual fruit unto God that it has neither the time nor inclination to try to rule over men in this world. Even as Jesus refused to let men make Him king, (Jn6:15) for His Kingdom wasn’t of this world. (Jn18:36) Finally the trees persuade the bramble to rule over them. But it seems even the bramble understands those who are making him king are really looking to manipulate him for their own interests. If in truth you anoint me as king over you, then come and take shelter in my shade; but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon! (vs15) This is a foreshadowing of antichrist. Political “christians” who are trying to raise up a leader for their own purposes better beware that when that leader has gained power he won’t turn on them and become their worst nightmare. Jesus isn’t a politician, He won’t cry out nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street… (Is42:2) but rather In the days of His flesh, when He’d offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear! (Heb5:7) Jesus, the head of the true church and the Spiritual people of God, doesn’t cry out to men to get His way. He goes to the throne of grace and finds His help in God. So also the true church is seated in the Heavenlies with Christ Jesus and not marching in the streets. For as He is so are we in this world! (1Jn4:17) It may help to understand the Nation of Israel in scripture doesn’t represent the U.S. or any other country. The U.S. isn’t a theocracy with a single religion (one Lord, one faith, one baptism) as Israel was. Scriptural Israel rather represents the church of God (Gal 6:16) and the prophecies and things concerning God’s historical dealings with Israel, speak today of the reformation of the church not the reformation of the U.S.A. (1Cor10:1-11) When Gabriel came to Daniel, Daniel didn’t have to petition God concerning the politics of his time. God showed Daniel the political things that would come to pass, and Daniel could focus rather on petitioning God concerning the calling upon God’s people toward the restoration of Jerusalem. He didn’t have to be distracted about the political things because God had them well in hand. So today if the church were busy about the Lord’s business, seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, the political necessities would be added unto them. When I was young in the Lord, I was in fervent prayer and seeking the will of God during the republican convention in which Mr. Reagan was first chosen to be candidate for President. George Bush had been running for the same position and had lost. At that time I’d turned off my TV and was alone with God, when the Spirit of the Lord came upon me and spiritually I was transported into the presence of Mr. Bush. Then with no external knowledge of the events going on, I began to prophesy to Mr. Bush, who was in a very disappointed and sorrowful condition at the time. I prophesied that Mr. Reagan was going to offer him the position of Vice President and Mr. Bush was to accept the offer. God said if he’d accept and serve faithfully that Mr. Reagan would be elected and God would one day make Mr. Bush President also. From that time on I didn’t have any need to be concerned with the politics of our nation for I knew what was going to happen and I knew nothing could interfere with what God had ordained. I’d seen the future, and even been a party to God’s bringing it about, not because I was marching in the streets or casting my vote in an election booth, but because, like Daniel, I’d come to the throne of grace and been lifted into the Heavenlies by God. Like Daniel, I was made privy to something God was sovereignly doing. And that’s where the true church is to be, seated in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. (Eph2:6) If you’d seek the Kingdom of God and set your affections on things above, (Gal 3:1,2) God would add to you such leaders and governments as would help you lead peaceable lives while you’re engaged in the work of the gospel. Thus all men would be able to hear the offer of Christ’s true salvation, according to God’s will. (1Tim2:2,4) But is it men’s souls that political “christians” care for, or their own comfort? So a faithless and perverse generation of “christians” gets the president of their choice. But as an individual believer what good does that do you? If you don’t repent you’ll perish in your sins even though you have a seemingly “christian” government, because your politicizing shows you don’t know God any better than the king-coveting Jews of old. Even with the lessons of scripture which were given for our admonition (1Cor10:11) political “christians” are repeating the same mistakes as those Jews who wanted a king (now a president) instead of God to rule over them. The Jews of old didn’t have all these lessons in the scriptures to teach them, yet so many so called “christians” today with all these advantages still don’t do right. Wouldn’t Jesus say today, “Woe to you Bethsaida-type “christians” for if Sodom had the lessons which you’ve had they’d have repented and would have remained to this day, but you err even worse than the ancient Jews, having the scriptures and so many examples, yet still not knowing God?” (Mt11:21-23) Which demonstrates just how far from God the political “church” is. Does your behavior show the Word of God abides in you? And again, concerning the ancient Jews the Spirit of Christ was not yet given, so they couldn’t have the Spirit as we can. But when the modern “church” behaves in the same way as the ancient Jews, she proves she doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, even though the Spirit is given. So because Christ’s Spirit is available today and wasn’t available to the ancient Jews, that makes the sins of today’s “churches” worse than that of the ancients. Thus those who claim to be of Christ today, yet repeat the same mistakes as the Jews of old, show by their behavior they’re not of Jesus, but rather they’re still in the flesh, not having Christ in them. They behave as the carnal Jews did, and are even worse than the ancient Jews. And if they don’t repent, God will cut them off as He did the unbelieving Jews of old and give His Kingdom to a people who’ll bring forth His Spiritual fruits of righteousness. (Lk19:9-16;Heb6:7,8) God is showing us by this how political “christians” don’t know the Lord, yet the New Covenant is defined by, And no-one shall teach them, saying “know the Lord” for they’ll all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest! (Heb8:11) But, here we do have to say to them “KNOW THE LORD!” For indeed those who do such things don’t know God. Political “christians” aren’t really New Testament Spiritual Christians. They’re really like the Old Testament political Jews. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that doesn’t fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1Pt1:3-5) This passage strongly indicates how we’re to be prepared for the coming of the Lord, which is when we’ll receive our inheritance. In Peter’s first epistle he refers six times to the coming of the Lord. In Paul’s first epistle to the Thessalonians he refers eight times to Jesus’ second coming. In fact it’s hard to find a book in the New Testament that doesn’t mention Christ’s coming again. Yet in the DC 2000 covenant there’s no reference to the coming of the Lord! They’re completely concerned with trying to improve the political situation for “christians” in the here and now, while ignoring the coming Kingdom of Jesus! There’s a lot concerning improving the public schools, and relating to parents taking proper care of children. But God took care of that for us when we at “My Father’s House” came back to obeying the Lord. God blessed our children and saved them when we parents received Christ and His ways in our homes. The reason so many of these people are fighting the battle out there is because they don’t love their children enough to seek the Lord properly and fix things up with God at home. They don’t love their children enough to get right with God and have church God’s way because as soon as you do that God works on your children. Do you know what we don’t have in our church? We don’t have a Sunday school, a youth group, a singles class. These things are inventions of men and God doesn’t need them. We don’t have a separate table for every age, gender or marital status. An eight-year-old child can sit in our church service and understand the Word of God and we can all eat from the same table and have unity even after church; husbands can explain the services to their wives; (1Cor14:35) parents can talk about the service with their children. At home you all sit at the same table. You can all eat from the same table at church too. God has always had His people eat from the same table at church. The children get what the parents get and they grow up to it. It’s foolish what’s going on in most “churches” today; their ideas of men limit God. In most “churches” today there’s no sense of where the people ought to be going. Too many people think Christianity is meant to improve this world whereas it’s really meant to perfect the believers! Everything that’s wrong with this world is caused by the people. You can’t make this world better unless you make the people better. This is the truth “politics” ignores but Jesus follows. Perfect the people who’ll receive God’s perfection, then you can give them a perfect world that will stay perfect. When God made this world it was perfect until Adam and Eve became imperfect. God’s going to bring an end to this world and Christianity is our escape from the destruction that’s soon to come. No amount of do-gooding can stop God’s will concerning the world’s total destruction and the good we’re to be doing is to get people to repent and get prepared for the coming of the Lord so they can escape the inevitable destruction. That’s our job and we don’t need politics to do that. Politicians deal with governments! The dead can bury the dead. Our call is to preach the gospel. The dead can’t preach the gospel. Only the living can preach the gospel. So we’re to hold to the calling God has given us. We aren’t to be distracted by politics. Where we get involved is in the prayer closet. We’re seated above all governments in Christ because Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords and we’re bringing change from above. And which is better? The throne of Christ is the highest power and the church is seated with Him, so we’re to be reigning with Him from above and bringing change from above. (Eph2:6) If these “churches” that are into politics would spend half as much time praying as they do politicizing there’d be some tremendous changes in the world. And if there really were 650,000 Christians praying in the school systems there’d be extraordinary changes taking place because God would be ruling thru the believer’s prayers. There couldn’t possibly be 650,000 real praying Christians in this nation without it manifesting in mighty workings of the Spirit of God, the shaking down of all things that aren’t of Him. (Heb12:26,27) So what you have here is the man made “church,” the Jerusalem below (Gal 4:25,26) that tries to use the things of this world to manipulate this world. Such “believers” aren’t born from above. They aren’t the God made church. Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that’s to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1Pt1:13) So are we looking for what’s going to happen in the next election? Is that what our hope is on? The true gospel hope has nothing to do with the next election. Our hope is in the coming of the Lord. And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your sojourning here in fear. (1Pt1:17) You aren’t here permanently so you shouldn’t be overly concerned with what’s going on in this world. You should be more concerned that you’re pleasing the God who’s soon going to judge you. Who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1Pt1:21) Again our hope isn’t in the politicians! And is your faith and hope that God will come into this world to make life better here? What good would that do you? You’re still going to die. The world is still going to end. You’ll still finish up in a hospital or a nursing home etc, and finally dead – and if you’re without Christ forever separated from your loved ones. That’s the point! You haven’t solved your problems when you make this world a comfortable place because the problem isn’t that the world isn’t comfortable enough. The problem is death. The problem is no matter how good you make this world; you aren’t going to stay here. And that’s what has to be dealt with. And that’s what the politicians don’t see. They act as though we’re all going to live here forever so we need to solve all the world’s problems to have a comfortable future. But the future is for the coming generations when we’ll all be gone. And if you think about that, the only thing that makes improving things for the future generations of sinners reasonable is there must be a spirit inside today’s unsaved people that’s going to still be here even when today’s unsaved people are gone. And that spirit is the devil and his demons. They want generations of sinners to go on and on. They don’t want to lose their soft place down here – their nice little nests in the hearts of wicked men – so they want to keep us busy making the tree nice. And that’s what most of the politicking is about. You won’t live to enjoy it! The demons hope to have a better future but they won’t because God’s bringing the world to an end. So there’s no reason to labor to improve a world you won’t be a part of. I’m not sacrificing myself for the continuation of this world. I’m losing my life for God’s eternal Kingdom which I and the people I love will be a part of. I can give my life up for God in this world because I’ll get it back in another better world. It makes sense that way. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. (1Cor15:19) Laying your life down for the comforts or luxuries of this world is totally foolish. You won’t get to enjoy it anyway. It’s the devils who get to enjoy it thru the next generation of sinners they inhabit. Since you’ve purified your souls in obeying the Truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the Word of God which lives and abides forever, because “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. (Which tells us everything we need to know about politics.) The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the Word of the Lord endures forever.” (1Pt1:22-25) All too often political victories are illusory! You win a battle in one area but you lose in another. The wickedness keeps going on and on. It just keeps shifting positions. Eventually every nation falls apart. Solomon had a nice kingdom for a few years, then it was over and the trouble started all over again. Even in an election where someone wins who’s wise and honest and you get a good congress and everything’s fine and you have a Camelot for a few years, eventually a Guinevere and a Lancelot come in with their sin and the whole thing falls apart. Sin keeps coming back in. So everything you win in politics eventually you lose. The victory is only temporary because what we have to defeat is the sin. And what’s the political “church” trying to do? Instead of getting people born again, they’re trying to legislate people’s behavior. It isn’t going to help. You can’t truly reform someone who isn’t born again because they’re evil by nature. The political “church” says, “We don’t believe in law because we’ve been set free from the law by the Spirit” then they try to change all the laws to control everyone else. There’s a good reason for law and we aren’t in favor of doing away with laws. Righteous laws serve a Godly purpose (1Tim1:8-10) but don’t believe you can save the world thru law. Even sinners usually know to pass decent laws because they also suffer under bad laws. But the purpose of the church isn’t to make more laws. That won’t save souls. The purpose of the church is to get people born again, to get them to see their need for salvation, to pray for God to open sinners’ eyes to see they need to get out of this world and fully into Christ! Law is temporary. It works while we’re down here to help people get along with each other a little better but it won’t get us to Heaven. Law doesn’t solve the problem of sin and death. The true church has the solution to the problem of sin and death. And that’s the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Rom8:2) and that’s what the church needs to focus on promoting instead of politicking to change laws. Politicking is a distraction from the true work. The political “church” is very busy about a lot of things that don’t much matter and which sinners can take care of. Let the dead bury the dead. (Lk9:60) When it comes to the work God has called His church to do, many aren’t doing what they ought to. “But the Word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the Word which by the gospel was preached to you. (1Pt1:25) Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, (1Pt2:11) Are you building your house in this world? Are you trying to improve this world or are you just passing thru? How much home improvement do you do when you rent a house? It doesn’t make much sense to remodel a motel room when you’re only staying a night or two. You might clean it a little bit but you don’t put a lot of investment into it because it isn’t yours. We’re sojourners and pilgrims, how much home improvement are we to be doing in this world? Our purpose isn’t to improve the world. It’s to get thru it. Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. (1Pt2:11,12) What we’re looking forward to here is the day of visitation, the day Jesus comes. We’re not looking forward to the next election. But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. (1Pt4:7) If the end of all things is at hand, I can’t be excited about politics. “Be prepared for the end of all things,” is what Peter’s telling us to do. They’ll give an account to Him who’s ready to judge the living and the dead. (1Pt4:5) So get ready for the judgment. The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God! (1Pt5:1,2) When Paul says, “I’m a partaker of the glory that will be revealed.” He’s looking toward the coming of the Lord. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you’ll receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away. (1Pt5:4) So what should we be looking for except for the coming of the Lord? But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you’ve suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. (1Pt5:10) Again, eternal glory means the coming of the Lord. As His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that’s in the world through lust. (2Pt1:3,4) Though this world is corrupted, by partaking in Christ’s divine nature we can escape it! For if, after they’ve escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord. (2Pt2:20) It’s God’s purpose that through Jesus we escape all worldly wickedness. Knowing that you weren’t redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers. (1Pt1:18) If we’ve been redeemed from our aimless conduct then our conduct must now have purpose. In fact as true Christians we should bring forth fruit that remains (Jn15:16) and that’s what we must focus on – our eternal purpose. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (Col 3:1,2) Are politics from above? Political “christians” have lost sight of the eternal purposes. They think Jesus has come to change this world to make it a better place. They’ve not accepted the Truth that Jesus has come to save us from this world before God destroys it. The political and the Spiritual churches are very different. A “church” who wants to use Christianity to “improve” this world is like Nimrod twisting the things of God to make a name for himself. Those who seek to use “christianity” to “improve” this world are sowing to the fire. Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the peoples labor to feed the fire, and nations weary themselves in vain? (Hab2:13) They’re wasting their labors on temporal things that will soon be destroyed when they should be working for the eternal. They should be saving people for eternity but instead they’re just like sinners, devoting their labors to make this life better when it isn’t going to last. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same Word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (2Pt3:7,10) God already destroyed the world in Noah’s generation, and He’ll do it again. So what difference did it make if people were improving the world in Noah’s day? Noah was a godly man, but he didn’t work to improve his world. He worked to make a way of escape because that world was about to end and Noah knew it. What should you be doing? Insure your escape from this world, by helping people get into the ark of Christ and flee the wrath to come. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, (2Pt3:10,11) I’d have loved to see DC 2000 make a covenant saying, “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved.” They’d have been on the right track if they’d acknowledge, Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved; the Lincoln Monument, the Capitol Building, and the Washington Monument, it’s all coming down! Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved! That’s what God’s saying, “Go home, build godly churches, get people saved, teach them to know Jesus Christ and how to walk in the Spirit, because all these things will be dissolved.” Stop messing with politics! Pray for your politicians. Thank God for them and then let God take care of them. (1Tim2) Sow to the eternal! Where’s the real church? Where would Peter be, in Washington? Where would Paul be, in Washington? Where would Jesus be? If someone preaches to you a different Jesus, let them be accursed. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that’s in Christ. For if he who comes preaches “a political” Jesus whom we haven’t preached, -- let him be accursed. (Gal 1:8,9) You’d better not be following a political “Jesus” because the real Jesus isn’t political. He’s already conquered this world. In the world you’ll have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I’ve overcome the world. (Jn16:33) Are we trying to get rid of the tribulation in this world? Jesus said we’re going to have it. But this is the joy we have, Jesus has overcome it and because He’s overcome it we can overcome it. This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. (1Jn5:4) So I’ll glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom I’m crucified to this world, and this world to me. (Gal 6:14) I don’t care what the world’s doing. I’m concerned about what God’s doing. Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings. He already reigns over this world. What was the problem with ancient Israel? What caused them to miss their Messiah? They were looking for a political leader. In the days Jesus walked the earth He didn’t measure up to what the Jews were looking for. They wanted a man who’d change the “political” situation. They expected the Messiah to deliver them from the dominion of the Romans. What’s the political church trying to do? They’re trying to affect politics so they’ll be delivered from unbelieving rulers, just like the Jews did in Jesus’ day. But Jesus plainly told them He wasn’t there to be political. He came to deliver us from sin. If we let Him make us fit He’ll receive us into His Kingdom, which isn’t of this world because if His Kingdom were of this world then His servants would fight; (Jn18:36) which means if you’re fighting for this world, you aren’t of His servants. If you’re fighting to put “christians” into politics, you’re doing what the Jews were doing. They wanted Jews to rule over them, not gentile unbelievers. They wanted leaders that would uphold their customs. And that’s what the political “christians” want. They want “christians” in the schools; “christians” in the congress who’ll promote “christian” customs. But that wasn’t what Jesus came for – He didn’t come to straighten out the government – He came to straighten out men’s souls. And when He gets us straightened out we can serve God under any kind of government. Remember Daniel? We can overcome anything this world has to throw at us and still rejoice in Jesus because we’re just passing thru. It’s like we’re looking out the window of our train at the natives. “What Hottentots they are! Look at how they’re acting up in the elections with signs jumping up and down! What a strange bunch they are! Wow! Let’s take some pictures.” But we don’t live here, we’re just tourists. We’re on the way to a place where people are truly civilized and there isn’t any sin, a place where Jesus is ruling and reigning! All we’re doing here is getting ready to be counted worthy of that place and to help others see the need to get out of this world before the end comes. We’re here to be lifeboats, not politicians. And we have to fight to hold to our calling because there’s a “pull” that comes from this “political” church realm around us. There’s an evil spirit trying to draw real Christians into the lower, political “church,” the Jerusalem below, to get us working in the temporal realm and take us away from the Jerusalem above where we work in the Spirit for Christ. So we must fight to hold on to our true calling. Even though we may be a very small minority in the midst of a great multitude of professing “christians” who don’t understand our real Christianity, we are the true Christians, the circumcision who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in politics, which is flesh! (Phil 3:3) Our confidence is in Christ! Prophecy: I’m in charge. I’m Lord! I rule. I reign. I lift one up and put one down. I assign positions according to My will – according to the grace I’ve given from the foundations of the earth – not according to your desires – not according to your works. To find your place in My Kingdom you must get to Me. You must seek Me diligently. You can’t take shortcuts for there are no shortcuts into My purposes and My plans. There’s only one way in and it’s through the door. It’s through Christ crucified, laying down your life, crucifying your flesh while drawing near to Me in humility. Don’t take the broad way, the popular way, the political way! Don’t take the easy way. Come to Me, and I’ll open up the eternal mysteries. I’ll open up My callings and purposes for your life. Most “churches” are of people who take the worldly way. They jump on board someone else’s project thinking they’re serving Me, but often those who claim to be Mine, whose works many are joining to, aren’t even in My work. And you won’t know what’s truly of Me until you come to Me to see the work I have for you. For how can you know whether another’s work is of Me when you don’t even know your own? So draw near to Me. Seek My purposes. Don’t think to salve your conscience by doing works I haven’t called you into for they’ll be wood, hay, and stubble in the Day of Judgment if they aren’t of the eternal works I’ve prepared for you, saith the Lord. (Prophecy given at “My Father’s House”)
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